As we fondly look back on another year filled with culinary adventures and shared successes, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to every single one of you who participated in the 7thannual Emily Bites Reader’s Choice Awards. Your active engagement in voting for your most beloved recipes is incredibly valuable. Not only does it highlight the dishes that truly resonated with you, but it also creates an invaluable resource for new readers. Each January, as our community welcomes fresh faces, this curated list serves as the perfect starting point to discover the “greatest hits” from the past year. Your thoughtful input makes this annual tradition possible, and for that, I am deeply appreciative. For those eager to explore past favorites that continue to be immensely popular, please feel free to revisit our previous award winners: the 2016 winners, 2015 winners, 2014 winners, 2013 winners, 2012 winners, and the 2011 winners.
Regardless of whether you cast a vote, my heartfelt thanks genuinely goes out to YOU. Whether this is your inaugural visit to Emily Bites or you’ve been a loyal follower, cooking along with me since the very beginning, your presence here means the world. Thank you for dedicating your time to read my posts, for bringing my recipes to life in your own kitchens, and for sharing your wonderful experiences. Your questions, comments, and invaluable feedback are a constant source of inspiration. It’s incredibly rewarding to see your creations on Instagram, your smart recipe pins on Pinterest, your thoughtful shares on Facebook, and to read your personal stories and brilliant ideas sent via email. Your continued support, motivation, and inspiration are the driving force behind this blog, and I am genuinely thrilled to have you as part of our growing community. I am truly grateful for the vibrant and encouraging space we’ve built together.
Seven years ago, on Christmas Eve 2010, I embarked on a journey that would forever change my life: starting a blog. At that time, I was actively engaged with Weight Watchers and had recently discovered the sheer joy of cooking more (as opposed to simply microwaving my meals). The revelation that lightened-up dishes could be incredibly delicious, fun to create, and utterly craveable ignited a profound passion within me. I was eager to share these exciting findings, but I never dared to imagine that so many of you would discover my site and join me on this culinary adventure. Today, Emily Bites has blossomed into such a significant and cherished part of my life and identity that it’s genuinely hard to recall a time before its existence! This blog isn’t just a platform; it is my passion, my creative outlet, and my dream. Your consistent presence and engagement here are what make it possible for me to continue living this dream every single day. Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the cornerstone of Emily Bites!
As we eagerly anticipate the fresh new recipes and exciting possibilities that 2018 holds, it’s also a deeply satisfying experience for me to pause and reflect on the remarkable journey and growth of Emily Bites. For the past few years, I’ve shared a recap of our readership, social media engagement, and posting statistics, primarily as a personal benchmark. While I certainly don’t blog solely for the numbers, it is undeniably fun and inspiring to check in annually and witness the incredible expansion of our community. So, here we go again: seven years of blogging, 558 unique posts published, and an astounding 47 million blog pageviews recorded by Google Analytics – a testament to your unwavering interest! Our community thrives across social platforms: over 131,500 of you are part of our enthusiastic family on Facebook, 116,000 of you are my cherished Instagramfriends (a platform I particularly enjoy for its visual inspiration!), and 77,500 of you follow me for new ideas and recipes on Pinterest. Furthermore, 19,800 of you subscribe to receive my recipes directly by email. If you haven’t already, signing up for the email club is a fantastic way to ensure you never miss a delicious new recipe or an important update!
I genuinely cannot emphasize enough how truly overwhelming and humbling it is to know that such an enormous community reads my blog, prepares my recipes, and consistently provides such positive feedback, genuine encouragement, and endless inspiration. Your support is the very foundation of Emily Bites. A profound THANK YOU to each and every one of you! If you’re not already connected on social media and wish to stay even more closely linked with our vibrant community, here are the direct links: Join us on Facebook, find daily inspiration on Instagram, explore countless recipes on Pinterest, and ensure you get every new recipe delivered to your inbox by joining our exclusive Email Club.
And now, without further delay, let’s unveil the eagerly anticipated results of the 2017 Emily Bites Reader’s Choice Awards! Below, you’ll find the triumphant winning recipe for each category, proudly featured with its image. Following each winner, I’ve listed the incredibly close runner-up, along with my personal favorite pick for that category – a fun, personal touch that, of course, didn’t influence the official reader-voted standings!
-
Best Breakfast Recipe: Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pastries
These delightful pastries have undeniably won your hearts and taste buds, offering a perfect medley of savory bacon, fluffy egg, and melted cheese, all encased in a light, golden, flaky pastry shell. They are an absolute dream for a quick and satisfying weekday breakfast, an impressive addition to any brunch spread, or a smart choice for meal prepping. This recipe truly embodies how healthy eating can be both incredibly convenient and utterly delicious, making it a very deserving winner for starting your day right!
Runner Up: Sausage Apple Cheddar Frittata. This vibrantly flavored frittata presents a fantastic balance of sweet and savory notes, making it a sophisticated yet wonderfully simple option for any breakfast or brunch gathering.
Emily’s Pick: Lately, I’ve found myself in a perpetual “frittata state of mind” due to their incredible versatility and ease of preparation. The Sausage Apple Cheddar Frittata stands out as one of my absolute favorites. Beyond its deliciousness, it’s remarkably Weight Watchers Freestyle friendly, tallying just 2 SmartPoints – a true culinary victory in my book!
-
Best Salad Recipe: Asian Sesame Chicken Salad
Light, wonderfully vibrant, and bursting with an incredible array of flavors, this Asian Sesame Chicken Salad has clearly become a beloved go-to for many of you. It masterfully achieves a perfect harmony of tender chicken, crisp, colorful vegetables, and a tantalizing sesame dressing that transforms healthy eating into an absolute pleasure. Whether you’re planning for a refreshing lunch or a satisfying light dinner, this salad consistently delivers on both exquisite taste and fulfilling satisfaction.
Runner Up: Avocado BLT Pasta Salad. This inventive and creamy twist on the classic BLT, generously enhanced with luscious avocado and tender pasta, nearly clinched the top position, trailing by an incredibly narrow margin of just one vote!
Emily’s Pick: For me, there’s simply no competition – it has to be the Southwest Steak Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing. The vibrant, zesty flavors of the Southwest, perfectly complemented by succulent steak and that utterly irresistible creamy avocado-lime dressing, combine to create an unforgettable meal that I find myself craving constantly!
-
Best Handheld Recipe: Apple Cheddar Turkey Wrap
This ingeniously crafted wrap captivated voters with its uniquely delightful combination of crisp, sweet apple, sharp cheddar cheese, and lean, tender turkey, all neatly tucked into a convenient, portable package. It stands as a brilliant testament to how simple, wholesome ingredients can coalesce to create a surprisingly gourmet, yet incredibly satisfying, meal perfect for on-the-go lunches or a quick, light dinner. Its popularity highlights the demand for quick, healthy, and flavorful solutions.
Runner Up: Taco Puff Pockets. This was another exceptionally popular choice, these savory and convenient pockets were tantalizingly close, separated from the winner by just one vote! Clearly, our readers appreciate delicious, easy meal solutions.
Emily’s Pick: This category always presents a delightful challenge, as I absolutely adore a well-crafted handheld meal! However, my heart genuinely belongs to the Greek Chicken Tacos. The fresh, zesty Mediterranean flavors, perfectly paired with succulent chicken and nestled in a warm taco shell, are an absolute dream come true. They’re a consistent feature in my personal meal rotation, and I wholeheartedly recommend them!
-
Best Muffin Tin Meal Recipe: Pizza Wonton Cups
These incredibly fun and bursting-with-flavor Pizza Wonton Cups are definitive proof that healthy eating can be both playful and utterly delicious! They ingeniously pack all the beloved tastes of classic pizza into individual, perfectly portion-controlled cups, making them an ideal choice for appetizers, kid-friendly dinners, or a satisfying snack. They represent a brilliant and innovative way to enjoy your favorite Italian-inspired flavors in a wonderfully lighter and more manageable format.
Runner Up: Pizza Meatloaf Muffins. This creative and comforting dish offered another savory, portion-controlled option, beautifully bringing together the homey appeal of meatloaf with the popular, zesty flavors of pizza, all in a convenient muffin shape.
Emily’s Pick: While I wholeheartedly agree that the Pizza Wonton Cups are simply fantastic, my personal go-to for muffin tin magic is undeniably the Chili Wonton Cups! They offer a distinctly different, yet equally exciting flavor profile, expertly combining hearty, spiced chili with that wonderfully satisfying crispy wonton shell. They’re warm, deeply comforting, and absolutely perfect for game day or any chilly evening when you crave a bit of warmth.
-
Best Chicken Recipe: Baked Chicken Tenders
A true testament to the power of simplicity and incredible flavor, these Baked Chicken Tenders soared to the top spot in what was undoubtedly a highly competitive category. Crispy and golden on the outside, yet wonderfully juicy and tender on the inside, and significantly healthier than their fried counterparts, they are an undeniable family favorite. Perfect for dipping into your favorite sauces, topping fresh salads, or simply enjoying on their own, they brilliantly demonstrate that comfort food can indeed be lightened up without ever compromising on exquisite taste or texture.
Runner Up: This was an incredibly tight race, with the Easy Chicken Quesadillas remarkably tying for first place! To resolve this delightful deadlock, I employed a highly scientific (and Instagram-driven!) method: I based the tie-breaker solely on which recipe I’d seen more people proudly sharing and recreating on Instagram. Your collective love for simple, cheesy chicken quesadillas is clearly boundless!
Emily’s Pick: Gah, chicken recipes are practically their own food group for me, so selecting just one is always an excruciatingly difficult task! I find myself constantly torn between my rich and creamy Buffalo Chicken Dip and the vibrant, flavor-packed Fiesta Stuffed Chicken. However, considering I’ve made the Buffalo Chicken Dip countless times in the last few months – it’s just that utterly addictive and perfect for any gathering! – I believe it deserves my vote for its sheer frequency of enjoyment and undeniable deliciousness.
-
Best One-Pot Meal Recipe: Lemon Chicken Orzo with Tomatoes and Asparagus
This bright, refreshingly flavorful Lemon Chicken Orzo recipe beautifully encapsulates the ultimate convenience and deliciousness of one-pot cooking. Skillfully combining tender chicken, perfectly al dente orzo pasta, juicy fresh tomatoes, and crisp asparagus, all exquisitely infused with a zesty lemon flavor, it delivers a complete and satisfying meal that demands minimal cleanup. It’s no wonder this vibrant dish swiftly became a rapid favorite for busy weeknights, offering maximum flavor with minimum fuss.
Runner Up: Rustic Sausage and Potato Skillet. Offering hearty comfort and robust, satisfying flavors, this charming skillet dish also makes cleanup an absolute breeze, brilliantly proving that quick and easy meals certainly don’t have to compromise on exceptional taste.
Emily’s Pick: What an utterly impossible choice to make! I honestly cannot bring myself to pick just one, so I’m going to declare two favorites here, unapologetically, lol. I wholeheartedly agree with your collective choice of the Lemon Chicken Orzo – it is truly outstanding and a personal staple. But I also absolutely must champion my beloved Chicken Pot Pasta. It masterfully brings all the comforting, nostalgic flavors of a classic chicken pot pie into a wonderfully streamlined, easy-to-make pasta dish, and it is simply one of my absolute, all-time favorites!
-
Best Casserole Recipe: Bubble Up Chicken Alfredo Bake
The delightful “Bubble Up” craze continued its reign with this incredibly popular Chicken Alfredo Bake! This supremely comforting casserole masterfully combines rich, creamy Alfredo sauce, tender pieces of chicken, and fluffy, golden biscuits that magically “bubble up” as they bake, culminating in a wonderfully satisfying meal that is simply perfect for feeding a hungry family. It’s hearty, wonderfully cheesy, and consistently a crowd-pleaser, delivering maximum flavor with impressively minimal effort.
Runner Up: Bubble Up Lasagna Bake. It’s abundantly clear that you all harbor a deep and enthusiastic affection for “bubble up” recipes! This inventive lasagna version offers another fantastic take on a timeless comfort food, and its widespread popularity is a very strong hint that I’ll be excitedly creating even more “bubble up” delights for you in the coming year!
Emily’s Pick: When it comes to the comforting world of casseroles, my heart undeniably leans towards deep, savory, and incredibly rich flavors. For that very reason, I’m absolutely going with the Meat and Potatoes Bake. It is pure, unadulterated comfort food at its absolute finest, especially because I possess an undeniable, profound love for gravy!
-
Best Pizza Recipe: Taco Flatbread
This incredibly innovative Taco Flatbread recipe brilliantly fuses the vibrant, zesty flavors of your most cherished tacos into a convenient, utterly delicious, and fun pizza format. It’s a truly exciting and creative way to enjoy a meal, featuring perfectly seasoned meat, an abundance of fresh, crisp toppings, and a satisfyingly crispy base. Ideal for a lively family dinner or a festive gathering, it truly offers the very best of both culinary worlds and a delightful fusion of flavors that everyone will love.
Runner Up: Pepperoni and Sausage Pizzadillas. This clever, cheesy mashup of classic pizza elements and the beloved quesadilla captured a significant number of votes, offering a quick, deeply satisfying, and irresistibly cheesy meal solution for all pizza enthusiasts.
Emily’s Pick: While I also absolutely adored the unique and sophisticated flavors of the Pear Prosciutto Pizza, I simply have to agree wholeheartedly with your collective choice on this one. My vote emphatically goes to the Taco Flatbread as well. It’s simply irresistible and such a brilliant, harmonious combination of flavors – a resounding YUM!
-
Best Side Dish Recipe: Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Sometimes, true culinary brilliance shines brightest through simplicity, and these Roasted Fingerling Potatoes are an impeccable example. Crispy and golden on the outside, yet wonderfully tender and fluffy on the inside, and seasoned to absolute perfection, they brilliantly prove that an outstanding side dish possesses the power to elevate any meal to new heights. Their effortless preparation and consistently delicious outcome make them an ideal, versatile accompaniment for almost any main course, earning them a thoroughly well-deserved win in this category.
Runner Up: Roasted Delicata Squash. This delightful seasonal favorite offered a wonderfully sweet and savory option, beautifully highlighting the natural goodness of fall produce with impressively minimal effort and maximum flavor.
Emily’s Pick: I couldn’t agree more emphatically with your choice here. The Roasted Fingerling Potatoes are simply fantastic in every way. They’re consistently perfect, incredibly versatile, and always an undeniable hit at my table, no matter the occasion. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes for the win, indeed!
-
Best Dessert Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Bites
These absolutely adorable and utterly delectable Pumpkin Pie Bites stole the show in the dessert category, offering all the comforting, nostalgic flavors of classic pumpkin pie in a perfectly portioned, irresistibly charming package. They’re a truly wonderful choice for festive holiday gatherings, a cozy individual treat on a chilly evening, or simply when you’re craving something delightfully sweet but wish to maintain a sense of balance. Their undeniable charm and profound deliciousness are simply irresistible!
Runner Up: Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Cups. Combining the beloved, comforting flavors of apple pie with the creamy indulgence of cheesecake, these delightful cups were a very close second, brilliantly proving that fruity and rich desserts are always an undeniable hit with our community.
Emily’s Pick: Both of your top picks for dessert are absolutely superb, and I find myself in complete, unwavering agreement! The Pumpkin Pie Bites are simply fantastic, and the Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Cups are equally delightful and satisfying. So, for this wonderfully sweet category, I’ll happily second your magnificent choices – they truly represent the best of lightened-up indulgence!
Once more, my deepest and most sincere thanks extend to each of you for continuously reading my blog, for enthusiastically cooking my recipes, and for perpetually encouraging and inspiring me with your thoughtful comments, incredible feedback, and unwavering support. Your engagement makes this entire culinary journey an absolute joy and a profound privilege. I wish each and every one of you a truly happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018. I genuinely hope you’ll stay tuned and continue to join me for many more delicious, lightened-up comfort food recipes as we embark on this exciting new year together, creating more culinary magic!