Who We Are
At Hilary Recipes, our mission is to give you the freedom to cook confidently, no matter what life throws your way. Whether you're cooking for one, feeding a family, managing dietary restrictions, or just working with what's in your pantry, we create recipes that adapt to fit your life, not the other way around.
All our recipes are thoughtfully developed, rigorously tested with multiple variations, and designed to work in real home kitchens with real constraints. We provide smart substitution options, easy scaling guidance, make-ahead alternatives, and dietary modifications so you can customize every dish to your unique needs. We also help reduce kitchen stress with practical cooking tips, ingredient swap ideas, and strategies that make mealtime more manageable.
Our team of recipe developers, food stylists, writers, and photographers are home cooks just like you, navigating busy schedules, budget considerations, and the daily challenge of getting good food on the table. That means we understand your needs because they're our needs too. Whether it's a weeknight dinner that scales down for one or up for a crowd, a recipe that works with gluten-free flour, or a make-ahead breakfast that saves your morning sanity, our recipes reflect the real, adaptable cooking that happens in our own kitchens.
Our priority is to share recipes you'll actually use and use again. That's why home cooks turn to us for flexible, accessible, and genuinely practical food content. Empowering your kitchen confidence is what we're all about.
Our Story
Hilary Recipes was born from a simple frustration: too many recipes demanded perfect circumstances that didn't match real life.
Founder Hilary Parker was tired of finding recipes that required specialty ingredients she'd never use again, or that served eight when she was cooking for two. As someone who'd cooked through job changes, moves, dietary experiments, and all of life's unpredictable moments, she knew firsthand that the best recipes aren't rigid formulas; they're flexible frameworks you can adapt.
What started as Hilary's personal collection of "recipes that bend" grew into something bigger when she realized how many home cooks felt the same frustration. People didn't just want good recipes; they wanted recipes that worked for their unique situations. They wanted permission to substitute, to scale, to make it their own.
That's when the vision for Hilary Recipes took shape: a place where flexibility isn't an afterthought, but the foundation. Where every recipe anticipates real-life cooking challenges and provides practical solutions. Where you're never stuck because you're missing one ingredient or cooking for a different number of people than the recipe serves.
Today, Hilary Recipes is a team of passionate food professionals united by one belief: cooking should empower you, not stress you out.
Recipe Development & Testing
Our recipes use accessible, everyday ingredients, but we also embrace shortcuts when they make sense—whether that's canned beans, frozen vegetables, or store-bought broth. We believe in practical, real-world cooking that fits your budget, your schedule, and your dietary needs.
There are three things we evaluate when deciding if a recipe is ready for Hilary Recipes:
First, is it flexible? Every recipe must work with multiple substitutions, scale reliably, and offer make-ahead or storage options. If we can't confidently provide adaptations, we keep testing.
Second, is it delicious? The base recipe and its variations must taste amazing. We won't compromise flavor for convenience.
Third, is it worth your time? Does the effort match the result? Would we make it again on a busy Tuesday? If not, it doesn't make the cut.
To ensure these standards are met, we start with experienced recipe developers who understand not just how to create a great recipe, but how to make it work in multiple ways. Each recipe is tested with various substitutions—different proteins, flours, dietary modifications, and serving sizes. We thoroughly review every recipe line by line, and test it in home kitchens with the same equipment you use in yours. Only after we've confirmed that the adaptations actually work is the recipe shared on Hilary Recipes.
Additionally, at Hilary Recipes, we're committed to providing authentic, human-created content. We do not use AI writing tools to generate recipes or content. Every recipe, every substitution tip, and every piece of advice comes from real testing in real kitchens by real people.
Have feedback for us? We'd love to hear from you! Please contact us at [email protected].
Our Values
Adaptability Over Perfection
There's no single "right" way to make a dish. We celebrate customization and believe your kitchen, your rules.
Practical Over Pretentious
Cooking should be accessible to everyone, regardless of budget, skill level, or dietary needs. Fancy techniques have their place, but not at the expense of practicality.
Inclusive & Supportive
Everyone is welcome at Hilary Recipes. We consciously work to create content that serves diverse cooking styles, dietary preferences, cultural traditions, and life circumstances. Whether you're vegan, gluten-free, cooking on a budget, or working with limited time, we're here for you.
Empowering, Not Prescriptive
We want to teach you to think flexibly, not just follow instructions. Understanding why substitutions work gives you confidence to adapt any recipe.
Honest & Transparent
We test everything we share. If something doesn't work, we tell you. If we're still perfecting a substitution, we say so. You deserve honest guidance.
We're not perfect, but we're committed to getting more right than we get wrong. If you have concerns about accessibility, inclusivity, or accuracy in any of our content, please let us know at [email protected]. We'll review your feedback and respond with how we're addressing it.
Comments
We review and approve every comment on the site, and we genuinely love hearing from you—especially when you share how you adapted a recipe! We generally respond to questions within 1 to 3 days.
When leaving comments, we ask that you think of Hilary Recipes as a supportive community kitchen. Constructive feedback, questions, and your own substitution discoveries are always welcome. However, rude, disrespectful, or spammy comments won't be approved.
Got a brilliant ingredient swap that worked? A scaling question? A dietary modification you tried? We want to hear about it! Your real-world testing helps make this community even stronger.
Ready to Cook Your Way?
Browse our recipe categories, discover flexible dishes for every meal, and start cooking with the freedom to adapt, substitute, and make it your own.
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Meet our team behind Hilary Recipes below!
