30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (2024)

There are some basic, fundamental recipes that every cook should have in his or her tool belt. As cooks, we learn some of these in college, on a tight budget with limited time. As we get a little older, we start to find our favorite tweaks, substitutions and improvements. Ideally, by the time we hit 30, we have an arsenal of great recipes that we feel comfortable making anytime. This way, if you invite someone over for dinner, you don't have to panic and thumb through every cookbook you own (unless you want to).

In our minds, these are the 30 essential recipes every cook should know by the time they turn 30. If you can master these, you'll have most of the tools you need to learn any other recipe with relative ease. This list is tailored toward an omnivore, but there are plenty of vegetarian-friendly options here as well, in order of relative ease and simplicity. What do you think is the most important recipe you ever learned? Let us know in the comments!

1

Grilled Cheese

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (1)

Steamy Kitchen

Make 1,000 grilled cheeses. Make them when you are half asleep. Make them when you are drunk. Eat them for breakfast. Add ingredients. Fail a few times. Make so many grilled cheeses you could make them on one leg with one arm tied behind your back.

Get the Super Frico Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe from Steamy Kitchen

2

Basic Vinaigrette & A Simple Salad

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (2)

James Ransom/Food52

3

Guacamole

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (3)

Simply Recipes

Want to throw a party? You need party dip.

Get the Perfect Guacamole recipe from Simply Recipes

Advertisem*nt

5

Scrambled Eggs

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (5)

Melanie Einzig/Food52

Breakfast is important, and scrambled eggs are the O.G.

Get the Soft Scrambled Eggs recipe from Food52

6

Brownies

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (6)

Brown Eyed Baker

Advertisem*nt

7

Mashed Potatoes

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (7)

Simply Recipes

We like to mix a little sour cream right into ours.

Get the Perfect Mashed Potatoes recipe from Simply Recipes

8

Green Beans

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (8)

Simply Recipes

You've probably eaten a lot of mushy, waterlogged, over-cooked green beans in your life. Your job is to make them better. Still slightly crunchy, bright, great hot or cold. GO.

Get the Green Bean Salad with Basil, Balsamic, and Parmesan recipe from Simply Recipes

Advertisem*nt

10

Sautéed Greens

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (10)

Emily Todd

You can follow this same process with any leafy green: spinach, chard, mustard greens, collard greens, broccoli rabe. The bottom line is that somewhere along the line, you're going to need to feed yourself some leafy greens, so they should taste good.

Get the Kale with Garlic & Red Pepper Flakes recipe from Habitually Hungry

11

Polenta

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (11)

svariophoto via Getty Images

12

Roasted Vegetables

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (12)

Steamy Kitchen

Advertisem*nt

13

Poached Salmon

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (13)

James Ransom/Food52

This is the easiest, most reliable and least smelly way to cook fish. Learn it, love it.

Get the Aromatic Poached Salmon with Rye and Caper Breadcrumbs recipe from Food52

14

Chicken Soup

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (14)

James Ransom/Food52

The real way. With a chicken.

Get the Reform Jewish Penicillin recipe from Food52

15

Advertisem*nt

17

Deviled Eggs

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (17)

My Well Fed Heart/Food52

18

Roast Chicken

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (18)

Simply Recipes

Roasting a chicken for someone at the right time can heal a broken heart, we swear.

Get the Keller’s Roast Chicken recipe from Simply Recipes

Advertisem*nt

20

Mac And Cheese

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (20)

Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton/Food52

No powdered cheese allowed.

Get the Classic Mac and Cheese recipe from Food52

21

Pancakes

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (21)

Crepes of Wrath/Food52

Advertisem*nt

22

Ratatouille

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (22)

Mimi Thorisson/Manger

23

Perfect Rice

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (23)

Willow Arlen/Will Cook For Friends

24

Tofu Stir-Fry

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (24)

Advertisem*nt

25

Spaghetti And Meatballs

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (25)

James Ransom/Food52

27

Potatoes au Gratin

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (27)

Sarah Shatz/Food52

Advertisem*nt

28

Minestrone Soup

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (28)

Sarah Shatz/Food52

Here's why minestrone soup is one of the most important recipes you'll ever learn to make: it teaches you about using dried beans, different cooking times of different vegetables, layering flavors and improvising ingredients seasonally. Learn to make a great one and you'll be well on your way to cooking anything you want.

Get the Minestrone Soup recipe from Food52

30

Beef Bourguignon

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (30)

Simply Recipes

Advertisem*nt

Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Support HuffPost

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

Your Loyalty Means The World To Us

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.

Dear HuffPost Reader

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Dear HuffPost Reader

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circ*mstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost

Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.

Related

how to cookbeginner recipeseasy recipeslearning to cookrecipes every cook should know

Before You Go

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (31)

25 Mouth-Watering Grilled Cheese Recipes

|

Submit a tip

Popular in the Community

From Our Partner

HuffPost Shopping's
Best Finds

Newsletter Sign Up

An essential daily guide to achieving the good life

Subscribe to our lifestyle email.

Successfully Signed Up!

Realness delivered to your inbox

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30 (2024)

FAQs

30 Recipes Everyone Should Know By The Time They're 30? ›

Some of those products include Fritos, Kool-Aid, Skippy peanut butter, Spam, Pepperidge Farm baked goods, Toll House chocolate chip cookies, and Birds' Eye frozen foods. Fritos Many men took up the occupation of traveling salesmen in the 1920s and 1930s.

What was the most popular food in the 30s? ›

Some of those products include Fritos, Kool-Aid, Skippy peanut butter, Spam, Pepperidge Farm baked goods, Toll House chocolate chip cookies, and Birds' Eye frozen foods. Fritos Many men took up the occupation of traveling salesmen in the 1920s and 1930s.

What dishes should everyone know how to cook? ›

17 Dishes Every Home Cook Should Know How to Make, According to Chefs
  1. 01 of 17. Eggs. Victor Protasio. ...
  2. 02 of 17. Rice. Diana Chistruga. ...
  3. 03 of 17. Roast Chicken. Julia Hartbeck. ...
  4. 04 of 17. Bolognese. Photo and Styling by Julia Gartland. ...
  5. 05 of 17. Baked Fish. Maxwell Cozzi. ...
  6. 06 of 17. Fresh Pasta. ...
  7. 07 of 17. Steak. ...
  8. 08 of 17. French Fries.
Mar 11, 2024

Who is famous for 30 minute meals? ›

30 Minute Meals is a Food Network television serieshosted by Rachael Ray.

How many recipes does the average person know? ›

Average Person Knows 15 Recipes By Heart And Travels For Food.

What was junk food in the 1930s? ›

: If you judged the 1930s by its snacks alone, you would have no idea that the economy was tanking. Twinkies, Snickers, Tootsie Pops, Fritos, 3 Musketeers, Ritz Crackers, Frito corn chips, 5th Avenues, and Lay's Potato Chips were all produced during the lean years of the Great Depression.

What did people eat at party in the 1930s? ›

A 1930s dinner party menu would probably also have included dishes that mirrored what Hollywood considered sophisticated European taste with items like scones, crumpets, cucumber or watercress sandwiches, salmon croquettes, trifles, tortes and meringues.

What is the most well known dish in the world? ›

Pizza, from Italy. Ramen, from Japan. Burger, from the United States. Paella, from Spain.

What is the most basic meal to cook? ›

Here's what they had to say about practicing essential techniques and base recipes.
  • 01 of 10. Cream-Based Soup. Victor Protasio. ...
  • 02 of 10. Roast Chicken. Julia Hartbeck. ...
  • 03 of 10. Pizza. ...
  • 04 of 10. Pasta Carbonara. ...
  • 05 of 10. Whole Roasted Fish. ...
  • 06 of 10. Risotto. ...
  • 07 of 10. Garden Salad. ...
  • 08 of 10. BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich.
Feb 1, 2024

What is the number one rule when cooking? ›

Of all the important advice out there about cooking, this by far has to be the number 1 rule of cooking: read your recipe completely before getting started. This may seem like a mundane task (especially when you're excited dive in!), but you'll be so thankful you took the time to do it!

What food is Rachael Ray known for? ›

Her most popular offering, “30-Minute Mediterranean Meals,” gained the attention of the local media, and Albany's CBS affiliate station soon gave Ray a contract to produce a weekly cooking segment called “30-Minute Meals” for the nightly newscast.

Who invented 3 meals a day? ›

The three meals per day concept originated with Englanders who achieved financial prosperity. European settlers brought their eating habits with them to America. Unfortunately, practicing antiquated, meal etiquette often causes you to consume calories when you're not hungry.

What is one of Rachael Ray's recipes? ›

Recipes
  • Rachael's No-Bake Mother's Day Dessert: Limoncello Parfaits. Rachael Ray. 07:00 AM, May 06, 2022. lemon. ...
  • Rach's Super-Tasty Breaded Chicken Cutlet + Braised Cabbage Dinner. Rachael Ray. 07:00 AM, April 18, 2023. chicken breasts. ...
  • Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake | No-Bake Dessert. Grant Melton. 12:00 PM, August 05, 2022.

What percentage of Americans Cannot cook? ›

While seven out of ten people claim to be naturally gifted in the kitchen, 56% of people surveyed in a recent poll say they struggle with even the most basic recipes.

What meals should everyone know how do you cook? ›

10 Dishes Every Professional Cook Should Know How to Make
  1. Roast Chicken. A roast chicken may seem like a humble dish, but when it's perfectly executed, there are few meals that are more comforting and delicious. ...
  2. Eggs Benedict. ...
  3. Bread. ...
  4. Spaghetti and Meatballs. ...
  5. French Omelet. ...
  6. Seared Fish. ...
  7. Caesar Salad. ...
  8. Ratatouille.
Nov 16, 2022

How many meals are humans actually supposed to eat? ›

In one sense, it all comes down to math: The average adult human requires 2,000 calories per day, and you're only awake for so many hours. "Across all peer-reviewed research and health practices, three meals a day is a general recommendation to encourage consistent, adequate energy intake," Miluk said.

What was popular in the late 30s? ›

Radio was also wildly popular, offering many kinds of programs, from sermons to soap operas. In the 1930s, big bands and swing music were popular, with Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller popular bandleaders.

What was the diet in the 1930s? ›

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the 18-day diet rose to popularity. It involves eating an entire grapefruit with each meal. It's essentially a low-carb diet, so along with the grapefruit, you eat eggs, meat, and other high-protein, high-fat foods. In Hollywood, this eating plan took off.

What did farmers eat in the 1930s? ›

Almost all farm families raised large gardens with vegetables and canned fruit from their orchards. They had milk and cream from their dairy cattle. Chickens supplied meat and eggs. They bought flour and sugar in 50-pound sacks and baked their own bread.

What were convenience foods in the 1930s? ›

Convenience foods.

But the 1930s had some notable contributions: Jiffy Biscuit Mix and Bisquick, refrigerator rolls, dry soup mix, and of course, that notorious old standby, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. For good or for ill, these things transformed American cookery.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rubie Ullrich

Last Updated:

Views: 5323

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rubie Ullrich

Birthday: 1998-02-02

Address: 743 Stoltenberg Center, Genovevaville, NJ 59925-3119

Phone: +2202978377583

Job: Administration Engineer

Hobby: Surfing, Sailing, Listening to music, Web surfing, Kitesurfing, Geocaching, Backpacking

Introduction: My name is Rubie Ullrich, I am a enthusiastic, perfect, tender, vivacious, talented, famous, delightful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.