Creamy Elote Corn Pasta & More July 2026 Recipes

Recipes Our Editors Made in July 2026

It’s no secret that Bon Appétit editors cook a lot for work—and they cook a lot during their off hours, too. This month, they’re whipping up dinners, party snacks, sweet treats, and leftover rescues. For even more staff favorites, keep scrolling.

Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Sean Dooley, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua.

July 31

Redemption pesto pie

One editor’s pizza night went sour—literally—when the red sauce had oxidized in the fridge without anyone knowing. After one yucky bite, the pie went into the compost. The save? A stash of pesto tucked away in the freezer turned the next pizza into a green makeover. Dotted with globs of salty mozzarella and spicy Italian sausage, crisis averted. The most vibrant pesto isn’t just about the ingredients; it’s also about the order in which you blend them.

Roasted potato salad

Cookbook author Sami Tamimi’s potato salad caught one editor’s attention right away. Her husband had bought a bag of lovely thin-skinned potatoes from the market, ideal for this dish. She texted him, “This is what we’re having for dinner tomorrow.” With a mustardy dressing and lots of scallions, cucumbers, and pistachios, the salad was refreshing and full of crunch. Roasting the potatoes was the key, making them taste nuttier and more potato-y than any other version she’d had before.

No-brainer panzanella salad

When an editor was gifted a pile of schmaltzy croutons leftover from a recent Test Kitchen tasting (recipe forthcoming), she had no choice but to make panzanella. Taking inspiration from former Epicurious staffer Anna Hezel’s version, she tossed those crispy, chicken-fat-soaked bread nuggets with watermelon cubes, pickled onions, feta, and a heap of mint. A quick punchy vinaigrette made with hot-pepper vinegar and lots of mustard brought it all together.

Elote corn pasta

“It’s still summer. It’s still summer.” That’s the mantra one editor kept repeating, trying to soak in every warm day and golden-hour sunset. Shucking corn never felt annoying with a teammate’s celebratory elote corn pasta on the horizon. Most of the corn stays raw and gets blended with pasta water into a silky, emulsified sauce to coat the noodles; the rest is charred and becomes a smoky topping with cilantro and Cotija, evoking everyone’s favorite Mexican street snack.

This golden pasta inspired by the zesty, spicy flavors of Mexican street corn is luxuriously creamy—but doesn’t have a drop of cream.

July 24

Must-make chicken stir-fry

Another person writing about how good Shilpa Uskokovic’s chicken stir-fry is? Groundbreaking. But this recipe is a staff favorite for good reason. It’s lightning fast, has a slim ingredient list, and packs a ton of flavor in a fussless, healthy-ish package. One editor usually serves it over rice but has perched it atop chilled noodles and quinoa, too. She’ll keep making it all summer while big bushels of basil are available at the market. It’s the kind of weeknight dinner she looks forward to even on the most hurried nights. This savory and spicy dinner takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Refreshing watermelon salad

Even before the recipe published, one editor was already smitten with Jesse Szewczyk’s watermelon salad. When she spied a honking melon at the supermarket, she had no choice. The method: combine lime halves, brown sugar, and sliced chiles in a zip-top bag, then whack them with a rolling pin—a step that made her baby laugh endlessly. For full effect, she had to say “boom!” every time she hit the bag. After marinating in the fridge, the salad was refreshing: citrusy, fish-saucy, and a little spicy. She couldn’t find a serrano, but a jalapeño worked just fine. It joined grilled chicken and corn for a sunny Sunday spread. Lime juice, fish sauce, peanuts, and plenty of herbs do the heavy lifting.

PB&J oatmeal

One editor is typically a savory breakfast person, but lately she’s been craving a sweet PB&J start to the day. Out of bread, she checked the pantry and found an unopened bag of old-fashioned oats, so she made Zaynab Issa’s PB&J oatmeal. She opted for a different peanut butter than her usual Skippy’s and added homemade strawberry jam on top. Nostalgic and fast as can be. —Abi Lieff, assistant to the editor in chief. Use brown sugar to mimic the sweetness of soft white sandwich bread.

Grilling meal prep

After a week of 90-something temperatures and scattered thunderstorms, two short days of beautiful, low-humidity, sunny weather arrived—perfect for grilling. One editor’s Sunday-night goal is always meal prep, so she paired a big, thick New York strip with Force of Nature hot dogs—an elevated take on a pack of hot dogs—purple sweet potatoes, and lots of veggies. The best part of a grilled meal is how little prep and seasoning you need: salt, pepper, and oil on everything, followed by a chimichurri to bring it all together. This colorful chimichurri recipe doubles as a marinade and works as an accompaniment to all cuts of beef—or anything else you want to gussy up.

Raspberry–brown butter cake

One editor takes the annual summer recipe list seriously, determined to make each dish at least once before Labor Day. After a zucchini recipe that made her wish her zucchini haul had been more abundant, she moved on to senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s raspberry–brown butter cake. It’s jam-packed with tart fruit and crumbly almond flour, which gives it a delightful blondie-like chew. The luscious brown butter doesn’t hurt either, lending a slow-cooked intensity to this quick bake. In that spirit, she cooked all of the raspberries instead of leaving any raw and reserved a portion for topping. She ate it outside, spooned out of the skillet and paired with jumbo scoops of ice cream, as nature intended. Assembled right in the skillet, no bowls needed.

July 17

Dad’s birthday cake

For her dad’s birthday, one editor chose coworker Jesse Szewczyk’s delightful fudgy cake. It’s fragrant, quick to come together, and she made the cake as called for, then riffed on the frosting and assembly: she sliced the cake in half horizontally and sandwiched the layers with a mascarpone cream—just mascarpone and cream, whipped until fluffy. Her dad’s annual tradition is to freeze the leftovers and enjoy slivers for months to come. Fruity olive oil means this fudgy cake will stay moist for days.

Zucchini pasta

Zucchini pasta is all over the place, and that can only mean one thing: time for Jesse Szewczyk’s zucchini pasta. One editor made it at her sister’s place, thinly slicing four large zucchini (a mandoline makes it go much faster). After salting, squeezing, and draining the squash, she added heaps of herbs, some cream cheese (ricotta also works), lemon zest and juice, and red pepper flakes. If you are a delicate flower like her, go light on the garlic—two or three cloves do it. Then throw in the hot pasta with a splash of pasta water and toss, toss, toss.

A Negroni recipe to memorize

Any time it’s warmer than 90 degrees, one editor turns into a different, lazier person. After work, the most she can be bothered to mix is a Negroni. The 1:1:1 ratio of gin, vermouth, and Campari is branded into her brain, so she doesn’t have to think—just pour. She’d like to say she uses fancy bottles picked up on a trip to Spain, but the truth is she uses what she’s got, and sometimes she replaces half the Campari with sparkling water because she likes a little fizz. The classic proportions get adjusted in this updated version from London’s Chiltern Firehouse.

Staff-favorite stir-fry

This ground chicken stir-fry is a favorite amongst staff. Alaina Chou waxed poetic about it; Emma Laperruque has made it with tofu; Chris Morocco has also made it; and one editor makes it biweekly at this point. Who knew ground chicken could be so inspiring? Senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic has you vigorously mix the meat with a flavorful paste before cooking—a step that works wonders, making the chicken juicy with endless bounce. Paired with an impactful sauce—sambal oelek, brown sugar, oyster sauce, and fish sauce—and a forest of sweet basil that gently melts into the lot, it’s popular for good reason. This savory and spicy dinner takes less than 30 minutes to make.

July 10

Breakfast for the week

A Sunday farmers-market stroll led one editor to an unexpected splurge: juicy black currants. Then she turned the corner to find a stand selling stone-ground rye flour, a pairing she couldn’t pass up. A quick search landed on a muffin recipe, and she hoped the rye flour and fresh currants would serve as respectable substitutes for the whole-grain spelt flour and blueberries. She added nearly the entire pint of fruit, and the resulting muffins came out hearty and jammy. The streusel topping added a buttery crunch and helped quell the tartness of the currants. She ate them for breakfast all week. —Lillian Syme, research fellow. The classic blueberry muffin gets a makeover with nutty, whole-grain spelt flour in the batter and a crispy streusel topping.

Birthday clam pasta

To celebrate deputy food editor Hana Asbrink’s birthday, one editor made a big pot of linguine alle vongole. It’s briny, buttery, garlicky, and one of the best ways to enjoy pasta and clams in the summer. She loosely followed a trusted recipe, swapping the DIY breadcrumbs for well-toasted breadcrumbs. Pro tip: when making clam pasta for a group, remove most of the clams from their shells and toss them into the pasta; leave just a handful in their shells and arrange them elegantly on top, so no one has to get their fingers involved for a clammy bite. Clams vary in brininess and the amount of liquid they release during cooking, so adjust salt and add pasta water accordingly. For the best texture, look for artisanal dried pasta—the rougher surface catches the slippery sauce better.

BLTs minus the bread

The BLT is the best sandwich, according to one editor, who happily puts away at least one a week when tomatoes are in season. To enjoy all the best parts without the bread, which can feel heavy in the dead heat of summer, Molly Baz’s recipe takes the slices right out of the equation and swaps them for toasted breadcrumbs. Perfectly shaped Little Gem lettuce leaves act as your vessel to cradle all the fillings. On busy nights, she might skip the breadcrumbs; on others, she loads the wraps with leftover protein. However you modify, don’t skip the basil. The classic components of a BLT get enhanced with a spicy, zesty horseradish mayo.

An actually filling smoothie

One editor’s smoothie routine needed a shake-up. She rarely deviates from banana plus yogurt to thicken her standard berries-and-greens blend and boost protein, but it was a bit boring and quite sweet. The solution? Swap in cottage cheese. Her brilliant colleague Rebecca Firkser’s smoothie is straightforward: frozen berries, cottage cheese, water, and nut butter. The drink is thick but sippable, actually filling, and boasts a hint of salt to balance the natural fruity sweetness. She’s been playing with the framework by adding dark leafy greens, extra nuts and seeds, or subbing in mangoes and kiwi for the berries, all to great success. With cottage cheese blended right in—yes—this smoothie will keep you full until lunch.

Corn furikake fried rice

One editor’s boyfriend came home with a fresh, glistening shaker bottle of furikake. Not their usual, but she wasn’t mad about it. When she opened it with ferocious strength, it erupted all over the kitchen floor. After a quick intermission to clean up, she made senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s corn fried rice with what was left of the jar. It’s a cinch to make on a weeknight, even with a delayed start: under 10 ingredients and 30 minutes tops. The dish uses a hefty amount of corn—almost double the rice—so each bite has sweet, milky bursts of summery flavor. The final flourish of the unscathed furikake was a textural marvel. The first thing you should make with sweet summer corn.

July 3

A salmon lover’s dream

One editor is a lover of all things salmon, so when she tried colleague Jesse Szewczyk’s grilled salmon with vibrant dill chimichurri, she beamed. It’s her go-to recipe for the season. Grilling the fillets on top of lemon slices eliminates the risk of the fish sticking to the grill—and losing that beloved salmon skin—while charred citrus adds biting acidity. No dill? Parsley works. No serrano? Jalapeño works too. The only nonnegotiables are the lemons…and the salmon. Grilling fish atop a bed of lemon slices is the key to not sticking.

Staff-fave broc salad

The longtime Bon Appétit staff favorite broccoli salad starts with broccoli, but you can adjust based on what you have. One editor used curry powder instead of ras-el-hanout, sherry vinegar instead of white balsamic, and maple syrup instead of honey. It was a dream, as always. To round out the meal, she broiled halloumi cheese until golden and bubbly; the next day, she had the leftovers with burrata. This salad puts all the best textures on a spoon: crisp, raw broccoli; chewy, sticky dates; and crunchy, toasted pistachios. The ras-el-hanout—a Moroccan spice blend of aromatic and warm spices—adds a smoky depth to the bright citrusy dressing, which soaks into the broccoli as it sits. Don’t have ras-el-hanout? Garam masala, baharat, or curry powder will also work. And if you’re a meal prepper, this is a great make-ahead salad—it only gets better with time.

Homemade zucchini blossom pizza

Thanks to a colleague from the shopping team, one editor recently came into some new pizza equipment. She mixed up a batch of 70% hydration dough and, after watching a series of videos on how to throw pizza, felt ready. Beginner’s luck meant both pizzas came out reasonably well—recognizably pizza-shaped, with no tears or ungainly sticking. They made a white pie with zucchini blossoms and jalapeño. Next week: sausage and broccoli rabe.

The gift of steak

Instead of rolling the dice on a birthday gift, one editor’s boyfriend’s best friend got a stunning ribeye from the butcher. That meant the gift was also the editor’s gift. As a steak whisperer, she has her method down: she loosely follows Carla Lalli Music’s method, covering every centimeter with salt and pepper, then searing the cut in a hissing pan while rotating the steak every two minutes. Once it develops a crackly crust, lower the heat slightly, add a fat knob of butter and a few garlic cloves, then baste, baste, baste and rest, rest, rest. Carla says 15 minutes, but she couldn’t wait more than 10. Rich, marbled meats are extra-delicious when served with cool, crunchy, acidic vegetables.

Well-reviewed grilled chicken

One editor rarely cooks meat at home but could no longer resist the gravitational pull toward Sheldon Simeon’s well-reviewed grilled chicken. Since it published, it kept popping up during workdays. You marinate chicken thighs in a mixture of miso and peanut butter—plus soy sauce, brown sugar, and beer—then grill them until deeply, deliciously charred. She served hers with a juicy cucumber-onion salad (just those ingredients plus seasoned rice vinegar), steamed white rice, and some sambal oelek to spoon on top with abandon. The magical combination of miso and peanut butter beautifully caramelizes when it hits the grill.