Our 12 most popular recipes of 2023
It’s that time of year when we reflect on what we’ve cooked during the last 12 months and which recipes we want to carry with us into the coming year and beyond. From the dozens of recipes published in The Times’ Food section in 2023, these 12 reader favorites are sure to be enjoyed for many years to come.
Almost everyone (except for my friend Monica) loves chocolate, and our two most popular recipes of 2023 reflect that. My recipe for The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie delivers everything Times readers want in America’s favorite cookie. They are chewy, gooey and not too sweet with a hint of salt and easily makeable in your own kitchen.
Ana Ortiz’s Swedish chocolate cake, called kladdkaka, might look underwhelming, but this Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever is melty chocolate heaven and you probably already have all seven (yes, only seven) ingredients on hand.
Get our Cooking newsletter.
Your roundup of inspiring recipes and kitchen tricks.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Whether it is game day or a quiet evening bingeing on your latest Netflix discovery, Betty Hallock and Caroline Hwang’s Furikake Chex Mix is everything you want for TV snacking. It’s sweet, salty, savory, crunchy and, yes, highly addictive.
Perfect for a hot summer day, Ben Mims’ Lazy Summer Tian is a corn-sweetened and moderately-spiced-up version of the French classic. Best served at room temperature, make it early in the morning and nosh on it all day long .
Billed as a summertime dessert, Mims’ Summertime Pineapple Upside-Down Cake also works at any time of year as he recommends getting the pineapple pre-cut from your grocer’s deli or cut produce section, where you are more likely to get ripe, sweet flesh than taking a chance with a whole, uncut fruit. While the pineapple emoji may symbolize a complicated relationship, its complex flavor is most welcome in this simple dessert.
On a cold, wintry day, a bowl of steamy, spicy Pork and Green Chile Stew from Dunsmoor restaurant in Glassell Park will warm the house as it simmers. Green Hatch chiles add their unique flavor and a different kind of heat — though not so much as to warrant the fire alarms.
Another cook-once-feed-many crowd-pleaser is Mims’ Abundant Chicken Pot Pie. The chicken and vegetable filling is packed with fresh herbs and piled high between pastry, for a light yet filling meal.
A hearty vegetarian meal, Jeanne Kelly’s Chickpea, Cauliflower and Tomato Salad with Sumac Yogurt features the concentrated flavors achieved from roasting at high temperatures as well as the contrast of textures brought on by the crispy chickpeas cooked in the same pan.
Thirty-five minutes is all you need to get this flavorful Steak and Asparagus ‘Sauté-Fry’ With Dijon-Sesame Dressing on the table. The mash-up of techniques and imaginative pairing of condiments allow for speedy preparation of a satisfying meal.
Whether it’s brunch the day after a big meal or breakfast for dinner, It’s Easy Corned Beef Hash delivers on the promise. Easy peasy, rich with briny corned beef flavor and studded with crispy-on-the-outside-creamy-on-the-inside potatoes, it is welcome on the plate at any time of day.
Ben Mims is all about quick preparations and seemingly effortless bold flavors. His Roast Turkey Meatballs and Onions With Lemony Sautéed Zucchini are just that. The zingy meatballs are oven-roasted while the zucchini chars in a pan on the stove. In only 30 minutes you can make this garlicky, lemony meal.
Finally, if you were inspired by the Italian and Sicilian sweet treats featured in last week’s Food pages, my Grandmother’s Sicilian-style stuffed artichokes (and how to trim them) will transport you back to the land of cartellate and cuccidati.
Enjoying this newsletter?
Consider becoming a Times subscriber.
The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chewy and gooey with crispy edges and a hint of salt, these cookies are also not too sweet and not too thin. The recipe calls for chocolate chunks, though if you prefer chips, feel free to switch them out. The ingredients are all readily available in a typical grocery store, and once your butter and eggs are at room temperature, you can whip up a batch in less than an hour.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour.
Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever
One pan, one spoon and 7 ingredients are all you absolutely need to make this fudgy chocolate cake (cardamom and the powdered sugar garnish are optional). It’s quick, easy and delicious.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 40 minutes, plus cooling time.
The Crunchy-Salty-Sweet Snack You Need — Furikake Chex Mix
Umami-loaded seaweed and sesame seasoning mix with soy sauce and butter in this salty-sweet-crunchy furikake Chex mix. Did I mention that it is highly addictive?
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes.
Lazy Summer Tian
Potato, zucchini and summer squash are layered like the French classic, but with cooked onions, chile and corn for bright sweetness.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 1 to 2 hours cooling.
Summertime Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Almond paste adds moisture and flavor to a dense cake that bakes atop a layer of fragrant cut pineapple, from a deli container for extra convenience.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Pork and Green Chile Stew
This pork and chile stew is topped with a mound of grated cheddar cheese and served with fluffy homemade flour tortillas at Dunsmoor restaurant in Los Angeles.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 3 hours 45 minutes.
Abundant Chicken Pot Pie
Packed with more vegetables than most classic recipes, this summery-feeling chicken potpie is bright with herbs, Swiss chard and Dijon mustard.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes.
Chickpea, Cauliflower and Tomato Salad with Sumac Yogurt
The flavors of the cauliflower and cherry tomatoes develop and become concentrated while the chickpeas get nicely crisped. Cool yogurt with a zing of garlic rounds out the trio.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour.
Steak and Asparagus ‘Sauté-Fry’ With Dijon-Sesame Dressing
Slices of tender, seared steak with blistered asparagus make a simple weeknight dinner, drizzled with a punchy mustard and vinegar sauce.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes.
It’s Easy Corned Beef Hash
Crispy potatoes, caramelized onions and charred red bell pepper are sautéed with chunks of corned beef to make this quick, easy post-St. Patrick’s Day favorite.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 45 minutes.
Roast Turkey Meatballs and Onions With Lemony Sautéed Zucchini
Lemon zest adds flavor and brightness to simple turkey meatballs roasted with red onions and served with tender zucchini sautéed with garlic and more lemon.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 30 minutes.
Grandmother’s Sicilian-Style Stuffed Artichokes (and How to Trim Them)
Fresh artichokes are stuffed with bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano cheese, parsley and garlic; drizzled with olive oil; steamed; and then baked until golden.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2 hours 25 minutes.
Have a cooking question?
Eat your way across L.A.
Get our weekly Tasting Notes newsletter for reviews, news and more.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
