Recipes

The 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2021

And the award goes to…
Thai Roast Chicken Thighs With Coconut Rice recipe
Photo by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Nicole Louie

Our most popular recipes of 2021 span a pretty big range—from gourmet aspirations to easy weeknight stir-fries—and that makes a lot of sense. It was a big year for a lot of things, but it was an especially big year for home cooks. Among being stuck at home for months, venturing out to our first post-vaccine picnics and potlucks, and reuniting with friends and family for the holidays, there was a wider range of occasions to cook for than we could wrap our heads around. 

But whether you were searing up strip steaks au poivre while pining for faraway French bistros or baking tray after tray of sheet pan gnocchi with jammy cherry tomatoes (a clear summer winner we’ve been making all the way into winter), we were all eating well—or at least, as well as we could—through a wild and crazy 2021. Our list counts down to No. 1:

  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Curry Soup Bowl Plant Stew and Pizza
    Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
    3/10

    8. Green Curry Lentil Soup

    Green curry paste adds heat and lots of complex flavor to this 30-minute lentil soup.

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  • Sheet Pan Gnocchi Recipe
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    4/10

    7. Sheet-Pan Gnocchi

    This gnocchi (Is it pasta? Is it a salad?) with a jammy cherry tomato sauce takes just 25 minutes and one pan.

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  • Image may contain Food Dessert Confectionery Sweets Bread and Muffin
    Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    7/10

    4. Caramel Crunch–Chocolate Chunklet Cookies

    These chocolate chunklet cookies are ingeniously baked in a muffin tin, resulting in perfectly crispy, caramelized edges and soft centers.

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  • An 8x8 dish of banana pudding with a whipped cream topping and crushed vanilla wafers on top alongside several serving...
    Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Kat Boystova, prop styling by Allie Wist
    8/10

    3. Classic Banana Pudding

    No frills and no fuss. This banana pudding is the real, decadent deal. 

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  • Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman
    9/10

    2. Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal

    This warm and cozy baked oatmeal studded with carrots, apples, and raisins is the make-ahead breakfast situation your busy mornings need.

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  • Thai Roast Chicken Thighs With Coconut Rice recipe
    Photo by Isa Zapata, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Nicole Louie
    10/10

    1. Thai Roast Chicken Thighs With Coconut Rice

    This single skillet, weeknight riff on Diana Yen's favorite Thai rotisserie chicken packs coconut milk, lime juice, and fish sauce for plenty of umami.

    View Recipe
Alma Avalle is Bon Appétit’s editorial operations associate and web producer. She is also a reporter and journalist covering drinks, food science, and all things new and nerdy for our website and magazine. Raised in New England, Bolivia, and Guatemala, she's currently based in Brooklyn, where she's also a writer, ... Read More
Editorial Operations Associate
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