20 Recipes You HAVE To Try In 2016

A whole new year means only one thing to me… a whole new year to try every recipe I couldn’t fit into the end of 2015. With all the holiday cooking and baking, you never do seem to get around to all those recipes you wanted to make over the holiday break, do you? To kick off your new year right, here are 20 recipes to try in 2016. No excuses, these go on your list right now.

Every year, I always have one food that I add to my new year’s resolution list to make. Last year it was mastering the perfect steak and this year, well, I’ll let you find out when you read this list. It’s always a fun challenge for me to pick some recipe and plan to master it each year. It’s like a competition with myself, which yes, I know, makes me sound way too much like Monica Geller.

So while you finish off the last of the Christmas cookies and get ready for new foodie adventures in 2016, take a gander at the delicious recipes I’ve rounded up for you here. Even if you're more of a takeout and chill kind of person, at least a few of these will inspire you to cook, I promise.

1. Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are my number one must try for 2016. Especially these carrot cake whoopee pies from Food Fanatic. Super simple, and oh-so satisfying!

2. Kale Pomegranate Crunch Salad

You promised to eat more greens in 2016, and it doesn't get tastier or more gorgeous than this kale salad from Joy the Baker.

3. Boozy Slow Cooker Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Winter is only just beginning, and there’s nothing like snuggling up with hot chocolate after a cold winter’s day spent playing in the snow (yes, I swear I’m an adult). The fact that this recipe from Food Fanatic is exclusively for grown-ups is just the whipped cream topping on the hot mug of chocolate deliciousness.

4. Roasted Tomato Soup Mugs

What do you eat when the weather’s cold and you just want to sit by the fire for hours on end? A huge mug full of this roasted tomato soup from Food Fanatic, of course. You bring the grilled cheese, and we’ll have a winter party.

5. Puffy Tacos

2015 was the year of the taco, so I’m officially declaring 2016 the year of the puffy tacos. Tell me how much you want to crunch into these from How Sweet It Is. Are you licking the screen yet? I might be…

6. 10-Layer Ice Cream Cake

A 10-layer ice cream cake that comes together in five minutes? Only The Kitchn could bring us such a simple, straightforward recipe that satisfies our sweet tooth in a snap.

7. One Pot Mushroom Spinach Artichoke Pasta

One pot meals are my go-to during the winter when I just don’t want to cook. The cold may be bringing you down, but this pasta from Damn Delicious will warm you up in minutes, with infinitely less work than dialing the phone for Chinese takeout.

8. Pineapple Banana Kale Smoothie

You might think I’m crazy, but green smoothies are an obsession of mine — especially when you overload them with pineapple and banana like this one from Taste and Tell. No one actually wants to taste their veggies, do they?

9. Slow Cooker Winter Vegetable Soup with Split Red Lentils

If you’ve got a mid-week dinner slump, this slow cooker winter vegetable soup from Blogging Over Thyme is how you can shake things up and bring the ultimate comfort food to your family and friends.

10. The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich

Veggies galore are stacked into this ultimate sandwich from I Am a Food Blog, making it the perfect indulgent and somewhat healthy meal to sink your teeth into.

11. Coq au Vin Skillet Pizza

Want to get fancy with coq au vin but are craving pizza at the same time? Climbing Grier Mountain takes care of that for you with this genius pizza idea that I seriously can’t wait to try.

12. Funfetti Cake

A cake with sprinkles is exactly how I want to start off every new year. My Name is Yeh makes a funfetti cake so full of sprinkles and fun, it’s impossible not to smile from ear to ear.

13. Boxed Wine Pitcher Cocktail: Red Wine, Spiced Apple, & Bourbon

I’ll admit it, I like to drink boxed wine. This may make some of you shudder out there, but for the peeps who can relate, The Kitchn has finally made a cocktail just for your boxed wine obsession. SCORE.

14. Blackened Broccoli Pasta with Charred Lemon and Goat Cheese

Spaghetti and meatballs was so 2015. Upgrade your pasta recipe with this killer recipe from How Sweet It Is. I’m just ready to dive into a bowl of that goodness, aren’t you?

15. Glacier Berry Cocktail

One of my new year’s resolutions is to have a cocktail hour once a week in 2016. We all love a stiff drink at the end of a long day. This year, try something more elegant, like this cocktail from Pass the Sushi.

16. "Leftover" Cookies

Now you have a way to eat all that leftover Christmas candy, and you have Crepes of Wrath to thank for it.

17. Fontina, Roasted Garlic, and Goat Cheese Arancini

Arancini were an obsession of mine when I lived in Rome many years ago, and I think it’s high time I bring them back into my life. How Sweet It Is nails the recipe with the addition of fontina, roasted garlic, and creamy goat cheese that makes my mouth water like crazy.

18. One Pot Shrimp Parmesan Pasta

I had to throw one more one pot recipe into this roundup, because it’s so delicious. I think this recipe from Damn Delicious can safely be deemed the “healthy” version of parmesan pasta — plus it looks amazing.

19. Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Brownies

Peanut butter, chocolate, cheesecake, and brownies all smashed into one delightful bar that I would never be able to stop eating. This recipe by Averie Cooks is the recipe you’ve been waiting for to hoard to yourself instead of sharing with others like you had to during the holidays.

20. Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel Stuffed Brownie Cookies

I definitely saved the best for last with this cookie recipe from Half Baked Harvest. It has all my favorite things in one cookie.

For more food inspiration, check out Bustle on YouTube.

Images: Food Fanatic; Joy the Baker; Food Fanatic; Food Fanatic; How Sweet It Is; The Kitchn; Damn Delicious; Taste and Tell; Blogging Over Thyme; I Am a Food Blog; Climbing Grier Mountain; My Name is Yeh; The Kitchn; How Sweet It Is; Pass the Sushi; Crepes of Wrath; How Sweet It Is; Damn Delicious; Averie Cooks; Half Baked Harvest