The Recipes That BA Staff Cooked Over and Over Again in 2022
That’s all, 2022. From the good (most popular recipes!) to the bad (least favorite food trends!), we’re spending December looking back. Head here for all the stories in BA’s year in review.
As the staff of Bon Appétit, we tend to cook and bake quite a few recipes by year’s end. But when it comes to our favorites—the ones we return to week after week when we need to get dinner on the table or hastily pack lunch for the office, there are a few standouts. From zingy, hearty lentil soup to not one, not two, but three speedy tofu recipes, these are the dishes we cooked through again and again in 2022. And as for the recipes our readers cooked again and again? Click here for our 10 most popular dishes of the year.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Pearl Jones1/11Sesame Tofu With Broccoli
This recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon was more or less a weekly staple at my house in 2022. It’s wholesome, delicious, and makes for a great lunch the next day. Plus, the delicious sauce tastes enough like peanut butter that my two-year-old will eat it too. Win, win, win. While crisping up the tofu until golden brown does require some patience (it is worth it), the rest of the recipe makes up for it by being something you can pick up and put down when you’re multitasking on a busy Wednesday night. —Sasha Levine, digital director
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca2/11Red Lentil Soup With Preserved Lemon and Crispy Garlic
I just made a batch of preserved lemons—specifically for this soup. From our associate food editor Zaynab Issa, it’s a study in contrasts: hearty lentils and bright lemon, sweet onions and sharp garlic, umami tomato paste and zingy ginger, warm cumin and fresh dill. If there are any greens wilting in the fridge (almost always), I’ll stir those in at the end. A double batch is a must, so there’s dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow, and more lunches to pack in pint containers and freeze for down the road. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards. Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua3/11Spicy Tofu Scramble With Tomato and Ginger
In the last two years, I’ve made a concerted effort to stop cooking meat at home, and this simple tofu recipe by food editor Shilpa Uskokovic is one that’s actually a weeknight meal. (Sorry to all who love to pan-fry tofu; this is something I have not yet mastered enough to do on short notice.) I usually have all the main ingredients (tofu, canned tomato, ginger, onion), and it’s hearty without being overly rich. It goes great with bread, but I enjoyed it several times without anything else too. —Serena Dai, editorial director
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman4/11Sesame Chicken and Cabbage Salad
I’ve told everyone I know about this sheet-pan dinner that comes together in less than 30 minutes and tastes even better as leftovers. The combination of charred chicken thighs, red cabbage, and green beans yields a filling salad that won’t leave you missing a grain (nor the arduous weeknight task of cooking one). And the sauce and garnishes leave some wiggle room. Use maple syrup instead of honey, gochujang in place of sriracha, or omit the peanuts if you have a nut allergy. Make extra—you’ll want it for dinner tomorrow too. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations associate
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca5/11Weeknight-Fancy Ravioli With Creamy Peas
This creamy pasta is my Platonic dinner ideal. It comes together fast, uses a handful of supermarket staples, and tastes like effort without actually requiring any. Plump cheese-stuffed pillows of dough are coated in a warm, creamy basil pesto sauce. And chile-spiced and buttered pistachios bring the crunch and the fancy (but pepitas work just as well in this economy). The best bit: Because frozen peas and ravioli are just about always in my freezer, I don’t even have to leave my house to make it—a plus during cold, dark winter nights, but also on a hectic Tuesday in June. —Ali Francis, staff writer
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Sophie Strangio6/11Saucy Tofu Noodles With Cucumbers and Chili Crisp
In the summer, when basil and slender zucchini were out of control, it was this jammy squash pasta. Once it got cold, it was this so-easy, pantry-staple-heavy lentil soup. But all year round, the dish I probably turned to most was BA’s Saucy Tofu Noodles With Cucumbers and Chili Crisp. I cannot understate how good this filling and flavorful recipe is—the sauce is such a favorite in my home that we often double it so there are leftovers. As a bonus, the squeeze-crumble-sear tofu method has been adopted as my go to way to cook tofu for all kinds of meals. —Sonia Chopra, executive editor
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Dana Bonagura7/11Maple-Glazed Carrots
I’m not entirely sure why, but this year it was like I suddenly discovered roasted carrots. That’s not to say I’ve never eaten a roasted carrot—I certainly have. But when the first carrots of spring started popping up, I roasted them using Andy Baraghani’s method for spicy, maple-glazed carrots and I slowly became obsessed. I roasted carrots and tossed them with a yogurty green sauce, roasted them plain to toss into a rice bowl for a quick work lunch, roasted them as a snack to serve with aioli. And now that it’s the holiday season, I’ve gone back to the maple version because what could be better? —Joe Sevier, SEO & cooking editor
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh8/11Chocolate-Matcha Butter Mochi Cake
I always need to have something sweet in my home and I’ve made Christina Chaey’s matcha butter mochi cake more times than I can count this year. It’s shockingly easy to throw together (bonus points for having a two-ingredient ganache on top). I love taking a little slice as an afternoon snack or enjoying it for dessert when hosting. It never lasts very long in my house but it’s so easy, I know I can easily whip up another one in a few weeks. —Olivia Quintana, associate social media manager
Photo by Marcus Nilsson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski9/11Coconut Creamed Greens
Since this recipe first debuted in 2019, I’ve cooked it so many times that I’ve committed it to memory. At this point, I really consider it a flexible formula: Greens plus spices plus coconut milk equals dinner in 20 minutes. I’ll use Swiss chard or spinach (fresh and frozen both work great), change up the spice blend (I usually add Madras curry powder and cayenne), and serve it with crispy tofu or seared salmon. No matter which route I take, a big bowl of woody dark greens, cooked down in golden, turmeric-dyed coconut milk until tender and glossy, is one of my favorite dinners. Oh, and top it with the coconut crisp from this salmon recipe. You’ll thank me later. —Zoe Denenberg, associate SEO editor
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore10/11Chewy Date and Dark Chocolate Cookies
There are chocolate chip cookies, and then there are Zaynab Issa’s chewy date and dark chocolate cookies. Developed for a story in the April issue highlighting Nature’s Anthem, a date farm in Coachella Valley, and the versatility of the fruit as a nod to Ramadan, these crispy-edged, chewy-centered wonders are what I recommend to folks who are looking for the next great cookie. They’re easy to make (you probably have everything in your pantry) and the olive oil and tahini toe a fine balance of sweet and salty. Every time I make them, I mean to share them with my partner, but I just end up eating them all. Sorry, Nate. —Esra Erol, senior social media manager
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Judy Kim.11/11Big Queer Cold Noodles
I ate this all summer. This dish by Jessie YuChen combines fresh ramen noodles and colorful veggies such as red bell pepper, carrot, and cucumber. The rainbow vegetables made me grin every time I looked down at my bowl. Plus, the dish features a sauce made from peanut butter, Taiwanese black vinegar, white vinegar, and soy sauce that lights everything up. The recipe says you can serve the noodles with chili crisp on the side, and I liked to drizzle some crisp on top for that extra oomph, but the dish also shines on its own. When you’ve had a long work day and you’re looking for something to smile at, make this simple, happy meal. —Karen Yuan, lifestyle editor
