Simple Recipes to Cook from Scratch

Cooking from scratch is healthier and saves money in the long run. With a garden full of fresh fruit and vegetables, cooking and preserving the food we grow is always on my mind as well as we don’t want all this food to go to waste. This huge list consists of simple recipes to cook from scratch that we use on a daily basis.

Simple Recipes to Cook from Scratch

Though it may seem easier to just pop down to the grocery store and buy pre-packaged food, buy making your own, you know what is going into your food, serving your family less unhealthy additives and processed food. Most of these recipes are simple recipes that you can cook from scratch without the need for too many different ingredients as well.

Sauces, Dressings and Seasonings

Low Carb BBQ Dry Rub Seasoning – So easy to make and very versatile, being used to rub on everything including chicken, pork, steak and everything in between.

Hollandaise Sauce – This delicious sauce can be difficult to make, though with this recipe you shouldn’t have too much trouble.

Garlic Bread Seasoning – Garlic Bread Seasoning is great to have on hand when you want to whip up a delicious batch of garlic bread, breadsticks, seasoned chicken or pizza.

Basil Pesto – Basil is one plant that just grows and grows. This basil pesto is delicious made with fresh basil picked straight from the garden.

Italian Seasoning – Delicious, and versatile, this seasoning blend of dried herbs is a perfection addition to pizza sauces, pasta sauces, and marinades.

Taco Seasoning – This is a great seasoning to have in the pantry as it can be used to season a variety of dishes including tacos, vegetables, meat, salads, soups and more

Caramel Sauce – Who doesn’t love caramel sauce? So delicious and versatile making it great to have on hand.

Garlic Powder – So great to have on hand, especially since we go through a lot of this.

Minced Garlic – Since we love garlic, we also have it on hand in many different forms.

Celery Salt – Tastes delicious and is a great way to use the leaves of your celery plants.

Tomato Paste – Another recipe that we always have on hand as it is so versatile. Use in pizza sauce, lasagne, spaghetti and more.

Nasturtium Infused Vinegar – This delicious vinegar can be used in salad dressings or marinades or as a replacement for vinegar in your cooking.

Lemon Pepper Seasoning – This delicious and easy to make recipe can be used to season fish, steak or chicken or add a tangy flavour to your favourite meals, salads and dressings.

Caesar Salad Dressing – Requiring only a few pantry items, this creamy dressing is easy to make, by hand, in a blender or food processor or with an immersion blender.

Enchilada Sauce – This delicious homemade Enchilada Sauce couldn’t be easier to make.

Smoky Seasoning Rub – This delicious and easy to make rub perfectly complements steak with the best herbs and spices providing the best flavoured and perfectly textured steak.

Rosemary Salt – This Rosemary Salt is easy to make and an amazing way to use an extra herbs that you have growing in your garden.

Teriyaki Sauce – Ready in around 10 minutes, you’ll love this homemade teriyaki sauce so much you’ll never buy it from the store again.

Date Caramel – This quick and easy Date Caramel Recipe made from delicious Medjool dates is perfect for topping healthy treats or fabulous as a dip.

Chive Oil – This homemade chive oil is a quick and easy way to preserve the fresh flavours of your homegrown chives.

Garlic Aioli – This homemade garlic aioli recipe is delicious, creamy and ready in around 15 minutes.

Spaghetti Seasoning Mix – This simple homemade Spaghetti Seasoning Mix uses ingredients you properly already have to elevate a variety of dishes included pasta dishes, pizza bases and more. 

Garlic Scape Pesto – Garlic Scape Pesto is a must if you haven’t tried it before. 

Breads

Homemade Bread – The smell of fresh bread baking is one that fills the house. This lovely bread can be enjoyed fresh or toasted with the jams, jellies and spreads below.

Milk Bread Rolls – These rolls are super soft, moist and slightly sweet and very easy to make.

Pumpkin and Blueberry Bread – A delicious way to enjoy home grown pumpkins for morning or afternoon tea.

Breakfast

Waffle Board – A wonderful way to entertain friends and family for brunch!

Chocolate Waffles – A delicious breakfast which all, especially kids, will enjoy.

Banana Waffles – This is a yummy breakfast to have, especially when we get a fresh bunch of bananas off the trees.

Pancake Board – Another entertaining board that can be served for brunch.

Eggs Benedict – So delicious, especially when made with fresh eggs.

French Toast Fingers – A lovely way to start the morning.

Instant Pancake Mix – We always have this mix on hand so we can whip up a batch of pancakes when we want.

Instant Oatmeal Packs – This are so handy when looking for a filling, yet quick breakfast.

Frozen Smoothie Packs – Not only a quick and easy breakfast, smoothies make healthy snacks as well.

English Muffins – Make the most soft, delicious homemade English Muffins with all the nooks and crannies, using this simple recipe without kneading or using an oven.

Soups

Chicken Stock / Broth – This light stock is made from chicken, either scraps from a previous cooking project or the untrimmed bones from a whole chicken and a classic mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery. 

Pumpkin Soup – This yummy soup can be made in a slow cooker, Instant pot or on the stove top.

Pea and Ham Soup – A delicious soup for a cold winters night.

Sweet Potato Soup – Sweet potatoes are so delicious and good for you. This is a lovely soup to have on a cold winters night.

Meals and Sides

Classic Greek Salad – A lovely and refreshing salad to enjoy, especially when having the family over for a bbq.

Creamy Potato Salad – Another great salad that we enjoy with friends and family at a bbq.

Creamy Cucumber Salad – This lovely, refreshing salad is so delicious and a great way to use your home grown cucumbers.

BLT Salad – An easy salad to make and is great for serving crowds.

Whole Wheat Pasta – With this easy homemade whole wheat pasta recipe, you can have fresh pasta ready to enjoy within the hour.

 

Jams, Jellies and Spreads

Lemon Marmalade Jam – This deliciously zesty jam is a great way to use your home grown lemons.

Lemon Balm Jelly – Lemon balm is one plant that we always have so much of. This delicious jelly is a great way to enjoy the leaves, with their delicious lemony flavour.

Lemon Jelly Jam – This smooth jelly is sweet, yet tangy but very delicious.

Blueberry Jam – So yummy and easy to make. You’ll love this blueberry jam!

Mint Jelly – Lamb and mint jelly – need I say more?

Apple Butter – This homemade apple butter is full of flavour and pureed for a super-smooth texture, tasting like a thick, smooth, concentrated version of applesauce.

Orange and Lemon Marmalade Jam – Delicious on toast or in cakes.

Rosella Jam – This tangy jam is so delicious on toast, waffles or English muffins for breakfast. I have also used this is a rosella cheesecake.

Apple Scrap Jelly – This jelly is a great way to use up all those apple scraps when making recipes such as apple crumble.

Lemon Curd – This curd can be used is so many ways – in a sandwich, in-between layers of a sponge cake, dolloped over muffins and pancakes or poured into a tart shell. 

Passionfruit Curd – A delicious substitute for lemon curd.

Strawberry Jam – Strawberry jam is not only a favourite on bread or toast, it is used in cakes, slices and muffins too.

Butter – Butter can easily be made from cream and is used in so many recipes.

Mango Jam – A delicious way to use up all the extra mangoes for a tasty treat in the coming months.

Lychee Jam – This homemade lychee jam is quick and easy to make as tastes great on a slice of toast for breakfast.

Mulberry and Apple Jam – With only five ingredients, this recipe is quite simple to make and tastes absolutely amazing, especially on warm, fresh bread. 

Green Pepper Jelly – This spicy, peppery Green Pepper Jelly tastes so delicious served with cream cheese and crackers, on a sandwich or as a glaze on meat.

Orange Curd – This delicious orange curd recipe is smooth, sweet and easy to make.

Blackberry Jam – With blackberries, sugar, and a splash of lemon juice, you can easily have some delicious, no pectin, low sugar blackberry jam ready to enjoy on toast, pancakes, waffles and more.

Drinks, Syrups and Extracts

Vanilla Extract – This is so easy to make and is used all the time baking cakes, muffins, cupcakes and more.

Strawberry Syrup – Delicious poured over pancakes, waffles, ice cream and more, this delicious strawberry syrup is so easy to make and so versatile.

Blueberry Syrup – Another delicious syrup that can be drizzled over desserts, pancakes and used to flavour yoghurt too.

Lime Syrup – This lime syrup can be used to flavour drinks, icing, and more.

Lemon Syrup – Easy to make, tastes amazing and adds a lovely flavour to a variety of recipes including drinks and desserts. 

Rosella Syrup – Packed with vitamin C, rosella syrup is a great way to enjoy the benefits from these delicious fruits.

Mulberry Syrup – Since mulberries don’t last long after being picked, a great way to preserve them for year round goodness, is in this delicious mulberry syrup.

Orange Syrup – This syrup is so easy to make and has so many uses – sweetening or adding moisture to desserts and cakes as well as using to flavour water, iced coffee and iced tea and cocktails.

Lemon Extract – Great to have on hand for adding to your baking for a lovely lemon flavour.

Orange Extract – This extract is so yummy when used to flavour marinades, butter, sauces, chutney and vegetable dishes.

Mint Extract – A tasty way to use those vigorous mint plants which can be used to flavour baking and more.

Elderberry Syrup – A great way to use elderberries to help boost the immune system, especially during the cooler months of the year.

Strawberry Lemonade – A lovely refreshing drink to enjoy on a hot day.

 Vanilla Hot Cocoa Mix – A great addition to a cool evening, when you are looking to curl up and relax with a warm drink.

Lychee Syrup – This syrup is so easy to make and tastes delicious when poured over pancakes or ice cream or used as a cordial.

Sweet Tea – If you love a refreshing sweet tea, then you are going to love this Instant Pot Sweet Tea recipe.

Fruit Infused Coconut Water – A delicious way to make sure you drink enough water is with these fun, fruit infused coconut water recipes.

Honeysuckle Simple Syrup – This syrup is a lovely, floral sweetener that can be used in cocktails, lemonade and iced teas.

Caramel Pecan Syrup – This rich, decadent syrup makes the most perfect topping for pancakes, waffles, biscuits, ice cream, yoghurt and more.

Cold Tea Bombs – Learn how to make all sorts of fun and tasty herbal cold tea bombs with only a few ingredients.

Peaches and Cream Smoothie – This creamy peaches and cream smoothie recipe features sweet peaches, creamy yoghurt with a pinch of cinnamon to make a yummy healthy treat on a hot summer’s day. 

Papaya Smoothie -This tropical and nutritious Papaya Smoothie is quick and easy to whip up for a delicious breakfast or the perfect pick-me-up anytime during the day.

Green Juice – This delicious homemade green juice recipe is made using only six ingredients and a blender, or food processor.

Raspberry Smoothie – This creamy and nutritious Raspberry Smoothie is quick and easy to whip up for a delicious breakfast.

Substitutes, and More

When you find that you have run out of a product, sometimes you can replace these ingredients with others that you may have, which saves a trip to the store. This is especially great when you live some distance from town. Here are some great simple recipes to cook from scratch instead.

Buttermilk – I don’t buy buttermilk, instead I make my own when needed.

Vanilla Powder – Makes a great addition to cakes, drinks, desserts and more.

Honey Butter – Homemade Honey Butter is a delectable 2-ingredient spread that goes on everything including bagels, sandwich, toast, muffins or even baked sweet potatoes. 

Condensed Milk – This is a great substitute to have on hand for using in cooking.

Fermented Honey Garlic – A great way to boost your immune system. The honey-flavoured garlic can also be used as a condiment, adding a lovely honey garlic flavour to your dish.

Fermented Beets – This condiment that can be use in salads, sandwiches, on toast and so much more, with this easy to follow recipe!

Scrappy Apple Cider Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar something every household needs to have. Use it in dressings, marinades, in mayonnaise, as an immune system booster, as a facial toner or hair rinse and to help get rid of fruit flies.

Elderberry Gummies – A great way to boost your immune system during cold and flu season.

Homemade Chocolate Ice Magic Shell – A delicious topping that goes hard when you pour over ice cream.

Sourdough Starter – Once you have built up your sourdough starter, you can make so many different recipes including bread, donuts, muffins and more.

Baking Powder – Run out of baking powder, but need some to complete your recipe? Instead of running out to the shop, make some yourself.

Brown Sugar – Brown sugar can easily be made from a few ingredients.

Caramel in a Can – Caramel can be made by heating tins of condensed milk. It is just amazing and makes an awesome caramel tart.

Eggnog – Eggnog can get quite expensive in the shops here, so we tend to make it ourselves to enjoy.

Lemon Powder – Learn how to reduce this waste by learning how to dehydrate lemon peels which can be powdered to add a lovely flavour to your dishes.

Dried Apple Snacks – Learn how to dehydrate apples which make lovely apple ring snacks and delicious apple chips.

Pumpkin Powder – Pumpkin powder or pumpkin flour is nutritious and full of flavour, making a delicious addition to a variety of baked goods.

Tomato Powder – By adding a little warm water to your tomato powder, it can be used in soups, sauces, pasta dishes, pastes and more.

Chocolate Marshmallows – These seriously big and fluffy homemade chocolate marshmallows are perfectly soft, sweet and chocolatey.

Homemade Ricotta – With only three ingredients, you will be able to make creamy homemade ricotta in less than an hour. 

Honey, Lemon, Ginger Cough Drops – These all-natural homemade Honey Lemon Ginger cough drops are great for soothing coughs and sore throats.

Air-fryer Salt and Pepper Chips – These air fryer Himalayan salt and cracked pepper potato chips are so easy to make and taste amazing.

Vanilla Sugar – This homemade vanilla sugar recipe is quick and easy to make, and makes a wonderful homemade gift for that special baker in your life.

Next time you’re thinking about grabbing a boxed meal, can or packet of processed food at the grocery store, try one of these simple recipes to cook from scratch instead!