The 51 Best Ina Garten Recipes of All Time (2025)

FAQs

What does Ina Garten eat every day? ›

Her eating, she says, is “pretty orderly, actually”: “I pretty much have toast and coffee for breakfast;” tea every day at 10:30 a.m. — not a minute earlier or later; soup for lunch (Italian wedding soup, on the day of the recording); and for dinner, she and her husband, Jeffrey, go out with friends or order in.

If you're looking for a Barefoot Contessa-approved set, check out the Maison pattern from Crate and Barrel, a mainstay Ina has said she owns over the years. Another, pricier option is the White Dinnerware set from Pillivuyt, a French brand Ina recommends for serving ware as well.

Garten answered her fan from Nebraska's pressing question by suggesting she start with "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook." Garten wrote, "I always recommend that beginner cooks start with 'The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook,' which is filled with the easy recipes that I used to make at my specialty food store in East Hampton ...

Her fame may be relatively quiet — she doesn't have a line of cookware, there isn't a namesake restaurant — but make no mistake: Ina Garten is a powerhouse celeb chef.

Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, Garten was one of two children born to Charles H. Rosenberg, a surgeon specializing in otolaryngology, and his wife, Florence (née Rich), a dietitian.

Fish head stew is a no. As for herbs, she absolutely despises cilantro, and you won't find much of it used in her recipes. Beverages that she's not okay with are pumpkin spice lattes, because they don't taste enough like coffee, and kombucha, because she's not a huge fan of fermented fare.

When it comes to two cooking legends, Ina Garten and Julia Child, their minds agree on a strong distaste for one ingredient: cilantro. It seems that both chefs have a particularly strong distaste for the herb, also known as coriander.

Not just any old oatmeal will do when it comes to the Barefoot Contessa. "I've had the same thing for breakfast every single day for ten years: coffee and McCann's quick-cooking Irish oatmeal," Garten told Bon Appétit in a 2017 article. And her love of the stuff is well-documented.

Olio Santo California Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A light, cold-pressed California oil that fans say is tasty enough for fancy recipes and straight-up dips alike yet affordable enough for everyday meals. And did we mention, it's Ina Garten's choice!

All-Clad features a selection of high-quality, long-lasting kitchenware. From top-of-the-line roasting pans to multipot steamers, All-Clad offers variety. However, Garten is often spotted using (and raving about) the line's stainless steel products.

What kind of silverware does Ina Garten use? ›

No table is complete without flatware, and Garten's silverware of choice is a brand called Chambly; she shared on Instagram that she uses it daily!

Betty Crocker's Cookbook (originally called Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book) by Betty Crocker (1950) – approx. 65 million copies.

Cuisinart Cup Pro Custom 11 Food Processor

In a video for Food Network, Ina shared that she uses her food processor for things like potatoes, breadcrumbs and even thinly-sliced Brussels sprouts.

The "Barefoot Contessa" star has become beloved for her foolproof dishes that are accessible to home chefs at any skill level. And Garten credits this with the fact that she always tests out her dishes with an inexperienced cook. "Every time I make a recipe, I watch someone else make it," she told Sifton.

Ina Garten has built an incredible career, which started with writing budgets at the White House. With the support of husband Jeffrey, she then ran a grocery store that launched her cooking journey. Garten has since written 13 cookbooks, and "Barefoot Contessa" has been on TV for 20 years.

The Barefoot Contessa's simple, meticulously tested recipes have helped drag me out of every cooking rut I've ever found myself in. Happily for all of us, Garten has shared a number of her recipes (and cooking tips) with Food & Wine.

East Hampton, New York, U.S. The show's title, which comes from the Italian word for countess, was originally used by Garten in her best-selling cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (1999). The cookbook was in turn named after Garten's specialty food store, which she bought already named in 1978.