Best Recipes of 2025: Reader’s Choice Award Winners

Hello my lovely readers! Thank you so much to all of you who voted in my 15^th annual Reader’s Choice Awards! I can’t believe it has been 15 years! Your votes mean so much to me and I love seeing which recipes were your favorite. My blog always gets new readers in January and it’s so helpful to be able to point them to this post as a starting place for my “greatest hits” of the previous year, so I really appreciate you taking the time to give input and share your thoughts. In case you missed it, you can look at past reader favorites (which are still popular recipes today – tasty food never goes out of style!) by checking out the 2024 winners, 2023 winners, 2022 winners, 2021 winners, 2020 winners, 2019 winners, 2018 winners, 2017 winners, 2016 winners, 2015 winners, 2014 winners, 2013 winners, 2012 winners and 2011 winners.

Whether or not you voted, I really, genuinely want to thank you. Whether it’s your first time visiting my blog or you’ve been cooking along with me since 2010, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for reading my posts and for cooking my recipes. Thank you for asking questions, leaving comments and giving your feedback. Thank you for sharing my site with friends, posting pictures of what you’ve made on Instagram, pinning the recipes you want to try, and sharing my posts on Facebook. Thank you for signing up to receive my new posts by email. Thanks for emailing me your stories and ideas and for sharing your successes. You motivate and inspire me so much and I’m genuinely thrilled that you’re here. I am so grateful for you!

I started Emily Bites back on Christmas Eve of 2010, so unbelievably it has been FIFTEEN years! I was on Weight Watchers and had just recently started cooking more and I was so excited to discover how delicious and fun creating lightened up meals could be. I couldn’t wait to share my findings, but I never imagined so many of you would find my site and cook along with me. This site is now such a huge and important part of my life and who I am that it’s hard to remember what life was like for me before Emily Bites. This blog is my passion and now my job and your presence here makes it possible for me to keep living my dream. Again, thank you!

I can’t say this enough: It overwhelms me that so many of you out there read my blog, make my recipes and give me such great feedback, encouragement and inspiration. THANK YOU!! If you don’t already and you want to follow my site on social, here are the links: Facebook, Instagram, Email Club.

Without further ado, on to the Reader’s Choice Award Winners! The results are below and for each category I’ve pictured the winner and then listed the runner up along with my own vote (which didn’t count in the standings unless I needed to break a tie, I’m just listing it for fun).

1. Best Appetizer Recipe: Mini Loaded Tater Tot Cups

Runner Up: Bisquick Chicken Sausage Balls

Emily’s Pick: So, I actually make the Bisquick Sausage Balls the most frequently, but I usually eat them for breakfast! I’m going to agree with the consensus that the Mini Loaded Tater Tot Cups are a perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer!

2. Best Baking Recipe: Orange Cranberry Bread

Runner Up: Cherry Apple Crisp

Emily’s Pick: I love orange, so I am down between the Orange Cranberry Bread and the Orange Chocolate Baked Oatmeal Singles. I think I agree that the bread takes it!

3. Best Side Dish Recipe: Greek Roasted Potatoes with Feta (this was actually a tie!)

Runner Up: Loaded Potato Salad

Emily’s Pick: My pick here is the Greek Roasted Potatoes -that’s why I broke the tie for them to win!

4. Best Soup or Salad Recipe: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Runner Up: Creamy Loaded Potato Soup

Emily’s Pick: I’m going rogue and picking the Beef Taco Salad with Salsa-Ranch Dressing. I just love a good taco salad!

5. Best Sandwich/Handheld Recipe: Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas

Runner Up: Bruschetta Chicken Sandwiches

Emily’s Pick: Hm. I think the Bruschetta Chicken Sandwiches were my favorite!

6. Best Mexican-Inspired Recipe: Mexi Chicken Bites

Runner Up: Beef and Bean Chimichangas

Emily’s Pick: This category was SO difficult for me to pick just one! I love chicken, queso and chorizo together, so the Chori Pollo is one of my absolute faves, but the Quesadilla Burgers were also so good.  Choosing is hard.

7. Best Beef Recipe: Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy (with over 50% of the vote!)

Runner Up: Weeknight Bolognese Sauce

Emily’s Pick: Well, you’re all readers after my own heart. Gravy is one of my favorite foods, so when in doubt, gravy is the answer. I agree with the Salisbury Steak!

8. Best Chicken Recipe: Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Runner Up: Cheesy Bacon Ranch Baked Chicken

Emily’s Pick: Oh gosh, this is hard. My husband and I both love the Honey Turmeric Chicken and Green Beans Skillet, so that’s in our regular rotation, but I also want to pick the Cheesy Bacon Ranch Baked Chicken because it’s so easy and delicious and now that I’m thinking about it I want to make it again. Blarg. This is why my votes don’t count!

Thank you so much again for reading my blog, cooking my recipes and encouraging and inspiring me with your comments. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2026 and I hope you’ll stay tuned for more lightened up comfort food recipes in the new year!