Seeing as we're nearly halfway through the year, we figured it’d be wise to gather the recipes that have garnered the most attention from our community thus far. Featuring a mix of new dishes and familiar favorites (read: anything made by Ina Garten), this list offers a solid snapshot of what we’ve collectively craved over the past several months, from the second half of winter through the tail end of spring. Think of this as a mid-year census, but with recipes.
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25.
Somewhere between a ham sandwich and a pizza, this savory, cheesy tart is worthy company for your favorite cold beer or sparkling wine. Plus, it only takes 35 minutes to prepare and will be an instant crowd pleaser at your next hang.
24. Genius Cauliflower Soup From Paul Bertolli
Paul Bertoli was the head chef at Chez Panisse—Alice Waters’ farm-to-table mecca in Berkley, Calif.—for 20 years. He knows a thing or two about making vegetables taste really, really good, and this cauliflower soup is no exception.
23. Miso-Mushroom Pasta
Recipe developer Jun explains this pasta’s flavor best: “Miso and mushrooms are two umami-heavy flavors that are often employed to uplift any dish,” he says. “So when put together, they work in tandem and complement each other so well, creating a massive umami bomb that leaves you salivating for more.”
22. Dan Barber's Braised Short Ribs
Years ago, Food52 founder Amanda Hesser nearly botched an entire dinner party’s worth of short ribs—until chef Dan Barber snuck into her kitchen and resuscitated the braised beef. Days after saving her ribs, Dan invited Amanda to his restaurant and gave her a full short rib tutorial, resulting in this very recipe.
21.
“This chicken made my mother famous at school potlucks,” says recipe developer Zola Gregory of this versatile chicken dish. “It’s appropriate for any occasion: a holiday get together, dinner with colleagues, or a picnic with family. I like it best served with steamed rice and a spoonful of the pan juices drizzled over it, yet it tastes just as good cold, straight from the refrigerator, the next day.”
20. Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François' 5-Minute Artisan Bread
This thorough approach to DIY bread-baking has been vetted and celebrated by many members of our community since being published in 2021. If you’re interested in homemade bread, this recipe is your ideal entry point.
19.
After trying these toffee treats, Food52 community member NibbleMaster said, “Absolutely the best dessert ever! Super simple to make and a great combination of bitter, sweet, coffee, and toffee! Would make (and eat) them everyday if I could.”
18. Potato-Leek Soup With Spiced Chickpeas
A classic soup reinvigorated by the addition of paprika, coriander, cumin, and a very crispy, very delicious chickpea and leek topping. Serve this when comfort is your number one priority and you need soup in under an hour.
17.
This dish is great for two reasons. One, it’s delicious. Two, it’ll force you to take inventory of—and hopefully organize—your spice cabinet, as this chicken is adequately seasoned by ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and saffron.
16. Breakfast Pasta
“I started calling it 'Breakfast Pasta' because it’s what I’d eat for breakfast and it features an egg. But it had plenty of appearances at lunchtime and dinnertime,” writes recipe developer Olivia Mack McCool. Inspired by Roman carbonara, this recipe uses the fewest possible ingredients to achieve a comforting, luxurious pasta that is best enjoyed at all hours of the day.
15. Vegetable Beef Soup Like Great-Grandma Vera Mae's
This vegetable-beef collaboration is one of the rare soups that is filling enough to be served as its own meal. Although a bit more labor intensive than the canned version I enjoyed as a kid, the use of frozen vegetables keeps this soup convenient where possible.
14. Nancy's Chopped Salad
Celebrated, Los Angeles-based chef, baker, and cookbook author Nancy Silverton made the salad you always wished your local pizza place served. Vibrant veggies, an oregano-forward vinaigrette, and plenty of salami keep this salad anything but boring.
13. Richard Sax’s Chocolate Cloud Cake
This chocolate treat from Richard Sax is all about texture. According to Sax, the cake’s craggy, crisp rim, soft, mousse-like interior, and whipped cream topping pack “intensity, then relief, in each bite.”
12. The Coziest Light White Chicken Chili
Light but deeply flavorful, this white chicken chili is ideal for when you know you’ll be heading back for a second (or third) bowl. Top with tortilla chips, hot sauce, and scallions for an extra kick.
11. Chewy Sugar Cookies
This recipe has quite the resume, having accrued more than 150 rave reviews and 3,000 saves since winning our “Best Chewy Sugar Cookie” recipe contest in 2010. The best part? It takes just 20 minutes to make two dozen of these award-winning treats.
10. Chicken Pot Pie
This homemade chicken pot pie allocates effort to the most important components (crust, veggies, and gravy) while providing convenience whenever possible (i.e. using store made rotisserie chicken).
9. Maialino's Olive Oil Cake
One of our most popular recipes of all time, this olive oil cake is sweet, savory, and—most importantly—impossible to stop eating. I had four slices at my birthday this year, but would’ve had more if “sharing” wasn’t such a thing.
8. Éclair Cake
This cake features all the components of your standard chocolate éclair (custard, ganache, pastry) but eliminates the hassle of needing to evenly pipe your pastry cream. Bonus: This dessert looks as good as it tastes.
7. Dirty Martini Salad Dressing
A dirty twist on a classic, bright, mustard-based dressing, courtesy of Food Editor, Emily Ziemski. Toss this with your favorite lettuce (Emily prefers Little Gem) or use it as marinade for grilled vegetables.
6. Cardamom Cake From Niloufer Ichaporia King
Alice Waters once said this was the one recipe she could never live without—and after peering at the over 300 positive reviews from our community, it seems like she might be onto something. With the right balance of sweetness, complexity, and texture, this is a recipe you’ll hold onto for a lifetime.
5. Meyer Lemon Cheesecake With Biscoff Crust
A partnership between three really good things—cheesecake, meyer lemons, and Biscoff cookies—makes one really, really good thing (this cake).
4. Bien Cuit Shortbread
When Bien Cuit stopped making its shortbread in 2019, Amanda begged them for the recipe. Lucky for us, she got it. For reference, think Ted Lasso’s biscuits if they were made by one of the country’s top bakeries.
3. Ina Garten’s Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli
There’s a lot to love about Ina’s broccoli (so much so that we wrote an entire article about it), but here’s the gist: It takes less than 30 minutes, features Parmesan, lemon, pine nuts, and a bit of spice, and is decidedly not boring.
2. One-Bowl Lemon Cake With Citrus Glaze
A classic lemon cake improved by the addition of fluffy ricotta and its simple, one-bowl technique. Serve it as a light dessert or early morning treat: Either way, this cake is best enjoyed with your favorite cup of coffee.
1. Ina Garten's Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken
After publishing an article outlining the enduring beauty of this roast chicken, Ina’s dish has remained at the forefront of our community’s interests. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: After all, who doesn’t love well-seasoned, juicy, crispy-skinned chicken?
