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When you can't make it to your favorite diner, bring that much-loved eatery's best meals straight into your kitchen with our best diner food recipes. We have classic, comforting breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that you can whip up at any time, especially when you're in the mood for a nostalgic dish.
Classic Cheese Omelet
Order up! Start your morning with an egg dish that never goes out of style—this classic cheese omelet. Our version is filled with shredded cheddar cheese, but feel free to spice it up with pepper jack or go funky with goat cheese.
Test Kitchen's Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes
How do you get fluffy, golden brown pancakes that rival the ones at your favorite diner? With this master recipe, of course. The key is to not over-mix the batter and keep some lumps, which helps the pancakes to stay airy.
Hash Browns
Whether you order it on the side or stuffed into an egg and cheese sandwich (an epic move that we highly recommend), this potato side dish is a favorite diner food recipe. Use a combination of butter and oil for flavor and crispiness when you make hash browns at home.
Baked Cake Donuts
Make a baker's dozen of these sweet treats. We have three variations—glazed, powdered sugar, and coconut—and they may well replace your favorite diner donut.
Easy Eggs Benedict
A brunch favorite—that's Eggs Benedict. Use our recipe to make perfect poached eggs, creamy Hollandaise sauce, and crispy Canadian bacon, then pile it all high atop an English muffin.
Quick Fried Chicken and Waffles
The ultimate sweet and savory treat, you can make this take on the soul food classic in under one hour. Whether you serve it for breakfast or dinner, or enjoy it late at night, it's sure to be a hit.
Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins
Here's a sunny way to wake up. A 1/4 cup of lemon juice—plus a few tablespoons of zest—brightens the batter for these favorite muffins, while poppy seeds add some texture.
Scrambled Eggs
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Getty Images
This recipe shows you how to make scrambled eggs that are creamy and moist throughout. The trick is using plenty of butter, low heat, and stirring frequently to prevent them from drying out.
Buttermilk Waffles
Kids and adults alike go crazy for crisp, buttery waffles. Our recipe is classic, but you're welcome to take it to the next level with any of four spectacular toppings: maple walnut sauce, blueberry sauce, banana caramel sauce, and berries and cream.
Fried Bacon
What's a diner-style brunch without bacon? Use your favorite brand and cook it in a cast-iron skillet, which will help the meat get super crispy, just the way you like it.
Classic French Toast
Grab a fork and knife and prepare to dig into a perfect stack of French toast. Use good-quality, thick bread such as brioche, challah, or Texas toast, which will absorb the rich custard without getting soggy.
Traditional Boston Cream Pie
End your diner dinner on a sweet note with this New England dessert. A rich custard is piled high between two layers of vanilla cake, then a silky chocolate ganache tops it all off.
Chicken Club Salad
This low-key salad is delicious for lunch or dinner. Start by baking both bacon strips and chicken breasts until they're cooked through, then toss with tomatoes, celery, red onion, and mayonnaise and pile everything atop a bed of greens.
Split-Pea Soup With Spinach and Barley
Hearty and comforting, this creamy green soup is also meat-free (unlike many diner versions which include ham). It gets plenty of flavor from leeks, carrots, split peas, and baby spinach.
Classic Burger-Joint Cheeseburger
This cheeseburger reaches new heights when you add in all the fixings—melty American cheese, juicy tomatoes, dill pickle slices, and shredded iceberg lettuce.
Jelly Donuts
Here's a soft pillowy dough with fruit jam that oozes out of the center and down your chin. These jelly donuts are even better than you remembered.
Sweet Potato-Parmesan Fries
Sweet potatoes have plenty of flavor on their own, but the addition of sharp, salty Parmesan cheese makes them to die for. They're like your favorite diner's version—with a hint of something extra-special.
Test Kitchen's Favorite Chicken Soup
Whether you're feeling under the weather or just craving something low-key and cozy, chicken noodle soup always hits the spot. Our recipe utilizes a whole chicken, which has more flavor than using just one cut—and is more economical, too.
Baklava With Lemon-Honey Syrup
Three kinds of nuts—almonds, pistachios, and walnuts—are packed between flaky phyllo dough glazed with lemon honey for a sweet diner dessert.
Caesar Salad
Caesar salad is all about the dressing—ours contains oil-packed anchovy fillets, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and egg yolk. Don't forget the Parmesan cheese—an entire cup of it is used to garnish the salad.
Morning Glory Muffins
Start your morning with these muffins and you know it will be a good day. They're super moist and get plenty of texture from grated carrots, grated Granny Smith apple, unsweetened shredded coconut, golden raisins, and pepitas.
Greek Salad
Every great American diner has a great Greek salad on its menu. Our recipe combines romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, sliced red onion, sliced cucumber, and pitted Kalamata olives. The ingredients are tossed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing—and the result is spectacular.
Martha's Favorite Onion Rings
A favorite diner side is onion rings. Our recipe calls for them to be dipped in beer batter, which keeps the coating airy, crunchy, and never greasy.
Martha's Banana Cream Pie
The star of the rotating dessert case, banana cream pie takes center stage at every diner. The cool, creamy filling featuring ripe banana slices compliments our Perfect Graham Cracker Crust and the whipped cream topping.
Reuben
Every ingredient in this sandwich brings something flavorful to the mix. Thinly sliced corned beef is layered with sauerkraut, sliced Swiss cheese, and a potent Russian dressing.
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad
There's a little bit of everything in this classic salad and that's what makes it so delicious; grilled chicken, diced avocado, crumbled feta, bacon, and chopped plum tomatoes.
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
The secret ingredient in these simple pancakes? Light brown sugar—it adds a caramel-molasses flavor that brings these berry-packed pancakes to the next level.
Milk-Chocolate Pudding Pie
Using vanilla wafer cookies instead of the usual graham cracker in this pie crust is pure genius. And the rich chocolate filling topped with pillowy whipped cream is irresistible.
Perfect Fried Eggs
Keep things simple at breakfast with our go-to recipe for fried eggs. Will you enjoy them with white or wheat toast, hash browns or home fries, and coffee or tea?
Spanakopita
Greek diners have plenty of American staples but one thing we always look for is their spinach-and-phyllo pie. Try your hand at making it at home—our recipes serves 12, so it's perfect for when you're making brunch for a crowd.
Classic New York-Style Cheesecake
Even if you can't do dinner at a diner in the Big Apple, you can certainly enjoy its MVP at home. A rich combination of cream cheese, sour cream, and five eggs are the base of this delectable dessert.
Chicken-Salad Club Roll
Upgrade a basic chicken salad sandwich by serving it with avocado, bacon, cherry tomatoes, and Little Gem lettuce. The inclusion of fresh tarragon puts this creamy staple in a league of its own.
Mozzarella Sticks
Do a diner dinner right by starting the meal with mozzarella sticks. You'll be amazed at just how easy they are to make from scratch—don't forget the marinara sauce for dipping!
Test Kitchen's Favorite All-Beef Meatloaf
We say this moist, flavorful meatloaf is better than any you've had at a diner. Our secret is cooking it on a baking sheet—rather than in a loaf pan—so that each side gets crispy.
Home Fries
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Is it really a diner breakfast without home fries? Start by boiling small Yukon gold potatoes until they're fork tender, then sauté bacon until crisp and brown. Add some peppers and onions and season accordingly.
Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich
This simple sandwich is worth more than the sum of its parts. Enjoy it all on its own or with a cup of tomato soup.
Salisbury Steak With Onion Gravy
Here's a comforting dinner everyone will love. Caramelized onions in the gravy give the dish an extra boost of rich flavor.
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
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Rachel Marek
The American classic is always in style, any time of year, for any occasion. Don't forget a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Martha's Lemon Meringue Pie
We're not sure which part of this traditional pie we love most: the tart and lemony filling, or the piles of soft meringue. Thankfully, we don't have to choose!
Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts
Red onion and capers give the tuna in these open-faced sandwiches a kick, and tomatoes and provolone finish them off to a beautiful (and delicious) effect.
Test Kitchen's Favorite Mac and Cheese
It doesn't get much more comforting than tender elbow macaroni cloaked in a rich and creamy sauce. A combo of American, cheddar, and Parmesan give the dish plenty of nuance.
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