Get your French cooking tools ready and add some serious panache to your weeknight dinner rotation. We’ve rounded up our easiest dishes with classic French flair to help you create simple, elegant meals that come together in just 45 minutes or less. Choose from traditional tuna Niçoise Salad, comforting Chicken Dijon, a creamy, perfectly rolled Boursin Omelet, and more delicious French recipes you’ll want to make again and again.
Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce
Cara Cormack
A perfect interplay of acid from the wine and sumptuous fat, red wine sauce is an ideal accompaniment to a peppercorn-crusted rib eye steak. The well-marbled cut stays more tender than New York strip, and its rich, beefy flavor infuses the pan sauce.
Branzino with Mesclun and Tomato-Herbes de Provence Vinaigrette
Branzino, known as loup de mer, or “wolf of the sea” in French, is mild and sweet. Its delicate flavor pairs nicely with a summery tomato and mixed herb vinaigrette. Scoring the fish skin before cooking prevents the fillets from curling in the pan.
Ham Steaks in Madeira Sauce
Julia Child was a longtime Food & Wine contributor — and a champion of ham. For this recipe, she was inspired by a dish called jambon à la morvandelle, the signature dish of famous French chef Alexandre Dumaine. “Although supermarket ham will do, real country ham will give you a dish more like Dumaine’s fabled creation,” wrote Child.
Niçoise Salad
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Stylist Barrett Washburne
Julia Child’s classic recipe combines fresh green beans and tomatoes with tinned tuna and anchovies; olives and capers add an extra level of piquant flavor to this summertime staple.
Chicken Provençal
The flavors are bold in chicken Provençal, a southern French braise with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, olives, and just enough anchovy paste to give the sauce depth.
Boursin Omelet
Chef Michael Tusk’s beautifully basic omelet is an homage to his love of dairy; spreadable garlic-herb cheese melts richly into the creamy center of the tender eggs. It’s best served with some crusty baguette, a crisp salad, and a glass of Chardonnay.
Marseille-Style Shrimp Stew
Cookbook author Melissa Clark spreads a garlicky French rouille on toasts for dipping in her fragrant shrimp stew perfumed with fennel, orange, cloves, and saffron.
Croque Monsieur
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Debbie Wee
You’ll need a knife and fork for this decadent hot French bistro sandwich that cooks up in just half an hour — it features ham, Gruyère, and a rich Mornay sauce. If you’d like, top it with a fried egg and call it a Croque Madame.
Chicken Dijon
Food writer Melissa Clark’s favorite part of the chicken is the drumstick, because it’s juicy and easy to brown. She likes using only drumsticks in this mustardy stew — thickened with tangy crème fraîche — so that all the meat cooks at the same rate.
Seared Cod with Spicy Mussel Aïoli
This simple, sophisticated dish from chef Eric Ripert relies on store-bought mayonnaise to enrich the sublime garlicky mussel sauce. It can be on the table in just 30 minutes.
Fromage Fort
Fromage fort is the ultimate way of using up all those leftover bits of cheese in your fridge. Chef Jacques Pépin’s father used to combine various cheeses with leek broth, white wine, and crushed garlic, which he then marinated in the cellar for about a week. Pépin’s wife, Gloria, makes a milder version in a food processor that takes only seconds. It’s delicious with crackers or melted onto toasts.
Scallops with Fennel Grenobloise
Quick-cooking scallops are excellent with sweet fennel and a buttery lemon-caper sauce — all ready in 12 minutes.
Chicken Breast with Garlic and Parsley
This super-fast weeknight dish from Jacques Pépin is a riff on a classic preparation of frog legs. Pépin dusts the chicken with Wondra, a super-fine flour, before cooking to give the chicken a crispy crust.
Warm Camembert with Wild Mushroom Fricassee
Chef Daniel Boulud makes this oozy appetizer with Vacherin Mont d’Or, a creamy cheese sold at top cheese shops. Camembert is as rich and runny as Vacherin Mont d’Or but much easier to find.
Lemony Chicken Fricassee with Shallots and Morels
Typically, a fricassee is made with chicken or another kind of white meat stewed in a white sauce with vegetables. For her version, chef Katy Sparks sizzles chicken in butter until it’s crisp, then cooks it with shallots and morels, finishing with lemon for a hit of tartness.
Bouillabaisse Sandwiches
In his reinterpretation of the classic Provençal seafood stew bouillabaisse, chef Aaron Whitcomb piles seared fish fillets, tangy tomato, and shaved fennel on bread slathered with saffron mayonnaise.