The Most Popular Serious Eats Recipes of 2022

The year in which you (and we) cooked a whole lot of potatoes.

By Jacob Dean
Updated December 22, 2022

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Every year, Serious Eats publishes a slate of recipes which we think are exciting, informative, rigorously tested, and which expand on the work we’ve been doing for well over a decade now. But after we release our work into the universe, it’s up to you, the reader, to visit the site, cook those recipes, and tell us what you think.

This was the year that our popular annual feature, Starch Madness, focused on the humble-yet-mighty potato, and you responded enthusiastically to our bounty of spuds; in fact, our top recipe of the year was Crispy Baked Potato Wedges. We also pivoted toward publishing more cuisine guides this year, with a few of our Nigerian recipes easily making it on to this list. The most popular recipes from this year are a clear representation of what we (and hopefully you!) think makes Serious Eats so great—cultural representation, science-backed technique, and no small amount of culinary obsessiveness. Also: lots and lots and lots of potatoes. So without further ado, here are the recipes published in 2022 that you, our dear readers, decided to click on and read the most. 

  • Crispy Baked Potato Wedges

    Closeup of a serving plate of roasted potato wedges with a ramekin of ketchup.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Sasha Marx's recipe for oven fries that are crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside was our top recipe of the year, garnering rave reviews. One user commented, "These were great and are what they purport to be." They were also a part of Starch Madness 2022, and—fun fact—were one of the recipes the team hoped would lose as we all filled out our own brackets. We know it's great, you know it's great, but in the battle between french fries and wedges, how can you root against fries? Starch madness indeed!

  • Tartiflette

    A cast iron skillet full to the brim with melted and browned soft-rind cheese.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    This gooey, creamy baked casserole from Daniel Gritzer is French mountain food at its finest. It's potatoes, bacon, cheese, and onions, browned until golden in a cast iron skillet. What more can we say?

  • Nigerian Egusi Soup

    A full bowl of egusi soup served with a serving of eba.

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    Contributor Ozoz Sokoh's recipe for creamy, nutty egusi soup was a part of our Nigerian recipe package, and one of the best recipes we published in 2022. Egusi soup is a staple in homes and bukas, or street food stalls, across Nigeria and in many parts of West Africa. The soup takes its name from egusi, or agushi―the seeds that both thicken and flavor it. Egusi soup typically features meat (such as beef, smoked poultry, goat, cow skin, and offal) and seafood (smoked dried fish or stockfish), as well as awara (Nigerian tofu), mushrooms, and greens. 

  • Lowcountry Stew Chicken

    Close up image of lowcounty stew chicken over rice. The food is inside of a white porcelain bowl, placed on a textured and dyed dishcloth.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    "Tell a person you want stew chicken and you'll likely get a different dish depending on who you're talking to," writes contributor Amethyst Ganaway. "That's because there are stew chicken dishes across the African diaspora." Her version is a South Carolina classic, featuring chicken legs (chosen for their moistness and tenderness) in a deeply flavored, light-bodied sauce seasoned with sage, oregano, and smoked paprika.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Patates Lemonates (Greek Lemon Potatoes)

    Closeup of a serving plate of Greek lemon potatoes.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    It's rare to find a side dish that upstages the main course it's served with, but that's certainly the case with this recipe from Sasha. Commonly served as an accompaniment to roasted chicken, patates lemonates take advantage of the flavor-absorbing qualities of potatoes to imbue them with a burst of citrus acidity rather than just fat and woodsy herbs. Adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to the finished dish counterbalances the flavor of cooked lemon against the bright, acid pop of its fresh juice.

  • Ham and Bean Soup

    An irregularly oval ceramic bowl holding ham and bean soup. There is a metal soup spoon to the right of the bowl, and a teal-colored cloth to the left of the bowl.

    Serious Eats / Liz Voltz

    A rich and hearty soup that is undeniably satisfying, contributor Arlyn Osborne's recipe uses a combination of whole and puréed navy beans and pairs them with meaty, smoked ham hocks. The resulting ham and bean soup is layered with flavor and texture—a perfect fit for cold, dark, or even just rainy days and nights.

  • Rösti (Swiss Potato Cake)

    A deeply browned rösti sits on a wooden cutting board, with plates of fried eggs and bacon, and glasses of orange juice around it on the table.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Serious Eats' love of not just the potato, but the potato pancake, was established many years ago. So it's almost shocking that we didn't develop a recipe for rösti, the famed Swiss-German potato cake, until this year. Daniel's recipe dials up the technique by par-boiling, chilling, and then shredding Yukon Gold potatoes, producing the characteristically thick pancake withabsolutely perfect texture and flavor.

  • Lavash Triangles

    Lavash triangles on a serving platter with dipping sauce.

    Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

    Lavash triangles are "something of a cross between boreks—the Armenian baked phyllo-wrapped crispy turnovers—and samosas, the crunchy, fried South Asian dumplings stuffed with savory fillings," writes contributor Andrew Janjigian. His version (adapted from the Amenian cookbook Lavash) envelops a vegan mashed bean paste in a delicate, crunchy shell which is baked, not fried. He says they've become a staple in his home, and perhaps they will in yours as well!

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  • Nigerian Jollof Rice

    Overhead view of Jollof rice on a bright blue plate on top of a yellow table runner next to a glass of water.

    Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine

    While Ozoz's recipe for jollof rice is specifically a Nigerian version, her recipe's headnote also digs into the roots of the dish's prominence across West Africa, as well as the ways in which it manifests in the United States (such as New Orleans jambalaya). Even if this isn't the version of jollof rice you love or grew up with, it is fabulous, and one of our best recipes of the year.

  • Creamy Braised Pork and Bean Stew With Cinnamon, Fennel, and Onion

    Pork and beans in a Dutch oven.

    Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

    This recipe from contributor Nik Sharma wasn’t just one of our top recipes of the year, but it also directly connects to our most popular technique of the year, Brining Beans With Baking Soda: An Investigation. Nik’s creamy, savory stew is science-informed, packed with flavor, and a great choice for a chilly night.

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