Kitchen-Tested: Recipes Worth Your Time
Some of the best recipes I've cooked this month from food Substacks
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One of the best parts of joining the Substack community has been discovering so many incredible food writers and recipe developers. There’s a creative energy and freedom here that has made Substack a treasure trove of interesting, delicious-sounding creations. My “to make” list of recipes—tracked on a Notes page on my phone—has become unmanageably long, in the best possible way.
But recently, I realized there simply aren’t enough days (or meals) to make everything on my ever-growing list. Or at least, if I want to make a dent, I really need to get cracking!
So that’s what I set out to do in May: cook and bake a bunch of the Substack recipes I’ve been eyeing. I’d highly recommend every single dish I made. And while I still have plenty more I want to try, I’m excited to keep exploring and adding new favorites to my repertoire.
With that, let’s dish!
Wonderful Substack recipe discoveries
A couple of notes before we jump into it:
You will notice that half of my list consists of baked goods. Let’s just say it rained a lot in my corner of the U.S. in May, so I had ample time to spend indoors baking.
The Substacks I sourced these recipes from are full of other amazing dishes. I highly recommend checking them out.
Tacos Three Ways, from Betty Eatz and What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking. Last weekend, I threw a taco party for a hungry crew (my husband, kids, and nephew), so I knew I’d need to offer variety and quantity. Enter these three amazing taco recipes: Poke Tacos and Coconut Shrimp Mini Tacos from
and Crispy Chicken Chili Verde Street Corn Tacos from . They offered a nice range and were small enough to sample them all. For those of age, I highly recommend washing them down with margaritas. Betty has some fun suggested margarita pairings with her tacos (yuzu and hibiscus—yum!), or just go with the classic on the rocks with salt. I think I’ve started a fantastic new tradition!
Taco party (clockwise from top left): Chicken Chili Verde Corn Street Tacos, Coconut Shrimp Mini Tacos, Tuna Poke Tacos. Brown Butter Strawberry Skillet Torte with Sweet Cream,
, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking. Strawberry season makes me so happy. Discovering great strawberry dishes makes it even better. This one-dish torte is assembled, baked, and served in the same skillet—always a great bonus.
Brown Butter Strawberry Skillet Torte with Sweet Cream - , DEVOUR. Odette Williams, an Australian cook and writer living in New York, recently started this Substack. In one of her initial posts, she shared this pasta recipe that’s simple, yet full of lemony, cheesy, and chivy goodness. It’s the perfect Friday night dinner when you’re low on energy, but want to eat something delicious.
Spaghetti al Limone Banana Mlik Bread and Bananas Maple Sesame French Toast,
, Have You Eaten Yet? This banana milk bread recipe gave me the perfect excuse to finally use the Pullman loaf pan I bought a few months ago. Small wins! My kitchen smelled amazing—cinnamon-y, bread-y, and sweet)—I wish I could’ve bottled and sold the scent! And the taste didn’t disappoint either. A few days later, I made a maple tahini-based French toast with the leftovers, and it had me equally awestruck.
Banana Milk Bread, Bananas Maple Sesame French Toast - , Dinner A Love Story. This rum-based cocktail combines rhubarb simple syrup (so easy to make), lime juice, and white rum, shaken and served on the rocks. It’s incredibly refreshing, has a pretty pink hue, and makes the perfect pre-dinner springtime drink.
Rhubarb Daiquiri - . Babka, one of my favorite foods, has been on my list of 2025 culinary resolutions, since I’ve surprisingly never made one myself. When I spotted this recipe with its unique, non-traditional twist (coconut!), I was immediately intrigued. While babka takes some technique and patience (braiding the dough is trickier than it looks), any effort is quickly forgotten once you taste its greatness.
Salted Coconut Babka - , Good Mood Food. If you read last week’s post, you all know how much I love dates. I discovered this recipe from a Substack note, though it originally went viral on Instagram. It’s totally worth the hype and is now officially on my list of favorite date recipes. The dish is warm, sweet, crunchy, tangy, salty, and deeply comforting. And I’ll be making it at least once a week for the foreseeable future.
Caramelized Bananas with Butter-Fried Dates over Greek Yogurt with Walnuts, Olive Oil, and Flaky Salt. Chocolate Brownies with a Peanut Butter Filling,
, Just Really Good Recipes. I’ve had this brownie recipe bookmarked for a while, and with two hungry, dessert-loving teens in the house, I figured now was the perfect time to give them a go. If you’re a fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, these brownies—with a layer of peanut butter sandwiched between fudgy, peanut-studded brownie batter—will definitely be your jam. Delightfully rich and seriously delicious. (And especially good eaten cold right out of the fridge!)
Chocolate Brownies with a Peanut Butter Filling - , What to Eat This Week. I love broccoli, and I love Caesar salad. So bringing the two foods together is a beautiful thing. One standout element is the toasted garlicky panko breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. I lightly blanched my broccoli, though I’m sure it would be just as delicious raw, as the original recipe suggests.
Broccoli Caesar Salad Strawberry Mango Burrata Salad,
, Good Mood Food. I like how Carina’s recipes blend bold flavors with simplicity. This dish—made when I was craving something a bit more virtuous—is the peach Caprese salad’s more playful cousin, starring mangoes, strawberries, cucumbers, burrata, and fresh mint.
Kale Salad With Roasted Chickpeas, Avocado + Aged Gouda,
, Keep Calm and Cook On. Julia Turshen shares inspired midday meal recipes on her Substack that are anything but sad desk lunches. This kale salad has become a new favorite. It’s got roasted chickpeas, avocado, and aged gouda (the best cheese) tossed with chopped kale in a simple soy-tahini vinaigrette. If I want a little extra protein, I add some smoked salmon or shredded rotisserie chicken.
A few other great things…
Make these: A perfect start to grilling season, the Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Melted Swiss and Slaw from the Big Night cookbook (one of my favorite cookbooks for inspired entertaining recipes) are absolutely divine. The recipe isn’t available online, but you can get the idea of it from this video.
Try this: I sang the praises of American Spoon preserves in my recent PB&J post, but lately I’ve been especially obsessed with their sour cherry preserves—and looking for any and every excuse to use it, peanut butter sandwiches and beyond.
Go here (if/when in NYC): Last month, I celebrated my birthday in style with the signature fried chicken feast from Cocodaq, a restaurant blending Korean and American traditions. The chicken was delicious and the ambiance had a cool, vibey energy, making it the perfect spot for a special celebration. Chicken nuggets with caviar, anyone? I seriously considered drinking every last drop of the addictive dipping sauces: CQDQ Verde, Pepper Parm, and Gochujang BBQ.
Read this: An interesting article about the changing dynamics of eating out as more people use GLP-1s.
Watch these: Not food-related, but I’ve recently been enjoying Your Friends & Neighbors (AppleTV +) and Sirens (Netflix). Both shows (set in highly privileged worlds and with stellar casts) offer a bit of mystery, plenty of drama, and a healthy dose of dysfunction. All the ingredients for a perfect binge-watch.
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Have a delicious week!
adding Sheryl’s chocolate brownies, Sophia’s coconut babka, and Betty’s tacos three ways to my June cooking list!!
Girl, you were BUSY this month! Very impressive.