Restaurant Recipes

Some dishes you only get when you eat out, and some snacks only come in a wrapper. This page collects our home versions of both: the soups people drive across town for, the bread basket that comes before the meal, steakhouse plates and country-kitchen sides. None of them are the restaurants' or brands' own recipes. They are built around the part people actually remember and written for an ordinary kitchen and supermarket ingredients.

Restaurant Soups

Three of the most ordered soups in American chain restaurants, each made in one pot in under an hour: spicy sausage, potato and kale; creamy chicken with soft gnocchi; and a thick broccoli cheddar that fits in a bread bowl.

From the Bread Basket

Often the best part of the meal arrives first. Sweet square yeast rolls with cinnamon honey butter, cheddar drop biscuits brushed with garlic butter, and dark honey wheat mini loaves. The rolls and loaves freeze well, so bake a double batch.

Steakhouse & Theme Park Favorites

Bigger plates for a weekend or a special dinner: lobster mac and cheese worth buying a whole lobster for, masa-crusted fried chicken that brines for two nights, honey mustard chicken under bacon and melted cheese, and mac and cheese cones the kids will talk about for weeks.

Country Kitchen Sides

The two sides that end up on almost every plate at a country-style breakfast or supper: a cheesy hashbrown casserole and soft cinnamon apples in a glossy syrup. Both work just as well next to a holiday ham.

Snacks, Dips & Sauces

The easiest things to copy, and a batch costs less than a box or a few takeout packets: a honey mustard barbecue dipping sauce for nuggets, rice bubble bars held together with peanut butter, no-bake apple pie bars made from dates and nuts, and a rainbow chip frosting dip.

Restaurant and brand names on this page only describe the dish we had in mind. This site has no connection to any of those companies, and new recipes are added here as they are published.