People Are Sharing Family Recipes That Have Been Passed Down By Generations And They Sound So Good

Grandma: "The recipe calls for 1 cup of cheese, but let’s be honest, you are going to add more and that is fine."

There's nothing like a great family recipe that's been passed down from generation to generation.

Pixar

So I turned to Reddit to find handful of treasured, generations-old recipes that people swear by. Some have been written down and others passed down by word of mouth. And IDK about you, but I can't wait to try them all.

1. Nana's Devils Food Cake

u/GenghisJohnHMB via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, coffee, eggs, vanilla extract.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Sift all the dry ingredients and slowly fold the dry into the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased cake pan or baking tin. Keep an eye on it and cook until done (about 30 minutes)." —u/iamktf

Recipe: Nana's Devils Food Cake

2. Banana Fritters From a 1910 Cookbook

u/TastesSoMuch / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Bananas, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, milk, lemon juice, egg.

Directions: "Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the milk and then to the mashed bananas. Add the lemon juice and then the beaten egg. Drop the banana mixture by the spoonful into hot fat (I used vegetable shortening) and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar." —u/TastesSoMuch

Recipe: Banana Fritters From a 1910 Cookbook

3. Grandma's Hamburger Pie

u/Speedtrap1 via Reddit

"This is my grandmother’s Hamburger Pie recipe. It was something that she would make whenever company stopped by."

Ingredients: Hamburger meat, onion soup mix, powdered milk, all-purpose flour, shredded cheese, pie shell.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Brown the hamburger meat in a pan and drain the excess fat. (Or don’t.) Add onion soup mix, flour, powdered milk, and water (I have been using 1¾ cups whole milk instead of powder milk and water). Cook on medium until thickened. While the meat is thickening, get out your frozen pie crust. Once thickened, pour the meat into the pie shell (the meat should fill the shell to the top or just slightly below). Add the cheese: The recipe calls for 1 cup, but let’s be honest, you are going to add more and that is fine. Cook for 25 minutes and enjoy." —u/Speedtrap1

Recipe: Grandma's Hamburger Pie

4. Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

Getty Images

Ingredients: Leftover roast chicken or chicken thighs, carrots, frozen green peas, celery, butter, onion, all-purpose flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, chicken broth, milk, unbaked pie crusts.

Directions: "Preheat oven to 425ºF. In a saucepan, combine carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil until carrots and celery are softened. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. Place bottom pie crust in deep glass pie dish.

Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. (Prebake bottom crust if using homemade, not necessary for store-bought.) Pour the hot chicken mixture over the crust and cover with a top crust. Seal the edges and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving." —u/PajamaStripes

Recipe: Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

5. Depression-Era Potato Buns

u/MrsBasilEFrankweiler via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Mashed potatoes, milk, fresh yeast or active dry yeast, lukewarm water, Swans Down Cake Flour, egg, sugar, salt, butter.

Directions: "Preheat oven to 450ºF. Combine mashed potatoes and milk. Cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in water and add to potato mixture. Add enough flour to make a batter, beating well. Cover and let rise in warm place until light. Add egg, sugar, salt, melted butter, and remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead lightly until smooth. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise again until it doubles in size. Roll the dough out to ½ inch thick. Cut the dough with a floured biscuit cutter. Place the balls of dough in a greased pan and let rise until doubled in size. Bake for 15 minutes or until done." —u/maudepodge

Recipe: Depression-Era Potato Buns

6. My Mom's Tiramisu

u/eatalianwithroberto via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Espresso, eggs, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, lady finger cookies, Cognac, bitter cocoa powder.

Directions: "Prepare the coffee and let it cool down until ambient temperature. Add the cognac. Separate yolks from egg whites (you will use 5 yolks and 4 egg whites). Slowly mix the yolks with the powdered sugar. Add to the cream the mascarpone cheese and gently mix them. Whip the egg whites until they get thick. Add the whipped egg whites to the cream and gently mix them with a spoon.

Dip each Pavesini cookie into the coffee and create a layer in your kitchen bowl. Add a layer of cream, then a layer of cookies, and so on until you finish the cream. The top layer must be cream. Cover and put in the fridge. When you are ready to serve it, add the bitter cocoa powder." —u/eatalianwithroberto

Recipe: Mom's Tiramisu

7. Hot Crab Dip

Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce, scallions, dill, salt, jumbo lump crab meat.

Directions: "Heat the oven to 350ºF. Mix together 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon horseradish, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup chopped scallions, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill, and 1 teaspoon salt. Fold in the crab meat. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers for dipping." —LilaAllen09

8. Dad's Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin

Alvin Zhou/Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Potatoes (like Yukon Gold), yellow onion, ground mustard, Campbell's cream of chicken soup, sharp shredded cheddar cheese, heavy cream, butter, salt, and pepper.

Directions: "Heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a casserole dish and place 1 layer of potatoes at the bottom. Cover with cheese, a few dollops of cream of chicken soup, and slices of butter. Season with salt and pepper and top with a layer of onion. Repeat in layers and make sure the top is covered with cheese. Finally top with a layer of cream and sour cream. Do not worry about mixing. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and mix with a spatula. Place back into the oven without foil and cook for 30 minutes more." —u/DoctorDanDrangus

Recipe: Dad's Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin

9. Nana's Meatballs and Sauce

Getty Images

"My grandma's recipe let me take the People's Choice Award at the 2013 Boston Meatball Takedown. This recipe feeds a whole dinner party like the ones my grandma hosted often in her big Irish Italian home."

For the meatballs:

Ingredients: Ground pork, ground veal, ground lamb, soft Italian bread, light cream, eggs, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Directions: "Cube the Italian bread and, working in batches, gently pulse in a food processor until you have large crumbs. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs with beaten egg and as much cream as it takes to make an oatmeal-like consistency. Set aside. Working one handful at a time, create a ring with the ground meats, alternating each type. Press the meat together but don’t mash. Place the bread crumb mixture in the center of the meat and season it liberally with salt and pepper. Using your hands, work the meat and the bread crumbs together until combined. Be careful not to overwork the meat. Use a bit of cream as needed for moisture. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet, shape meat into small patties, and cook."

For the sauce:

Ingredients: Canned whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, celery, carrots, red onion, anchovies, uncured bacon or pancetta, rosemary, oregano, basil, red wine, unsalted butter, salt, and pepper

Directions: "In a large bowl, shred the tomatoes by hand, letting some solid tomato remain. Reserve excess liquid from the canned tomatoes. In a heavy stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until fat renders. Add ½ stick of butter, herbs, onions, celery, garlic, carrots, anchovies, salt, and pepper to taste. Sauté until vegetables are translucent. Add red wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add tomatoes with excess juice and the remaining ½ stick of butter. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Add meatballs, turn off heat, and cover." —u/uberphaser

Recipe: Nana's Meatballs and Sauce

10. Great Grandma's Famous Baked Ziti

Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Ziti pasta, ground beef, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, egg, tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cook the noodles as directed. Brown beef in a large pan with Italian seasoning. Drain fat. Add ricotta, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and egg. Mix well. Add tomato sauce. Mix well. Add cooked noodles and mix. Add pasta mixture to an ungreased glass baking dish. Spread a second jar of tomato sauce on top, enough to cover it all in a thin layer. Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake for 20–25 minutes." —u/Nerdychic

Recipe: Great Grandma's Famous Baked Ziti

11. Mum's Banana and Walnut Loaf

Tasty / Via tasty.co

This recipe is great to make with the little ones. It's hard to mess up and most of the work is just mixing ingredients together.

Ingredients: Butter or margarine, light brown sugar, ripe bananas, self-rising flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, chopped walnuts

Directions: "Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream the margarine with the sugar until soft and light. Mash the bananas in a separate bowl and mix them into the sugar and cream. Break the eggs in and mix in. Sift in the flour a bit at a time, gently folding it into the mixture. Stir in the walnuts and the milk. Pour into buttered loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour (check at 45 minutes by piercing with a skewer to see if cooked). Turn off and cool on a wire rack." —u/Prehistoricmoose

Recipe: Mum's Banana and Walnut Loaf

12. Family Sloppy Joe

Getty Images

"This is from my grandmother's recipe book and everyone in my family loves it."

Ingredients: Ground beef, canned tomato sauce, yellow onion, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, Cinnamon, BBQ sauce, dinner rolls

Directions: "Mince the onions and cook in oil, then set aside. In the same pan, cook ground beef until lightly browned. Drain half of the dat and reserve the other half. Mix in the tomato paste and sautéed onion. Add tomato sauce and scrape the pan. Lower the heat and add brown sugar, spices, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, and diced tomato. Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes or as long as 2 hours. Serve on dinner rolls or toast." —u/LilDebbo

Recipe: Family Sloppy Joe

13. Mom's Rosół (Polish Chicken Soup)

u/TrixandSam via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Chicken pieces or a whole bird, carrots, celery, onion, parsnips, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, fresh dill, concentrated chicken stock, egg noodles

Directions: "Put the chicken, vegetables, and herbs in a stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 60–90 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and strip the chicken meat from the bones into bite-size pieces. Bring the chicken stock and the vegetables to a boil, then reduce the heat to a strong simmer for 15–30 minutes. The goal is to concentrate the vegetable flavor. Add the chicken pieces and carrots to the stock. Bring back to a boil and cook the noodles. Then bring back to a simmer. Taste and add salt, pepper, chopped dill, and parsley." —u/TrixandSam

Recipe: Mom's Rosół (Polish Chicken Soup)

14. Oatmeal Crescent Rolls

Getty Images / Via reddit.com

"My mom used to bake a huge batch of these oatmeal rolls and she'd store the extras in the freezer. To defrost, you just microwave for 15–20 seconds. They make delectable little sandwiches."

Ingredients: Oatmeal, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, yeast, flour

Directions: "Pour boiling water over oatmeal, butter, sugar, and salt. Stir to melt butter (or margarine). Let stand until lukewarm. Add beaten egg. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to flour. Mix well. Gradually add more flour to form stiff dough. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and satiny (not sticky). Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let rice for about 1.5 hours until the dough has doubled in size, then push down. Divide the dough into 6 parts. Roll each into 12" circles and cut into 8 wedges. Roll up the dough and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes or until light brown." —u/_creature_feature

Recipe: Oatmeal Crescent Rolls

15. Gumbo

Getty Images

"Cajuns really cook with their hearts so every gumbo is different, and you won't really won't find recipes with specific measurements. For this recipe, we use chicken and sausage, but feel free to use what you've got (shrimp, chicken, sausage, other seafood)."

Ingredients: Chicken (bone in pieces), roux (butter + flour), onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, smoked sausage like andouille, salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's seasoning, rice, gumbo file seasoning

Directions: "Slice the sausage into rounds and panfry until brown. Add the vegetables and garlic, and cook on medium heat. Add cooked sausage mixture and chicken to a stockpot and add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring water to a boil. Then reduce to low and simmer for a few hours until the chicken is cooked and tender. Remove and debone the chicken, then add back to the pot. Add salt, pepper, and Tony's to taste, then add roux until the gumbo thickens. Add gumbo file to taste. Serve over rice." —u/mrsthebeatles81

Recipe: Cajun Gumbo

16. My Uncle's Bolognese Puttanesca

Claire Nolan/Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery, onion, Sicilian olives, capers, whole Roma tomatoes in juice, ground beef, hot Italian sausage, red wine.

Directions: Cook the garlic, carrots, celery, and onion in olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add the pitted, sliced olives and capers and the tomatoes with half of the juice. Crush the tomatoes a bit with a wooden spoon. Add cooked, drained meat and red wine, then simmer for 2 hours. Serve over pasta with freshly grated Pecorino. —u/anothercairn

Recipe: My Uncle's Bolognese Puttanesca

17. Sofrito Black Beans

Getty Images

Ingredients: Olive oil, onion, garlic, green pepper, canned black beans, canned diced tomatoes, cumin, jalapeño, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, cilantro.

Directions: "Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, cumin, jalapeño, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, for another 2 minutes. Add beans. Cover and cook stirring occasionally over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over rice."

—u/ajcurioso453

Recipe: Sofrito Black Beans

18. Dad's Cheesy Spaghetti Mixture

u/dzernumbrd via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Yellow onion, bacon, garlic, grated cheddar cheese, condensed tomato soup, olive oil, spaghetti, salt, and pepper.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Boil the pasta until al dente. It will continue cooking in the oven. Fry bacon until browned and crispy. Set aside. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomato soup and cooked pasta to a baking dish. Top with bacon, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Cover the pasta mixture with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown." —u/dzernumbrd

Recipe: Dad's Spaghetti Mixture

19. Divorce Carrot Cake

U/Alarming_Avocado via Reddit / Via reddit.com

"This was my mom’s recipe. It's named this way because my dad sheepishly asked me to make it for his birthday, despite the fact they’ve been divorced for over 20 years. Use a cream cheese frosting."

Ingredients: Vegetable oil, honey, eggs, canned crushed pineapple, carrots, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, coconut, walnuts, raisins

Directions: "Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour 2 cake pans. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine oil, honey, eggs, and pineapple in a large bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, plus the remaining walnuts, coconuts, and raisins. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 45 minutes." —u/Alarming_Avocado

Recipe: Divorce Carrot Cake

20. Mom's Lemon Drizzle Cake

Tasty / Via tasty.co

"Lemon drizzle cake is one of my all-time favorite foods. We use whole wheat flour to give it a little extra flavor. In my opinion, the more lemon used the better."

Ingredients: eggs, unsalted butter, self-rising flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, caster or granulated sugar, milk, lemons

Directions: "Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs, then slowly add flour and baking powder. Add the milk. Mix in lemon zest. Spoon mixture into a greased, floured baking pan. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is golden brown. While cake is baking, mix together lemon juice and sugar. When the cake is finished, remove it from the oven and prick holes in the surface with a fork. Drizzle it with the lemon sugar mixture while cake is still hot." —u/FenellaIce

Recipe: Mom's Lemon Drizzle Cake

21. Mom's Traditional Greek Stuffed Peppers

Getty Images

Ingredients: Ground beef or pork, bell pepper, onion, garlic, medium grain white, salt, pepper, tomato paste, fresh parsley, mint.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the tops off each of the bell peppers. Remove the seeds. Put the tops to the side and place the peppers in a baking dish. Fry the onions in olive oil then add the chopped garlic and cook. Once softened, add the ground meat and season with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste and stir. Add the uncooked rice and continue panfrying the mixture for a minute. Add 2 cups of water and cook for a little longer. When the water has reduced, turn off the heat and once cool, add parsley and mint. Scoop the mixture into the hollowed out peppers. Drizzle each pepper generously with olive oil. Cook for 1 hour."

22. 19th Century Sicilian Family Pomodoro

—u/adrians150 / Via reddit.com

This recipe has been passed down in my family for generations.

Ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, onion, dried basil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, carrot, olive oil, bay leaves, baking soda, butter, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.

Directions: "Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spread tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes. Use a food mill to mill out seeds and skins into a bowl. Fry onion in the remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato and turn heat down to medium low. Add basil, oregano, bay leaf, chili flakes, tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Mix together. When the sauce begins to simmer stir in the carrot and baking soda. Stir for 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and stir. Cook for at least 2 hours over low heat, stirring frequently. Carrot should melt into the sauce." —u/adrians150

Recipe: 19th Century Sicilian Family Pomodoro

23. Sardinian-Style Roast Chicken

Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Whole chicken, oranges, white wine, saffron, fennel seeds, bell pepper, chili peppers, garlic cloves, olive oil, bacon, onions, whole black peppercorns

Directions:" Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Pour wine into a roasting pan along with fennel seeds and whole peppercorns and a few threads of saffron. Add the chopped bell and chili peppers, onions, and garlic. Zest the oranges and then juice them into the pan. Clean the chicken and place on rack. Place some chili pepper, garlic, fennel seeds, and black pepper into the cavity of the chicken. Cover the chicken in olive oil. Place 2 strips of bacon over the breasts and wrap 1 strip of bacon around each leg. Cover the breasts with fennel seed and black pepper. Tent the roasting tin in foil. Cook until the chicken reaches 165°F. Let the chicken sit for 20 minutes then carve. Use the excess liquid to pour over pasta." —kiwikoi

Recipe: Sardinian-Style Roast Chicken

24. Cinnamon Flop Cake

U/WhisperingWilds via Reddit / Via reddit.com

Ingredients: Shortening, flour, baking powder, sugar, milk, cinnamon, brown sugar

Directions: "Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour and baking powder (which have been sifted together) alternately with the milk. Pour into a greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and brown sugar. Bake for 50–60 minutes."

—u/allie-bern

Recipe: Cinnamon Flop Cake

25. My Great Grandmother's Peanut Butter Cookies

Getty Images

"These are my great grandmother's peanut butter cookies, and they're amazing. You can either crosshatch them gently with a fork before baking, or you can press a Hershey's Kiss into each ball to make peanut butter blossoms."

Ingredients: Shortening, cane sugar, brown sugar, eggs, salt, peanut butter, baking soda, flour, vanilla, baking powder.

Directions: "Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream the shortening and sugars, then add the eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Add the salt, baking soda, and baking powder (sprinkling over the top of the mixture to incorporate). Add the peanut butter and finally the flour to form a stiff dough. Form the dough into balls, press each with fork, and bake for 12–14 minutes." —u/AmyinIndiana

Recipe: My Great Grandmother's Peanut Butter Cookies

26. Mom's Corn Casserole

Tasty / Via tasty.co

Ingredients: Canned corn kernels, canned creamed corn, cornbread mix, butter, sour cream, salt.

Directions: "Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 7x10 baking or casserole dish. Mix together the canned corn, creamed corn, cornbread mix, and sour cream. Dump the mixture into the casserole dish, spread it out, and bake for 1 hour, or until it's golden and little crusty on top." —u/meghancannoli

Recipe: Mom's corn casserole

27. My Grandmother's Cream Puffs

Getty Images

"This is the recipe for just the puffs. You can fill it with whatever you'd like, from pudding to a scoop of ice cream. Or make them savory, filled with spinach and artichoke dip. The puff itself is light and savory."

Ingredients: Butter, boiling water, flour, salt, eggs

Directions: "Preheat the oven for 450ºF. Melt butter in the boiling water. Add flour and salt, and stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and add eggs one at a time while stirring well. Scoop 1 tablespoon-sized balls onto a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 250ºF and bake for 25 minutes. Cool, slice, and stuff with your favorite filling." —u/Robot_Girlfriend

Recipe: My Grandmother's Cream Puffs

What's one of your family's favorite recipes that's been passed down for decades or centuries? Tell me about it in the comments!