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

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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

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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

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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

Get The Only Polenta Recipe You'll Ever Need

12

Roasted Vegetables

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

Steamy Kitchen

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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

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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

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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

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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)

Get the Tofu, Veggie and Sesame Fried Rice recipe

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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

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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

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

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

FAQs

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

From Hunger to Hope. From frozen foods to Jell-O molds, the 1930s and 40s saw a huge upsurge in convenience foods. Building on the popularity of brands like Wonder Bread, Kool-Aid, Velveeta Cheese, and Hostess Cakes, American supermarkets stocked up on mass-produced items.

What dishes should everyone know how do you 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

How many recipes does the average person know? ›

A survey found that, on average, people claimed to know how to make 15 recipes without having to look them up.

What can I cook for under $30? ›

30 dinners under under $30 the whole family will love
  • Pumpkin soup. ...
  • Risotto carbonara. ...
  • Tuna and caper pasta with crispy breadcrumbs. ...
  • Matt Preston's French onion soup. ...
  • Spaghetti in cherry tomato sauce. ...
  • Roasted sweet potatoes with chilli and seeds. ...
  • Quick and delicious mushroom and thyme soup. ...
  • Cauliflower soup.

What was junk food in the 1930s? ›

Many of today's favorite snacks were also introduced during this decade: Twinkies, Snickers, Tootsie Pops, Fritos, 3 Musketeers, Ritz Crackers, Kit Kat Bars, Five-Flavor Life Savers, 5th Avenue Bars, Rolo, Smarties, Heath Bar, Lay's Potato Chips and RC Cola.

What did Americans eat in the 30s? ›

Food was always home cooked, and people usually ate bread, vegetables, meat, etc. The most common meal was made of a composite dish with one portion of proteins (meat, eggs, fish, cheese, pulses), one portion of potatoes, pasta, or bread, and two portions of vegetables, followed by fruit as dessert.

What is the most famous dish ever? ›

​Pizza​ Italian pizza is probably the most famous food in the world.

What is the most popular dish ever? ›

Pizza is ranked as the most popular food in the world, according to a survey by TasteAtlas. On average, Americans eat 18 acres of pizza a day, highlighting its popularity in the USA. Pasta is the second most popular food globally, after pizza. Almost 14.5 million tons of pasta are consumed worldwide annually.

What is the most popular dish of all time? ›

The 10 most popular (and delicious) dishes around the world
  • 01 ⸻ 10. Pizza. (c) Seba Tataru / Shutterstock.
  • 02 ⸻ 10. Ramen. (c) LisaBee Imagery / Shutterstock.
  • 03 ⸻ 10. Burger. (c) FoodAndPhoto / Shutterstock.
  • 04 ⸻ 10. Paella. ...
  • 05 ⸻ 10. Moussaka. ...
  • 06 ⸻ 10. Beef Bourguignon. ...
  • 07 ⸻ 10. Pierogi. ...
  • 08 ⸻ 10. Chicken Tikka Massala.
May 24, 2023

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.

Do chefs memorize recipes? ›

The person in charge decides which recipes you use. Then like sports or anything else, you practice. The more you work with dishes and recipes the more you learn and remember.

What percent of Americans cook at home? ›

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Since its peak in 2020 and 2021, cooking at home has decreased slightly, but 64% of Americans are continuing to do so to save money and control their budget, reported the National Frozen and Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), with 81% of consumers cooking more than half their meals at home.

How to eat for $30 dollars a week? ›

Here's how I keep my grocery bill under $30 a week
  1. Breakfast: Cheerios with milk and a banana, plus the free coffee I get from my office.
  2. Mid-morning snack: Granola bar or orange.
  3. Lunch: Whole wheat pasta dressed up with butter and salt.
  4. Dinner: Fried eggs, a side of rice, and a glass of milk.
Jan 13, 2017

What's the cheapest meal to make? ›

65 Easy And Cheap Dinner Ideas That You'll Want To Make On Repeat
  • Sweet Potato And Black Bean Burritos. tasty.co. ...
  • Barbecue Beer Can Chicken. tasty.co. ...
  • Zucchini Noodles with Kale Pesto. ...
  • One-Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta. ...
  • Chicken Alfredo Penne. ...
  • Avocado Quinoa Power Salad. ...
  • Tofu Scramble. ...
  • Egg Pizza With Scallions.
Dec 21, 2023

What is 5 10 30 meals? ›

5 Cuisines, 10 Full Meals, 30 Total Ingredients!

What food was served at a 1930's dinner party? ›

Including ingredients like lobster, squab, oysters, tongue, crab, fruit punch, prunes, peaches, pineapple, honeydew melon and orange marmalade in the menu helped gentrify the meal and add that touch of elegant refinement that was so important.

What foods came out in the 1930s? ›

Beech-Nut Baby Foods, Bisquick (General Mills), Ballard Biscuits (cardboard tube packed refrigerator dough), Wyler's Bouillon Cubs, Tootsie Pops. Frito Corn Chips, Skippy Peanut Butter, 3 Musketeers and Heath candy bars.

What were the snacks 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 was popular in the late 30s? ›

The 1930s were primarily known for the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, jazz music, the Art Deco movement, and the New Deal. Jazz/swing music not only became popular in the U.S., but also found audiences in Europe.

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