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

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

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)

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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)

25 Mouth-Watering Grilled Cheese Recipes

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

FAQs

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 was the most popular food in the 30s? ›

Maybe the most favorite item coming from the 1930s was the new Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies developed in 1938. Photos: Bologna Casserole; Vinegar Pie; Fried Egg Sandwich, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and Lay's Potato Chips.

How many recipes should a home cook know? ›

So we're looking at something like 25-30 recipes mastered (which means you've done it pretty well two or three times) in order to be able to call yourself, in good faith, a Competent Home Chef.

What is the most popular dish ever? ›

Pizza. This classic Italian dish has been a favourite among people of all ages for centuries. There are endless possibilities when it comes to toppings, so everyone can find a pizza that suits their taste buds.

What is the most famous dish ever? ›

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

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.

How much does the average American cook? ›

In 2022, 44% of Americans say they meal prep regularly. 39% of millennials say they wish they'd learned how to cook in school. Women spend an average of 57.2 minutes per day preparing food, while men spend an average of 41.5 minutes each day. Americans spend an average of 46 minutes grocery shopping per trip.

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 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 food was invented in the 1930s? ›

"Even in the Depression, people were so inventive," Cass County Historical Society President Marilyn Fry says of the durable food brands born in the depths of the 1930s. Birds Eye Frosted Foods, sliced Wonder Bread, Hostess Twinkies, Mott's Apple Sauce, Snickers candy bars, French's Worcestershire Sauce.

What food was eaten 100 years ago? ›

Bread, potatoes, cabbage, beans, and various kinds of cereal were the base of local cuisine. There was usually only one dish per meal on the table on regular days. On holidays, there could be several dishes served during the same meal, but they were the same as those cooked on regular days, as a rule.

How often do Millennials cook at home? ›

How Often Do Millennials and Gen Z Cook at Home? Overall, cooking at home is the norm, with Gen Z cooking an average of 5.9 days a week, and Millennials 6.7 days a week. The overwhelming reason behind this comes down to health: 57% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials say they prefer to cook at home because it's healthier.

What age group cooks at home the most? ›

According to a survey we conducted of over 1000 US households, we found that 95% of millennials (age group 18-29) cook weekly at home, compared with 92% of those aged 30-44 and 93% of those aged 45-59.

How many Millennials cook at home? ›

Nearly 90 percent of North American Millennials cooked meals at home in 2022, according to a recent survey. In contrast, only 73 percent of Gen Z cooked their own meals.

Do you think everyone should know how do you cook? ›

Cooking improves your health

There is a whole lotta truth to this statement. Consider that by learning to cook you are not only in control of your calorie intake, but you're also building healthier habits, and the healthier you eat, the more energy you'll have to keep cooking.

Can everyone learn how do you cook? ›

A common misconception is that cooking is a natural talent.

But nobody is born a chef, and everyone can learn to cook with practice. It's not that you either can or can't cook. It's that you do or don't cook.

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