Best Recipes of 2023: Reader’s Choice Award Winners

Hi friends! I want to give a big thank you to all of you who voted in my 13^th annual Reader’s Choice Awards! I think the new voting format was a big success, the poll got more votes than ever before! 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 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. 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 somehow I have now been blogging recipes for thirteen 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, and 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 Breakfast Recipe: Bacon and Spinach Hash Brown Egg Bake

Runner Up: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Emily’s Pick: There’s something about those Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins…I love those! I was kind of torn between that and the Carrot Cake Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze!

2. Best Appetizer Recipe: Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Runner Up: Nashville Hot Chicken Dip

Emily’s Pick: I agree with the crowd, I love the Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta! The Dill Pickle Dip was my second choice!

3. Best Lunch Recipe: Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

Runner Up: Loaded BBQ Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Emily’s Pick: I’ve got to say the Loaded BBQ Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes. They’re so good!

4. Best Poultry Recipe: Skillet Chicken and Mushrooms with Gravy

Runner Up: Cheesy Bacon Ranch Stuffed Chicken

Emily’s Pick: This was the toughest category for me!! I was very torn between the Chicken Piccata Meatballs, Sticky Honey Coriander Chicken Bites, and Skillet Chicken and Mushrooms with Gravy. I suppose I will go along with the winning recipe for this one…gravy is my favorite!

5. Best Pasta or Rice Recipe: One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta

Runner Up: Loaded Spaghetti Bake

Emily’s Pick: All the recipes in this category are delicious, but I am also partial to the One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta!

6. Best Side Dish Recipe: Air Fryer Ranch Corn on the Cob

Runner Up: Corn and Tomato Salad

Emily’s Pick: I could eat that Corn and Tomato Salad all day, that’s my pick!

7. Best Dessert Recipe: Orange Cranberry Cheesecake Cups

Runner Up: Easy Pear Galette

Emily’s Pick: I’m going against the grain and saying Strawberry Jello Pie. It’s tasty, fun, retro, and perfect for summer.

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 2024 and I hope you’ll stay tuned for more lightened up comfort food recipes in the new year!