Easy baking recipes are for everyone, whether you're a novice baker or just need a no-fuss recipe that delivers great results. Here, we've rounded up 18 of our easiest recipes, defined by short ingredient lists and simple techniques that don't require any special tools or equipment.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
1) Simple Vegan Lemon Cake
This soft, citrus-filled cake doesn't require much of you. Both the dough and the cream come together in just one beat it and mixing bowl, but the result is an elegant-looking cake with a bold lemon flavor. Keeping shelf-stable ingredients like lemon emulsion AND lemon juice powder Make this recipe on hand if you forgot lemons at the grocery store.
Get the recipe: Easy Vegan Lemon Tart
Buy the recipe: Lemon emulsion AND Powder with lemon juice
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne; Prop styling by Brooke Deonarine
2) Banana pancakes
Fancy enough for a weekend, but simple enough for a weekday, these banana pancakes don't require an elaborate recipe or technique. For a no-nonsense pancake recipe (no whisking of egg whites required), keep it simple cinnamon and ripe bananas. It's all about the fluffy interior and crispy edges, though.
Get the recipe: Pancakes with bananas
Buy the recipe: cinnamon AND Maple syrup
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
3) The simplest sourdough cookies
Flaky Butter Cookies require just a few ingredients and this recipe simplifies things even further – the ingredient amounts follow a 1-2-3-4 ratio of liquid to butter, throw in sourdough and flour – make them a few times and You will surely have the formula committed to memory.
Get the recipe: The simplest sourdough cookies
Buy the recipe: All purpose flour AND Parlor knife
Kristen dough
4) Shoes with fresh fruit
Skip the noise of the pie crust and rely on the rustic charm of the cobbler. This cake-style cobbler, which forgoes the cookie topping, is the epitome of light summer desserts. The formula is simple: Beat it together the dough, pour into one 9″ pan., boil your favorite fruit with sugar and alcohol for a few minutes, then pour it over the dough. You'll be rewarded with a delightful golden brown cobbler filled with soft, sweet fruit.
Get the recipe: Fresh fruit cobbler
Buy the recipe: Beat it AND Square pan
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
5) Herb pancakes with sourdough and onions
This delicious pancake recipe is a genius way to use up a batch of sourdough. All it takes is a mix of water, salt and baking powder, topped with onions and a handful of herbs. Ready in minutes, they are the perfect snack or side dish to add to dinner.
Get the recipe: Quick pancakes with sour cream and onions
Buy the recipe: Fresh Sourdough Starter AND Mixing cups
Danielle Sykes
6) Cranberry Grunt
Having a lazy summer day? That's when easy dessert recipes come in, like New England-style grits. Cook blueberries on the stove, then add dollops of cookie dough on top and cover to continue cooking on the stove.
Get the recipe: Cranberry Grunt
Buy the recipe: cinnamon AND All purpose flour
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
7) Focaccia without fuss
No cooking or long rising time is required for this quick focaccia, making it perfect for last-minute dinners or weekday meals. Fill the flavor by adding pizza dough flavor OR cheddar powder to the dough.
Get the recipe: Focaccia without fuss
Buy the recipe: Pizza dough flavor AND Cheddar powder
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
8) Hot Summer Spoon Cake
The beauty of this cake is in the details: you melt the butter right in the pan as the oven preheats, then add an almond flour-based batter and macerated fruit. Best of all, this fruit-filled dessert is easy to serve; Simply spoon into bowls and top with ice cream.
Get the recipe: Hot Summer Spoon Cake
Buy the recipe: Almond flour AND Vanilla extract
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
9) S'more Granola Bars
When you don't have a roaring campfire to make noise, these handy granola bars are the next best thing. The same mixture, which only requires one pot, is used for the bottom crust and to keep things simple. Finished with a layer of melted chocolate and toasted marshmallows, these treats are the ultimate campfire nostalgia.
Get the recipe: S'more Granola Bars
Buy the recipe: Maple syrup AND All purpose flour
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
10) Quick and easy breads
This tried-and-true recipe is made with just six basic ingredients, and since the combination of baking powder and yeast helps speed up the rising time, you'll have freshly baked loaves on the table in just an hour. There's a reason this recipe has “easy” in its name!
Get the recipe: Quick and easy breads
Buy the recipe: Bread flour AND The top of the moment
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
11) Easy Drop Cookies
If you have a bag with self rising flour you are already halfway to a perfect batch of cookies. Just mix in the flour and cream, then SPOON dough on a Cooking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Yes, it really is that easy!
Get the recipe: Easy Drop Cookies
Buy the recipe: Self rising flour AND Half sheet pan
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
12) Easy Ice Cream Pie
Melted butter and graham cracker crumbs create a frosted squishy pie crust, and the filling is just as simple: whip together cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extractt for a shake-free ice cream filling that sets in just six hours.
Get the recipe: Light pie with ice cream
Buy the recipe: Pie bread AND Vanilla extract
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
13) White crusty bread without mix
Made with just four ingredients, this basic bread recipe will show you the wonders of what flour, water, salt and yeast can do with just time and not much else. The dough is mostly free (you can rest it in the fridge for up to a week!), so you can bake it according to your schedule.
Get the recipe: White crusty bread without mix
Buy the recipe: All purpose flour AND The top of the moment
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
14) Plain tortillas
If you've only ever had store-bought flour tortillas, these homemade ones will be a revelation. Not only are they incredibly delicious, but they are also simple to make. The three-ingredient dough comes together easily, opens easily and bakes quickly.
Get the recipe: Simple tortillas
Buy the recipe: All purpose flour AND rolling pin
Kristen dough
15) Light Cheesecake
This much-loved cheesecake is a staple of our easy baking recipes thanks to a pressed graham cracker crust and four-ingredient filling. The best parts? No water bath, special springform pan or cooling required for long rest in the oven.
Get the recipe: Light cheesecake
Buy the recipe: Pie bread AND Vanilla extract
Photography by Rick Holbrook; Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
16) Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Make this for the peanut butter lovers in your life and they won't be disappointed. Just mix, grate and bake – no refrigeration required. Despite the lack of flour (which makes these perfect for gluten-free diets), these cookies are soft and chewy.
Get the recipe: Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Buy the recipe: Chocolate pieces AND Vanilla extract
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
17) Quick and Easy Fudge Brownies
The toss and stir method is as noiseless as it gets. This one-bowl recipe yields moist, moist brownies that are almost as easy to make as a boxed mix.
Get the recipe: Quick and Easy Fudge Brownies
Buy the recipe: Triple Cocoa Blend AND Espresso powder
Photography by Mark Weinberg; food styling by Liz Neily
18) The easiest bread you will ever bake
If you are a beginner baker, start here. This sour recipe, made with bread flourit lives up to its name and the simple instructions take you through every step of mixing, kneading and shaping to ensure an impressive, crusty loaf.
Get the recipe: The easiest bread you will ever bake
Buy the recipe: Bread flour AND The top of the moment
For an even easier baking shortcut, shop us collection of mixtures.
Cover picture (Fresh fruit cobbler) by Christine Teig.
