The Most Popular Serious Eats Recipes of 2025

The most-clicked, most-cooked Serious Eats recipes of 2025.

By
Leah Colins
A studio portrait of editor Leah Colins.
Leah Colins
Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America's Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK's digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

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Published December 31, 2025
Various popular dishes illustrating recipes for 2025 including pasta brownies and appetizers with labeled title

Serious Eats

2025 was…a lot. But through the chaos, one thing remained reassuringly constant: you kept cooking. Over the past year, we published hundreds of new recipes, including deeply researched comfort food and “wait, I can make that on a weeknight?” meals. The recipes below are the ones you loved most and clicked on the most—the dishes you bookmarked, shared, cooked again, and probably texted to someone with the caption, “MAKE THIS.”

This list skews practical (fluffy pancakes, we see you), chocolate-forward (no notes), and delightfully global, with plenty of creamy, lemony, cozy, and just-a-little-fancy moments in between. Whether you came here for a five-minute mug cake, a bowl of lentil soup that tastes like it simmered all day, or zucchini pasta that somehow convinced you frying vegetables is worth it, these are the recipes that defined Serious Eats cooking in 2025. Here’s what rose to the top—and we can’t blame you for loving them.

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  • The Easiest, Fluffiest Pancakes

    Side view of pouring syrup on pancakes

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    These are the pancakes you make when it’s early, everyone is hungry, and absolutely no one is going to the store for buttermilk. Made entirely with pantry staples, they’re just as easy as a boxed mix—but far better, producing thick, golden pancakes with a tender, fluffy crumb and real flavor.

  • Molten Chocolate Mug Cake

    Spoon of mug cake

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This is the dessert you make when you want cake now, not after preheating an oven or washing a mixing bowl. Made entirely from pantry staples and cooked in the microwave, it delivers a warm, rich chocolate cake with a gooey center in just minutes. It’s proof that, when used correctly, the microwave can be a powerful tool for serious dessert emergencies.

  • Sahlab (A Creamy Levantine Winter Drink)

    Two glasses of sahlab topped with pistachios and spices on a tray

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    If hot chocolate is your default cold-weather comfort drink, sahlab is about to steal its spot. This creamy, gently thickened milk drink—perfumed with vanilla and orange blossom water and finished with cinnamon and pistachios—is cozy, fragrant, and deeply soothing.

  • Spaghetti alla Nerano (Spaghetti With Fried Zucchini)

    Side angle view of Spaghetti alla Narano

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This iconic Amalfi Coast pasta proves that zucchini, when treated correctly, can turn itself into a luxuriously creamy sauce. Thin slices of summer squash are fried, cooled, and mashed until they emulsify with cheese and starchy pasta water, coating every strand of spaghetti. It’s simple, deeply satisfying Italian cooking—and yes, it’s the zucchini pasta Stanley Tucci famously loves.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Chicken Paillard (Chicken With Lemon-Herb Butter Sauce)

    A plate with chicken paillard and a side of greens, placed on a wooden table with a fork and a napkin

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    This French-inspired chicken paillard is proof that weeknight dinners don’t need to be complicated to feel special. Pounded thin and cooked quickly, the chicken stays juicy with a golden-brown exterior, then gets finished with a bright, lemony herb butter that comes together in minutes.

  • Lebanese Lentil Soup

    Lebanese brown lentil soup in a bowl with a dollop of yogurt served with pieces of potato and lentils visible

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This Lebanese lentil and lemon soup balances earthy lentils with tangy citrus and tender greens for a vibrant, comforting meal.

  • No-Bake Fudgy Chocolate Squares

    A plate of layered chocolate squares with a fudgy and textured appearance topped with sea salt

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    These no-bake chocolate squares are the answer when it’s too hot out to even think about turning on the oven. Sweetened condensed milk does the heavy lifting, setting into a creamy, fudgy filling without any heat and delivering a texture that lands somewhere between brownies, fudge, and mousse. Finished with a cookie crust and glossy ganache, they’re rich—and the perfect excuse to stay cool while making dessert.

  • Labneh Dip

    A hand dipping a piece of bread into a baked cheese and herb dish served in a terracotta bowl

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    One thing we learned this year is that Serious Eats readers love a good dip—and we fully support that. This creamy labneh dip, swirled with herb oil, honey, and chili crisp, is tangy, rich, spicy, and just a little sweet. It comes together in minutes and disappears even faster.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Chicken Saltimbocca

    Two plates of chicken saltimbocca with sauce broccolini and lemon wedges on a table setting

    Serious Eats / Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey

    This chicken saltimbocca delivers everything you want from the Italian classic: crisp, golden cutlets; savory prosciutto; and a bright, lemony pan sauce that pulls it all together. Despite its dinner-party reputation, it comes together in under an hour, making it just as suitable for a Tuesday night as it is for company.

  • Hot-Smoked Salmon

    Overhead view of smoked salmon

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

    I was pleasantly surprised (and honestly thrilled) to see an outdoor, grill-friendly recipe crack the top 10 this year. Hot-smoked salmon is gently cooked until silky and tender inside, with a smoky, slightly sweet flavor that feels special without being fussy.

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