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About Our Recipe Contests

Here's how the contests work:

At Whole Foods Market, we know that cooking with fresh ingredients is an essential part of healthy eating. We believe that cooking can be creative and fun rather than a daily drudgery. You don't need fancy, elaborate techniques to make good food, and the best home cooks understand this. The aim of our contests is to unearth all the excellent recipes the home cooks in our community have to offer, so that we can recognize their skills and creativity and share them with others. Plus, who doesn't love a little good-natured competition?

Here's how the contests work:

  1. Every fourth Monday, we'll announce a new recipe contest, with a new theme (e.g. Chicken Wings, Asparagus Soup, The Dish You've Always Wanted to Conquer). You'll have just under two weeks to upload your recipes to the site and submit them to the contest (i.e. contests close on Sunday night, just before the two-week mark).
  2. We'll test the entries that we think sound the best and whittle them down to two finalists, which we'll photograph and post just over a week later, on Tuesday.
  3. You'll have until Friday at noon to check out the finalists and vote for the recipe that you think should win. Invite friends to vote -- it's fun!
  4. We'll tally up the votes, and announce the winner. The winning recipe and cook will be highlighted on the site and given top billing in our recipe search. What's more, the winner will receive a great prize.

Contest Rules

  1. If a recipe is not chosen as a finalist for one contest, you may re-submit the same recipe for a future contest. (For example, Mom's Mud Pie could be submitted for Your Best Farm to Table Recipe and later for Your Best Kid-Friendly Recipe). If your recipe has won a past contest, we ask that you not re-submit it, as it will not be eligible to win a second time.
  2. You may only vote once for each contest, but you may vote for your own recipe.
  3. This is all in the spirit of good fun. No harassing your fellow competitors!
  4. You may only submit recipes that are your own. If your recipe was inspired by another source, that's fine — just make sure to say how you changed it. We'd love for the inspiration behind your recipes to be part of the conversation. Plagiarism, however, is not encouraged. (In other words, behave!) In case you're wondering how we interpret an acceptably inspired recipe, here you go:

Example of original recipe:

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

From More from Magnolia: Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen by Allysa Torey

Cupcakes:
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.
Icing:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.
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