French recipes
71 French recipes for a home kitchen, from 5 minutes. Have some of the ingredients already? Match them to what you have.
Dinner
25 min
French · dinner
Tomato and garlic mussels with toast
A pot of mussels in a quick tomato and white wine broth, with toasted sourdough to mop it up.
25 min
French · dinner
Mussels with cider and leeks
Mussels steamed in dry hard cider with leeks, then finished with a splash of cream. A Normandy-style pot where the broth is as good as the shellfish.
25 min
French · dinner
Pan-roasted sole with sherry butter
Sole fillets pan-cooked and served with a glossy sherry and shallot butter sauce. A short, elegant weeknight fish dish.
25 min
French · dinner
Trout almondine
Pan-seared trout fillets with a quick brown butter sauce of toasted sliced almonds, lemon and parsley. A fast, tidy dinner in 25 minutes.
25 min
French · dinner
Steak au poivre
Peppercorn-crusted steaks with a cognac and cream pan sauce.
30 min
French · dinner
Roast lamb chops with shallot and thyme jus
Chops are browned, finished in the oven, then a quick pan sauce of shallot, thyme and stock is swirled with butter. Elegant and ready in half an hour.
30 min
French · dinner
Peppercorn flank steak with shallot cream sauce
Cracked-pepper steak seared and rested, with a quick pan sauce of shallot, beef stock and a little cream. Slice it thinly across the grain.
30 min
French · dinner
Langoustine tartare with lemon and caviar
Sweet raw langoustine tails cut (not puréed) for bite, seasoned with fleur de sel, lemon and olive oil, layered with avocado and thin kohlrabi and crowned with caviar.
30 min
French · dinner
Sole meunière
Whole Dover sole (or fluke) skinned, dusted in flour, pan-fried and basted in foaming butter, then finished with a nutty brown butter sauce of lemon, parsley and capers.
30 min
French · dinner
French sausage and green lentils
Browned pork sausages served over tender green lentils cooked with carrot, onion and thyme, then brightened with a spoonful of Dijon mustard.
30 min
French · dinner
Pork medallions with prune pan sauce
Seared pork tenderloin medallions with a pan sauce of soft prunes, shallot, cider and mustard. Sweet and savory in about half an hour.
30 min
French · dinner
Salmon and fennel in parchment
Salmon and thin fennel slices baked in sealed parchment packets with lemon and tarragon. The trapped steam keeps the fish moist, and cleanup is almost nothing.
40 min
French · dinner
Silky buttered potato purée
Very smooth mashed potato made by ricing boiled Yukon Golds and beating in butter and warm milk.
45 min
French · dinner
Peppercorn steak with oven fries
Pepper-crusted sirloin with a cream pan sauce built on shallot and beef stock, served with fries roasted in the oven.
45 min
French · dinner
Tarte flambée
Alsatian thin-crust flatbread topped with crème fraîche, bacon lardons and sweet onion.
50 min
French · dinner
Pommes purée
Ultra-silky French mashed potatoes: Yukon Golds cooked in their skins, passed through a ricer or sieve, and whipped with an extravagant amount of cold butter and warm milk.
50 min
French · dinner
Cauliflower gratin
Tender cauliflower baked in Gruyère béchamel under crisp breadcrumbs.
60 min
French · dinner
Sweetbreads with cauliflower and black truffle cream sauce
Golden, juicy seared veal sweetbreads and blanched cauliflower in a reduced stock and cream sauce, finished with black truffle.
60 min
French · dinner
Crispy pork terrine with brothy beans and shallot-parsley salad
Slow-braised pork pressed into a terrine, sliced and fried until crisp outside and sticky inside, served on buttery, brothy white beans with a sharp parsley and shallot salad.
60 min
French · dinner
Pommes dauphine
Light, pillowy potato puffs made by folding mashed potato into choux pastry, then frying spoonfuls until golden.
60 min
French · dinner
Lobster thermidor
Lobster meat in a rich mustard-cognac cream sauce, spooned back into the shells, topped with cheese and broiled golden.
60 min
French · dinner
Chicken cordon bleu
Pounded chicken breasts rolled around ham and Swiss, breaded and baked until golden and oozing, with a Dijon cream sauce.
60 min
French · dinner
Gruyère cheese soufflé
Classic French cheese soufflé: tall, golden and trembling, with a creamy Gruyère center.
75 min
French · dinner
Pommes Anna
A golden potato cake of overlapping paper-thin Yukon Gold slices layered with clarified butter and salt, baked until crisp outside and tender within, then turned out whole.
75 min
French · dinner
Classic ratatouille
Provençal stew of eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, each browned then simmered together.
75 min
French · dinner
Home-style bouillabaisse
Marseille fish stew with saffron, fennel and orange, served with garlicky rouille toasts.
90 min
French · dinner
Potato gratin
Thin-sliced potatoes baked in garlicky cream with Gruyère until golden and tender.
120 min
French · dinner
Coq au vin
Chicken pieces marinated overnight in red wine with aromatics, then browned and slowly braised in that wine with bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions until falling off the bone.
120 min
French · dinner
French onion soup with Gruyère and Comté
Paper-thin yellow onions caramelized slowly to deep brown, simmered in a rich roasted-bone beef broth and baked under toasted baguette and a blanket of Gruyère and Comté.
180 min
French · dinner
Weeknight-friendly cassoulet
A simplified version of the French classic: white beans baked with duck legs, Toulouse-style sausage and lamb in a garlicky, herby broth under a golden crumb crust.
210 min
French · dinner
Beef bourguignon
Beef (cheeks or chuck) braised in red wine with onions and herbs until spoonable, finished with crispy bacon, browned mushrooms and pearl onions.
240 min
French · dinner
Pot-au-feu
France's slow-simmered beef and vegetable boil: broth as a first course, then meat and vegetables with mustard and cornichons.
Lunch & snacks
5 min
French · lunch
Homemade mayonnaise
Thick, tangy mayonnaise from egg yolk, mustard, lemon and oil in two minutes with an immersion blender.
15 min
French · lunch
Endive salad with walnuts and blue cheese
Crisp endive spears with pear, toasted walnuts and blue cheese in mustard vinaigrette.
15 min
French · lunch
Garlic aïoli
Classic Provençal garlic emulsion of mashed garlic, egg yolk, lemon and olive oil.
25 min
French · lunch
Frisée salad with lardons and poached egg
Bistro salade lyonnaise: bitter frisée, crispy bacon lardons, warm vinaigrette and a runny egg.
35 min
French · lunch
Croque monsieur
The French café sandwich: good ham and Gruyère between slices of pain de mie spread with Dijon, topped with silky béchamel and more cheese, and baked until golden and bubbling.
35 min
French · lunch
Bistro chicken salad with tarragon
Warm baby potatoes and crisp green beans with sliced chicken, dressed in a mustard, sherry vinegar and tarragon vinaigrette with minced shallot.
35 min
French · lunch
Salade niçoise
A composed French salad of tuna, potatoes, green beans, eggs, olives and tomatoes with a mustard vinaigrette.
35 min
French · lunch
French lentil salad with herbs and feta
Firm green lentils in a mustardy shallot vinaigrette with herbs and crumbled feta.
40 min
French · lunch
Shrimp bisque with tomato and leek
The shells do the work here: fried with leek and tomato paste, then simmered into a deep, quick stock before the shrimp go in. A splash of cream finishes it.
40 min
French · lunch
Savory cheese palmiers
Puff pastry spirals with Parmesan, mustard and herbs, baked crisp—a fast party snack.
45 min
French · lunch
Pommes darphin
A thick, golden potato cake of buttery julienned potatoes, crisp outside and tender within.
60 min
French · lunch
Savory fridge-clean-out cake (cake salé)
French loaf cake studded with cheese, ham and whatever vegetables need using up.
Breakfast
5 min
French · breakfast
Classic French omelette
A smooth, pale, tender rolled omelette with a soft, custardy center.
10 min
French · breakfast
Soft scrambled eggs
Low-and-slow, creamy small-curd scrambled eggs finished with butter and chives.
20 min
French · breakfast
Cheese omelet soufflé
A puffed, airy omelet made with whipped whites, finished in the oven with cheese.
40 min
French · breakfast
Pain perdu with salted caramel and vanilla mascarpone cream
Thick slices of day-old brioche soaked in a vanilla custard, caramelized in butter and sugar, and served with salted caramel and whipped mascarpone cream.
40 min
French · breakfast
Classic French crêpes
Thin, tender crêpes for sweet or savory fillings, from chocolate-hazelnut spread and banana to ham and Gruyère.
45 min
French · breakfast
Oeufs en meurette
Burgundian poached eggs in a glossy red wine, bacon and mushroom sauce over garlic toast.
Baking & sweets
20 min
French · baking
Classic chocolate mousse
Airy dark chocolate mousse made with eggs and whipped cream.
30 min
French · baking
Chocolate truffles
Rich ganache truffles rolled in cocoa, nuts or sprinkles.
35 min
French · baking
Individual chocolate soufflés
Tall, airy dark chocolate soufflés with molten centers.
35 min
French · baking
Palmier cookies
Caramelized two-ingredient puff pastry hearts made with sugar and a pinch of salt.
40 min
French · baking
Almond tea cakes
Small, moist almond-flour cakes with browned butter and a crackly sliced-almond top.
50 min
French · baking
Small skillet apple tarte tatin
Caramelised apples under puff pastry, flipped out of a small pan. Vanilla yogurt instead of cream.
50 min
French · baking
Cheese gougères
Crisp, airy French choux puffs loaded with Gruyère (or Comté) and black pepper. Perfect warm with drinks.
55 min
French · baking
Cherry clafoutis
Limousin dessert of cherries baked in a custardy, almost flan-like batter.
75 min
French · baking
Baguette de tradition
The Paris-style traditional baguette: just flour, water, salt, levain and a little yeast, mixed cool, fermented slowly overnight in the fridge and baked with steam for a thin, crackling crust and creamy crumb.
75 min
French · baking
Easy pear galette
Free-form flaky pastry folded around spiced, thinly sliced pears on a frangipane-style almond layer, baked until bronzed.
75 min
French · baking
Vanilla crème brûlée
Classic baked vanilla bean custard with a glassy caramelized sugar crust.
90 min
French · baking
Chocolate éclair doughnuts
Fried choux crullers filled with pastry cream and dipped in chocolate.
90 min
French · baking
French lemon tart
Crisp sweet pastry shell filled with a bright, buttery lemon curd.
90 min
French · baking
Madeleines
Shell-shaped French butter cakes with the signature hump, flavored with lemon and brown butter.
120 min
French · baking
Raspberry choux buns with craquelin
Choux buns baked under a crisp sugar-butter craquelin disc, filled with raspberry pastry cream and finished with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
120 min
French · baking
Quiche Lorraine
A crisp, flaky all-butter tart shell filled with silky egg custard, smoky bacon lardons and plenty of Gruyère.
120 min
French · baking
Classic éclairs
Long choux pastries filled with vanilla pastry cream and dipped in glossy chocolate glaze.
120 min
French · baking
Fresh fruit tart
Buttery sweet tart shell with vanilla pastry cream and glazed fresh berries and fruit.
150 min
French · baking
Home-laminated butter croissants
Classic croissants made with a cold, high-protein dough and a block of dry, high-fat butter, laminated with three folds, rolled with seven humps and baked for a big rise and an open honeycomb crumb.
150 min
French · baking
Bûche de Noël
A Yule log of airy flourless chocolate sponge rolled around chocolate mousse and coated in ganache scored to look like bark.
180 min
French · baking
Croquembouche
A tower of vanilla cream-filled choux puffs glued together with amber caramel.
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