30 Things You Should Know How To Cook By The Time You're 30

A pot of perfectly cooked rice is often treated as the holy grail of cooking—mysterious, elusive, and ultimately impossible to consistently achieve—but I’m here to tell you that it’s absolutely NOT as challenging as you think, and you don't even need a rice cooker to nail it. Follow this simple guide, and you’ll be rewarded with success every time.

How To Cook Rice

Whether we’re talking Chicago deep dish, an NYC Sicilian grandma slice, or a classic Italian margherita pie, we can all agree—pizza is a perfect food. While everyone’s got their favorite pizza joint, great pizza is also possible right at home! Using a winning combination of simple ingredients, quick prep, and a slow (but not too slow!) proof time, you can develop a solid pizza dough and sauce that’ll rival the hottest pizza spots.

How To Make Homemade Pizza

Looking to upgrade your dinner into a restaurant-worthy dish? Craving a crunchy, salty snack? You need to get on board with quick pickling. Using just a few pantry staples, quick pickling will transform the odds and ends in your crisper drawer into a delicious, impressive condiment, without a ton of effort.

How To Quick Pickle

Whether you're into scrambled (pictured), poached, or fried, by the time you're in your 30s, you should be a boss at cooking them. No more bad eggs for you!

How To Cook Eggs, Just The Way You Like Them

Not only are caramelized onions (pictured) the key to SO many classic recipes —like our French onion soup or caramelized onion dip—but they also have the ability to turn any ho-hum dinner into something excellent. Learn how to make them, and you'll always be eating well.

How To Caramelize Onions

Italy is known for its pasta, and by the time you're thirty, you should be too! Whether you love classic Alfredo sauce (our chicken Alfredo is pictured), a spicy spaghetti all'assassina, a simple cacio e pepe, these are the dishes to whip out for holidays, date nights, and all the special occasions life holds.

How To Make An Impressive Italian Pasta Dish

The stuff in the can is great, and you really can't beat it for convenience, but trust us when we say—homemade is SO. MUCH. BETTER. It also doesn't take too much extra effort, so you can easily whip some up (get it) to upgrade everything from pie to ice cream sundaes.

How To Make Homemade Whipped Cream

You can pretty much throw any protein, veggies, and noodles into a pan with some sauce and call it a meal, which is why a stir-fry is THE dinner you should know how to make by the time you're 30. Keep it simple with a chicken (pictured) or tofu stir-fry, or really impress with one of the greats like pad Thai or pad see ew.

How To Make A Stir-Fry

A crispy chicken cutlet is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Whether smothered in marinara and mozzarella for a killer chicken Parm or stuffed between sliced milk bread to create a katsu sando, there’s just something about the combo of crunchy golden bread crumb exterior and juicy tender middle that can’t be beat.

How To Bread Chicken (Or Whatever You Want!)

When it comes to a great meal, most people focus on the main protein and carb-y, vegetable-y sides, but trust us—it's the simplest of salads that always blows everyone's minds. By the time you're 30, you should have a good dressing in your pocket, and a go-to mix of add-ins that you like, from nuts to fruit to cheese. Check out our spinach salad (pictured), which is great year-round, and all of our top fall, summer, or winter salads for inspo.

How To Make A Great Salad.

Whether you load yours up with all the burger toppings imaginable or prefer to keep it simple, the best burger first and foremost must nail the basics. We’re here to give you our recipes for the best burgers possible, whether you're into veggie burgers (pictured), classic cheeseburgers, salmon burgers, _{chicken burgers}, turkey burgers... Fire up the grill—you're the grill dad now.

How To Make A Great Burger

We big fans of ALL desserts, but cookies might be our favorite—they're easy to make, everyone loves them, and they're perfect for every occasion from birthdays to holidays. Perfect one recipe (may we suggest our sugar cookies, pictured?) or get good at baking a whole bunch from our list of 100+ below (you're about to be popular!)—either way, you'll be set for whatever special occasions come at you.

How To Bake Cookies

It’s rare that a day goes by in the Delish kitchen when we haven’t roasted a vegetable. Got an extra head of cauliflower? Roast it. A pound of Brussels sprouts we're not using? Oil 'em up and throw them in the oven. Roasted vegetables are perfect for snacking, as sides, or thrown in salads or grain bowls. Pretty much every vegetable is delicious roasted—from potatoes (pictured) to garlic to mushrooms‚ and with these tips they'll be perfect every single time.

How To Roast Vegetables In The Oven

Whether you're meal prepping, need the perfect centerpiece to any holiday dinner, or just want an impressive dinner for the whole family, a well-cooked whole chicken will always fit the bill. The steps to make this chicken are simple: You season the bird (just salt & pepper!), then roast it at high heat until the skin is bronzed and crisp and the flesh juicy.

How To Roast A Whole Chicken

From birthdays to holidays, with everything in between, there's something about a cake that really turns an average occasion into something special. Whether you're a fan of chocolate (pictured), vanilla, pumpkin, red velvet... we've got all the tips to make yours turn out bakery-worthy.

How To Make A Cake

Breakfast in bed or brunch around a table with friends are some of life's great joys, and you don't have to go out to a restaurant or order in to enjoy them! Knowing how to make homemade pancakes (or their relatives, Dutch baby pancakes, minis pictured), French toast, and waffles will serve you long through your 30s and beyond.

How To Make A Decadent Breakfast

We'll say it—there is just not good hummus at the grocery store. They're often too thick (or too juicy), they don't have enough flavor (or taste too much like grocery store), and they're often doing too much (what's the deal with all the chocolate hummus?), or too little (why do they only give you like a tablespoon of veg on top?). But not to worry, it's actually SO easy to make and customize your own at home.

How To Make Homemade Hummus

Our top tip for bulking out dinner? Homemade garlic bread! Keep it simple, and use plenty of garlic. All you need are a handful of staple ingredients and less than 30 minutes to create this herby, garlicky side to complete all of your pasta dinners right at home.

How To Make The BEST Garlic Bread

Though we also love the convenience and nostalgia of a box of macaroni & cheese, it really doesn't compare to the homemade stuff. Whether you're looking for a comforting dinner or a banging holiday side, our recipes will never let you down. Check out our classic mac & cheese (pictured), our Southern mac & cheese, or our queso mac & cheese for ideas, then click below for all our top tips to making your mac the best it can be.

How To Make Mac & Cheese (Not From A Box)

If you have leftover rice hanging out in your fridge, then classic fried rice is a no-brainer. There are countless ways to bulk up this staple dinner, from beef fried rice to kimchi fried rice to pineapple fried rice. We know everyone has a soft spot in their heart for their favorite type of fried rice (we see you, shrimp fried rice-heads), so this recipe is as classic as you can get, perfect for personalizing however you like.

How To Make Fried Rice