From the looks of our top recipes of 2025, we experimented with new flavors and techniques, made classic favorites on repeat, and always took advantage of in-season produce this year.
Sunset readers took to the grill and made smash burgers and sticky pork ribs. They also made cozy and comforting dishes, like spatchcocked roasted chicken, turkey and black bean chili, and tom kha gai soup. And sweets weren’t forgotten—our top desserts were a whole orange cake, strawberry raspados, and the cutest individual apple pie.
Take a look at our 20 most popular recipes below. Did you try any of these? If not, bookmark some for your recipe repertoire in 2026.
Tsubaki Caesar Salad
Los Angeles restaurant Tsubaki’s take on the Caesar salad is upgraded with a mix of romaine and Salanova lettuces and an umami-rich dressing of Kewpie mayonnaise, miso, and ponzu. Panko breadcrumbs stand in for the traditional croutons.

Spatchcocked Roasted Chicken with Coriander Honey and Creamy Root Vegetables
Smoked paprika and other chile powders give this simple roasted chicken satisfying bass notes, while the punch of coriander honey makes this a moreish dish. (You know… you’ll want more of it.) Make the most of the hot oven and cook roasted root vegetables at the same time. The veggies are dipped in a Japanese Kewpie mayo crème fraîche. Kewpie mayonnaise is made with all yolks; it is thus richer than the standard stuff, and it enriches one of the easiest, tastiest sauces we’ve had in years. Make extra and put it on pretty much everything.

Snap Peas with Feta and Walnut Gremolata
Crunchy, sweet snap peas benefit from a green-fixing blanch and a quick turn in a super-hot pan to play up their crisp character with a little toasty char. Rich walnut gremolata spiked with lemon and briny feta makes for a vibrant side dish.

Mark Klever’s Dutch Oven Biscuits
This recipe is always on our most popular list. Mark Klever, the former general manager at the now-closed Belcampo Farms near Mt. Shasta, California, learned to make these biscuits from his grandmother.

Spaghetti with Spring Peas and Shrimp Scampi
Spaghetti and Shrimp Scampi has become a classic combo in the line-up of American pasta dishes. The addition of spring peas adds a touch of seasonality. Finishing with a generous amount of fresh chopped herbs at the end helps cut through the richness of the pan sauce.

The Matt Horn Smash Burger
The secrets here are smashing the meat good and thin to maximize the lacy, crispy sear, and the kick that pepper jack cheese adds.

Grilled Salmon with Mustard-Wine Sauce
The Dijon and dry white wine give this sauce a vibrant flavor that pairs well with the richness of grilled salmon.

Crab Tacos
Serve these crab tacos family-style. Place fillings in bowls and let everyone make their own taco. This recipe uses ready-made taco shells, but soft tortillas are good too.

Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir-Fry
Think of mild-flavored, juicy bok choy as an invitation to experiment in the kitchen. It’s especially good with earthy mushrooms. Thoroughly drying the bok choy before cooking ensures that you don’t end up with a watery sauce

Cold Sesame Soba Noodles
Crisp vegetables, a spicy sweet dressing, and soba noodles combine to make a perfect, picnic-ready side dish.

Gochujang Spareribs
These sweet and spicy and oh-so-sticky pork ribs benefit from a sauce spiked with gochujang, the deeply flavored fermented Korean chili paste. For maximum deliciousness, make sure you give yourself 3 to 12 hours to cure the pork ribs in the dry rub.

Spicy Miso Eggplant
A rich and flavorful dish with a spicy kick, this miso-glazed eggplant is perfect for sharing or as a hearty side dish.

Turkey Black Bean Chili
Here’s a Turkey Black Bean Chili that’s an ideal workout lunch incorporating carbs, protein, and some liquid.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
This classic chicken and coconut soup gets its rich and dynamic flavor from quintessential Thai ingredients: coconut milk, lemongrass, fresh ginger, lime juice, fish sauce, chile paste, basil, and cilantro. While warming and thoroughly comforting, this dish comes together incredibly quickly. Of course, it’s even better the next day after the flavors have had time to rest and fully meld within the thick and satisfying, savory-sweet broth. Just saying—doubling this recipe to guarantee leftovers wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

Flageolet Beans with Rosemary and Thyme
Make a big pot of this easy vegetarian dish for a hassle-free dinner or side. There’s no need to soak the beans beforehand; they cook to a tender finish straight from the package. You can follow this method for other beans, but you may have to adjust the cooking time depending on bean size and freshness.

Veal Scaloppine with Mushroom Marsala Sauce
This delicious veal scaloppine dish is topped with an impressive mushroom marsala sauce and is ready in 30 minutes.

Chicken Dan-Dan Noodles
Welcome to our easy version of this Sichuan street-food classic, with ground chicken instead of pork, and fresh vegetables rather than preserved Chinese ones. A dan-dan is the pole, balanced on the shoulder, that vendors use to tote containers of noodles and sauce.

Individual Apple Pie
Chef Curtis Stone usually makes these beautiful single-serving pies lattice-topped (as shown above), but for ease of making, this one skips that step.

Strawberries and Milk Shaved Ice (Raspado)
Blogger Ana Frias grew up in the desert, in Sonora, Mexico. She has very strong memories of buying raspados–Mexican-style snow cones–after school from the curbside vendor, and slurping them until her brothers would finally pick her up. To make the shaved ice, just whirl ice cubes in a food processor, 2 cups at a time, until the ice no longer makes a racket and looks like snow, with no lumps.



