Our 8 Most Popular Recipes of October

It's indisputable that what we consume in the news and media impacts what we eat. For instance, I recently listened to an episode of How I Built This about Sukhi's—they make my favorite frozen Indian foods. That night, I made butter chicken for dinner. And early this fall, after the longest reign of any British monarch, the world woke up without Queen Elizabeth II. For the next few weeks, our readers baked a lot of classic shortbread cookies. On the same side of the pond, The Great British Baking Show's “Mexican Week” took social media by storm—the episode was full of clichés, unsavory jokes, and bizarre pronunciations of Spanish words, like “glockymolo,” as contestant Carole calls guacamole.

But I digress! All this to say that our algorithms show a big uptick of Mexican recipes this month, like birria, tostadas, and equites. I'm intrigued by what you'll cook next, so I'll be paying attention to the news! Here are the 8 most popular recipes you cooked in October.

1. Carnitas

Carnitas are made with pork shoulder or butt—it'll give you a big batch for making tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and nachos all week long. Resist the urge to trim off the fat unless you like dry and flavorless carnitas.

2. Loaded Sheet Pan Quesadillas

I have to cook at least eight quesadillas for dinner to feed my family of two adults and three growing boys. Whoever thought to build and cook one giant quesadilla on a sheet pan is a GENIUS. It makes dinner prep so much easier and faster.

3. Fried Mushrooms

This recipe approaches fried mushroom in a way that maximizes flavor and crunch. The mushrooms are beer-batter and then coated with panko breadcrumbs before deep-fried until perfectly golden.

4. Milk Bread Rolls

Thanksgiving without dinner rolls? C'mon! How else are you supposed to clean the plate? Try these bouncy, soft, and tender rolls made with, yes, milk.

5. Mashed Potato Pancakes

Earmark this recipe for after the holidays when you have leftover mashed potatoes. And since you'll be tired from shopping and entertaining, feel free to use whatever cheese and seasonings you already have.

6. Easy Cassoulet

Can you make an all-day, slow-cooked cassoulet—arguably the pinnacle of French home cooking—in under an hour? We proved yes! Though not traditional per se, it's delicious and comforting nonetheless.

7. Hawaiian Roll Sliders with Meat Sauce and Parm

King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls are the perfect vehicle for making pull-apart sliders. These one are filled with meat sauce and mozzarella cheese, and when they're fresh out of the oven you can get the perfect cheese pull.

8. Stovetop Taco Soup

Long-time contributor, Marta Rivera, says, "I have a confession to make: if I had to choose between taco soup and chili, I’d pick taco soup every time. In my opinion, taco soup is the easier recipe." You had us at easy!