Carol Hays, Recipe Tester

A list of all the recipes Carol Hays has tested.

A baking sheet lined with parchment and covered with easy roasted carrots and onions with burnt edges.

Easy Roasted Carrots

Four ingredients and one simple technique that will leave everyone asking—maybe even demanding—you for more. A keeper of a side dish.

A glass jar half filled with apple cranberry sauce, with a second jar of applesauce in the background.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Apple cranberry sauce. Not quite as American as apple pie. Not until you taste this version, that is. Sweetly tart and superbly lovely with turkey and pork and so, so much more.

2 chicken gyros filled with romaine, chicken, tomatoes, red onion, pepperoncinis, and tzatziki, with a bowl of tzatziki next to it.

Chicken Gyros

A Mediterranean classic that’s healthy as can be although you’d never guess it from the indulgent taste.

A blue background with a white bowl filled with sliced peaches, tomatoes, red onions, basil, and chunks of bread.

Tomato and Peach Panzanella

Tomato and peach panzanella may sound unlikely but it’ll knock your socks off. If you’re not wearing socks this time of year, then it’ll knock your flip-flops off. Guaranteed.

Several slices of maple sriracha bacon in a glass.

Maple Sriracha Bacon

Maple Sriracha bacon isn’t just the title of this simple recipe, it’s the ingredient list as well. Which means you probably already have everything you need on hand.

A partially sliced loaf of cream cheese pound cake with lemon glaze.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Everything you would imagine in a pound cake. Buttery. Indulgent. Moist. Rich. And with a perfectly balanced and ever so slightly puckery lemon glaze.

3-ingredient macaroni and cheese--elbow macaroni, cream, Cheddar cheese--in a yellow casserole with a wooden spoon.

3 Ingredient Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and cheese honestly doesn’t get any quicker or easier or pantry-friendlier than this 3-ingredient savior that can be tossed together with stuff you already have on hand. Certain to please.

A ham, cheese, and potato casserole in a large rectangular dish, on a red-and-white striped towel.

Ham, Cheese, and Potato Casserole

Our latest definition of decadent comfort food. A David Leite original, this recipe melds layers of ham, potatoes, shallots, and gooey cheese in a rich cream sauce.

A white plate topped with a pile of lemony salmon pasta, sprinkled with chives.

Lemony Salmon Pasta

We think of this gorgeous lemon salmon pasta as the Audrey Hepburn of pasta recipes given how it graciously brings both elegance and simplicity to the party.

A black platter with golden brown herb butter chicken, roasted onion, a lemon wedge, and sprigs of thyme and oregano by Dorie Greenspan

Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

Just when you thought you were unable to come up with yet another variation on roast chicken that didn’t bore you out of your mind, along comes Dorie Greenspan with this simple yet surprisingly lovely rendition.

Copper skillet with a potato chip and chive omelet, a wooden spoon resting inside

Potato Chip and Chive Omelet

Sorta like a first grader’s culinary experiment that unexpectedly turns into something deliciously right and, we dare say, unexpectedly sophisticated.

Cutting board with char siu pork--a pork tenderloin slathered with char siu sauce--and more sauce and the side.

Char Siu Pork

A modern riff on a Cantonese classic. This leaner version relies on pork tenderloin rather than more indulgent cuts but tastes every bit as authentic as the real deal and is redolent of five spice powder, garlic, and ginger.

Texas Dry Rub

Texas Dry Rub

This Texas dry rub recipe has just the right blend of seasoning for bbq ribs, chicken, even flank steak for fajitas.