Cooking at Home in the Time of Coronavirus
In this uncertain time, there’s one thing we know for sure: cooking is one way we can bring some order—and importantly, a sense of pleasure—into our lives. Whether you’ve got a glut of time on your hands or barely enough hours in the day to throw together lunch, have a pantry full of beans that you don’t know what to do with or a freezer ready to fill, we’ve got you covered with recipes, tips, and more. We’re here with you, and we’re here for you.
1/2789 Recipes With 5 Ingredients or Fewer—Seriously
What if you could grocery shop without a mile-long list? In these simple recipes, that dream comes true. Not one requires more than 5 ingredients—salt, pepper, sugar, and a cooking fat excluded!—which means you can literally count your grocery list on one hand. From crispy fish to roast chicken, pantry pastas to savory veggie sides, here’s to delicious, unfussy cooking.
Laura Murray2/2737 Recipes That Freeze Really Well
There are some days that you get on a roll with cooking and have more food than you know what to do with. When you're feeling particularly motivated, make big batches of recipes that freeze well, and stow away leftovers for when you need to take a break. These soups, stews, lasagna, empanadas, pie dough—and much more—are some of our favorites to freeze.
3/2786 Comfort Foods for Cold Nights, Broken Hearts, and Wednesdays
When you’re fending off the feels (you *know* the ones), the only thing that’s really proven to help is lots and lots of comfort food. (Okay fine, a pile of blankets does wonders, too.) We’re talking rich, aromatic chicken tikka masala over rice, fall-apart-y cabbage as inviting as a cashmere sweater, soups so soothing it warms your soul as much as your belly—and oh, tons of carbs. This is not the time to pretend like you want to eat a bright, zingy salad. You don’t. The heart knows what it wants, so do yourself a favor, and get cooking.
Photo by Alex Lau4/27Meal Prep These 97 Big-Batch Recipes and Eat Well All Week
Nothing makes us feel more at the top of our game than meal prepping with larger quantities of grains, beans, proteins, and sauces to mix and match for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make a few of these big batch cooking recipes—from basics like roast chicken or soup to a huge tray of lasagna to freeze—on a lazy Sunday, then pat yourself on the back come Friday when you realize how many good meals you've eaten this week.
5/2781 Leftover-Friendly Recipes to Get You Through the Week
We love cooking! But that doesn’t mean we always have the time (or...energy) to cook every single meal every single day. That’s when we turn to the recipes that are not only delicious right after serving, but also as leftovers a day (or three, or four) later. Think stews that get better with age, roasted salmon that’s just as satisfying right out of the fridge, and lentils that won’t mind another day in their marinade. These leftover recipes aren’t just about dinner tonight, but the meals we can actually look forward to again—and again.
6/2715 Comforting Recipes the BA Staff Is Cooking Right Now
It’s a strange, uncertain time, to say the least. But there’s one thing we know for sure here at Bon Appétit, and that’s that cooking provides us some comfort. From kimchi udon noodles that pack tons of flavor to batches of chickpeas that can be repurposed for days, here is what the BA staff is cooking right now.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Lillian Chou, prop styling by Beatrice Chastka7/2792 Cooking Projects to Keep You Busy and Extremely Well Fed
Whether it’s throwing together a few big-batch recipes to set you up for the week or taking your time through one steppy, complicated dessert, following a recipe is one of our favorite ways to channel our energy into one time- and attention-hogging task. The one thing that makes it better than binge-watching an entire season of that show you heard about on Twitter? There’s actually something to show for it at the end. Whether you’re in the mood for a deeply comforting moussaka or a mesmerizingly beautiful squash and caramelized onion tart, these are the cooking projects to dive into when what you really want is something to do.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton8/2740 Quick Lunch Ideas That Will Sustain You All Day
It’s midday, you’re working hard, and your stomach is growling. It’s time to take a (quick!) pause to eat lunch. Whether it’s a bowlful of that big batch of Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad you made yesterday or a fortifying tofu and mushroom stir-fry that comes together on the stove in minutes, these are the quick lunch ideas and recipes we’re turning to get us through the rest of the day.
9/2770 Healthy Meal Prep Recipes We're Psyched to Eat All Week Long
We love meal prep, but we're not about eating identical containers of dry chicken and mushy veg for five days straight. Our game plan starts with making a few simple, adaptable, and delicious recipes that will hold up in the fridge. Then, we mix and match all week long. These are the healthy meal prep recipes keeping us fed and excited to eat.
10/27Soup, Tea, and Other Nourishing Recipes to Help You Feel Well
These recipes for brothy soups, cleansing teas, zingy veg-packed juices, and more nourishing dishes are practically made for the days when you’re feeling like you could feel better. Leaning on ingredients known to support our body’s own physical defenses—ginger! garlic! heat! fermented foods!—these recipes help to support all our efforts to be well.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone11/2717 Basically Recipes Nearly As Comforting As FaceTiming Your Best Friend
There’s no one definition of “comfort food” apart from the obvious one: It’s food that makes you feel good. All of us have a dish or two—maybe it’s a steaming bowl of congee or a big square of jiggly noodle kugel—that produces the effect. Or maybe there’s something you’ve never tried that’ll give you the same warm-fuzzies. The recipes here come together easily and, most often, quickly, leaving you plenty of time to make a meal for yourself and maybe a batch of focaccia or a couple quarts of chicken noodle soup for a neighbor or a friend, too. It’ll be almost as good as giving them a hug.
12/2786 Bean Recipes to Have in Your Back Pocket
Beans are healthy, delicious, and inexpensive. Maybe that’s why they call them the magical fruit!? Anyway...here’s a heck of a lot delicious ways to make use of all kinds of beans (navy! lima! gigante! black! etc. etc. etc.)—canned or dried.
13/2743 Ways to Cook With Canned Tomatoes, Your Pantry Hero
Sure we love fresh produce at it’s peak, but we’re not about to ignore canned tomatoes and the incredible bright, juicy flavor they can add to a dish. From stews to chicken, fish to pasta, there’s nothing a hit of tomatoes can’t gussy up, and these recipes prove it. Even better, canned tomatoes last much longer in your pantry than their summer ripe sisters, so you can keep a stash (whole peeled! fire-roasted!) at the ready for anytime the craving hits. So, grab the can opener, and get cooking.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski14/2735 Tinned Fish Recipes, Because Big Flavor Comes in Small Packages
Tinned fish packs big flavor, which is why we always—and we mean always—keep stacks of canned tuna, jarred anchovies, sardines smoked trout, and the like in our pantries. Whether they’re the star of a dish, like a green goddess tuna sandwich or flaked in a salad niçoise, or serve as a background flavor booster, like anchovies melted into a pasta sauce or blitzed into a creamy tonnato, tinned fish give your recipe prep a huge head start on time, and a big boost toward flavor. Plus, have we mentioned the little fishes—those sardines, anchovies, as well as the marinated mussels and oysters—are sustainable? That’s why they’re the essential staples we’ll never go without.
