Our 30 Most Popular New Recipes of 2023
Produced by Chantal Braganza and Sun Ngo, Photography by Christie Vuong, Prop Styling by Catherine Doherty, Food Styling by Eshun Mott.
Chowder, meatballs, nachos, chocolate chip cookies; if one theme tied together the top 30 recipes we published in 2023, it would be comfort. This means different things to different people, and doesn't always spell out rich foods. From Diala Canelo's grain bowls to Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer's delicious (and easy!) sheet-pan format pancakes with a piña colada twist, there's a version of a feel-good meal for everyone in this list. Scroll on to find your new favourite.
"Years of living in Mexico City left me with a profound appreciation for elotes and esquites—street corn and a corn-based dish with kernels and melted cheese. This chowder is inspired by those flavours. It’s perfect for dinner and a great way to use up the bounty of corn season," Diala Canelo says. Get our elote chowder recipe here.
"In an average year Cake & Loaf Bakery goes through more than seven hundred pounds of chocolate candy mini eggs. That’s equivalent to the weight of two full-grown gorillas. Just when we think people are sick of mini eggs, they request more! One customer request led to the creation of these mouth-watering cookies. Because they stay delicious for weeks, they also make a great take-home gift for your guests. Just make sure to bake them thoroughly and that they are dry all the way to the centre if you need them to last; they tend to hang on to moisture in their centres. They are beautiful gems to add to your platters or charcuterie spreads for a little extra colour and an unexpected treat to balance out a cheese tray or other savoury spread," say Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham. Get their mini egg shortbread cookies recipe here.
"Many years ago, we made a family trip to Hawaii, grandparents and all. Our memory banks are still filled with giggles as we rolled with Granny in the waves, sang Ukrainian songs, strolled along the streets of Honolulu, snorkelled in Hanauma Bay, and enjoyed endless meals together, laughing so hard we would all cry the whole time. It was, and remains, our happy place. One bite of these piña colada pancakes takes us back to those blissful stress-free days together where the only thing that mattered was which one of us was going to wear Grandma’s epic sparkly shirt that day. You can make these as individual pancakes if you don’t mind the extra work, but this easier sheet-pan version makes our busy hearts happy," Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer say. Get Jillian Harris's Piña Colada Sheet-Pan Pancakes recipe.
Every Christmas, Chantal Braganza’s nonna-in-law would make an exceptional (and exceptionally labour-intensive) lasagna bolognese. Having made it herself for a few years now—and made it her own—she can confirm that it is absolutely worth the work. Don’t do pork? Switch to lean beef. Want more mozzarella content? Be her guest! But do not break Nonna’s two rules: no oven-ready dry noodles (though packaged fresh pasta is great) and no ricotta, ever. Get the Nonna Maria's lasagna bolognese recipe here.
This recipe from food scientist Jennifer Pallian uses extra brown sugar and has a higher sugar-to-butter ratio. There’s also no need to chill the dough before you bake, which—yay!—means faster cookies. Get our Extra-Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.
This recipe, from food scientist Jennifer Pallian, uses the typical butter, sugar and flour ratios. The secret to mastering it is in the technique. Get our classic chocolate chip cookies recipe here.
The classic French-Canadian meat pie was reimagined in 1981 as a Thanksgiving side, and we’re all for it. This stuffing is cooked mostly on the stovetop, freeing up your oven for other baked dishes. Simplify your prep by toasting the bread the day before and storing in a covered container at room temperature until ready to use. Get our tourtiere stuffing recipe here.
This is a very comforting, warming cake that’s simple to put together. Slice yourself a square for the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or a healthy-ish lunchbox treat. Get Lyndsay Sung's vegan pumpkin pie cake recipe here.
Unabashedly inspired by eggplant parmesan, these meatless meatballs—made with smoky roasted eggplant and protein-rich lentils—are also gluten-free. Try them for dinner over garlic bread or grilled sourdough and a salad of bitter greens. Get our roasted eggplant and lentil meatballs recipe here.
"I love marinating with yogurt because the added dairy proteins and sugars help facilitate the Maillard browning and caramelization reactions, which lend tons of extra flavour," Jennifer Pallian writes. Get our spiced yogurt-marinated chicken recipe here.
Chef Suzanne Barr reimagined sweet and earthy grater cake with dragon fruit, which offers a rich violet colour and naturally sweet flavour. Get our dragon fruit grater cake recipe here.
These nachos are topped with seasoned ground beef, queso and dill pickle and are inspired by cheeseburgers that recipe developer Lindsay Guscott has eaten in Mexico. Get our hamburguesa con queso nachos recipe here.
"Aguachile couldn’t be a more straightforward name for this coastal Mexican dish: it translates to “chili water” and is a spicier cousin of citrus ceviche. This version isn’t strictly traditional—aguachile is usually served in a nearly raw, less-cured state—but it’s a great option if you don’t have access to ultra-high-quality freshly caught shrimp," Chantal Braganza writes. Get our shrimp aguachile with cucumber watermelon salad recipe here.
It’s time to bring back the Blue Lagoon, a guilty-pleasure drink that was invented half a century ago in Paris at the iconic Harry’s New York Bar. This version has a significantly more complex flavour than the classic, thanks to the addition of ginger juice, coconut milk and Italian lemonade. We’ve also given it a Canadian nod: “Les barachois” is a term for the coastal lagoons of Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Get our blue barachois cocktail recipe here.
Baked in one pan, this candy-egg-dotted skillet treat is sure to be an Easter hit. Get our mini egg skillet cookie recipe here.
The beloved bar becomes a sheet cake! We take the recipe—first published in the 1980s—up a notch with decadent adornment. Get our decadent nanaimo cake recipe here.
We love a scone, and if we had our way, every gathering would feature one! At the bakery we have created hundreds of scone variations over the years, but we rarely do a chocolate base. Cocoa powder can tend to dry out baked goods, and it took us some testing to get the right balance to make this scone super chocolatey but still moist. Mini eggs provide an extra-crunchy exterior and a sweeter flavour than in traditional scones. These scones are almost cake-like in texture. We like them served simply with butter or whipped cream. This recipe is for full-size scones, but if you are serving them alongside other foods, try them at half-size. For sixteen mini scones, reduce the baking time to 15 to 17 minutes. — Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham, Cake & Loaf bakery in Hamilton, Ont. Get their chocolate mini-egg scones recipe here.
This easy vinaigrette recipe is infinitely customizable to suit your flavour preferences—and absolutely delicious as it is. Whisking the salt fully into the vinegar first ensures that it dissolves completely for perfect seasoning in every drop. Get our simple vinaigrette recipe here.
With just five ingredients, this foolproof buttercream icing is versatile and easy to make. Get our buttercream icing recipe here.
Look for the 1⁄4-in.-thin-cut flanken-style beef short ribs for the most delicious fall-off-the-bone ribs. The 1⁄2-in.-thick ones will work in a pinch, but the marinade won’t permeate the meat as thoroughly. The marinade’s sweet-spicy-umami combination makes it irresistible. Get our pineapple-soy-marinated beef short ribs here.
This is one of my favourite salads to eat, and it’s absolutely perfect on its own as a meal. Nutrition-wise, quinoa covers your protein, and many of the ingredients are seasonless, so you can enjoy it year-round. Get our roasted squash and quinoa salad recipe here.
In this Iranian/Persian dish, the eggs can be scrambled directly into the spinach or poached on top for those who love a runny yolk moment. Some recipes add mint or parsley to the wilted greens and saffron in addition to or in place of the turmeric. Feel free to do the same if you have them on hand. Get our Nargesi-e Esfanaj recipe here.
This festive cheesecake for a crowd has all the flavours of the classic holiday candy and is sweetened almost entirely with white chocolate. If you can get hold of peppermint oil, it will give an even more vibrant mint taste. Get our peppermint bark cheesecake bars recipe here.
This ridiculously delicious dessert is the perfect marriage of from-scratch and store bought components. After chilling, the cookies become soft enough to scoop, but still have a bit of bite. Get our banana pudding recipe here.
Attempting to recreate your favourite Elena pizza at home? Making a batch of this Neapolitan pizza dough shared by Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky in their debut cookbook, Salad Pizza Wine, is the first step. Get their yeasted neapolitan pizza dough recipe here.
Farro is a highly versatile grain, and for all the right reasons: You can use it in soups and risotto, and in hearty bowls and grain salads. This recipe packs a lot of flavour and texture, despite how simple it is to make. Enjoy on its own or with grilled tofu, shrimp or fish on the side. Get our farro, kale, apple and sweet potato salad recipe here.
"If you grew up or partied in Montreal any time between 1998 and 2014, there’s a good chance you ended up eating a slice at Pizza Dany on de la Montagne. Being able to make our version of Dany’s famous spinach pizza is our way to still indulge and reminisce about those years now that our partying days are behind us," Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky of Elena write. Get the Dany pizza recipe here.
There is a deep and storied tradition of meatballs as dim sum. Arguably the most famous of the bunch are lion’s head, notable for their springy texture, which is achieved by vigorously beating the ground meat against the side of the bowl. The technique takes some time to master, so consider this recipe an entry-level foray inspired by the classic, with water chestnuts for texture and the requisite seasoning of five-spice powder and tangerine zest. Look for coarsely ground fatty pork or ask your butcher for a custom mix with 20 to 30 percent fat. Get our steamed five spice pork meatballs recipe here.
This is food writer Gabby Peyton's version of Newfoundland and Labrador’s classic cod au gratin. Using Italian breadcrumbs adds more seasoning to the crispy topper and Gruyère is an ideal cheese choice: it melts well into the sauce and adds a nutty flavour that doesn’t overwhelm the delicate fish. Most restaurants in Newfoundland and Labrador serve this as a main dish with a roll or crusty bread, but it is also served on top of potatoes or rice. Get her three cheese cod au gratin with Italian breadcrumb crust recipe here.
"This versatile recipe comes together in minutes. I like toasting my own spices, but you can sub in a store-bought mix, such as garam masala, shawarma seasoning or ras el hanout. Stuff the sizzling kebabs into pitas with roasted veg; serve alongside dal, naan and kachumber; tuck into lettuce wraps; or make mini versions for cocktail hour," Tara O'Brady says. Get our simple sausage skewers recipe here.
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