24 French Main Courses That Bring a Taste of France Home Whether you’re craving a slow-braised classic, an elegant seafood supper, or a perfect bistro steak, these recipes capture the best of French cooking. By Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski is a recipe developer, editor, and food writer with a focus on sustainability and wellness. Previously a senior food editor at Well+Good and food editor at Food52, she's best known for the creation of the Dirty Martini Salad Dressing (for which she apologizes). Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines and Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 18, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Classic French cuisine is built on the belief that great ingredients, handled with care, need very little embellishment. Time-honored techniques coax remarkable flavor from seasonal produce, quality meats, and the day’s catch, turning exceptional ingredients into unforgettable meals. The recipes in this collection showcase the remarkable breadth of French main-course cooking, from slow-cooked favorites like boeuf Bourguignon and cassoulet to elegant seafood dishes and timeless bistro fare, with recipes from culinary icons such as Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Daniel Boulud, and Paul Bocuse. Many take a little time — and patience — to master, but that’s part of what makes them so rewarding. Choose a recipe, source the finest ingredients you can find, and enjoy the process. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 24 Boeuf Bourguignon Food & Wine / Photo by Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Gabe Greco Boeuf Bourguignon is one of France’s most beloved classics, known for its tender beef and deeply flavorful red wine sauce. This version takes the extra step of marinating the beef overnight, which helps create an especially rich, flavorful dish. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 24 Classic Duck Confit Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Confit may sound daunting, but it’s a French preservation technique built on simplicity. Duck is cooked slowly in its own fat for several hours, resulting in meltingly tender meat with rich, concentrated flavor. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 24 Gateway Cassoulet Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley “Most cooks endure the tantalizing aromas of braised meats and fragrant herbs for an agonizing two or three days as [a cassoulet] is prepared,” says F&W’s Paige Grandjean. “This recipe, however, takes you from soaking beans to scooping into the pork-laden mahogany crust all in a single day — without compromising flavor or technique. Let this be your gateway into southern French cooking.” Get the Recipe Save 04 of 24 Classic Pot-au-Feu Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans For this dish, winemaker David Duband braises two cuts of beef — shank and rump roast — with marrow bones and then separately cooks leeks and carrots with more marrow bones until everything is deeply flavorful and tender. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 24 Coq au Vin Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel This French favorite translates to “rooster in wine” and is a celebration of rich, hearty flavors, with tender chicken braised in a robust red wine sauce alongside bacon or pancetta, mushrooms, and onions. A traditional Cognac flambé heightens the aromatic complexity. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 24 Duck à l’Orange Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Jacques Pépin’s whole roast duck incorporates orange zest, orange juice, orange segments, and Grand Marnier for layers of bright citrus flavor. This recipe is a perennial favorite from his 2011 book, Essential Pépin. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 24 Poulet Basquaise Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne This deeply flavorful braised chicken from France’s Basque Country gets its character from sweet peppers, plenty of onions, white wine, and the gentle heat of piment d’Espelette. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 24 Thyme-and-Dijon-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cider Pan Sauce Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Encrusted with Dijon and fresh thyme and then finished with a silky cider-based pan sauce made with more thyme, this pork tenderloin is undeniably elegant. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice, plus your favorite roasted vegetables. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 24 Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce Cara Cormack Clocking in at 20 minutes, this recipe is both quick and impressive. Red wine pan sauce is an amalgamation of fond (those browned bits left in the pan after searing meat), shallots, broth, good-quality red wine, and a few pats of butter for an ideal accompaniment to peppercorn-crusted rib eye steak. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 24 Ratatouille Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Greg Luna / Prop Styling by Stephanie Hunter This vegetable stew from the South of France is a celebration of summer vegetables at their peak, traditionally made with tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, onions, and eggplant. Enjoy it as-is or alongside any protein; serve it warm or at room temperature over pasta or polenta, spooned over bread, or however you like. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 24 Poulet au Vinaigre (Chicken in Vinegar Sauce) Greg DuPree This recipe from nouvelle cuisine icon Paul Bocuse was named one of Food & Wine’s 40 best recipes in 2018. Vinegar, tomatoes, and butter transform simple braised chicken into a dish with tender meat and a rich, tangy pan sauce. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 24 Lobster Thermidor Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Tucking tender lobster meat back into the shell with a sherry-spiked sauce and cheese before broiling creates a luxurious finish crowned with a bubbling, golden crust. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 24 Steak Frites with Black Garlic Butter Victor Protasio For her rendition of the bistro staple, former F&W editor Mary-Frances Heck makes a sumptuous compound butter with a whole head of mashed black garlic and Cognac, slicing it into medallions to serve over the pan-seared steak. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 24 Quiche Lorraine Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Debbie Wee Julia Child was the master of French cooking, so it’s no surprise we reach for her Quiche Lorraine recipe time and time again. The flaky crust is perfectly filled with a silky, eggy mix that includes salty bacon and nutty Gruyère. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 24 Sauvignon Blanc–Steamed Mussels with Garlic Toast Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Called moules marinières in France, these mussels are steamed in Sauvignon Blanc and served in a sauce made from the cooking liquid, butter, and parsley. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 24 Chicken Chasseur Cara Cormack Simply seasoned pieces of chicken are browned until golden, then simmered with a garlicky, olive-spiked tomato pan sauce and served with a crusty baguette for this bold braise from southern France. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 24 Niçoise Salad Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Stylist Barrett Washburne This classic Provençal salad combines tuna, potatoes, green beans, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and tomatoes. Julia Child’s recipe calls for pre-dressing the just-steamed potatoes to lock in even more flavor. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 24 Julia Child’s Favorite Roast Chicken Con Poulos Julia Child seasoned this roast chicken inside and out by packing sautéed vegetables, lemon slices, and fresh herbs into the cavity, then rubbing the skin with butter. In typical French fashion, she trussed the bird to promote even cooking. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 24 Bouillabaisse à l’Américaine © David Malosh Daniel Boulud’s bouillabaisse à l’Américaine is a deeply aromatic take on the Provençal seafood classic, built with a saffron-flecked broth made from fish bones, shrimp shells, fennel, tomato, and pastis. Served with garlicky rouille and crusty bread, it’s a true labor of love. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 24 Choucroute Garnie Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell Jacques Pépin makes this hearty Alsatian winter dish with store-bought sauerkraut and suggests using easy-to-source peanut oil as a substitute for the traditional duck or goose fat. Serve it with an array of mustards as Pépin does — he likes to include a hot Dijon, a grainy Pommery, and often a tarragon-flavored mustard as well. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 24 Sole Fillets with Herbed Wine Sauce © Oddur Thorisson French cook and writer Mimi Thorsson makes a luscious vermouth- and herb-spiked cream sauce to blanket tender, flaky sole, which cooks almost effortlessly under the broiler. Get the Recipe Save 22 of 24 Hachis Parmentier Abby Hocking Akin to a shepherd’s pie or a British cottage pie, this hearty casserole-like dish utilizes layers of savory ground beef and creamy mashed potatoes to pull together a cozy and comforting meal. Get the Recipe Save 23 of 24 Lamb Stew with Root Vegetables © Ellie Miller This navarin d’agneau, or French lamb stew, from the late Santa Barbara winemaking pioneer Jim Clendenen makes the most of hearty winter vegetables, using a mix of carrots, parsnips, potatoes, turnips, and fennel. Serve it with a rich Pinot Noir. Get the Recipe Save 24 of 24 Blanquette de Veau © Lucy Schaeffer This simplified version of Daniel Boulud’s classic, creamy veal stew calls for store-bought vegetable broth rather than veal stock. The long, slow simmer is key to building the dish’s signature flavor. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food World Cuisines European Cuisines French Cuisine Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit