10 Best Julia Child Recipes (2024)

With these Julia Child recipes, you’ll almost feel like you’ve been to culinary school!

I’ve recognized Julia Child as a household name ever since I was young, but it wasn’t until I saw the film, Julie and Julia, that I truly gained an appreciation for just how much of an icon she was.

10 Best Julia Child Recipes (1)

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If you aren’t familiar with her story, Julia Child was an American woman who developed a passion for food and wound up graduating from the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris.

She then studied with master chefs, and through her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, she brought the techniques of French cooking into the kitchens of millions of Americans.

She also went on to star in a cooking show, The French Chef, in which she connected with many American housewives for being real and authentic.

Julia’s tried-and-true recipes have been celebrated for decades, and they’re still being made in plenty of homes today.

I’ve rounded up some of my all-time favorite Julia Child recipes, so get ready to venture into the world of French cooking with the master herself!

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1. Julia Child’s French Onion Soup

This is perhaps one of Julia’s most highly sought-after recipes.

The hearty beef and onion broth is topped with toasted bread and melted cheese for a soup that’s so delicious, it’ll almost make you weep.

Serve this one with extra French bread on the side for dipping so you can soak up all the onion goodness.

2. Quiche Lorraine

I’m sure you’ve heard of quiche Lorraine before, right? That’s all thanks to Julia Child, as her recipe is the one that made it so popular.

Made with bacon, onion, eggs, cream, three types of cheese, and spices, this classic is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner.

To save yourself a bit of time, use a store-bought pie crust. The filling is so decadent, nobody will notice if you don’t make it from scratch.

3. Beef Bourguignon

It really doesn’t get much more decadent than beef bourguignon. It’s basically beef that’s slow-simmered in a rich, red wine gravy, and it’s to die for.

While you can cut corners and make this in a slower cooker or Instant Pot, if you want to do it the Julia Child way, it’s a long, slow process on the stovetop that will take you all day.

However, the effort is more than worth it for how amazing the resulting stew is. Prepare to be incredibly impressed with yourself after making this recipe.

4. French Crepes

Treat yourself this weekend and turn your kitchen into a Parisian cafe with this recipe for French crepes.

Learning to perfect crepes can take a bit of patience, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll whip these up all the time.

You can fill them with whatever you like, whether it be chocolate, fruit, or different kinds of cheese.

Crepes are so versatile, plus, they’re light and wonderful.

5. Julia Child’s Coq au Vin

This recipe may look intimidating, but it’s actually one of Julia’s easier ones!

Coq au vin is basically just what it sounds like — chicken and wine. Well, it’s slow-cooked chicken and vegetables in a wine sauce, that is.

Using the slow cooker for this dish won’t take away from the experience, so I highly suggest it. Plus, your house will smell amazing as it cooks all day.

6. Potato Leek Soup

This rich, velvety soup is a great vegetarian option, though it does call for chicken stock and a touch of cream.

If you want to make it vegan, use vegetable stock instead and omit the cream or use a plant-based cream product.

If you want to get the best texture for this soup, you’ll need a food mill, as it results in a better consistency than a blender or food processor.

7. Julia Child’s Roast Chicken

This is the recipe to bring out when you’re having guests and truly want to impress them.

Roast chicken may be a simple dish, but it’s a classic that no one can resist.

It really isn’t all that difficult, though you’ll want to follow Julia’s recipe exactly, including basting the bird and rotating it so that the skin turns out nice and golden.

Served with a baguette, roasted vegetables, and a side salad, this is a winning meal that you can’t go wrong with.

8. Dauphinoise Potatoes

Stop reading this post right now and bookmark the recipe for these potatoes. They’re seriously the side dish of all side dishes.

They’re similar to scalloped potatoes but so much creamier.

They have layers of thinly-sliced potatoes, cream, butter, cheese, and then there’s thyme for seasoning. I swear, each bite of these babies is better than the last.

When these come out of the oven bubbling, you’ll barely get them to the table before people are asking for seconds.

9. Julia Child’s Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Oh my goodness. I served this to some friends recently when they came over for dinner, and everyone at the table was ooh-ing and ahh-ing over how incredible this dish is!

The mushrooms, chicken, and cream come together and create the most irresistible sauce.

I picked up a crusty French bread to go along with this meal, and we were all sopping up the sauce to clean our plates when dinner was over.

And not surprisingly, everyone at the party asked me for the recipe, and they were over-the-top delighted to hear it was from Julia Child!

10. Julia Child’s Madeleines

No Julia Child meal is complete without her French Madeleines.

These light cookies are flavored with lemon zest and vanilla extract, so they’re a delicious ending to whatever you’re serving.

Biting into one of these cookies is reminiscent of being in a French bakery, especially with their cute shell shape.

You’ll want to buy molds for these if you want them to come out truly authentic, but it’s worth the small expense. These silicone Madeleine molds are just $8.99 on Amazon.

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10 Best Julia Child Recipe Collection

With these Julia Child recipes, you’ll almost feel like you’ve been to culinary school! From French onion soup to coq au vin, master the art of French cooking with the legend herself.

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10 Best Julia Child Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What was Julia Child's signature dishes? ›

10 Essential Julia Child Recipes Everyone Should Master
  • Coq a Vin.
  • Vichyssoise.
  • Quiche Lorraine.
  • Boeuf Bourguignon.
  • Crêpes Suzette.
  • Chicken Waterzooi.
  • Cassoulet.
  • Vinaigrette.
Apr 2, 2024

What was Julia Child's famous phrase? ›

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun."

What was Julia Child's favorite soup? ›

Soup was one of Julia Child's favorite things to eat, and reportedly, her absolute favorite was vichyssoise. Leek and potato soup, known as potage parmentier in French, is a classic base soup recipe. What sets vichyssoise apart is the addition of cream—and the fact that it is traditionally served chilled.

What kind of butter did Julia Child use? ›

The butter Julia Child undoubtedly preferred was, of course, French butter. She'd learned virtually everything she knew in France where butter is king. French butter has a nuttiness and a tang that American butter just doesn't. There is a difference in the butterfat content of just 2 percent.

What is Julia Child's most famous dessert? ›

Julia Child's Reine De Saba (Queen of Sheba) Cake.

What was Julia Child's first meal? ›

Child repeatedly recalled her first meal at La Couronne in Rouen as a culinary revelation; once, she described the meal of oysters, sole meunière, and fine wine to The New York Times as "an opening up of the soul and spirit for me." In 1951, she graduated from the famous Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris and later ...

What did Julia Child say about butter? ›

1. Don't be afraid of butter. Julia famously said, “With enough butter, anything is good.” She ferociously loved butter at a time when most people in the United States were completely afraid of it.

What did Julia Child always say at the end of her show? ›

Child's set included a backdrop for this very purpose, where she would perch at the end of each episode to dig in — and it was where she memorialized her famous closing line, which was, in fact, ad-libbed, just as portrayed in “Julia”: “Bon appétit!

Why was Julia Child so special? ›

Famous chef, author, and television personality, Julia Child made French cuisine accessible to American audiences. She was one of the first women to host her own cooking show on television, providing tips and lessons on how to prepare French food simply and easily.

What is Julia Child's most famous dish? ›

Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe was featured in one of the earliest episodes of The French Chef and has become a classic among the many Child enthusiasts at GBH. In fact, GBH News host Henry Santoro concludes there's no better recipe for the dish.

Did Julia Child use a lot of butter? ›

3. She used an exorbitant amount of butter — even later in life. According to PBS, Child used a whopping 753 pounds of butter during the time she filmed "Baking with Julia." That program aired for just four seasons, from 1996 through 1999, so that's a pretty impressive amount of dairy.

What was Julia Child's favorite cake? ›

A Reine de Saba cake is a French, rich, sophisticated, chocolate cake made with ground almonds, rum, meringue and of course chocolate. It's topped with a chocolate ganache and can be decorated with almond slices. It's said to be one of the first French cakes that Julia Child ever ate and fell in love with!

What was Julia Child's favorite recipe? ›

Julia Child's Favorite Roast Chicken

Child seasoned this roast chicken inside and out by packing sautéed vegetables, lemon slices, and fresh herbs into the cavity, then rubbing the skin with butter. In typical French fashion, she trussed the bird to promote even cooking.

What brand of oven did Julia Child use? ›

Thermador Thermal Convection Oven used by Julia Child.

What style of cooking did Julia Child use? ›

Julia Child revolutionized American cuisine through her French cooking school, award-winning cookbooks, and world-renowned television programs by presenting an approachable version of sophisticated French cooking to her eager audience for four decades.

What cuisine is Julia Child known for? ›

Famous chef, author, and television personality, Julia Child made French cuisine accessible to American audiences. She was one of the first women to host her own cooking show on television, providing tips and lessons on how to prepare French food simply and easily.

What dish made Julia fall in love with French cuisine? ›

Julia Child's First Encounter with Sole Menuiére

Sole Meuniére entered culinary fame as the dish that captured her heart on that first day in Rouen as she and her husband Paul headed to Paris in 1948.

What color was Julia Child's kitchen? ›

Paul also selected the light blue-green color scheme dominating the kitchen's panels.

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