Fifteen Favorite Recipe Websites

Are you looking for new ideas to try in the kitchen? We've selected 15 websites that may be just the thing for your browser's favorites list! Each of the following sites provides recipes for free, without registration, though you may choose to register to benefit from advanced features on some of the sites.

All Recipes
A great first stop when you are looking for recipes online. There are over 40 different collections of recipes, with many traditional categories, such as cakes, pasta, and main dishes, along side some more contemporary categories, including cooking low-carb or with Splenda. There's also a great section of recipes for cooking with kids.

Recipes have reviews and ratings submitted by site visitors, so you can browse just among top ten favorites or even their hall of fame recipes. And don't miss their related recipes, which can show you similar dishes or suggest something to serve with a given dish.

Each recipe has nutrition info provided, and the site provides a handy way to convert recipes to the exact number of servings you'd like to make or from US measurements to metric, or vice versa.

One nice feature (requires registration) is their shopping list. As you browse the recipes, you can click the "Add to List" feature, and when you're done, you can print off a handy shopping list to take to the store.

Meals for You
Here's a great recipe site for folks who are watching what they eat. You can choose recipes from healthy meals that are lighter, low carb or low sugar, geared towards weight loss, and more. Each recipe provides both a breakdown in standard nutrients (e.g., calories and fat and protein grams) as well as dietary exchanges.

Like All Recipes, you can find recipes by ingredient and you can convert recipes to the number of servings you desire. But unlike All Recipes, you don't have to register for the Meals for You shopping list feature. And Meals for You has ways to exclude recipes with ingredients related to food allergies.

Check out each recipe's "May We Suggest" area for recipes that complement the specified dish. You may also find their recipes by gadget (e.g., microwave, grill machine) helpful.

Epicurious
This is the online site for Bon Appétit and Gourmet magazines, so this is a great site to check if you're in the mood for something tasty and elegant. Be sure to check out their recipe collections, which include selections from Sheila Lukins (The Silver Palate Cookbook) and also dishes to make with just five ingredients.

Recipes are reviewed, and they all have the gorgeous photos associated with their respective magazines. If you really want to be inspired, check out their "slideshows" - pictorial previews of dishes.

Epicurious has a very nice advanced search option which allows you to search for recipes by keyword, ingredient, or even preparation method. And as you might expect from a site for cooking magazines, there's a lot more here than recipes; you can read up on cooking techniques, find restaurant reviews, and find the right beverage to serve. Be sure to check out the excellent technique videos that show you exactly how to devein a shrimp or making a rolled omelet.

Fine Cooking
This site doesn't quite provide all the features of Epicurious, but nevertheless is worth a browse. There isn't a specific recipe search feature, but it's easy to browse recipes. Fine Cooking also has a "menu ideas" feature which suggests complementary dishes around menus, with all recipes provided.

Also like Epicurious, there are interesting articles related to cooking and drinking, as well as their own selection of video tips. Be sure to check out their section on "Food Science" to get the details on how to make your recipes come out just right.

Cooking.com
This is the website of the popular cookware mail-order catalogue. There aren't many of the advanced features, but the site has collected a nice selection of recipes in four main categories: course (appetizer, soup, etc), cuisine (including African, UK/Irish, and Vietnamese among others), main ingredients, and cooking method. The site also includes a selection of "Menus At-a-Glance" in a number of categories, including holidays and seasonal. Nutritional information is provided for each recipe.

Food Network
If you like your recipes, then you probably are a regular viewer of the Food Network, with its all cooking, all the time lineup. This site provides recipes for many of the programs, including items by Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Rachael Ray and more. There's an advanced search, or you may choose to browse their recipe collections for collections by chef, by theme, or by ingredients. The site supports recipe ratings and reviews, and you can print recipes either full page or for 3x5 or 4x6 index cards.

Like some of the other larger sites, this one includes lots of related cooking information, including a cooking encyclopedia, a fat and calorie calculator, a very nice archive of entertainment articles, as well as good information on wine basics.

Hersheys
Mmmm…chocolate! The folks from Hershey's Kitchens bring you a selection of chocolate treats, from cheesecakes to pies to cakes to candy. If you browse the recipes, you can scan for recipes that are viewer favorites, fun for kids, quick and easy, or even on the lighter side. Hershey's offers the option to print out recipes so they will fit on either a 3x5 or 4x6 index card. Don't miss the "baking hints & tips" area for advice on working with chocolate.

Reluctant Gourmet
If you prefer a recipe site with a down-home, friendly, and personal style, you may find the Reluctant Gourmet bookmark-worthy. Advertised as a "culinary guide for a novice…from a novice," this site is one man's labor of love that he's now turned into a home-based business. Recipes are simple, and there's none of the advanced features you find on the glossy sites, but if you'd like a bit of encouragement and kitsch with your cooking, this is a site to check out.

Soup of the Evening
Speaking of kitsch, who'd have thought there'd be so much to say about soup? There are soup tales, soup jokes, and even true soup confessions (g-rated!). Like the Reluctant Gourmet, these recipes lack the frills of the larger sites, but if you like your soup, you're likely to find one that's just to your taste. Be sure to check out the "Occasional soups" listing for soups you'd expect (soups for holidays) and some you might not (soups for "when you when you've lost your true, true love and can only stare out at sea").

Mollie Katzen
Mollie is the best-selling author of vegetarian cookbooks such as The Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. Her site is simple, but beautiful, and is a great place to visit if you enjoy cooking with fruits and vegetables. This month's feature is pumpkin mousse with gingersnap crumbs. Yum! Like the other small recipe sites, there is no shopping list or recipe search (use the "Archives" link to see all recipes on the site), but the recipes are straightforward and Mollie provides great information with each recipe.

Andrew Weil's Healthy Kitchen
Andrew Weil is the Harvard-educated physician who is interested in the practice of "integrative medicine" (bringing the best of both traditional and alternative medicine). While not vegetarian, he promotes a diet that limits ingredients high in saturated fat. So check here for recipes that are easy to make but healthful too. Each recipe provides the basic nutrients per serving. In addition, you can actually search for recipes that Dr. Weil recommends for various health conditions, such as arthritis or migraines. Note that the site advises you to consult a physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition.

Cooking for Engineers
Speaking of labor of love, this is a relatively new recipe site. There aren't many recipes on it yet, but it's so different it is worth a mention. It's tag line reads "Have an analytical mind? Like to cook? This is the site to read!" It's written in weblog format, and some recipe readers may find it not to their taste. But the CfE style of recipe-a format that combines ingredients and directions in a visual "grid"-is very intriguing and might be fun to experiment with. CfE does provide a directory by ingredient and lots of pictures. Recipes aren't reviewed per se, but the weblog format does allow visitors to leave comments on the various posts.

Meals.com
Like Meals for You but smaller, and because it's hosted by Nestlé, there are lots of specific product placements in the recipes (though they are generally easily substituted for). Recipes are rated and reviewed by readers, and there is a shopping list feature, though you must register in order to take advantage of it.

NetCooks.com
This is a recipe site that, while short on the advanced features, is fun and full of home-cooked charm. Recipes are submitted by visitors from around the world, so there's all sorts of interesting dishes (like French Vichyssoise submitted from a visitor in Australia!). The site does have some nice extras, including a great page of cooking substitutions, useful tips and hints, and a tool to help you convert ingredient amounts (e.g., from quarts to liters). If you have grandkids, don't miss the "Kids Corner."

Yahoo! Directory: Recipes
So, that's 14 of our favorites. To round out the list of 15, here's a good place to go if you're looking for something else. If you can cook with it, there's probably a recipe site dedicated to it! Just be a prudent browser…there's a lot out there, so you don't have to put up with a site with blinking ads or one that is just trying to sell you something.

See Also: Mmm, Mmm, Chocolate!