Top 10: Easy Recipes with Five Ingredients

By Food & Wine
Updated May 24, 2017
Credit: © Quentin Bacon
Sometimes the simplest dishes have the boldest flavors. These recipes use just five or fewer ingredients, not including pantry staples like salt, pepper and oil.
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1 of 10

Mustard-Baked Chicken with a Pretzel Crust

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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This dish, from chef Ilene Rosen at the City Bakery in New York City, matches chicken with the classic NYC street-vendor combo: pretzels and mustard.

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2 of 10

Crisp Polenta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: © John Kernick
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Like many red fruits and vegetables, the juicy roasted cherry tomatoes topping the polenta contain lycopene, which protects against cancer and heart disease.

3 of 10

Balsamic and Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak

Credit: © Marie Hennechart
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Chef Matt Molina and his entourage prepared the dish on their last night in Italy, marinating the meat in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and rosemary.

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4 of 10

Green Mango Salad

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The mangoes in this jalapeño-spiced salad are full of vitamin C. Be sure to use firm, underripe fruit: They add an essential tang to the recipe.

5 of 10

Swordfish with Orzo, Pistachios and Olives

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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Katy Sparks, an F&W Best New Chef 1998, knows busy people don’t have lots of time to spend in grocery stores. That’s why this tasty recipe has a short shopping list.

6 of 10

Baked Peaches with Almond Paste

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Stuff ripe, juicy peach halves with pureed almond paste and then bake them until tender and golden. Puree the almond mixture ahead of time if you like, but wait until the last minute to cut and stuff the peaches, or they’ll turn brown.

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7 of 10

Irish Brown Bread

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Even though this bread is dense, hearty and complex-tasting, it requires no yeast and therefore no rising time. Cathal Armstrong says he likes it best “fresh from the oven and with lots of Kerrygold butter.”

8 of 10

Cranberry Panna Cotta

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This elegant, low-fat panna cotta requires only five ingredients: cranberries, sugar, gelatin, water and buttermilk (instead of the usual cream).

9 of 10

Bucatini with Pancetta, Pecorino and Pepper

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“I love knowing that I have leftovers in the refrigerator,” says chef Shelley Lindgren. She’ll often make pasta during the day—like this rich, pancetta-studded bucatini that’s tossed with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and Pecorino—and then reheat a big bowl of it when she comes home from work late at night.

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10 of 10

Fudgy Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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New York pastry chef François Payard’s divinely gooey chocolate cookies are flourless.

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