These Are the Serious Eats Recipes Everyone's Saving This January

Here are the Serious Eats recipes readers saved most this January.

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 January 16, 2026
Bowl of barley and cranberry bean soup being served with a spoon dish in a rustic setting

Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

January is when good intentions meet cold weather—and judging by your saves with MyRecipes—our free tool for saving and organizing recipes from Serious Eats and beyond—comfort food is winning (no judgment here). This month's most-saved recipes lean hearty and soothing without tipping fully into food-coma territory: Think brothy bean soups, lemony chicken, satisfying potatoes, and weeknight-friendly garlic bread that understands its assignment. Nearly all of these favorites are newer additions to the site, suggesting you're ready to cook something fresh—even if "fresh" still means warm, starchy, and served in a bowl. The lone outlier? Million-dollar spaghetti, an unapologetically rich classic that proves sometimes the best resolution is extra cheese.

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  • Million Dollar Spaghetti

    A serving of baked spaghetti on a plate garnished with herbs with a baking dish in the background

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley

    This is what happens when spaghetti decides to live a more luxurious life. Million-dollar spaghetti is an unapologetically indulgent church-social classic that’s been holding potlucks together across the Midwest and South for decades. Instead of the usual ricotta or cottage cheese layer, this version uses a béchamel enriched with mozzarella and Parmesan, creating a velvety, pourable cheese sauce that glides between noodles and meat—like creamy lasagna, minus the structural anxiety.

  • 5-Ingredient Greek Chickpea Stew (Revithia)

    A bowl of chickpea stew garnished with herbs and oil served in a decorative plate

    Serious Eats / Niedle Creative

    This streamlined five-ingredient chickpea stew channels the spirit of classic Greek revithia, showcasing Greek cooking at its best: humble ingredients transformed through time-tested techniques. This version leans fully into stew territory, with tender chickpeas and a rich, savory broth that tastes far more complex than its short ingredient list suggests.

  • Easy Weeknight Garlic Bread

    Overhead view of garlic bread

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This is fast garlic bread that doesn’t taste rushed. A combination of fresh garlic and bloomed garlic powder delivers deep, roasty-sweet flavor in under 15 minutes, while a quick flip in the oven ensures both sides are evenly toasted and gloriously crisp.

  • Cabbage Soup With Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Coconut Milk

    A bowl of cabbage soup with lime wedges and a spoon

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    This one-pot cabbage soup delivers deep flavor and real comfort in under an hour. It pushes back against cabbage soup’s austere reputation, using layered seasoning to prove how satisfying a cabbage-based soup can be. Spices, citrus, and coconut milk bring richness and balance, resulting in a hearty, meal-worthy bowl that never feels heavy.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Stella Parks' Ultimate Banana Nut Bread

    20160826-banana-bread-vicky-wasik-17.jpg
    Serious Eats Team

    The key to making the ultimate banana nut bread is using a blend of spices to amplify the banana flavor, along with a few other tricks to keep the crumb moist and tender.

  • Northern Italian Barley and Cranberry Bean Soup

    Bowl of barley and cranberry bean soup being served with a spoon dish in a rustic setting

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    This is a simple, patient pot of food that rewards careful timing and restraint. Dried cranberry beans are simmered until tender, while barley is added late to thicken the broth without making the soup gluey.

  • The Ultimate Baked Potato

    20161004-baked-potato-vicky-wasik-10.jpg
    Photograph and video: Vicky Wasik

    A great baked potato should be fluffy and cloudlike—not bland and forgettable. This recipe breaks the process down into two simple but crucial steps: baking the potato the right way, then serving it properly. Roughly mashed with butter and seasoning, a humble spud becomes a genuinely great side (or dinner).

  • Chicken Francese (Rochester-Style Chicken Cutlets With Lemon Pan Sauce)

    Chicken Francese served in a pan with lemon slices and sauce

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    This lemony chicken dish, with French roots and Italian-American flair, has long been a staple of Rochester’s red-sauce dining rooms. Thin, evenly pounded cutlets cook quickly and stay tender, while adding lemon juice off heat keeps the sauce bright and balanced. A final swirl of cold butter emulsifies everything into a smooth, glossy pan sauce worth spooning over every last bite.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

    Baked Pot pie with one serving taken out of skillet and on a plate. Skillet is on a white tablecloth and has serving plates around it.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Chicken pot pie is peak sweater-weather comfort—but it doesn’t have to be an all-day project. This streamlined version delivers plenty of vegetables, tender chicken, and a creamy filling tucked beneath a shatteringly crisp crust, without the usual fuss.

  • Roasted Butternut Squash Stuffed with Kefta and Couscous

    Butternut squash halves stuffed with a spiced couscous and mixed topping served on a white plate

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

    This roasted stuffed squash looks like a weekend project, but the oven does most of the work. Spiced kefta and fluffy couscous turn sweet butternut squash into a hearty, complete meal with serious visual payoff. It’s impressive enough for a chilly weekend gathering, yet easy enough to pull off on a Wednesday night.

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