Chefs 28 Top Chef Recipes to Add to Your Rotation By Food & Wine Editors Updated on April 14, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Christopher Testani If you've ever wanted to bring the excitement of Top Chef into your own kitchen, these recipes are a great place to start, with dishes from contestants and judges alike. You can try Season 4 winner (and 2011 Best New Chef) Stephanie Izard's vibrant Seared Tuna Tiradito, or, if you're in the mood for dessert, Season 10 winner Kristen Kish's Apple Pie à la Mode Ice Cream Sandwiches would make a delicious addition to any meal. We also have recipes from Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, the Voltaggio brothers, Carla Hall, and more. Read on to find out how to make them all. 01 of 28 Hung's Clay Pot Rice © Ethan Hill Hung Huynh (Season 3) This earthy, mushroom-and-bacon-studded clay pot rice from chef Hung Huynh is flavored with ginger, garlic, and scallions. Soft, slightly sweet ginkgo nuts can be added to the dish as well. Get the Recipe 02 of 28 Seared Tuna Tiradito Photo by Tara Donne / Food Styling by Chris Lanier / Prop Styling by Raina Kattelson Stephanie Izard (Season 4) At Cabra in Chicago, 2011 BNC Stephanie Izard channels her love of Peruvian cuisine to deliver inspired takes on traditional ceviche and tiradito. At the restaurant, Izard dresses raw sushi-grade tuna steak with a creamy Kewpie mayonnaise-laced sauce, thinned with lime and orange juices, and studded with spicy serrano chiles. For a twist, try giving the tuna a quick sear in a screaming-hot skillet to add another layer of complexity to the dish. Get the Recipe 03 of 28 Carla Hall's Buttermilk Biscuits Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox Carla Hall (Seasons 5 and 8: All-Stars) Made with a combination of grated cold butter for flavor and vegetable shortening for tenderness, chef Carla Hall's biscuits owe their towering, flaky layers to her classic laminating technique. You can freeze the unbaked biscuits on a pan, and then keep them in a resealable freezer bag in the freezer for up to two months. Get the Recipe 04 of 28 Casarecce with Sausage, Pickled Cherries and Pistachios © Con Poulos Tom Colicchio (Judge) This creamy pasta from chef Tom Colicchio comes together in just minutes, though you'll have to make the pickled cherries the night before. Pair the finished dish with a tart, cherry-scented Austrian red, such as Zweigelt. Get the Recipe 05 of 28 Apple Pie à la Mode Ice Cream Sandwiches Eva Kolenko Kristen Kish (Season 10) Top Chef Season 10 winner Kristen Kish designed this dessert to honor both of her grandmothers, one known for her apple pie and the other for her snickerdoodles. Kish folds spiced apple pie filling into vanilla ice cream, then sandwiches it between chewy snickerdoodle cookies. Get the Recipe 06 of 28 Za'atar Baked Eggs John Kernick Gail Simmons (Judge) "In my teens, I spent a summer on a kibbutz in Israel working in my first professional kitchen," TV personality and cookbook author Gail Simmons says. "I was assigned to breakfast duty and fell in love with scrambling, poaching, and frying eggs by the dozens. Today, one of my go-to brunches is baked eggs in a cherry tomato–pepper mix seasoned with the Mediterranean spice blend za'atar." Get the Recipe 07 of 28 Poul Nan Sos (Haitian Chicken in Sauce) Eva Kosmas Flores Gregory Gourdet (Seasons 12 and 17: All-Stars) "When I was a kid, we often left Queens on Sunday mornings to visit Mémère, my paternal grandmother, in New Jersey," chef Gregory Gourdet says. "Along with warm kisses and a few words of broken English, this chicken stew would greet us. Its official name (poul nan sos in Haitian Creole, or 'chicken in sauce"' is quite an understatement. The meat is marinated overnight with onions, garlic, thyme, and chiles along with citrus, and then rubbed forcefully onto the chicken to access the fragrant oils. After the meat takes on all that flavor, it's stewed with the marinade and loads of bell peppers for a satisfying, thrilling stew. This dish is Haiti, something we make time and time again. I suspect you will, too." Get the Recipe 08 of 28 Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow Victor Protasio Isaac Toups (Season 13) New Orleans–based chef Isaac Toups loves Bellegarde grits for their creamy texture and buttered popcorn flavor. The chowchow for this recipe can be made up to a week in advance and is delicious with grilled meats or other rich dishes. Get the Recipe 09 of 28 Sautéed Zucchini with Ginger and Dill © John Kernick Padma Lakshmi (Host and Judge) This is a light and lovely way to prepare zucchini, which gets quickly sautéed with garlic, shallots, and ginger, then tossed with fresh dill. TV personality and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi likes to stir dried pomegranate seeds (called anardana in India) into this dish for a bit of crunchy tang. Get the Recipe 10 of 28 Sauce-Simmered Spaghetti al Pomodoro © Christina Holmes Sarah Grueneberg (Season 9) Here, Top Chef finalist Sarah Grueneberg cooks parboiled spaghetti right in the tomato sauce so it becomes infused with flavor. To get a head-start on the recipe, you can make the sauce in advance—it can be covered and refrigerated for up to five days. Get the Recipe 11 of 28 Porterhouse Steak © John Kernick Bryan Voltaggio and Michael Voltaggio (Bryan: Seasons 5: Masters, 6, and 17: All-Stars. Michael: Season 6) For a perfectly tender and crusty steak, brothers and chefs Bryan Voltaggio and Michael Voltaggio salt their meat up to 12 hours before cooking and let it sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator. This step seasons the meat to its core and pulls out moisture for a better sear. Get the Recipe 12 of 28 Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu Chelsea Kyle Melissa King (Seasons 12 and 17: All-Stars) This ultra-rich tiramisu from Top Chef Season 17 winner Melissa King is subtly sweet and well balanced by the lightly bitter tannins in the Hong Kong milk tea powder. If you want to make this dessert in advance, assemble the tiramisu without the milk chocolate garnish and chill it overnight. Get the Recipe 13 of 28 Hawaiian-Style Garlic Butter Shrimp Victor Protasio Sheldon Simeon (Seasons 10 and 14) This recipe from Hawaiian chef Sheldon Simeon is inspired by the food trucks that serve garlic butter shrimp on Oahu's North Shore. The shrimp are marinated in a mixture of Italian dressing, mayonnaise, calamansi juice, and salt, then grilled and tossed in roasted garlic butter. The result: unbelievably sweet, juicy grilled shrimp. You can make the garlic butter in advance, and use any leftover garlic butter on pasta, fish, or toast. Get the Recipe 14 of 28 Croatian Langoustine and Squid Ink Risotto Jennifer Causey Joe Flamm (Season 15) For this creamy Croatian risotto, Top Chef Season 15 winner Joe Flamm was inspired by a dish from Gverovic-Orsan, a seafood restaurant on the Adriatic Sea. Squid ink provides dark color and a gentle brininess. Rather than lots of butter and cheese, this risotto relies entirely on stirring to make it creamy, so stay close by as it cooks. You can substitute the langoustines with eight large shrimp or four halved Maine lobster tails, if needed. Get the Recipe 15 of 28 Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Nina Compton (Season 11) "I love making this lentil soup when the weather begins to cool," says Nina Compton, chef-owner of New Orleans hot spot Compère Lapin and a 2017 Food & Wine Best New Chef. "The ham-hock aroma hangs around the kitchen beautifully; the smell alone makes you warmer. Adding a little ginger and lemongrass brightens the soup and reminds me of being back home in St. Lucia. Using local okra reminds me of my Louisiana home and adds a different texture." To make your own croutons for this rich, brothy ham hock and lentil soup, toss three cups of cubed baguette with three tablespoons butter and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; bake at 375°F, stirring three times, until toasted, about 15 minutes. Get the Recipe 16 of 28 Sweet-and-Spicy Spareribs with Korean Barbecue Sauce © Christina Holmes Mei Lin (Season 12) Top Chef Season 12 winner Mei Lin slow-roasts these ribs in the oven until they're super-tender; then she glazes them on the grill with a sweet and spicy sauce spiked with gochujang. She also stirs the sauce into pulled pork, serves it with french fries instead of ketchup, and mixes it with melted butter to toss with fried chicken. Get the Recipe 17 of 28 Monkfish Piccata Greg DuPree Tiffani Faison (Seasons 1 and 8: All-Stars) Monkfish, with its tender, springy bite reminiscent of lobster, is firm and sweet enough to stand up to this lemony butter sauce enriched with white miso. Plenty of briny capers and caperberries help cut through the richness. Get the Recipe 18 of 28 Kai Jeow Moo Sab (Thai Fried Omelet with Pork) Anna Stockwell Leah Cohen (Season 5) "The first time that I ate one of these omelets was on the street in Thailand," says Leah Cohen, chef of New York's Pig & Khao. "I had never eaten a deep-fried egg and I was shocked that it was crispy but still tender. My mind was blown and [the] low-and-slow egg cooking that my French training taught me was turned on its ear." Two important tips: Whisk the eggs well until light and frothy and uniform in color, and make sure that the oil is smoking hot. Get the Recipe 19 of 28 Pulling-from-the-Pantry Puttanesca Victor Protasio Zoi Antonitsas (Season 4) Chef Zoi Antonitsas is passionate about preserved fish. The salty, briny fillets are her favorite powerhouse pantry ingredient. They can make almost anything into a meal—and a delicious one at that. For this quick, flavorful puttanesca, use high-quality tins, like Matiz España brand, for the best results. Get the Recipe 20 of 28 Crespelle with Ricotta and Marinara © Quentin Bacon Tony Mantuano (Top Chef Masters Season 2) In this recipe, adapted from Wine Bar Food by Tony Mantuano and his wife, Cathy, lush ricotta-filled crêpes bake in a rich marinara sauce. The Mantuanos recommend serving the meal with a Tuscan red blend. Get the Recipe 21 of 28 Birria Tacos Greg Dupree Claudette Zepeda (Season 2 of Top Chef Mexico and Season 15 Top Chef U.S.) In chef Claudette Zepeda's Birria Tacos recipe, a combination of two meats creates the best balance of tender texture (from the chuck roast) and succulence (from the short ribs). The tacos get slow-cooked flavor from the adobo sauce, which features three dried chiles—guajillo, ancho, and cascabel. Get the Recipe 22 of 28 Crisp and Lacy Onion Rings © John Kernick Richard Blais (Seasons 4 and 8: All-Stars) There are all sorts of tricks for making deep-fry batters both delicate and crisp. Sometimes, recipes call for beating in beer or club soda (the little air bubbles lighten the mixture), or adding vodka (alcohol boils off more quickly than water, enhancing a batter's texture). For these onion rings, chef Richard Blais uses both strategies and amplifies their effect by aerating the batter in a siphon. The results are some of the laciest, crunchiest onion rings you'll ever taste. This batter is equally good on all kinds of fried foods, like chicken, pork cutlets, fish, and other vegetables. Get the Recipe 23 of 28 Pork Ribs Vindaloo © Marcus Nilsson Floyd Cardoz (Top Chef Masters Season 3) The late, iconic chef and Top Chef Masters winner Floyd Cardoz created this juicy, saucy dish as an ode to his mother's pork vindaloo, using ribs instead of the more traditional shoulder. Serve the ribs with crusty bread to mop up every bit of the spiced, tangy sauce Get the Recipe 24 of 28 Chickpea Doubles with Tamarind and Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Christine Keely / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer Kwame Onwuachi (Season 13) Traditional Trinidadian doubles are served open-faced and quickly wrapped in wax paper, letting the bara steam, and keeping the spicy filling piping hot. Try leftover tamarind sauce in margaritas, drizzled over fresh mangoes, or with roast pork. Get the Recipe 25 of 28 Clams in Garlic Sorrel Cream Emily Kordovich Eric Adjepong (Seasons 16 and 17: All-Stars) Chef Eric Adjepong's steamed clams get a burst of bright flavor from green, tangy sorrel. If you can't find sorrel, or it's out of season, Adjepong recommends using fresh basil and adding a little extra lemon juice to mimic its tart, lemony flavor. Don't skip the warm crusty bread to soak up the delicious sauce. Get the Recipe 26 of 28 Farro Mafaldine with Black Truffle Butter and Mushrooms Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Karen Akunowicz (Seasons 13 and 17: All-Stars) This elegant-yet-hearty dish pairs creamy butter, nutty farro pasta, and a fortifying mix of wild mushrooms with just enough truffle to elevate each forkful. Black truffle paste, available year-round, melts beautifully into the buttery sauce, but when they're in season (November through February), chef Karen Akunowicz recommends splurging for fresh black truffles, and using a rasp grater to get as much truffle goodness as possible into each perfect bite. Get the Recipe 27 of 28 Creamy Mashed Potato Soup with Dashi Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Shota Nakajima (Season 18) Dashi and soy sauce add umami to buttery leftover mashed potatoes in this cozy soup from chef Shota Nakajima. As a kid, whenever he was hungry, he'd grab anything left over from the previous meal to make soup or fried rice. "I grew up in a Japanese family, and I was taught to never waste anything," Nakajima says. This soup is his riff on a recipe from his mother. Add milk for a creamier texture, or more dashi for a thinner consistency. Substitute any mashed vegetable you have on hand, such a cauliflower or sweet potato, but be sure to finish the soup with generous pats of melting butter and an extra drizzle of soy. Get the Recipe 28 of 28 Cheddar Cheese Pound Cake with Brandy Caramel Apples Photo by Sarah Crowder / Food Styling by Chandra Ram Dawn Burrell (Season 18) This poundcake created by chef Dawn Burrell gets a bit of a savory edge from the mellow cheddar cheese mixed into the batter and sprinkled on top of the cake as it bakes. It's excellent with afternoon coffee or tea on its own, but the Brandy Caramel Apples move it clearly into dessert territory (add a scoop of ice cream to take it over the top). You can bake one large cake in a Bundt or tube pan, or bake two cakes in loaf pans. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit