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Head to the grocery store or scan recipes for homemade barbecue sauce online; you’ll see ketchup, high-fructose corn syrup, and refined sugars everywhere you look. Determined that none of these ingredients are necessary to make an award-winning bbq sauce recipe (fit for this Instant Pot Pulled Pork), I set out to make the BEST homemade barbecue sauce (that’s also healthy). SPOILER ALERT: I did it. Thick and rich with smoky-sweet undertones from molasses, this versatile, finger-licking-good BBQ sauce recipe is perfect for chicken, Crockpot Ribs, a Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwich, Air Fryer Chicken Wings, and brisket....

Between the crispy onions, smoky corn and black beans, and BBQ ranch dressing, I was hooked at first bite. I decided to take my newfound obsession and use it to create my own, at-home recipe so that I could enjoy the salad for a fraction of the price anytime I pleased (I did the same thing with this Italian Pasta Salad). Not only is this homemade healthy BBQ chicken salad a dead-ringer for the Panera and Cheesecake Factory BBQ chicken salad, but it’s also loaded with twice the toppings for a fraction of the cost....

Although I certainly appreciate a green salad at any social gathering (a reason I stacked my cookbook with a collection of hearty, satisfying salads you can feel confident bringing to any party), I recognize that arriving with a giant container of baby spinach won’t win you the kind of love and admiration showered upon the person who shows up with the Pepperoni Pasta Salad or the Ramen Salad. There’s something about pasta that just makes “salad” feel 100% cookout approved....

Whenever someone I love is faced with an emotional situation, happy or sad, my immediate inclination is to bake, and my go-to good is muffins (especially these Healthy Blueberry Muffins). Why? In truth, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps it’s their homey simplicity and wholesome comfort that makes them a fitting means to convey my caring. Muffins are also fairly quick and easy to stir together (like these Yogurt Muffins), meaning that I can more rapidly bake a batch to speak love on my behalf....

Spring and I play this little game every year—or rather, spring plays, and I sit stubbornly outside in my flip flops, wrapped in a blanket and ignoring the wind that still carries a nip of winter. As soon as we have our first day above 65 degrees (last Friday), I decide that every subsequent day must also be warm, thus I must post margaritas on Instagram, wear sundresses, and behave in an otherwise springtime manner, even when we slip back into the 40s or (heaven forbid) it snows in April....

I blame my Irish heritage for my inability to understate. A prime example is my inability to whisper. This “Irish whisper” of mine has followed me into adulthood, where I regularly speak at inappropriate volumes, while believing that I am using normal tones. It’s a work in progress. If someday you catch me in a restaurant waxing poetically about the dessert (probably these Dark Chocolate Cookies) in an explosive manner typically reserved for campaign speeches, feel free to tell me to pipe down....

And sometimes I need my dinner to be ridiculously easy and ready in less than 45 minutes from now. That’s also when I make this thick, creamy chicken noodle soup. This recipe embraces without explanation. It won’t ask questions, and the only problem it will try to solve is what to make for dinner tonight. I first made this recipe for creamy chicken noodle soup while being dominated by the worst stomach bug I’ve had in years....

Without fail, every apple season, I go bonkers at the orchard. It’s as if the moment I step into the rows of apple trees, I temporarily forget that I am feeding a household of two, not a family of fruit bats. Bring on the surplus! Apples have a good shelf life. Plus, my friends who often apple pick alongside me have come to count on me showing up with a great big apple dessert....

In this busy season of life (has anyone else’s last few weeks been so busy, you feel like you can barely remember your first name?), a cozy and familiar recipe that is easy on the prep work always hits the spot. This crockpot lasagna soup is one of those time-saving, nourishing recipes for us all. I hope it fills your belly, warms your heart, and eases your stress level too!...

And I’m back! Yesterday, we took a stroll down the walk of fame and reviewed the 11 most popular recipes that were published on Well Plated in 2019. If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can scope out the list of reader favorites here. It is an excellent list (I truly adore those recipes too!) but behind the scenes is another set of recipes. They are the ones that—despite being outrageously, fork-droppingly delicious—never took off....

Pronounced “knee-swahz,” Niçoise salad is named for Nice, France, a city located on the French Riviera. Most often, the ingredients in a Niçoise salad you’ll see are: Hard-boiled eggsSteamed or blanched veggies (baby potatoes and green beans are quite ubiquitous)Tuna and/or anchovies (I use both)Briny ingredients like olives (Niçoise olives bien sur) and capersTomatoesRed onionA zippy vinaigrette What will likely surprise you is that the “original” Niçoise salad recipe did not call for potatoes or green beans…or cooked veggies of any kind....

These oatmeal breakfast bars are one of the very first recipes I ever posted on my site. So many of you have written to tell me about how they’ve enabled you to survive long meetings, fueled you after a workout, and become a favorite of your kids. In fact, this recipe is so simple, many of you bake them with your kiddos too! The origin of this baked oatmeal bars recipe is my friend Elisabeth....

Over quinoa? Has the sun set on this little fiber and protein-rich powerhouse? Did its popularity rise, then fade into oblivion like the cupcakes and Krispy Kremes of yore? Or could my sister just have been toying with my emotions? I’m hoping it’s the latter, because in addition to a fierce addiction to these Chicken Quinoa Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers, I have enough quinoa squirreled away in my basement to feed a small football team, assuming that football team is, you know, into quinoa....

These pistachio chocolate balls are for that person in your life. The one for whom it is impossible to shop because she already has everything. The one with unattainably high standards. The one you can’t invite over for dinner without first sending the complete menu for approval because she doesn’t eat X, Y, and Z. No need to name names, you know the one. This easy no-bake dessert is here to please all—the highly discerning and those of us who regularly walk around wearing socks that don’t match (raises hand)....

……OK, the Macy’s Day Parade-sized turkey did not materialize as I irrationally feared, but it does seem like a crime against American tradition, family values, and every grade school reenactment of the first Thanksgiving dinner to admit that the classic orange dessert does little to ruffle the construction paper feathers on my brown paper grocery bag Native American vest. (Did anyone else make those in grade school?). I digress. My general attitude towards pumpkin pie is, meh (unless we’re talking about Vegan Pumpkin Pie, of course)....

We eat roasted vegetables several nights a week at home, and my default method to cook them is olive oil, salt, and pepper. 400 degrees F. 20(ish) minutes. Done and done. It’s standard. It’s effective. It doesn’t require much effort. Basically, it’s the yoga pants of roasted vegetable recipes. But what about those meals when you need something a little special? When your friends and family are gathered for a festive occasion?...

And no, I’m not talking about the way the tips of your fingers will glow a bit yellowy-orange after you’ve tossed the vegetables in the appropriate amount of golden Indian spices like curry and turmeric (worth it!). The glow here I mean is the deep, good-to-the-core feeling I get whenever I eat a meal that not only fills and satisfies my appetite but tastes so pure and holistic, it leaves me glowing from the inside out....

If I had nine lives, one of them would be spent running a bright, hip, and only semi-pretentious neighborhood cafe. We’d have excellent coffee, green smoothies, and killer pastries. We’d sell wine. Best of all, the menu would be packed with vibrant, healthy “bowls” of all kinds. Our best seller? This teriyaki salmon bowl. I can see it now. You come in the morning with your laptop to “work,” linger through lunch, and then convince your friends with real jobs to join you for happy hour after they get off at 5....

The wonderful and terrible thing about graduating from Notre Dame is that my friends from college live all over the country. The positive is that whether I’m traveling Cape Cod, Hawaii, San Diego, Philadelphia, or New York City, I can almost always find a college pal to meet up with.The downside is, I often see these friends less than once a year. This past weekend, Ben and I headed back to campus for the season’s opening football game, and I was incredibly blessed by the fact that so many of my friends returned to campus for the game....

Kids, adults, teens—try to find one person who can convincingly dispute that teriyaki is anything other than delightful. Whenever I need healthy dinner inspiration, I often turn to Asian flavors, as they impart big-time taste without the need for excess sugars or oils. It was only a matter of time until I tried a Japanese teriyaki salmon recipe, particularly considering the evidence: How often I use teriyaki sauce to cook chicken (so often that I have a classic stovetop Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry, a Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken, AND an Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken)AND how often I turn to salmon for healthy meals—salmon is rich in omega-3s, protein, and is quick and easy to prepare with little prep time....