Here’s how to transform ordinary fries into crave-worthy bites—our game-changing French fry seasoning! Alex and I have crafted the perfect blend of herbs and spices that adds a punch of savory, garlicky, and surprisingly “cheesy” flavor to any type of fry. The best part? It’s completely plant-based and takes just 2 minutes to whip up.

What makes this seasoning special is its perfect texture that clings to each fry. Whether you’re making homemade baked fries, classic fried potatoes, or even doctoring up frozen fries, this blend brings an extra magic touch.

Dietary notes

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Have you ever over-cooked rice and ended up with a glue-y mush? Under-cooked it to where it’s crunchy? Gotten it stuck to the bottom of the pan? Alex and I have seen it all.

As cookbook authors and recipe experts, we’ve found over time a method that results in tender, delicious white rice to pair with all your meals. Here’s how to cook white rice perfectly, every time.

Variation: Instant Pot white rice

Yes, you can cook white rice in an Instant Pot! Alex and I love making whole grains like farro, bulgur and quinoa in our Instant Pot because it’s totally hands off and leaves the stove free for cooking other things. Here’s our White Rice in an Instant Pot method.

Dietary notes

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Looking for a light and fluffy topping for all your vegan desserts? This vegan whipped cream is pillowy, creamy goodness—and it takes 3 ingredients and just minutes to whip up!

Alex and I eat a lot of plant based recipes and this is the perfect topping our vegan dessert recipes. We’ve been making this vegan coconut whipped cream for years and it’s always a hit!

Dietary notes

This vegan whipped cream recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.

Did you know you can make DIY sour cream at home with just 2 ingredients? Experience the magic of fermentation right in your own kitchen! It’s a bit of a kitchen experiment that results in extremely delicious sour cream: much tastier than store bought.

Whether you’re out of sour cream or just want to try a fun experiment, it’s 100% worth making! Why make it at home?

• Creates richer, fresher flavor than store-bought versions
• Uses only natural ingredients with no preservatives
• Perfect way to use leftover heavy cream or buttermilk
• Fun kitchen science experiment!

Want to make blackened fish or shrimp? All you need is this homemade blackened seasoning! This Cajun-style spice blend features savory, spicy, and aromatic spices that make the most irresistible flavor.

Alex and I love making blackened salmon and blackened shrimp, and it all starts here. Here’s why to make this homemade blackened seasoning recipe:

• Perfect balance of heat and flavor
• Uses easy-to-find spices
• Versatile for seafood, meat, and vegetables
• Includes secret ingredients (like allspice and cloves!) for depth
• Stores well for up to a year
• More complex than basic Cajun seasoning

Dietary notes

This blackened seasoning recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, dairy free, naturally sweet, refined sugar free, low carb, and keto.

Here’s a fun homemade condiment that’s a must for plant based cooking: vegan Parmesan cheese! After Alex and I discovered this trick, we started using it on everything: pasta, soup, salads: you name it! It lasts for a month in the fridge and takes less than 5 minutes to make.

Using just 5 simple ingredients, you can create a savory, cheese-like topping that’s perfect for pasta, pizza, salads, and more. It’s a dairy-free swap that captures the nutty, salty essence of traditional Parmesan cheese while keeping things completely plant based (helpful for us since our son now eats dairy free!).

Dietary notes

This vegan Parmesan cheese is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Did you know you can make homemade dill pickles in just 20 minutes? They’re tangy, salty sweet with just the right crunch—and infinitely better than store bought. As authors of two cookbooks, this is one skill Alex and I think all home cooks should know.

These pint jars of bright green spears work for lunch, dinner, snacks, and everything in between! Why make homemade pickles? They have better flavor than store-bought versions, they’re more economical than specialty pickles, you have control over the ingredients and spice levels—and it’s just plain fun! Here’s our master method for what you need to know about how to make dill pickles.

Pro tips for making pickles

Successful pickling relies on creating an environment where harmful bacteria can’t thrive. The vinegar’s acidity, combined with salt, creates this preservation environment while also developing the characteristic pickle flavor. For refrigerator pickles, the cold temperature provides additional preservation. Traditional canning uses heat processing to create an airtight, shelf-stable environment. Here are a few pro tips for putting together a jar:

• Use only fresh, firm pickling cucumbers
• Cut the cucumbers uniformly for even pickling
• Make sure brine completely covers vegetables
• Use fresh spices for best flavor
• Keep cucumbers cold until ready to process
• Follow proper canning procedures for shelf-stable pickles

Dietary notes

This dill pickle recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

If you cook with any sort of frequency, you’ve probably often used Italian seasoning, a blend of Mediterranean herbs. But did you know you can make it homemade?

This a mix of 5 herbs comes together in minutes—a fun way to use up odds and ends from your spice collection (and makes lovely DIY gifts, too). Use it to season fish and veggies, or simply sprinkle on olive oil and use as a dip for bread!

Dietary notes

This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, dairy free, naturally sweet, refined sugar free, low carb, and keto.

Can’t find crème fraîche at your local store? You can easily make this luxurious French cream at home with just two simple ingredients! This DIY version is just as tasty as the store-bought version, and gives you the satisfaction of making it with your own two hands.

It’s the perfect way to transform leftover heavy cream into something extraordinary. Alex and I love making homemade sour cream, so we thought we’d try creme fraiche too! It’s just as easy and delicious.

We’ve got a condiment secret that will revolutionize all your meals, from bowl meals to sandwiches. Try these pickled cucumbers and onions! Now, if you’re a fan of pickled red onions like we are, you’ll know the magic: they add a tangy sweet crunch to everything they touch.

So we thought, why not try the concept with cucumbers, too? These pickled cucumbers and onions are perfect for adding a crunch to any meal. We originally made them for this Mediterranean-style falafel bowl, but they work with just about anything: cheese boards, sandwiches, tacos, and more! As cookbook authors who have made dozens of pickle recipes, trust us when we say—you are going to love them.

Dietary notes

This pickled cucumbers and onions recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Lentils are some of the world’s most nutrient dense, healthy, and inexpensive foods. So why not eat more of them? Here at A Couple Cooks, we’ve got a huge number of lentil recipes using lentils of all varieties.

We cook lentils on the stovetop, and in the lentils in the Instant Pot. We love black, red, yellow and green lentils. But one of our very favorite varieties to cook with is French lentils. Why? Keep reading.

Are Puy lentils the same?

Yes! French lentils are packaged under the names Puy lentils, du Puy lentils, lentilles du Puy, or French green lentils. (Don’t confuse that with just “green lentils,” which are entirely different!)

Puy lentils are French lentils that were grown in the Puy region in central France. This region has volcanic soil, so you might notice a slight flavor difference where this variety is more peppery. However, the flavor differences are so subtle that the two are interchangeable.

Dietary notes

This French lentils recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Are you a lover of black eyed peas? This mighty legume is full of plant-based protein and nutrients, and it can be eaten in so many different ways. You can usually find black eyed peas canned at the grocery store—but it’s cheaper and tastier if you cook them from dried!

Here’s our favorite versatile black eyed peas recipe: you can cook them until they’re just tender for salads and dips like Texas caviar, or make them into this creamy, smoky side dish. You choose!

Dietary notes

This black eyed peas recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

Here’s a dressing that’s packed with flavor and seriously simple to whisk up: this tasty miso dressing! If there’s one ingredient that makes magic in the kitchen, it’s miso. This fermented soybean paste holds the key to savory, umami flavor in recipes of all kinds, from salmon to vegan pesto.

It’s absolutely perfect for an all-purpose dressing: combine it with soy sauce and orange juice and it’s out of this world good! It works wonders on salads, or drizzled on fish or bowl meals.

Types of miso

Miso is a Japanese fermented soybean paste known for its intense savory flavor, otherwise known as umami: the fifth flavor. Umami is the same flavor that makes meat and cheese taste so satisfying, so some people equate it as meaty. You can usually find miso in the grocery near the Japanese ingredients. There are many different types of miso, and they all taste different:

• White miso (Shiro miso): Fermented less time than darker miso, and has a mild, more delicate flavor and less salt.
• Yellow miso: Another mild variety of miso, fermented a little longer than white miso with a mild, lightly sweet flavor.
• Red or dark miso: This variety is fermented longer. It has a very strong flavor and can overwhelm the flavors in a dish.

Dietary notes

This miso dressing recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

When it comes to dolloping, Mexican crema is where it’s at! This sumptuous thickened cream is at home over tacos and in burrito bowls: basically any meal with Mexican-inspired flavors can benefit from a little crema!

Alex and I love dolloping it on all sorts of recipes to add a little richness, like tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and burrito bowls. Mexican crema can be purchased in stores, but it can also be made at home. It’s truly easy, but involves a little wait time: almost like a science project!

Dietary notes

This Mexican crema recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.

Got green tomatoes? How about making—pickles? When Alex and I are left with a bush of green tomatoes at the end of the season, one of our favorite ways to preserve them is by whipping up a jar of pickles.

It’s hard to describe just how next-level these pickled green tomatoes are. They’re tangy, salty, a little sweet, and the absolute perfect condiment. If you’re a pickle lover like we are, you’ll adore these. Over they years, this recipe has become a fan favorite with lots of positive reader reviews. Here’s how to make them!

The type of green tomatoes to use

This pickled green tomatoes recipe is meant for unripe red tomatoes that green in color. These are the ones that are left in your garden after the summer temperatures have cooled down. Contrast this with the varieties of tomatoes that are bred to be green when ripe! The green zebra tomato is a good example of a green-when-ripe tomato—it tastes juicy and sweet, just like a red tomato.

This pickled green tomatoes recipe is intended for red tomatoes that haven’t yet ripened, leaving them green and hard. They have tart, zingy flavor and a robust texture that makes for perfect pickles.

Want to step up your cocktails and coffee drinks? Try demerara syrup! This simple syrup made with demerara sugar transforms drinks with its nutty, caramel flavor. There’s an essence to the flavor that’s hard to describe in words.

It makes for one impressive cocktail! Alex and I like adding it to an Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, or Manhattan for a caramel boost. It’s also great for adding flavor to a latte or tea latte. It takes just 5 minutes to make!

Dietary notes

This demerara syrup recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Want a spin on pesto without pine nuts? Try pistou, the classic French cousin of pesto! It’s even simpler: all you need are basil, garlic, and olive oil. Mash it into a paste and you’ve got a chunky sauce that’s great for dipping and drizzling.

In fact, we might like it just as much as classic basil pesto. It’s like a nut free dairy free pesto that packs just as much flavor. Come, experience the magic!

Dietary notes

This pistou recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Alex and I have been creating recipes with our pressure cooker for years. We’ve learned that while the Instant Pot is not magic, it can be a great quick and hands off way to make basic staples.

That’s the case with this recipe: this Instant Pot quinoa cooks in just over 16 minutes! It’s almost totally hands off, so you don’t have to baby sit it while you’re cooking the rest of a meal. Here’s how to cook quinoa in an Instant Pot!

Dietary notes

This Instant Pot quinoa recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar-free.

A bright pink jar of quick pickled red onions is kitchen gold, really. This tangy topping brings a sweet tart pop of flavor to tacos, salads, sandwiches, enchiladas: you name it! They’re our favorite chili topping and they make a loaded baked potato taste like a dream.

The best part is that you can whip up a batch in just over 30 minutes with just 4 ingredients. As home cooking experts, this is one of our top tips for taking your recipes to the next level!

Dietary notes

This pickled red onions recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.