Your Most Loved & Voted: The Top Reader-Favorite Recipes of 2015 for Every Occasion

As we embark on a new year, it’s a wonderful tradition to pause and reflect on the moments and creations that truly resonated. For me, one of the most fulfilling parts of this reflection is looking back at the recipes that truly captured your hearts and taste buds. While analytics can offer insights into page views, I believe the true measure of a recipe’s success lies in the genuine feedback shared by those who’ve made it in their own kitchens. This year, my focus is on celebrating those dishes that garnered the most enthusiastic comments, heartfelt messages, and glowing reviews.

Your incredible feedback, whether it’s a glowing endorsement or constructive criticism, is invaluable. It’s the driving force that helps me refine my techniques, improve my recipe testing, and continuously evolve this blog into a more helpful and inspiring resource for home cooks everywhere. Every single comment, email, or social media mention is deeply appreciated, helping me grow as a recipe developer and writer, and making our shared culinary journey all the more rewarding.

And for those of you who, like me, enjoy a peek behind the curtain (or into someone else’s dinner plate!), you might be interested to know that this collection isn’t just a compilation of your favorites – it’s also a list of dishes that my partner, Connor, and I find ourselves making time and time again. While much of my kitchen time is dedicated to crafting new and innovative recipes, there’s a select group that has earned a permanent spot in our regular dinner rotation. For instance, the Classic Mexican Tortilla Soup, a truly comforting and flavorful staple, made an appearance on our table just last night!

I wholeheartedly encourage you to share your own go-to, tried-and-true recipes in the comments section below. Whether they’re from your own repertoire or a link to another blog, we can never have too many reliable dinner ideas or inspiring culinary creations to explore. Let’s build a vibrant community of shared food experiences and delicious discoveries!

Best Reader-Favorite Recipes of 2015:

1. Roasted Carrot Lentil Salad with Tahini Sauce – Kicking off our list with a dish that’s both healthy and bursting with flavor, this vibrant salad quickly became a personal favorite last year, and I’m thrilled it resonated so strongly with so many of you! The sweet, caramelized roasted carrots pair beautifully with earthy lentils, all brought together by a creamy, zesty tahini dressing. It’s a truly satisfying and wholesome meal or side dish, and its visual appeal, captured in some of my favorite food photographs of 2015, makes it even more delightful. A perfect option for a light lunch or a nutritious dinner component.
2. Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage, Broccoli Rabe, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Olives – This pasta dish is an absolute staple in our household, a true repeat offender on our dinner menu, so imagine my excitement when I saw how much you all loved it too! It’s incredibly straightforward to prepare, yet delivers a complex depth of flavor with the savory sausage, slightly bitter broccoli rabe, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and briny olives. Most of the ingredients are pantry-friendly, making it an ideal choice for a quick and satisfying weeknight meal that tastes like it took hours to make.
3. The Best Homemade Margherita Pizza – Seriously, this pizza has become a weekly ritual for us; we simply can’t get enough of it. It’s the epitome of classic Italian flavors, yet profoundly satisfying in its simplicity. After countless attempts, I finally discovered a pizza crust recipe that is consistently reliable and yields perfect results every time. Hearing from so many of you that this is the best homemade pizza you’ve ever made truly makes my heart sing. It’s a fantastic recipe for family dinners or entertaining friends, offering a delightful culinary experience.
4. Whole Wheat Penne with Walnut-Sage Pesto – If you’re searching for a wholesome, hearty, and flavorful whole-grain pasta recipe to incorporate into your menu, especially for the cooler months, this one is an absolute must-try. It features a wonderfully seasonal walnut-sage pesto that is both aromatic and incredibly delicious. As Amanda enthusiastically shared, “I can’t stop smiling with every bite! I am eating this right now and I am loving every flavor.” This vegetarian-friendly dish is a testament to how satisfying and comforting healthy eating can be.
5. Everyday Chicken Marinade – You know a recipe is a winner when a college best friend texts out of the blue to rave about it! “We made your chicken marinade the other day and my boyfriend can’t stop talking about it!” they messaged. While I can’t take full credit – it’s almost identical to the beloved marinade my mom has perfected over the years – its simplicity and incredible flavor make it an absolute keeper. This versatile marinade elevates any chicken dish, ensuring tender, juicy, and flavorful results every single time, perfect for grilling, baking, or pan-frying.
6. Weeknight Broiled Salmon with Chermoula Herb Crust – Don’t let the fancy name fool you; this salmon recipe is far simpler and quicker to prepare than it sounds! Requiring only a handful of ingredients, you can have a delicious, healthy meal on the table in about 20 minutes. The aromatic chermoula herb crust adds a vibrant, fresh flavor that perfectly complements the rich salmon. It’s an excellent and effortless way to incorporate omega-3 rich salmon and healthy fats into your weekly or bi-weekly meal rotation, making healthy eating both accessible and enjoyable.
7. Guacamole Greens Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette – Oh, my goodness, this salad is truly an obsession of mine! It’s my homemade rendition of an incredibly popular, albeit overpriced, salad I adore from a place called Sweetgreen (which you might be familiar with). The combination of crisp greens, creamy avocado, and a vibrant, zesty cilantro-lime-jalapeño vinaigrette is simply irresistible. Abby perfectly captured its essence, saying, “I have an obsession with SweetGreen, and guacamole greens is my go-to salad. You are right: you nailed this one! This was amazing!!” It’s a refreshing and satisfying salad that feels both indulgent and incredibly wholesome.
8. Spaghettini with Roasted Tomatoes, Basil, and Garlic Breadcrumbs – This delightful pasta dish instantly transports me to warm summer days, even when it’s single digits in Chicago and I’m bundled up in my smart wool socks! The sweetness of roasted tomatoes, combined with fragrant fresh basil and savory, toasted garlic breadcrumbs, creates a harmonious symphony of flavors and textures. It’s a relatively simple recipe that celebrates the bounty of fresh produce, making it a perfect light dinner option for warmer evenings or when you’re simply craving a taste of sunshine. The crispy breadcrumbs add a wonderful crunch that elevates the entire dish.
9. Slow Cooker Winter Vegetable Soup with Split Red Lentils – Marking its place as my very first slow cooker recipe shared on the blog, this hearty winter minestrone surprisingly garnered instant adoration from so many of you! It’s perfectly suited for the chilly weather, offering incredible comfort and wholesome nutrition with minimal effort. Packed with an array of vegetables and protein-rich split red lentils, this soup is both incredibly satisfying and healthy. It’s an ideal meal for meal prepping or feeding a crowd, providing warmth and goodness in every spoonful.
10. Vegan Cauliflower, Potato, and Chickpea Curry – This incredibly flavorful curry happens to be naturally vegan (adapted slightly from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks) and stands out for its remarkably quick preparation time, unlike many other curry recipes. It’s rich, aromatic, and deeply satisfying, featuring tender cauliflower and potatoes alongside hearty chickpeas in a fragrant sauce. What’s even better is that it yields a generous amount of delicious leftovers, making it a fantastic dish to prepare on a Monday or Tuesday and enjoy the rewards throughout the rest of your busy week.
11. Creamy Leek and Pancetta Pappardelle for Two – With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, or any special occasion demanding an indulgent meal, this pasta is an absolute showstopper. It’s undoubtedly more decadent and rich than your everyday pasta, but it’s precisely what makes it perfect for celebration. Ginge’s feedback perfectly captures its essence: “Made this last night for the hubs and I, last vacay supper of holiday vacay and it was amazing! And super easy and fast!” This luxurious dish proves that special meals don’t have to be complicated to be incredibly memorable.
12. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Tarragon-Shallot Butter – This is the recipe that forever solidified my love for fresh tarragon! These roasted fingerling potatoes are genuinely one of my personal highlights from the past year’s culinary adventures. Their beauty lies in their simplicity, yet they deliver an extraordinary depth of flavor and visual appeal. The delicate anise notes of tarragon, combined with aromatic shallots and rich butter, transform humble potatoes into something truly special. One reader even shared that her toddler couldn’t get enough of them, which is the highest praise any dish can receive!

Here’s to a new year filled with many more successful, delicious, and inspiring recipes! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an incredible part of this journey, for your unwavering support, and for allowing me the immense pleasure of continuing to share these culinary explorations with you. Your engagement makes all the difference, and I can’t wait to see what delicious adventures 2016 brings to our kitchens!