Extra Helpings - A Blue Apron blog
Meet the new Blue Apron, now more convenient (and delicious) than ever. This is meal planning the way it should be: simple, inspiring, fun—and no subscription needed.
Discover what’s cooking
Search for recipes, cooking tips, food trends, and all things delicious.

Here’s How: Take the Bite out of Shallots with Vinegar
Nearly as often as we ask you to mince your garlic into paste, we instruct you to transfer your minced shallot to a small bowl with some vinegar. After that, as you get back to cooking your steak or your chopped apple salad or your farro. Meanwhile, the vinegar gets to work on the shallot. It’s amazing how much better your meal will be just because you left the shallots alone!

Different Types of Sugar: Exploring Sweet Varieties
When you think of sugar you most likely imagine white granulated sugar, but there are a several types of sugar available in most grocery stores. These sugars vary in texture, flavor, and color. Depending on what you’re making, choosing the right sugar can be mission-critical.

Cake Baking Tips & Troubleshooting Problems
Cake baking mistakes happen to everyone. A birthday cake with a giant hole in the middle? A pound cake as dense as a log? We’ve been there.

How to Cook Chickpeas
With a little luck, you might be able to find fresh chickpeas or garbanzo beans at a local farmers market in the summer. These green peas inside their fuzzy pods might look pretty different from the canned variety available at most supermarkets, but they’re just the raw, fresh version. Keep reading to learn the difference between raw, fresh, and canned chickpeas.

Tuna Noodle Casserole is a Bowl of Comfort Topped with Crackers
Comfort food, comfort food, comfort food. I can keep cooking it, but I always want more. As a native midwesterner, nothing says comfort for me like a casserole. Growing up, my favorite version of this dish was tuna noodle casserole.

Make-Ahead Waffles for Pain-Free Breakfasts
There’s nothing wrong with a good toaster waffle, but as a Chef I’ve come to enjoy the beauty that is the Liege waffle. This type of waffle offers a little more complexity and flavor than you’ll find in the freezer aisle.

The 5 Best Cuts of Lamb To Cook at Home
If cooking lamb is new territory for you, here are five cuts that are best to start out with: rib chop, loin chop, sirloin steak, stew meat and ground meat.

How to Carve a Turkey Breast
When it comes to carving, a turkey breast is easier to handle than a whole bird. There’s no need to worry about removing the wings, or if you should slice the drumsticks off the bones.

How To Make Bread Bowls For Your Favorite Soups
Building a flavorful soup is one of the great pleasures of fall. You can make a great soup with just about anything in the pantry. Use vegetables scraps to start a beautiful homemade broth, and then layer in ingredients until you’ve created a flavor explosion.

How to Roast Almonds
All almonds taste nuttier and richer when they’re roasted. Roasting almonds brings their natural oils to the surface, and also crisps up the bronze, papery skins. Roasting nuts deepens their flavor, rendering them richer, nuttier, and more complex. It also gives them a crispier texture that shines in many recipes.
Food you can feel good about
From pasture-raised beef to certified sustainable seafood, we’re raising the bar on animal welfare standards.


