23 Restaurant-Worthy French Recipes You Can Make at Home

Turn your home into a French bistro.

By
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud
Devan Grimsrud

Devan Grimsrud is a Berlin-based writer, editor, and recipe developer originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working in television production with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern, she relocated to Berlin and became the managing editor at Kitchen Stories, an international digital cooking platform with millions of active users. 

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Published April 15, 2025
Devan Grimsrud
Overhead view of a platter of partially sliced flank steak and french fries next to a small bowl of sauce and fork all on a wooden tabletop

Simply Recipes / Sara Haas

There's something effortlessly elegant, cool yet casual about a meal in a French bistro. These recipes are here to help you capture that spirit at home. From traditional stews, braises, and soups to vegetable sides and a handful of desserts, you can mix and match to serve up a bistro-style meal from beginning to end. Don't forget to read the helpful tips and tricks from our contributors, recipe developers, and readers as you save your favorites.

My dinner party picks? A French onion soup starter, steak au poivre (with homemade frites, of course) and a simple green salad for the main, and chocolate mousse for dessert. Mais oui!

  • French Onion Soup

    French Onion Soup

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Gruyère and Parmesan are the classics for French onion soup. However, if you don't have them, you can use Gouda, Swiss, Fontina, or mozzarella." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Poached Egg and Bacon Salad (Salade Lyonnaise)

    Poached Egg Bacon Salad Lyonnaise

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Salade Lyonnaise is a traditional French salad from Lyon, made with frisée or curly endive, hot bacon, and a freshly poached egg." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Easy Steak Au Poivre

    Overhead view of a platter of partially sliced flank steak and french fries next to a small bowl of sauce and fork all on a wooden tabletop

    Simply Recipes / Sara Haas

    "Things happen fast in this recipe, so have your ingredients prepped and ready to go before cooking your steak." —Sara Haas, Recipe Developer

  • Quiche Lorraine

    Quiche lorraine with a piece set on a plate behind it.

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    "Onions or shallots can be used in place of the chives. Use about 1/2 cup, finely chopped, and sauté in butter first before spreading over the bottom of the quiche crust with the bacon." —Elise Bauer, Founder

    Continue to 5 of 23 below

  • Traditional Cassoulet

    Bowl of cassoulet with bread and white wine.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "This is not a recipe you can make in one day. Prepare the components a day or two in advance: soak the beans, cut the vegetables, thaw the duck, if frozen, and make the breadcrumbs. Give yourself about 5 hours before you serve the cassoulet to cook, assemble, and bake." —Sally Vargas, Recipe Developer

  • Lyonnaise Potatoes

    Lyonnaise potatoes on a platter at a tablet setting with a small plate of crushed peppers, bowl of minced parsley, and a plate

    Simply Recipes / Alexandra Shytsman

    "When pan-frying the potatoes, don’t move or flip them more than necessary; only flip when they’re deeply golden on the bottom. The potatoes need to make prolonged contact with the hot pan to get properly browned." —Alexandra Shytsman, Recipe Developer

  • Easy Duck Confit

    Easy Duck Confit

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    "Duck confit makes a savory and satisfying main course, but you can use it as an ingredient in other dishes such as pasta with slow roasted duck confit. As a main dish, it works great with sides roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, or even a simple green salad." —Hank Shaw, Recipe Developer

  • 2-Minute French Bistro Salad Dressing

    salad dressing in a jar next to microwave

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    "This recipe yields about 1 cup of dressing—enough for dinner, plus extra to keep in the refrigerator for five to seven days. Proportionally scale the recipe up or down based on how much dressing you need." —Jennifer Zyman, Recipe Developer

    Continue to 9 of 23 below

  • Croque Monsieur Sandwich

    Croque Monsieur

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Moules Marinières (French Mussels in White Wine Sauce)

    A plate of mussels ready to eat

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "When purchasing mussels be sure they smell like the ocean, not fishy. Don't buy any whose shells are cracked or open or any that refuse to close their shells when you handle or tap them, those are likely dying or dead." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • 5-Minute Chocolate Mousse

    5-minute mousse in a cup with some whipped cream and shaved chocolate pieces

    Simply Recipes / Coco Morante

    "You don’t really need to add any toppings to the mousse (Wini never did), but a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate shavings are a nice option if you’d like to fancy it up a bit." —Coco Morante, Recipe Developer

  • Coq au Vin

    Coq au Vin

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "Coq au vin is delicious the next day. Like many stews, coq au vin improves on day two as its flavors to meld together. Store coq au vin covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Bring to a boil in the stove, then simmer for 5 minutes, continuing to cook until the chicken is just heated through." —Elise Bauer, Founder

    Continue to 13 of 23 below

  • Vegetarian French Onion Soup

    Vegetarian French onion soup with mushroom broth.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "If you can’t find boxed mushroom broth in your grocery store, look for mushroom bouillon. It’s a seasoned mushroom concentrate. Simply mix it with hot water to make the mushroom broth." —Sharon Lehman, Recipe Developer

  • Steak au Poivre (French Peppercorn Steak)

    A plate of peppercorn steak with mashed potatoes

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Note that some peppercorns are hotter than others. While most peppercorns you find at the grocery store will work in this recipe splendidly, if you're unsure of the heat of your peppercorns, crack a few first and give them a taste." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Nicoise Salad

    Overhead view of a nicoise salad.

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    "Use quality canned albacore in oil tuna for Salad Niçoise. Get solid tuna; we don't recommend chunk light for this recipe." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Homemade French Fries

    Tray of Homemade French Fries Served with a Bowl of Ketchup

    Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

    "Soaking potatoes is critical to achieving a light golden-brown crust on your fries. Soaking removes excess starch from the potatoes and prevents excess browning. Otherwise, the exterior of the potato will brown too quickly before the inside cooks." —Karishma Pradhan, Recipe Developer

    Continue to 17 of 23 below

  • Pear Tarte Tatin

    A whole pear tarte tatin on a plate, ready to slice and serve

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "The recipe calls for our Sour Cream Pie Crust recipe as the pastry, but you can use a thawed frozen puff pastry sheet as well." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Bouillabaisse

    Overhead view of a bowl of bouillabaise and sliced bread.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    "Use firm fish for fillets such as sea bass, red mullet, haddock, halibut, cod, conger, or red porgy. Small whole fish can be added as well. Also traditional are mussels, squid, and crab." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Crème Brûlée

    How to Make Creme Brulee spoon cracked into a ramekin of creme brulee

    Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin

    "Skim the foam off the top of the custard after straining it but before pouring it into ramekins. This will give you a perfectly smooth surface for brûléeing the sugar." —Summer Miller, Senior Editor

  • French Green Beans with Butter and Herbs

    French Green Beans Haricot Verts

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Use fresh herbs if available. If not, you can used dried, but use a quarter as much." —Elise Bauer, Founder

    Continue to 21 of 23 below

  • Chantilly Potatoes

    close up view of a dish of Chantilly Potatoes

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    "This recipe calls for an 8x8-inch baking dish, but you can use any other 2 to 2 1/2 quart baking dish you have on hand. Just make sure there is a little bit of room as the potatoes will rise slightly as they bake." —Devan Grimsrud, Recipe Developer

  • Beef Bourguignon

    beef bourguignon

    Simply Recipes / Laura Heller

    "If you can find it, use a pinot noir for this recipe. It is the dominant wine used in Burgundy, France, and it is what gives this dish its name." —Elise Bauer, Founder

  • Cherry Clafoutis

    Cherry Clafoutis Dusted With Powdered Sugar in a White Baking Dish

    Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

    "Oh my, this was good. A nice custard like filling and not too sweet. I made it with 1/2 and 1/2 instead of milk and used frozen dark cherries that I had allowed to thaw and drain in a colander for several hours. Next time, I might make a little sauce with the juice that collected under the frozen cherries." —Anne, Simply Recipes Reader

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