Italian Pasta Salad

This Italian pasta salad recipe is fresh and delicious! A zesty Italian dressing, veggies, olives, pepperoncini, and cheese fill it with bold flavor.

I’ve made this Italian pasta salad for all our picnics and potlucks over the last few weeks. When I added the ingredients to my shopping list again this morning, I knew I had to share the recipe! This Italian pasta salad is full of bold, zesty flavor. It starts with colorful veggies, oodles of noodles, and chewy mozzarella cheese. Then, I add olives and pepperoncini for tangy, briny flavor and fresh herbs for an aromatic pop. To tie it all together, I douse it in my homemade Italian dressing. It’s a perfect recipe for summer gatherings because, like many pasta salads, you can…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Watermelon Salad with Feta

This refreshing watermelon salad recipe is meant for hot summer days. Made with feta, cucumber, and mint, it's a perfect mix of savory and sweet.

summer / salads

This watermelon salad recipe is everything I want on a summer day. At this time of year, I can’t get enough of salads made with peak-season fruits and veggies. I especially love a good sweet and salty combination. This watermelon salad with feta, cucumber, mint, and a tangy lime dressing is exactly that. The recipe takes minutes to throw together, and it’s incredibly refreshing. Try it once, and—if you’re anything like me—you’ll have it on repeat for the rest of watermelon season. Watermelon Salad Recipe Ingredients If you’ve never tried watermelon in a savory setting, you have to make this…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Macaroni Salad

This macaroni salad recipe is a crowd-pleasing side dish! A creamy dressing, crunchy veggies, and pickles pack it with delicious textures and flavors.

summer / side dishes

This classic macaroni salad recipe is a hit at potlucks and cookouts! Based on the macaroni salad I ate at summer gatherings as a kid, it features a creamy dressing and crunchy veggies like celery, red bell peppers, and onion. Diced dill pickles add a pop of tangy, savory flavor to the salad, and a splash of pickle juice punches up the dressing. This macaroni salad is easy to make, and it’s perfect for making ahead. Prep it a few hours or even a day before a picnic or BBQ, and chill it until you’re ready to serve. The flavors get…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Marinated Gigante Beans

These marinated gigante beans are a delicious appetizer or lunch! Olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, garlic, and herbs infuse them with savory flavor.

This marinated gigante beans recipe is an easy, delicious kitchen staple. A flavorful blend of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, lemon zest, and parsley coats the big, creamy white beans. They’re rich, tangy, and intensely savory. Try them once, and you’ll make them on repeat for picnics, appetizer platters, and protein-packed lunches. Before I developed this recipe, I regularly bought marinated gigante beans from the olive bar at my grocery store. I loved the taste, but I was always disappointed by their mushy texture. These homemade marinated gigante beans solve that problem. Made with good-quality canned beans or dried beans…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Easy Pasta Salad

This fresh, easy pasta salad recipe comes together in under 30 minutes! Tossed in a tangy vinaigrette and filled with veggies, it's a cookout hit.

summer / salads

Today’s recipe is a picnic-perfect pasta salad! Every cookout needs a great pasta salad, and this is the one that I make all summer long. It comes together in no time, it’s full of fresh ingredients, and it packs a flavorful punch. I took extra care to make sure that this recipe is not just easy, but also easy to make in advance… because I totally get that you don’t want to be futzing with your pasta salad when you could be spending time outside with your friends. Note: If you do decide to make this salad in advance, toss…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Best Broccoli Salad

Meet my favorite broccoli salad recipe...aka the best cookout side dish! With a lightly creamy, tangy dressing, it's fresh, healthy, and delicious.

summer / salads

This broccoli salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes. It’s my lighter spin on classic Midwest broccoli salad, and though you won’t find any cheese or bacon here, it’s every bit as delicious. A creamy, tangy dressing coats crisp broccoli florets, chewy dried cranberries, sharp red onion, and smoky roasted nuts. Even salad skeptics will love it. This broccoli salad recipe is easy to make, and even better, make ahead. A few hours or a day in the fridge gives the broccoli a chance to soften and soak up the dressing’s punchy flavor. Pack it up for a…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Cowboy Caviar

Made with black-eyed peas, black beans, and veggies, this cowboy caviar is an easy, fresh, and flavorful dip. It'll be a hit at your next potluck or party!

summer / appetizers

Cowboy caviar is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser! This zesty dip is made with black-eyed peas, beans, sweet corn, and other veggies. It’s fresh, tangy, and perfect for scooping up with tortilla chips. This cowboy caviar recipe is super easy to make, and it tastes better if you make it ahead. If you don’t already have a signature dish that you bring to potlucks, cookouts, and other get-togethers, you might have found it. Cowboy Caviar Recipe Ingredients You only need a few simple ingredients to make this cowboy caviar recipe: Black beans and black-eyed peas – They make up the bulk of this…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Creamy Coleslaw

Learn how to make the BEST homemade coleslaw! Filled with red and green cabbage, carrots, and green onions, this easy recipe is healthy and delicious.

summer / side dishes

This easy coleslaw recipe is great for just about any occasion—a weeknight dinner, a cookout, or a fun picnic lunch. Like all my favorite summer recipes, it’s packed with colorful veggies, and a lightly creamy, tangy dressing ties the whole thing together. It comes together in minutes, and it keeps well if you make it ahead of time. Just add veggie burgers, and you’ve got a perfect summer meal! Coleslaw Recipe Ingredients You only need a few basic ingredients to make this homemade coleslaw recipe! I like to think of it in two parts: the coleslaw mix and the dressing.…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Best Egg Salad

The BEST egg salad recipe! Delicious on a sandwich or straight from the bowl, this easy egg salad is creamy, tangy, and bright. A perfect lunch!

spring / vegetarian

I started making this egg salad recipe as a way to use up hard boiled eggs left over from Easter one spring. I thought it would be a one-and-done lunch—just an easy way to use up my leftovers—but to my surprise, I got hooked. Before long, I was boiling more eggs to make more egg salad. This stuff is seriously good! This egg salad recipe is brighter and fresher than most. In my opinion, it’s what a classic egg salad recipe really wants to be. It has a rich, creamy mayo dressing with lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and (optional) capers for a tangy, briny…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

41 Best Carrot Recipes

Looking for new ways to cook carrots? These easy carrot recipes can help! They include fresh salads, cozy soups, the moistest carrot cake, and more.

What are your favorite carrot recipes? If you said classic carrot cake or baby carrots and dip, you’re probably not alone. But I’m sharing 40+ of my best carrot recipes here in the hopes that you’ll try cooking this bright orange vegetable in a new way. They might seem humble, but carrots are insanely versatile. Roasted carrots make a wonderful side dish, for example, and carrot ginger soup is the perfect cozy meal for a cold day. Tangy pickled carrots are great for snacking, while a fresh carrot salad could be the star of your next picnic. Below, you’ll find…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

21 Best Cabbage Recipes

Have a hunk of cabbage you need to use up? Put it to work in these delicious cabbage recipes! They include simple sides, slaws, sandwiches, and more.

Choosing to make a cabbage recipe can feel like a commitment. You’re going to buy a whole entire cabbage in order to add a tiny bit of it to some tacos? What on earth are you going to do with the rest?! My hope is that the cabbage recipes below offer an answer to that question. There are SO MANY ways to cook cabbage—this humble veggie is nothing if not versatile. It can complete a sandwich with a pop of color and crunch. It can transform into a crisp, refreshing slaw or a silky, sweet sauté. You can add it to soup or…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.