Three pieces of Vietnamese caramelized salmon on a white oval platter, topped with sliced scallions and cilantro.

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TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)

  • Melissa Clark is a renowned The New York Times food columnist, staff reporter, and author of more than 40 cookbooks, including the upcoming The Big Book of Dinner (2026). A winner of multiple James Beard Awards, she is considered one of the most influential voices for the modern home cook.
  • Explore 12 of her best recipes, featuring dishes such as pork, salmon, beef, and desserts.
  • Learn a range of cooking techniques, including sheet-pan dinners, Instant Pot/pressure cooker meals, and one-skillet recipes designed for easy cleanup. All iconic Melissa.
A close up of a Pork Scallopini with Apples and Sage and a photo of Melissa Clark in her kitchen.

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The multi-talented Melissa Clark is a food writer, cookbook author, and the host of the podcast Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark. A longtime contributor to The New York Times, she’s also written for Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and Martha Stewart. She’s written more than 30 cookbooks, including Comfort in an Instant, Dinner in an Instant, Cook This Now, and In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.

Food writer Melissa Clark standing in her kitchen.
: Eric Wolfinger

Recipes

A dark purple plate with pork scallopini with apples and sage in a sauce
Eric Wolfinger
1 of 12

Pork Scallopini with Apples and Sage

Pork scallopini with apples and sage from Melissa Clark is a quick, marvelously autumn-y dish. Apples are sauteed in butter until soft, then pounded slices of pork are seared in the same pan. Sage completes the dish. You tell us whether the best part is the taste or just one skillet to clean.

Featured Review

Very quick and easy. The pork I would say needs four minutes at the very most. Tasty and very tender. Served with roast potatoes and a creamy mashed swede.

Doug Fancy
Floral pasta bowl, filled with crab pasta, sprinkled with parsley and Parmesan. A cheese grater and larger bowl in the background.
Laura Edwards
2 of 12

Buttery Crab Pasta

A lovely, light summer pasta filled with crab and cherry tomatoes, it comes together in under 30 minutes.

Featured Review

Absolutely delicious! I used fresh basil (didn’t have chervil). I had purchased a fresh crab and pulled all the meat out, used your suggestion about finding little pieces of shell, worked perfectly and thanks for that tidbit. Will be making this delicious dish often!

Dawn
A cast-iron skillet with 6 eggs in tomato sauce and sprinkled with parsley.
3 of 12

Tomato, Egg, and Feta Shakshuka

: The Dinner WinnerThe most savory Tomato Shakshuka you will ever have, laced with feta, topped with runny eggs, and served with pita and hot sauce, this is a weeknight dream.
A carved butterflied grilled boneless leg of lamb on a wooden cutting board with a knife resting beside the meat.
Laura Edwards
4 of 12

Grilled Leg of Lamb

Melissa Clark’s grilled leg of lamb has a luscious Provençial take that you won’t forget. Anchovies, garlic, and fennel take it from good to c’est magnifique!
Three salmon filets on an oval platter in a soy caramel sauce, topped with cilantro and scallions.
Christopher Testani
5 of 12

Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramel Salmon

Whether you use an Instant Pot or your old stove top mode pressure cooker, you won’t regret making this Vietnamese caramel salmon. It comes together in minutes–minutes!–and is rich with Asian flavors.

Featured Review

OMG!!! This was so easy. We had a bunch of fresh halibut, it worked perfectly. Darn fish sauce is so pee-you stinky, then in a hot minute transforms into this luscious umami sauce. I will have to admit I was super skeptical, but then viola, we had a 5-star fish dish, that frankly my sautéed haricot verts were embarrassed! I gotta go shout from the roof top how absolutely YUMILICIOUS this fish is!! Do it! make it, you won’t regret it one bit!!! TY!

Bbqgoddess
A chicken schnitzel on a white plate with a man's hands cutting into it.
6 of 12

Crisp Chicken Schnitzel With Lemony Herb Salad

: Andrew ScrivaniLeite’s Culinaria reader Roni Bloom Jordan brought this light and crunchy crisp chicken schnitzel to our attention. (Thank you muchly, Roni.) The secret is to trap air in the crust when you cook the meat by moving and shaking the pan. (Subscription needed)
A bowl of roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas, garnished with cilantro, next to a sheet pan and a bowl of coconut milk.
David Malosh
7 of 12

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

These roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas are cooked on a sheet pan until tender and tossed in coconut milk and lime dressing. An easy dinner
Sheet pan beef skewers piled on a foil-lined baking sheet with a dish of white sauce and lemon wedges.
David Malosh
8 of 12

Sheet Pan Beef Skewers

These sheet pan beef skewers are a quick and easy meal from Melissa Clark. Beef sirloin is marinated in oil, garlic, and fragrant spices, skewered and quickly broiled, and served with a cilantro and mint yogurt sauce.

Featured Review

We think this is a perfect Saturday night (or any night) when it is raining or cooler than expected so you can turn on the oven meal! We have enjoyed this many times and tonight I served it with saffron rice which I thought it was a perfect accompaniment. We used tenderloin tips which our butcher recommended over the sirloin (same price) and they were delicious! I had sour cream in the fridge so used that for the sauce, and it was pretty good but I will say I prefer yogurt. As always, thanks for an easy, relaxing Saturday night meal. We are now tucking into a movie!

Tannis
Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt
9 of 12

Harissa Chicken with Leeks, Potatoes, and Yogurt

: Eric Wolfinger Elissa Thomas, a member of our Leite’s Culinaria: What’s For Dinner? group, swears by this easy sheet-pan meal of spicy harissa-laced roasted chicken, sweet, browned leeks, crunchy potatoes, and a cool garnish of salted yogurt and fresh herbs.
A rimmed sheet pan with roast pork chops with peaches and cooked red onion.
Eric Wolfinger
10 of 12

Roast Pork Chops with Peaches

These roast pork chops with peaches are an easy, no-fuss, sheet pan meal of seasoned, roasted pork chops, peach wedges, and red onion, all topped with pomegranate molasses. A weeknight winner that belongs in your dinner rotation.

Featured Review

Really delicious–better than I expected! The only change I would make would be to marinate the onions and pork chops (and maybe the peaches) for a few hours or more in a bowl in the fridge.

MamaSiita
Six ramekins with lemon custard and strawberries on top.
11 of 12

Lemon Custard with Strawberries

: It’s Thyme 2 CookThis lemon custard with strawberries is a go-to summer dessert for Leite’s Culinaria group member Maureen Potter, who loves the pronounced lemon flavor in this no-bake dessert that calls for just a few ingredients.
A white dessert plate and spoon with a square of blueberry maple tea cake.
12 of 12

Blueberry Maple Tea Cake

: Cookie and KateMelissa Clark’s simple and amazing recipe for naturally sweetened, blueberry maple tea cake.

☞ Did we miss any of your favorite Melissa Clark recipes?

Let us know in a comment below!

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About David Leite

I’ve received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leiteโ€™s Culinaria. I’m the author of The New Portuguese Table and Notes on a Banana. For more than 25 years, I’ve been developing and testing recipes for my site, my books, and publications. My work has also appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appรฉtit, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and more. I’m also a cooking teacher, memoirist, and inveterate cat lady.

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4 Comments

    1. Bobbi, we don’t have it, but I’m sure you can find it in her books or on the internet.

      Reply

  2. OMG I love Melissa Clark’s recipes. One that wasn’t posted is her Beef Bourguignon recipe. It is, to say the least… OUTSTANDING and totally company-worthy. She is a great chef using simple but elegant ingredients. Thanks so much for posting her recipes and sharing with us!

    Reply