Spinach Artichoke Dip

This baked spinach artichoke dip is a guaranteed party hit! It's deliciously creamy and cheesy, but shhh! A secret veggie ingredient is hiding inside it.

If you want to impress guests at your next holiday party, make this spinach artichoke dip! It’s creamy, cheesy, and rich with briny artichoke flavor. In fact, it’s so good that every time we make it, Jack and I devour it standing at the kitchen counter. We can’t get enough! But I’ll let you in on a secret: this spinach artichoke dip is made of mostly veggies. Sure, it’s loaded with the essentials – spinach and artichokes – but it also contains a surprising veggie ingredient: cauliflower! Instead of using cream cheese, sour cream, or mayonnaise to make this dip’s…

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Pomegranate Rice Salad

This rice salad recipe will brighten up any fall or winter meal! Studded with pomegranates, pistachios, and herbs, it's a stunning, fresh holiday side dish.

How pretty is this rice salad? If you’re looking for an easy holiday side dish that doesn’t skimp on flavor, this recipe is just the thing for you. It’s simple, you can prep it ahead of time, and it’s richly flavorful. A spiced citrus dressing coats the hearty rice, nuts add crunch, and herbs give it fresh, aromatic flavor. Last but not least, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils takes it over the top! Today, we’re partnering with POM Wonderful because Jack and I love pomegranates! He likes to snack on them and I like to use them in salads, dips,…

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Vegan Stuffing

This vegan stuffing recipe is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish! Onions, celery, and sautéed mushrooms fill it with delicious savory flavor.

This vegan stuffing recipe is a plant-based version of my mom’s classic stuffing recipe. Her stuffing has been my favorite part of Thanksgiving ever since I was a kid. She never makes it from a box, but uses fresh bread, lots of butter, onions, and celery instead. It’s richly flavorful, soft in the middle, and crisp on top, and it’s always the first dish I reach for at Thanksgiving dinner. In this vegan stuffing recipe, I keep the celery, onions, and crusty bread, but I use a generous amount of olive oil instead of butter, which adds robust flavor. Then,…

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Made with Yukon gold potatoes and lots of roasted garlic, these garlic mashed potatoes are creamy, rich, and flavorful. An easy, delicious side dish!

The first time I made these garlic mashed potatoes, I didn’t know what my husband Jack would think of them. See, Jack grew up eating his Uncle Billy’s mashed potatoes, and he still reminisces about them. They were creamy, fluffy, and rich with (lots of) melted butter and (lots of) sour cream.  These garlic mashed potatoes aren’t exactly like Uncle Billy’s. Instead of dairy, olive oil and starchy potato cooking water give them an amazing creamy texture, and roasted garlic fills them with rich, nutty depth of flavor. When I tried them, I thought they were delicious, but Jack’s opinion would…

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Butternut Squash Soup

Served piping hot with a hunk of crusty bread, this creamy, nourishing butternut squash soup recipe is fall comfort food at its best.

My favorite fall tradition is making butternut squash soup on Sunday afternoons. On a brisk day, there’s nothing more soothing than chopping and simmering vegetables over a warm stove. As you cook, the kitchen fills with the cozy scent of sage, rosemary, and butternut squash, and when you’re finished, steaming bowls of butternut squash soup (that will last all week!) reward you for your work. In the past, my go-to butternut squash soup recipe has included coconut milk and curry spices, but this fall, I found myself craving one that was a bit more traditional. When I say traditional, I…

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Eggplant Parmesan

This baked eggplant Parmesan recipe will become one of your family favorites! Crispy eggplant is layered with herbs, tomato sauce, and cheese.

Growing up, my mom’s eggplant Parmesan recipe was one of my favorite things to eat. My family ate dinner together every night, and my mom always cooked it from scratch. Tomato sauce never came from a jar, and cheese was never pre-shredded because convenience foods like that were simply not worth the extra expense. Dinnertime was a sound routine for all of us… unless it was summer. Then, my sister and I had more important matters at hand. We had to keep lookout for the ice cream man, hold swing set jumping contests, and run relays in our jelly shoes.…

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51 Best Brunch Recipes

Looking for new brunch ideas? Try one of our 51 best brunch recipes! With plenty of sweet and savory options, we've got something for everyone.

Brunch might be the most popular meal there is, and for good reason! It’s the perfect combination of breakfast and lunch—you can opt for savory fare like chilaquiles or a slice of quiche or satisfy your sweet tooth with cinnamon rolls or a stack of pancakes. At the brunch table, anything goes. I’m sharing 51 of my best brunch ideas below. Filled with easy, doable, and delicious recipes, this list includes sweet brunch ideas, savory brunch ideas, and our best brunch drinks. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for a big holiday brunch or a lazy weekend meal for two, you’re sure…

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Valentine’s Day Recipes

These treats, snacks, date-night dinners, and desserts are perfect for a Valentine's Day celebration! Vegan and gluten-free options included.

I hope you have some special Valentine’s plans this week! Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for heart-shaped treats. As an adult, it’s one of the most special holidays that Jack and I celebrate. Traditionally, it’s the one night a year that he cooks by himself, and whatever he decides to make is always a surprise. His trip to the grocery store, with zero guidance, is an approximately 2-hour adventure, and by the time dinner is done, every pot in the kitchen has been used. Suffice it to say that we’ve…

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Orange Shortbread Cookies

Orange zest gives these classic shortbread cookies a little citrus flair. Enjoy them at the holidays or anytime you're craving a sweet treat.

I don’t do crafty baking very often, but I had so much fun making and decorating these orange shortbread cookies! This orange shortbread cookie recipe is based on the lemon shortbread cookies that I made last year. That recipe is a fan favorite, so I thought I’d do a more festive version of it for Christmas. This time, I cut the cookies into stars and decorated them with orange zest and these cute Supernatural white sequin sprinkles. How to Make Orange Shortbread Want to learn how to make these cookies? Here’s what you need to do: First, cream together the…

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Kale & Olive Oil Vegan Mashed Potatoes

This rustic vegan mashed potatoes recipe is made with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, scallions, and kale. A delicious, easy vegetarian holiday side dish!

Thanksgiving is next week, but I’ve been eating mashed potatoes for a while now because blogging life means eating holiday recipes early! I first made these vegan mashed potatoes for a family dinner a few weeks ago. While I was in the kitchen mashing stuff in a bowl, my brother-in-law came over and asked, “What’s in the mashed potatoes?” I said, “Potatoes…” and he said, “No, I mean, what’s the ‘potato’…is it cauliflower…is it parsnips?” He knows me so well. It dawned on me how rarely I make actual potatoes, but we’re changing that today. This Thanksgiving our potatoes are…

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Creamy Vegan Butternut Squash Pudding

Creamy vegan butternut squash pudding is better than pumpkin pie and is 10 times easier! Just roast, blend & chill to make this wonderful pudding.

Skip pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, and make butternut squash pudding instead! This yummy pudding is creamy and oh so pumpkin-like, but it’s made with fresh roasted squash. It’s super easy to make – just roast butternut squash, blend, and chill. Here’s how this one came about. A few weeks ago, I made these butternut sandwiches, and multiple tests of this butternut curry. By the end of that week, I had lots of squash parts leftover (particularly because those sandwiches required just the long plank pieces). My first thought, of course, was to make soup. My second thought was to ask…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Welcome to Love & Lemons!

I'm Jeanine Donofrio, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author and recipe developer. I share fresh, delicious vegetarian recipes that celebrate seasonal ingredients and flavors.

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