Nut Free

This dish is as good as the time and ingredients you put into it, so use quality ingredients and patience to get the flavors to harmonize. A teaspoon of white truffle oil can substitute for the black truffles.

This hearty meal-in-a-bowl was recreated by Epicurious member Alisa Guralnick, from Encinitas, California, after trying a version of the divine soup at a restaurant in New York City. This recipe features sausage, white beans, spinach, pasta, and other veggies, making this a customizable recipe perfect for extra produce from community gardens, co-ops, or your own garden.

This lemon layer cake is the ultimate dessert for anyone with a gluten-free diet. You may need to hit up a specialty shop or go online for some of the ingredients, but it’s well worth the effort. A brown-rice flour mix combined with the xanthan gum creates light, moist cake layers, while guar gum thickens the rich, silky curd. Generous amounts of lemon zest, juice, and extract infuse the layers, filling, and frosting, adding up to a full-on citrus celebration. Make this cake—or turn it into cupcakes—for birthdays, barbecues, or holidays.

Here’s a perfect pasta dish, a one-pan dream that pairs tomatoes with savory Italian sausage. Even picky eaters will love this simple dish, featuring a sweet, creamy sauce that can be spiced to taste with red pepper flakes. The whole thing comes together in under 15 minutes, making it an easy weeknight meal that’s impressive enough for date night, too. This dish makes delicious leftovers, and cleanup is a breeze.

After many rounds of tweaking and perfecting, Epicurious member Robert Belden landed on a quick and easy formula for creamy and comforting Alfredo sauce. Although bathing fresh shrimp in a velvety blanket of cream and butter is a pairing that Belden says “is tough to beat,” he admits to occasionally substituting seared scallops or grilled chicken for the shrimp. Alongside crisp homemade garlic bread, this pasta dish makes a satisfying dinner to share with a friend or keep all to yourself.

Epicurious member Tess Ellis of Washington, D.C, drew inspiration from the ingredients she had on hand to create this eclectic take on a classic comfort food. The savory ingredients add dimension to the creamy dish, while the red pepper flakes add a touch of heat. To achieve a delicious crusty top, she suggests that you “put it under the broiler for a few minutes to give it a nice brown coating.”

This roasted vegetable duo represents an unconventional combination of vibrant colors, rich aromatics, and sensual tastes. The soups are served as equal partners in one bowl—try each one separately, but be sure to stir them together to get the full experience.

Created by Epicurious member Kathe Miller from Chelan, Washington, this beautiful salad has a wonderful presentation as well as a rich taste. Try it as a starter, or as a satisfying lunch. Miller recommends pears that are tender but crisp, giving the salad a divine texture and bite that is at once crunchy and juicy.

In this unique and lively salad, juicy clementines combine with crunchy jícama, salty pumpkin seeds, and creamy queso fresco to create a vibrant yet harmonious medley of textures and flavor notes. The garlicky vinaigrette is versatile enough to use on almost any salad. For a healthy, quick dinner, top the salad with a piece of grilled mahimahi, or pair it with a piece of avocado toast and call it lunch.

These dark leafy greens never tasted better. Be sure to seek out lacinato kale (also sold as Tuscan kale, black kale, dinosaur kale, or cavolo nero), a variety that is noticeably more tender and mild than the common curly kale, also known as Scotch kale. Take the time to massage the leaves in oil with your hands; the result will be kale that seems to melt in your mouth. If ricotta salata isn’t readily available at your market, try pecorino romano, another Italian cheese that’s easy to grate and has a similar salty flavor.

This flavorful, filling stew was developed by home cook Jennifer Smith of Tyler, Texas, who hit on the perfect balance of jalapeño heat, aromatic cumin, and stick-to-your-ribs black beans. Best of all, it’s a budget-friendly weeknight dish made of ingredients you probably have in your pantry. Jennifer’s secret weapon: “A can of flavored diced tomatoes. They’re great in chili and my black bean soup. I keep plenty of pantry staples, garlic, and herbs on hand to spice up whatever I’m making.” Serve this soup over rice and some crusty bread for a simple meal, and you’ll have healthy leftovers for lunch.

A creamy, savory-sweet purée of roasted vegetables replaces half the cheese in this colorful, vegetarian-friendly quesadilla. (Try serving the dip with raw veggies or even grilled corn.) Although dicing and then roasting the squash amps up the intensity of the roasted flavor, you can save some time by simply halving the squash before putting it into the oven and scooping out the flesh once it’s soft.

Fondue may have been trendy in the 1960s and 1970s, but cheesy goodness has never really gone out of style. This recipe is straight from the Alps, and calls for the classic combination of Gruyère and Emmental. Melt them in a cast-iron fondue pot with the simmering wine before transferring the mix to your fondue stand. Of course, you can serve this with cut-up veggies and fruit, but bread is the true classic partner. Just know that if you lose your bread in the cheese, you’ll need to kiss your neighbor. That’s Swiss tradition.

Whether you serve this versatile vegetable and cheese tart for a savory lunch or as a rich first course, Epicurious users agree: Make sure to cook the onions until they’re a caramelized brown. It takes time, but the sweet, tangy flavor is worth the effort. That said, if you’re looking for shortcuts, it’s easy to swap in puff pastry dough to save time making and baking the pie shell. Most of the recipe can be made in advance, and assembled and baked before serving.

Admittedly, the notion of crème brûlée might seem a bit much in the morning, but when coupled with French toast, it creates a whole new dish that is nothing short of brunch brilliance. Originally from the Inn at Sunrise Point in Camden, Maine, it makes for the ideal breakfast treat or a potluck pleaser of a dessert (one that can be assembled the night before). To make it kid-friendly, replace the Grand Marnier with the same amount of orange juice. And for a slightly healthier take, substitute whole-wheat challah and use 2% milk. Even then, you’ll have a hard time sharing it with others.

This crêpe-like pancake recipe might make you want to eat breakfast for dinner. The yellow cornmeal gives the cake a hearty flavor and a crisp crust, leading one reviewer to compare it to a hybrid Swedish-buttermilk pancake. Yogurt and scant mixing keep these cakes fluffy and airy. Make extra compote to use on oatmeal or ice cream.

Bourbon puts a distinctively American spin on this classic French hors d’oeuvre. The booze also helps balance the rich and unctuous chicken livers, which are sautéed in a heady mix of onion, garlic, and herbs. While it needs to be chilled only for two hours before you can dig in, wait a day or two and you’ll give the flavors a chance to really develop. For holiday celebrations, serve this pâté in a terrine. Alternatively, divide it among ramekins to create unique and indulgent hostess gifts.