20 Hearty, Flavor-Rich Rye Recipes

Triple Ginger Cookies
Photo: Greg DuPree

You're most likely to find rye in either bread or whiskey. Earthy, nutty rye helps give pumpernickel its distinctive brown color and slightly malty flavor. At home, the rye-related ingredients you might cook with will probably be rye flour or berries, unless you're working straight-up rye bread or crumbs into your dish. Here, our best recipes featuring rye.

01 of 20

Double-Chocolate Rye Cookies

Double-Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

A mix of unsweetened cocoa and bittersweet chocolate bars gives these fudgy cookies a deep chocolate flavor. Dark rye flour adds a lightly savory note that balances the sweet intensity of dark chocolate and plays off the crunchy sea salt garnish. 

02 of 20

Rustic Apple-Rye Bread

Rustic Apple Rye Bread
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

This bread is Monika Walecka's ode to one of her favorite grains, rye, and has become her signature loaf at Cała W Mące in Warsaw. "Everything you sense while eating pure rye bread — lactic notes, sweetness, gentle spiciness, and rich fruity aroma — is here," she says. Cracked rye berries soaked in buttermilk, raisins, a dash of cinnamon, and cubes of heirloom apples that release their juices into the crumb while baking all make this loaf extra special.

03 of 20

Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust

Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust
© Con Poulos

This sensational blueberry pie has small circles cut out of the rye crust, which not only looks dramatic but also allows moisture to evaporate from the fruit filling as it cooks, deepening the flavor.

04 of 20

Rye Crisps with Tomatoes and Sardines

Rye Crisps with Tomatoes and Sardines
CON POULOS

This recipe from F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple makes the most of canned sardines. Chapple prepares a bright herb mayo to spread on rye crisps, then tops them with a cherry tomato salad and good-quality sardines. The juices from the tomatoes soften the rye crisps ever so slightly.

05 of 20

Corned Beef Salad with Thousand Island Dressing and Rye Croutons

Corned-Beef Salad with Thousand Island Dressing and Rye Croutons
© Evi Abeler

You’ve probably eaten a sandwich with a salad inside; now try a salad with a sandwich inside. Strips of corned beef are tossed with lettuce and rye bread croutons, then topped with Thousand Island dressing — the real old-fashioned kind with “islands” of pickle relish, hard-cooked egg, and chopped scallion.

06 of 20

Old-Fashioned Sablés

Old-Fashioned Sablés

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

These sandy-textured sablé cookies toe the line of sweet and savory. Each element of the classic old-fashioned cocktail is represented in this cookie riff on the drink. The combination of rye and mesquite flour adds a sweet nuttiness and warm, earthy flavor to mimic the caramel notes of barrel-aged whiskey; spices and orange zest tie it all together. 

07 of 20

Rye and Crème Fraîche Strata with Smoked Salmon

Rye and Creme Fraiche Strata with Smoked Salmon
John Kernick

In this playful riff on a bagel with cream cheese and lox, Justin Chapple makes a custardy rye bread pudding with capers, then tops it with smoked salmon and red onion. It's warm, comforting, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

08 of 20

Scandinavian Rye Bread

Scandinavian Rye Bread
© Tara Fisher

Master baker Lionel Vatinet makes this dense, super-flavorful bread with rye flour milled locally in North Carolina.

09 of 20

Apple Cheddar Rye Pie

Apple Cheddar Rye Pie
Gerard + Belevender

Nutty rye flour and sharp cheddar cheese enrich buttery pie crust in this sweet and savory twist on classic apple pie. Tapioca starch thickens the filling while keeping it clear and glossy.

10 of 20

Rye Tartines with Chicken and Pickled Celery

Rye Tartines with Chicken and Pickled Celery
© Abby Hocking

This simple open-face roast chicken sandwich from chef Hugh Acheson gets excellent flavor from buttery toasted rye bread, as well as tangy yogurt, pickled celery, and fresh dill and cucumber.  

11 of 20

Triple-Ginger Rye Cookies

Triple Ginger Cookies
Greg DuPree

Hearty rye flour paired with three types of ginger — powdered, candied, and fresh — lends an earthy, lightly spicy flavor to these delicious cookies.

12 of 20

Rye Berry Bread

Rye Berry Bread
© Stephanie Shih

Thinly sliced, toasted or not, this dense, hearty whole-grain bread is wonderful topped with smoked salmon, sour cream, and chopped onions, or with bitter orange marmalade. Allow time for the sponge to sit overnight.

13 of 20

Caraway Salmon with Rye Berry and Beet Salad

Caraway Salmon with Rye Berry-and-Beet Salad
© Con Poulos

Rye berries have a wonderfully aromatic, tangy taste that goes well with the caraway in this Scandinavian-style dish from chef Marco Canora. Dollops of dill sauce accentuate the flavors on the plate.

14 of 20

Chocolate Fudge Loaf

Chocolate Fudge Loaf
Chocolate Fudge Loaf.

Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

This rich and fudgy cake is topped with a thick blanket of dark chocolate ganache and sprinkled with cacao nibs and flaky sea salt. Ingredients like coffee, rye flour, and crème fraîche enhance the robust, nutty, and slightly sweet aroma of Dutch-process cocoa. A generous dose of salt acts as a flavor enhancer and balances the brown sugar for a decadent, not overly sweet loaf. 

15 of 20

Raisin Rye Bread

Raisin Rye Bread
© Edward Pond

Bread expert Lionel Vatinet developed this hearty, fiber-rich bread to satisfy his Eastern European customers.

16 of 20

Sea Bass with Edamame-Rye Crust

Sea Bass with Edamame-Rye Crust

© Richard Gerhard Jung

Here, pioneering chef Wylie Dufresne's sea bass is encrusted with a buttery mixture of chopped soybeans, dark rye breadcrumbs, and chives, then served atop a bed of silky mashed potatoes flavored with chive oil.

17 of 20

Rye Bread Dip

Rye Bread Dip
Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

Here, a rye bread boule is hollowed out and filled with a creamy, herb-packed dip. Cut the interior into chunks for dipping and serve with your favorite crudités. (We like our dip with slices of red pepper, cucumber, and fennel.)

18 of 20

Easy Seeded Rye Bread

Easy Seeded Rye Bread
© Abby Hocking

This dense, extra-seedy rye bread from Danish chef Claus Meyer is incredibly moist. It sits beautifully at room temperature for a few days and is the perfect thick, crusty piece of bread to use for your avocado toast.

19 of 20

Pumpernickel Bread

Pumpernickel Bread
Abby Hocking / Food & Wine

Cocoa powder, molasses, rye flour, and dark brown sugar lend the classic deep brown color to this pumpernickel bread.

20 of 20

Cucumber-Rye Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber-Rye Tea Sandwiches
© Con Poulos

Little slices of party rye are a Southern favorite for tea sandwiches: "You don't see regular rye down here every day," cookbook author Martha Hall Foose says. If party rye isn't available, use a cookie cutter to create rounds from regular bread slices.

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles