32 Classic French Recipes That Bring the Bistro Closer to Home

Expand your repertoire with these time-honored dishes, from bouillabaisse and coq au vin to tarte tatin.

By

Victoria Spencer

and

Updated on June 26, 2024

french onion soup served with cheesy bread — Photo: Jenny Huang

Ooh la la! Where to start with these classic French recipes? Should we share all the irresistible appetizers first, then the plats principal, and finally the best French desserts and most delectable pâtisserie? Rather than stick to a menu, we've mixed it up so our selection of time-honored recipes ranges from savory to sweet and back again. There are dishes you know and love from your favorite Gallic bistros and brasseries, whether located in your town or the 12th arrondissement. Also, the country favorites of the French grand mères, plus some surprisingly easy recipes you really should make—oui, a soufflé is one of those!

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Mixed-Olive Tapenade

mixed olive tapenade — William Abranowicz

This pungent Provençal spread of olives, anchovies, capers, and garlic is one of our go-to appetizers for easy entertaining. It pairs well with sliced baguette or crudités.

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Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse — Brie Goldman

Almost every French restaurant features chocolate mousse on its menu; not all are as heavenly as this one. Our recipe has just five ingredients—egg yolks, sugar, heavy cream, bittersweet chocolate, and vanilla. Buying quality ingredients is the key to this perfectly decadent dessert.

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Steak Tartare

steak tartare with brown bread — Bryan Gardner

Bring the bistro to your house with this classic French appetizer. Be sure to use the best quality beef tenderloin you can find and freeze the meat for a short time so it firms up and is easier to cut into small, even pieces.

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Coq au Vin

coq au vin with serving spoon — Yunhee Kim

One of the most famed French dishes, coq au vin is a rich chicken stew made with red wine and a touch of cognac. The result is a luxuriously rich, velvety sauce studded with bacon and mushrooms. Our streamlined version uses chicken legs and thighs rather than a whole chicken and takes about one hour to cook.

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Crème Caramel

Bryan Gardner

A silky baked custard with a caramel topping, crème caramel is also known as crème renversée. This is because the caramel is on the bottom when the dish is assembled and baked, and the individual flans are then inverted for serving, revealing the gooey caramel.

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Flat-Iron Steak au Poivre

Bryan Gardner

C'est formidable! The ultimate dinner for two, this bistro classic pairs affordable flat-iron steak with a crushed peppercorn crust and buttery, shallot-specked sauce. A healthy dose of cognac further elevates the flavors.

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French Macarons

variety of french macarons on pink background — Linda Pugliese

A French classic, these almond meringue cookie sandwiches are gluten-free and endlessly versatile. You can flavor the cookies and fillings (buttercream, jam, or chocolate ganache, perhaps?) and customize the colors.

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French Onion Soup

french onion soup served with cheesy bread — Jenny Huang

A bistro favorite, French onion soup is made with a rich beef stock and topped with Gruyère toasts. We add a splash of fortified wine to the broth for extra richness.

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Salade Niçoise

Bryan Gardner

The Niçoise is one of our favorite salads. One bite and it's plain to see why: The combination of olive oil-packed tuna, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and olives dressed in a bold vinaigrette is hard to beat.

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Simple Crepes

Mike Krautter

They're thinner, more delicate, and more versatile than pancakes but just as easy to make as your favorite flapjacks. Our basic crepe recipe uses the blender to streamline prep—and you don’t need a special crepe pan to cook them in; a nonstick skillet is fine. The hardest part is deciding whether to make crepes for dinner or dessert.

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Croque Monsieur

Croque Monsieur — Kelsey Hansen

A decadent take on the ham and cheese sandwich that only the French could come up with, the croque monsieur is truly next level. It’s built with thinly sliced French ham, Gruyère cheese, and a creamy Mornay sauce between slices of pain de campagne or other firm white bread. More cheese tops the sandwich before it’s toasted in the oven and finished under the broiler.

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Fricassee de Poulet a L'Ancienne

Tara Donne

A cross between a sauté and a stew, this chicken fricassee is a one-pot classic that features simmered chicken with hearty vegetables in a rich, silky sauce. It might be the original French comfort food. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or with buttered egg noodles.

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Sole Meunière

A true classic, sole meunière is also a simple dish made with whole Dover sole lightly dusted in flour and cooked with butter and oil. The fish is served with beurre noisette, brown butter with lemon, parsley, and capers.

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Crème Brûlée

Creme Brulee

The contrast of the crisp brûléed sugar topping with the creamy custard underneath is one of the many reasons we love this sublime combination. Even better, this rich, make-ahead dessert requires just four ingredients: heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, a vanilla bean, and a broiler or kitchen torch to caramelize the crust.

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Ratatouille

rartouille — Marcus Nilsson

This much-loved country dish from the Provence region of France stars zucchini, red bell peppers, and eggplant in a tomato sauce. It's exquisite alongside grilled tuna or chicken or simply served with crusty bread and a glass of wine.

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Le Grand Aioli

grilled-shrimp grand aioli — Chris Simpson

A grand spread sure to transport your guests to the South of France, this lavish appetizer is hearty enough to stand in for dinner. There's a platter of shrimp and vegetables with two delectable sauces for dipping: an avocado aioli and a sprightly mint-mustard vinaigrette.

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Chocolate Soufflé

Chocolate Souffle — Jacob Fox

A dessert that’s guaranteed to wow your guests, chocolate soufflé is light and airy. Pair it with crème anglaise or chocolate sauce—and be sure to serve it straight from the oven.

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Baked Brie With Boozy Fruit

Aya Brackett

A French classic that’s been a hit stateside since the 1970s, this pastry-encrusted baked brie is a crowd-pleasing way to start a meal. (And using frozen puff pastry makes it easy to put together.) Serve it with Boozy Fruit, a fig, and raisin concoction cooked with potent port wine.

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French 75

French 75 recipe — Bryan Gardner

For over a century, this gin, lemon, and Champagne spritz has been de rigueur for toasting all kinds of celebrations. The sparkling cocktail takes its name from a fast-firing 75-millimeter field gun used by the French during World War One.

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Beef Bourguignon

beef Bourguignon — Bryan Gardner

An iconic dish of beef and vegetables cooked in red wine with parsley, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves, beef Bourguignon is, bien sûr, the finest stew around.

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Frisée Salad With Lardons and Poached Eggs

Frisee Salad with Lardons and Poached Eggs

A staple of bistro menus all across France, this classic salad is made with curly frisée. Its slight bitter flavor is balanced by the richness of the bacon and the egg.

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Potatoes Dauphinoise

Dauphinoise Potatoes - sliced on a plate — Diana Chistruga

Similar to scalloped potatoes, this dish of sliced potatoes cooked in cream is a luxurious side for just about any entrée. Our version includes Gruyère, but not all gratin dauphinoise recipes use this rich, nutty cheese.

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Tarte Tatin

This French-style apple tart is a true classic. It's an upside-down dessert; the apples caramelize in a skillet on the stovetop before they're topped with pastry, and the pan is transferred to the oven to bake. There's a great reveal when, voila!, the tarte is inverted for serving.

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Bouillabaisse

Frederic Lagrange

A dish that tastes like summer and the sea, this famed seafood stew originated in the city of Marseilles. It's chock full of crustaceans, bivalves, and fish in a tomato-saffron broth.

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Tarte Flambée

Also known as flammekueche, this creamy, cheesy bacon and onion tart originated in the northern French region of Alsace, which is renowned for its hearty dishes. Tarte flambée has a thin yeasted crust and is baked on a peel, making it more like a tomato-free pizza than a savory tart like a quiche.

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Ile Flottante With Caramel

Ile flottante

A showstopping dessert that's as light as air, that’s île flottante. This "floating island" is an ethereal meringue that sits atop a bed of caramel. Crème anglaise or custard sauce is served on the side.

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Mussels With Red Wine and Roasted Garlic

John Kernick

Our twist on the traditional bistro dish of moules steams the shellfish in fruity red wine infused with roasted garlic and thyme. Serve it with a green salad and hunks of crusty bread to complete the transporting experience.

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Christmas Cassoulet

There's a reason why we call it Christmas Cassoulet: this special layered casserole from Southwestern France, made with pork, goose, duck, lamb, and Tarbais beans (to name a few ingredients) is not only festive, but it also takes two days to assemble and feeds about 50 people. Bookmark it for the holidays!

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Lamb Navarin

Bryan Gardner

Traditionally made in the spring with turnips ('navets'), this rich variation calls for cooking the lamb and vegetables in white wine. The result is a hearty yet elegant dish.

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Spinach and Gruyère Soufflé

Believe it or not, perfection is not required with this spinach-flecked Gruyère soufflé. Whether it rises unevenly or deflates after baking, it will still taste incredible (or, incroyable). It’s wonderful for lunch or a dinner main course served with a salad.

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Nectarine Clafoutis

nectarine clafoutis martha bakes — Mike Krautter

A French country classic that's so easy to make, clafoutis is like a puffed pancake or shallow custardy cake. We use sliced nectarines in this version, but you can easily substitute peaches or just about any seasonal fruit (think cherries, plums, pears, or berries).

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Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic

Roasted chicken meets sweet, soft, nutty garlic in this French classic. It sounds overpowering, but the 40 cloves are just right—and using Martha's two-bowl technique makes peeling them a snap.

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