My local market had an impossible-to-resist pile of ripe avocados for an impossible-to-resist price so I came home with a big bagful. And while I'm a happy member of the avocado toast for breakfast club, I also needed to find other ways to use up my bounty. Here's a very simple and delicious avocado-based salad dressing that also makes a nice summer dip for crudites.
Take three simple things — ripe avocado, soft goat cheese, and lemon juice — and whirl them together to create the creamiest, dreamiest dip you've ever imagined. It's sweet and a bit green-tasting from the avocado and tangy from the cheese, both of which are balanced by the big squeeze of lemon. Serve it with tortilla or pita chips, crackers, or crudité and it will be gone before you blink.
When you need a savory showstopper for your next brunch, a pound of pizza dough can be just the ticket to elevate all the ingredients of a breakfast sandwich into something beautiful and tasty.
The dough in this breakfast stromboli (basically a big calzone or hot pocket) turns golden-brown and crispy in the oven, enclosing a filling made of soft scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, and lots of melty sharp cheddar cheese.
Take the few extra minutes to create the easy braid pattern with the dough and this dish is guaranteed to be #brunchgoals.
A phenomenal classic Caesar salad is sort of like a unicorn — they are both rare and elusive, some doubt that either exists — but a really good Caesar salad is much easier to find than a unicorn. The tools and ingredients needed to make an exceptional Caesar salad can be found in almost every kitchen, and the techniques are essentials every cook should know.
Make the best from-scratch croutons on the stovetop, make a classic Caesar dressing, and put them both together on a bowl of romaine that has been properly prepared and enjoy a unicorn-like Caesar salad of your dreams.
Summertime cooking is stripped down, casual, and always from the grill. These easy grilled chicken breasts are a summer stunner. They're cooked roaring fast over the flames of the grill and flavored with tart lime and the fiery heat of jalapeños.
While burgers, brats, and barbecue are cookout classics, these punchy, spicy breasts of juicy chicken just might knock those picnic standards off their pedestal.
Rhubarb is an odd fruit. To begin with, it's actually a vegetable — a vegetable with poisonous leaves. The stalks are crisp and juicy, with a vegetal crunch rather like celery. And yet this prosaic stalk can produce some of the most beautiful and delicious food of the spring season.
When your garden is awash with zucchini and yellow squash, grill them into submission and make this fork and knife salad. Chunky zucchini are grilled until smoky and tender and then tossed in a bright lemon vinaigrette while still warm so that the squash gets a chance to soak in all that flavor. Creamy crumbled feta cheese and chopped fresh mint finish off this easy summery side dish that can be served next to grilled meats or even stuffed into warm pita bread for a vegetarian lunch.
When you're in need of something crisp and refreshing alongside whatever you're serving — be it grilled shrimp or a roast chicken — let this be your go-to dish. Quick-pickled cucumbers and plenty of dill join forces in a classic salad that's tangy and bright.
It's a recipe that requires very little of you, aside from a bit of slicing and chopping, and since it gets better with a night's rest it's a make-ahead dream. So there's really no reason not to add it to your repertoire.
I'll be honest with you: I like to be the person at a party who brings a dish that people can't stop talking about. There's a good chance you feel the same way. This recipe is here to help you embrace that feeling and make it your reality all summer long.
Inspired by classic pasta salad, it makes a couple simple changes that deliver a huge reward. Orzo takes the place of larger-shaped pasta, and once it's partnered with wilted spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and Asiago, the whole thing is gilded with a warm, sweet and tangy bacon vinaigrette.
Shredded carrots have a firm crunch and sturdy bite that rival all other vegetables, and when they get thrown in a mix like this glorious salad, they are an essential supporting player. But it's not just about the carrots and their sweetness here in this Thai-inspired hash — it's also about the cabbage, the grapefruit, the zucchini, and so much more.
Let's talk about hummus really quick — the best ones are silky-smooth with a creamy garlic flavor and the smoky hint of tahini. It's nice to find this in a grocery store hummus or in one made from canned beans, but this Instant Pot version makes hummus that hits all those high notes with very little hands-on work (no peeling off chickpea skins!) and yet it still turns out ethereally smooth.
The secret? Giving chickpeas a long overnight soak in a briny bath to soften the skins and then cooking the beans until they're incredibly tender in under an hour in the electric pressure cooker. The rest of the hummus comes together in minutes with just four other ingredients. This really is the best hummus you can make from dried beans using the Instant Pot.
If you want a potluck dish that's a total crowd-pleaser, and is as cheap as it is easy to pull off, there is no better choice than a really great, vibrant slaw. Fill your largest serving bowl with bold splashes of color and crunch from cabbage, carrot, and scallion, and toss it with a punchy and sesame-ginger vinaigrette for a side that will stand out in a crowd.
There's no question that this is one of the most decadent banana cakes we've laid eyes on. And hey! Maybe it is about time the humble banana cake get its four-layer debut. To help further the cause, this cake is also layered and drizzled with a thick salted caramel. Half the fun of this cake is getting to slather that caramel with wild abandon. The other half, of course, is getting to eat it. With its four layers, caramel, and barely there skim of cream cheese frosting, this cake has a place at your next spring party — be it a birthday, DIY wedding, or graduation celebration.
There are many versions of tabbouleh out in the world, but I think this could be a new favorite. While the Middle Eastern herb salad is usually made with bulgur wheat, this one is made with al dente orzo, which adds a bit more chew and texture to the dish.
It's no less bright and refreshing as the original, however, as it's loaded with fresh parsley and mint and flecked with juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and fragrant scallions. It's perfect enjoyed alongside grilled chicken, fish, or steak, but I also wouldn't hesitate to simply dig into it on its own for lunch or a light dinner.
The best pasta salads, in my opinion, are the ones that are loaded with good things — so much so that you get a little something different with every forkful. This one is just that. Cheesy tortellini is tossed with a kitchen sink of favorites inspired by antipasto, the Italian first course that's full of cured meats, cheese, and pickled vegetables.
Here it's roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes, salty salami, and spicy pepper Jack cheese, all dressed in a tangy, earthy oregano and red wine vinaigrette.
Those cans of chickpeas sitting in your cupboard have been hiding an amazing secret. Roasted in the oven, chickpeas transform into a crispy, salty, savory snack. So tiny. So easy to eat by the handful. So irresistible. This is dangerous knowledge.
If you haven't yet been introduced to this snack, please allow me to do the honors. Here is our step-by-step recipe for roasting chickpeas in the oven.
Served with fruit on the bottom, layered as a parfait, squeezed into tubes, frozen into Popsicles, or spun into smoothies, there's something gratifying about serving tangy yogurt in a new way.
So consider my mind blown when I tried Kitchn's strawberry and pistachio frozen yogurt bark. I could not believe pieces of frozen yogurt wouldn't dissolve in my fingers immediately after breaking, but I gleefully stand corrected.
For this batch we're going full-on breakfast mode by spreading thick, creamy, lightly sweetened Greek yogurt across a parchment-lined baking pan and sprinkling it with sweet-tart grapes and crunchy clusters of granola.
I want to tell you so much about this tofu tikka masala, but let me start with the sauce. It's layered with a mess of warm spices plus the smoky flavors of charred onion and ginger all infused into the requisite tomato cream sauce.
That's what you want from tikka masala, but at the same time, this dinner wouldn't be the stand-out star it is without the firm cubes of tofu infused with a hint of tangy yogurt and lemon juice and a light spice that seeps all the way through.
Each component is outstanding on its own, and when they come together they make for a vegetarian tikka masala you'll rave about!
Once the hotter months roll around, any side dish that doesn't require the stove becomes an instant champion of dinner. On those really hot nights, one that's as cool and quenching as a cucumber salad suddenly sounds like a good choice for a light main course.
Cucumbers come into season right on cue, at their peak in most regions from May to July. Here, they meet some early-season tomatoes and get tossed with sweet onion and a quick marinade. Add a little mint if you want, and this Southern-style salad will be especially refreshing in shorts season.
Such a simple salad demands the best flavor of its few ingredients. It wants each one to taste as bright and fresh as it possibly can. The best way to achieve that is to shop at grocery stores like Walmart, which receives daily deliveries of locally-grown produce. Less mileage between local farms and stores guarantees you'll be bringing home truly fresh produce at a great value.
You can make the dish with regular or English cucumbers (also called hothouse cucumbers, same thing!). We preferred the English/hothouse in our test kitchen since they have tender skins and smaller seeds. We also prefer beefsteak or slicing tomatoes for wedges that aren't cumbersome to eat.
If you're thinking of bringing this to a picnic or a barbecue, you can assemble the whole thing in the few minutes before you head out the door. Your travel time lets the veggies marinate in their sweet and tangy brine, and right at the last minute you can hit it with the freshly chopped mint, if you're using it, just before serving. Tip: If you're unable to chop the mint right before serving (you're outside or the host's kitchen is just too busy, say), just give it a rough tear with your fingers. Rustic totally works here.
This also makes a great make-ahead dish. You can put it together up to two days ahead of time. Just be sure to drain off any accumulated liquid before serving. It also doubles easily for larger parties.
Do you love all things breakfast-related? If so, have I got the deviled eggs of your dreams. Imagine egg salad became friends with avocado toast, and then everything bagel spice came to join the party. These deviled eggs get richness, velvety texture, and vivid color from ripe avocado, and the sprinkling of nutty, toasty everything bagel spice on top adds just the right amount of crunch and savoriness. They really don't take much more effort than your standard deviled eggs, and you might like them so much that they become your go-to recipe.
I have just one bit of advice for you when serving this warm, cheesy dip at your next potluck, and I learned this from experience: Think very carefully about where you'll place it. Once it hits the table, wherever that may be, the crowd will swarm to the skillet. That's just what happens when you channel all the best parts of crowd-pleasing jalapeño poppers into an indulgent rich and creamy dip with just the right amount of heat and a buttery, crunchy Ritz cracker topping.
This carrot slaw is sweet and tangy, due to a healthy amount of Dijon mustard in the dressing, and bright and fragrant, thanks to a heap of sliced scallions. It's a salad that hits all corners of your taste buds. It makes a light, flavorful lunch on its own but also begs to be paired with a simple roast chicken for dinner. Need a potluck side? This slaw is also begging to be just that, seeing as it's something that only gets better as it sits in the bowl.
Humble celery is always seen as the backbone of soups or a foundational vegetable for braises and the like, but it's a crisp, slightly sweet vegetable that deserves a turn in the spotlight all by itself. When thinly sliced and charred in a wok, celery stands up to the savoriness of beef in this easy, saucy stir-fry that just needs a pile of regular or cauliflower rice to nestle upon.
Here's one more way to get your pork chop fix — in the slow cooker! I particularly love this method when there are a few extra people around my table or when I just want to come home to a meal that's already done. Since you cook the chops on top of a bed of vegetables, this one also comes with its own side dish.
