Here are the recipes our editors and writers are loving.
Hannah Wong/BuzzFeed
1. Squash Blossom Ricotta Pie
"OK, I admit I made this pie not because I was craving squash, but because it looked SO. DAMN. BEAUTIFUL. I mean, it's a pie topped with a ton of flowers and little spirals of squash. But, turns out it tastes pretty darn good, too.
The pie itself, while a bit of a project, isn't tooooo difficult to make. The filling is a simple ricotta and goat cheese mixture that bakes similar to a lasagna filling. The flowers get browned and crispy and provide a nice little crunch.
While squash blossoms may be a bit hard to find this time of the season, you could totally make this without — it just won't have the same grand appearance." —Jesse Szewczyk
Get the recipe here.
2. Carrot Cake with Blond Chocolate Frosting
Scott Loitsch / BuzzFeed
"I love carrot cake — but actually am not the biggest fan of walnuts in a carrot cake, so when I found this recipe from "The Artful Baker," which swapped out the walnuts for brown-butter (which gives a similarly nutty flavor) I was intrigued. To be honest I don't think the brown butter comes through all that strong, but it's still a REALLY good carrot cake.
In my opinion, the frosting was the star of the show. It isn't too sweet and it's got really great texture. I also loved the addition of the melted chocolate to a cream cheese frosting! I've never used blond chocolate before but I'm sure white chocolate would work just as well. Just make sure to chill the frosting in the fridge for an hour or so before decorating - it takes a while to firm up!" —Scott Loitsch
Get the recipe here.
3. Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi
Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed
"Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi might just be one of the hardest items to get your hands on in New York City. I have made countless trips to my local TJ's by 8:30 a.m., only to find they've already sold out of this cult favorite item. So when my coworker gave me a package of this elusive cauliflower gnocchi, I had to try it immediately.
This gnocchi is gluten-free because it's made with tapioca flour, and there are 330 calories in the entire bag. I cooked it for myself and my very skeptical fiancé, and we were both blown away. The gnocchi was a bit softer than traditional potato gnocchi, and the tapioca flour gives it a slightly sticky consistency, but overall it tastes very similar to the real stuff. We pretty much licked our plates clean.
Not only is it healthy and satisfying, but the frozen cauliflower gnocchi is also a quick and easy weeknight meal. I didn't use a recipe, but I boiled the gnocchi for about 5 minutes, tossed it in a store bought tomato sauce (which I jazzed up with some garlic, red pepper flakes, and pesto), and finally I topped it with some mozzarella cheese. I will be lining up at Trader Joe's before it opens to get my hands on more of this stuff." —Hannah Loewentheil
4. Focaccia
"I'm a big fan of focaccia, and this recipe is truly fool-proof, even if you're never made bread before. I love the craggy pockets, and it has a perfectly pillowy interior. If you don't happen to eat the entire loaf in one sitting, you can freeze it for later.
I love eating this focaccia on a Sunday morning with a runny, fried egg on top." — Alexis deBoschnek
Get the recipe here.
5. Pumpkin and Coconut Waffles
Clean Food Dirty Cty / Via cleanfooddirtycity.com
"My roommate took this gluten-free waffle recipe and adapted them into vegan pancakes. Unfortunately, we don't have a waffle iron, but these came out SO yummy (and honestly, I'm not even a big pancake or pumpkin person).
The batter is thicker than normal pancake batter, so they tasted less "cake-y" to me, and I loved that! They're also super easy to make and they made my apartment smell delicious." —Nichole Francois
Get the recipe here.
6. Honey Garlic Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry
Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed
"IMHO, stir fry is one of the greatest culinary inventions of all time. First of all, you can use whatever is in your fridge. Secondly, it comes together quickly and with very minimal effort, making it one of my favorite weeknight dinners.
I make stir fries all the time, but this honey garlic shrimp recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction is one of my favorites, and it's a meal I come back to time and time again.
It calls for five ingredients: Honey, soy sauce, garlic, shrimp, and olive oil, but you can dress it up with whatever you have on hand. I like to add some Asian stir-fry veggies, scallions, and black sesame seeds. I serve the stir-fry over rice to make it more filling, and it's always so satisfying. If I know I'm going to make this stir-fry at night, I let the shrimp marinate in the fridge all day. Then when I'm ready to cook, the whole meal comes together in about 20 minutes flat." —Hannah Loewentheil
Get the recipe here.
7. Easy Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken
Ghazalle Badiozamani/ The Kitchn / Via thekitchn.com
"As a single person cooking for myself most of the time, I'm always looking for variations on the big-batch chicken and vegetable combo. When my Texas roots had me craving some good BBQ, I did a quick Google search and the internet answered with this super simple recipe.
Brushing the chicken every ten minutes takes a little bit of work but the final thick, caramelized coating of sauce is worth the extra effort. I made the chicken with two quick sides: coleslaw with this easy sour cream dressing, and a can of ranch-style beans. Of course it's not exactly the same as my favorite BBQ spot back home, but this dinner took an hour to make (and I was mostly watching Netflix the whole time rather than cooking), so I couldn't ask for a homemade recipe that's more comforting and delicious." — Natalie Brown
Get the recipe here.
8. Pumpkin Meringue Pie
"I wanted to make a pie — It seemed like the right way to celebrate the official start of fall. And while everyone is obsessed with pumpkin everything, I find it a little boring IMHO. Luckily, this recipe calls for a meringue topping that takes your usual pumpkin pie to the next level.
It's basically just a simple, delicious pie made better with a merignue topping, which is just egg whites and sugar that get whipped until light and foamy. I loved it and can't wait to make it again." —Jesse Szewczyk
Get the recipe here.
9. Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Delia Cai/BuzzFeed
"Adulthood is mostly responsibility and paying bills, but one of its rare pleasures include buying a basic slow cooker and making some comforting beef stew for yourself. This recipe involves enough prep work to feel like you're really ~hustling~ for your meal, but then you can chill out and let the slow cooker do the real grunt work while it fills your apartment with the delicious smell of stew.
Once it's done, you have then five meals' worth of delicious, hearty beef stew. This recipe is a necessary (and very tasty) addition to anyone's home cooking arsenal." — Delia Cai
Get the recipe here.
10. Copycat Taco Bell Crunch Wrap
Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed
"I was working on an article recently where I tried out a bunch of copycat restaurant recipes at home, and a homemade version of Taco Bell's Crunchwrap was my favorite by a long shot. Every bite is crunchy, creamy, savory, and cheesy, and the homemade version tastes much fresher than anything you'd eat from a fast food restaurant.
Making it is simple. First, you brown some ground beef (you could also use chicken, turkey, or even tofu) and heat up a flour tortilla. You fill the tortilla with the meat filling, a hard taco shell, and then all your toppings such as sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. Fold everything up and put it back on the stove until it's warm, golden-brown, and melted. It's an easy comfort food recipe I know I'll be making again." —Hannah Loewentheil
Get the recipe here.
