Although 2020 has been a highly memorable year in many negative ways, it was also a very good year here at Urban Cottage Life. The number of visits to the blog increased by more than 200 percent over the previous best. I think there were a few major reasons for that: people were cooking more during the pandemic; I had time to do a lot of work on the site; and, several recipes were promoted on big platforms (thank you, Google). Whatever the reasons, I’m grateful for each and every visit. And to celebrate, I thought you might like to see the top 10 recipes of 2020 in this little corner of the internet.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Let’s Count Down the Top 10 Recipes of 2020

If there’s a theme among these 10 recipes, it’s that none of them are particularly fancy dishes. In fact, there’s only a couple that might send you to the store for some spices, although that of course depends on what’s in your pantry.

Clearly, home-style down-to-earth cooking was what we all craved in the year gone by.

Let’s begin the count down of Urban Cottage Life’s top 10 recipes of 2020.

#10: Red Curry Chicken Drumsticks

Who doesn’t like sticky chicken drumsticks with a piquant glaze? Get the recipe here.

# 9: Middle Eastern-Inspired Beef Stew

The bright, eye-opening flavours of lemon and sumac with subtly sweet spices complement the tender beef in this stew. Get the recipe here.

#8: Butternut Squash & Chickpea Cakes

Made with lightly caramelized roasted butternut squash, chickpeas and warming spices, these patties aren’t only delicious, they’re also vegan. Get the recipe here.

#7: Green & Yellow Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

While this vibrant celebration of summer produce has been one of my potluck staples for years, the recipe here makes anywhere from 2 to 6 servings (yes, it’s my entire dinner sometimes). Get the recipe here.

#6: Sautéed Swiss Chard Mash

This rustic, flavourful and thoroughly satisfying dish was inspired by nostalgia and reinvented to celebrate Swiss chard in its entirety: leaves and stems. Get the recipe here.

#5: Potato Turnip Mash

Potatoes + turnips x mashing = simple and delicious. Get the recipe here.

#4: Pasta with Garlic, Red Chile & Lime

Simple and zesty seasoning on pasta adorned with sharp and salty Parmesan proves that not every dish of spaghetti needs a tomato or white sauce. Get the recipe here.

#3: Flaky Pastry with Butter & Lard

I’ve always been more drawn to pie crust than the filling, and this tasty and ultra flaky version proves why. Get the recipe here.

#2: Queen Elizabeth Cake

This straightforward and simple cake that was first created for a Queen evokes many family memories, and I dreamed of that topping for years before I finally made it myself. Get the recipe here.

#1: Hamburger, Potato & Tomato Skillet Dinner

This dish is firmly established as the top recipe of all time here at Urban Cottage Life, proving that at the end of the day, we all want simple dinners, whether we’re cooking for our families or just ourselves. Get the recipe here.

Check out Taste of Home’s best of 2020 recipe roundup here.

Thank You

Thank you for making 2020 such a stellar year here at Urban Cottage Life. It was my pleasure to provide you with recipes that I hope made it a little easier — and tastier — to cope with the pandemic. I hope you add some or many of the top 10 recipes of 2020 to your home cooking rotation in the years ahead.

Here’s to your safety and good health in 2021!