15 Of Bobby Flay's Favorite Ingredients To Use

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is nothing if not versatile when it comes to his cuisine. Mesa Grill was his first restaurant and it focused mainly on Southwestern flavors. The restaurant put Flay in the spotlight and earned him roles on numerous television shows including "Iron Chef America" and "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay." However, the chef was never one to stick to one particular cooking style. As he's proved countless times on cooking shows and at his various restaurants, Bobby Flay loves using a wide array of ingredients and can master many cuisines.

Visit Bobby Flay's restaurants and you'll find everything from all-American burgers and French brasserie-style food to Mediterranean seafood dishes and succulent steaks. Each restaurant offers a different style of food and a diverse range of dishes. That being said, you might find some common patterns in the ingredients the chef likes to use. He definitely has an affinity for certain sauces, spices, produce, and pantry staples. If you want to emulate Flay's cooking, these are some of the ingredients that Bobby Flay loves using in his culinary creations.

Bobby Flay is renowned for using big, bold flavors in his cooking. One way he achieves that is with chili peppers. The versatile chipotle pepper is one of Flay's favorites. In an Instagram post, the chef gave a walk-through of his pantry and revealed that he always has chipotle chili powder on hand, which he described as, "kind of smoky and fiery." He also uses canned chipotles in adobo sauce for dishes like sliders with chipotle mayonnaise, chipotle-honey glazed chicken wings, and chipotle Salisbury steak.

Chipotle chili peppers are commonly found in Mexico and the American Southwest. The name comes from the Nahuatl word "chilpoctli," which means "smoked chili." The peppers start off as jalapeños that are left on the plant until they turn plump and red. The chiles are then smoked over wood, which gives them their distinctive flavor. You can buy whole dried chipotle chiles, chipotle chili powder, or chipotles canned in adobo sauce. Many people prefer the latter because the rich adobo sauce adds extra flavors of tomatoes, vinegar, and spices. 

If you've ever watched "Beat Bobby Flay," you may have noticed that Flay's secret weapon dish is often crispy rice. The chef even posted on Instagram that if there was one single dish responsible for giving him wins on the show, it was his crispy coconut-scallion rice. He also switches up the recipe sometimes and adds ingredients like herbs, dried fruits, or nuts. The combination of fluffy rice that's golden and crispy in parts is something the chef uses to impress judges on the show and also his family at home. But that's not the only kind of rice Flay loves.

In an episode of the podcast "Always Hungry" that Flay hosts with his daughter Sophie, the duo dedicated an entire episode to rice. On it, Flay said rice was one of the most important ingredients worldwide and one that shouldn't be taken for granted. The pair discussed numerous rice dishes that Flay loves including paella, rice pudding, dirty rice, and fried rice. The chef has also published recipes for green rice with poblanos, coconut-cashew basmati rice salad, and grilled risotto primavera. Clearly, this is one ingredient that Flay would be hard-pressed to do without.

When CNN Travel interviewed Bobby Flay in 2023 and asked him what ingredient he uses most often, the chef said avocados were one of his go-to foods at that time. He said, "They're creamy. They have a really nice sort of soothing texture ... You can find avocados in my cooking all the time." He said he uses them in everything from sandwiches to salads, relishes, and guacamole. He's also been known to put different spins on avocado toast with toppings like smoked salmon and dill, egg salad and radicchio, and Fresno chiles.

It's not just fresh avocados that the chef has an affinity for. Flay also loves using avocado oil in his cooking. He told CNN that avocado oil is ideal because it's light and has a high smoke point. The neutral flavor is perfect for sauteeing certain ingredients because it won't overwhelm delicate flavors. In addition, the oil can be heated to high temperatures without burning. However, Flay did admit that he still uses olive oil to finish dishes. The fruity flavors of olive oil can enhance hearty dishes like pasta and add richness to mild-flavored foods like avocado toast.

In the Instagram post where Flay gave a tour of his pantry, he proudly displayed his collection of mustards. "I always have tons of different mustards," the chef said. A few of the bottles and jars he showed off included Dijon, whole grain mustard, honey mustard, and old-style mustard. Flay said he also keeps a bottle of French's yellow mustard on hand for those who don't like Dijon, especially when it comes to condiments for their burgers and hot dogs.

Besides using mustard as a condiment, Flay also uses it often in his cooking. For example, on an episode of "Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction," the chef made mustard aioli grilled potatoes with Dijon and whole grain mustard. He said, "You get the spiciness from the Dijon mustard. You get that little pop and that texture from the whole grain mustard. It's really nice." He also uses mustard as a glaze for salmon and roast turkey, makes homemade honey mustard as a side sauce for fried chicken, and adds Dijon and whole grain mustard to his Carolina-style barbecue sauce.

Delving deeper into his pantry, Flay revealed that he always stocks two types of cornmeal: coarse-ground and fine-ground. He explained that he uses coarse-ground cornmeal for dishes like polenta and grits so that he can really taste the corn flavor. He uses fine-ground cornmeal for breaded dishes like cornmeal-crusted oysters, fish, chicken, and chile rellenos because he wants the breading to be more light and delicate.

Just like the name suggests, cornmeal consists of coarsely ground yellow corn. It can add texture and a lovely corn flavor to a wide array of dishes like muffins, cakes, and cornbread. It can also provide crunchy breading to deep-fried dishes and add some texture to pizza dough. Cornmeal shouldn't be confused with cornstarch or corn flour though. The latter two are more finely ground and often used as thickeners for sauces. If you can't find cornmeal, grits can be a good stand-in. Grits are essentially cornmeal that's slightly grittier. Polenta may also be a good bet if it's made with corn. Just be sure to check the label though because some polenta is made with grain or another form of starch.

Another ingredient that Flay made sure to highlight in his pantry tour was his curry paste. He said he always has some on hand because it makes for a super simple meal that you can have on the table in under 20 minutes. He suggested taking red curry paste, toasting it in a pan, and adding some coconut milk. Once the sauce is done, you can pour it over some chicken or grilled salmon. He said, "It has so much flavor and it's so easy. This is a really good pantry hack."

One impressive red curry dish that Flay made on an episode of "Beat Bobby Flay" was a riff on classic mussels and fries. He toasted the red curry paste with aromatics like garlic, ginger, and shallots and added white wine and coconut milk to create a beautiful red curry broth for the mussels. He served the mussels alongside french fries with a lime and black pepper aioli. Flay has also used red curry paste to marinate skirt steaks for fajitas, jazz up vegetarian noodles, and to add a flavorful caramelized coating to roasted chicken.

One of Bobby Flay's favorite places in the world is Italy. On his website, he states that he loves everything about it including the people, lifestyle, and food. Amalfi is his Las Vegas restaurant that pays homage to Italy with pasta, seafood, and steaks. While all of the pasta at Amalfi is handmade, Flay is not opposed to stocking his pantry at home with dried pasta. However, he prefers imported pasta. He said in the pantry walk-through post on Instagram, "I buy a lot of pasta from Italy because I love the flour they use there."

Dried Italian pasta is often made with semola flour, which consists of hard durum wheat. The flour gives the pasta a chewy texture, which is just what you want when you're cooking dried pasta to al dente. Some pasta is also made with 00 flour, which is ground very fine and gives slightly less chew to the pasta. Flay stocks his pantry with a variety of Italian pasta shapes including spaghetti, bucatini, penne, and elbow macaroni. He particularly likes squid ink pasta shells, which he said he uses often when cooking shellfish because it has a unique briny flavor.

When it comes to canned tomatoes, Flay believes that San Marzanos are the only way to go. He said on Instagram, "You need this for sauce. I mean let's face it, you've got to have it." He's not the only one who thinks so either. Many chefs and home cooks alike believe that these plum tomatoes from the Campania region of Italy are superior to all other types of canned tomatoes. Because they're so highly sought-after, they can be more expensive than other types of tomatoes. However, chefs like Flay believe they're worth the splurge.

There are several reasons San Marzano tomatoes are favorites with culinary experts. For one, these tomatoes have less acid than many other types of tomatoes, which makes them sweeter. They also have less water content, so the flavor is more concentrated. Real San Marzano tomatoes only grow in Campania close to Mount Vesuvius and they're labeled as DOP (Protected Designation of Origin). They're a great addition to dishes where you want the tomato flavor to shine through like one of Flay's favorites: penne with tomatoes and basil.

During Flay's Instagram tour of his pantry, he only named one ingredient his "secret go-to" and that was anchovies. He said, "I put anchovies in so many things and people don't know it." He's particularly fond of using anchovies in seafood dishes. He recommends crushing up the anchovies and adding them to the sauce. As he said, "It just enhances it so much more." He also likes to highlight anchovies in all their glory in dishes like pasta with anchovy butter that he learned to make at Roscioli Ristorante Salumeria in Italy.

It might seem like adding anchovies to a dish would give your food an overpowering fishy flavor, but that's not necessarily the case. When well incorporated into a dish, these tiny fish provide more umami flavor than anything else. That kick of earthiness helps to enhance other salty, savory flavors and gives extra richness to dishes. That may be why so many people don't even realize when Flay sneaks a few filets into his sauces. You may have even had anchovies and not known it yourself in condiments like Worcestershire sauce or Caesar salad dressing.

After rising to fame with his Southwestern spot Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay starred in a number of television cooking shows centered around barbecuing. In shows like "Boy Meets Grill" and "BBQ Brawl," Flay offered tons of grilling tips, including how to make barbecue sauce from scratch. However, the chef revealed on Instagram that he also keeps store-bought barbecue sauce in his pantry so he has something ready to go just in case. He revealed his favorite brand is Bone Suckin' Sauce.

If you love North Carolina-style barbecue sauce, then Bone Suckin' Sauce should be right up your alley. It was created by a man named Phil Ford in 1987 when he attempted to replicate his mother's recipe. The sauce hit stores in 1992 and has since won numerous awards. The original Sweet Southern sauce features a tangy mix of tomatoes and apple cider vinegar sweetened with honey and molasses. It gets a kick from mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, onions, garlic, peppers, natural hickory smoke, and natural spices. The company also sells spicy seasoning rubs, hot honey, and mustard.

Fans of "Beat Bobby Flay" have probably seen Flay use Calabrian chiles in his dishes countless times. In fact, the chef said on Instagram, "People make fun of me for using these so much, especially on "Beat Bobby Flay." But in my restaurant Amalfi we use a ton of these. It adds great flavor to food." Flay has used Calabrian chiles in everything from pesto and paella to pasta and tuna tartare with crispy rice.

Calabrian chiles are chili peppers that grow in the Calabria region of Italy. They're typically red and come in a variety of shapes including thin and pointed, round, and conical. They're not the most fiery chiles you can find, but they do pack a good amount of heat. They also have a slightly fruity flavor, which can add vibrancy to dishes. Outside of Italy, you'll often find them packed in oil or pickled. You can also get Calabrian chile flakes. As Flay demonstrates on television and in his recipes, you can use them in pretty much any dish you want to add some spice to.

Piccata is a dish that Bobby Flay often shares on his social media feeds and one that he thinks every home cook should be able to make. In one Facebook post featuring chicken piccata, he said, "If you have a repertoire of five dishes in your kitchen arsenal this should be one of them." It makes sense then that one of the chef's must-have pantry staples is capers, which are an essential ingredient in many piccata recipes.

Capers look like tiny olives but they're actually flower buds. They come from caper bushes, which grow mainly in Mediterranean regions. The unopened flower buds are picked by hand and typically bottled in brine. The flavor is slightly salty, tart, and floral. They're the perfect addition to picatta dishes, which consist of breaded and fried meat covered in a lemon-infused sauce. Flay said on Instagram that he has tons of capers on hand to whip up last-minute dishes like fish or chicken piccata. He even commented, "My mouth is watering just thinking about it."

Flay has never been one to shy away from spice-heavy sauces, so it makes sense that he's a huge fan of gochujang. This Korean condiment is made with chiles, fermented soy beans, glutinous rice, and salt. It's a deep crimson color, so it adds vibrancy to dishes like meat marinades, soups, and dipping sauces. It also provides a wallop of flavor that's part spicy, part funky, and very savory. Flay has used gochujang in several recipes over the years and often expresses his fondness for it.

In a Facebook video posted by Food Network Canada, Flay demonstrated how to make grilled Korean chicken with a spicy and sweet marinade. He whipped up the sauce with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, and honey. Then he added what he called his secret ingredient: gochujang. "It's tremendous," he said. In his latest cookbook titled "Bobby Flay: Chapter One," he also included an innovative recipe for what sounds like a supremely tasty porterhouse steak with triple chile butter and gochujang glaze.

Many chefs wouldn't dream of stocking their fridges without a good Parmigiano Reggiano and Bobby Flay is no exception. This hard, salty Italian cow's milk cheese plays a starring role in several of the chef's dishes including Flay's chicken Parmesan, minestrone, and eggplant Parmesan. He's also a fan of Pecorino Romano, another Italian cheese that's hard and salty as well but made with sheep's milk. Flay even believes that these cheeses have a place in seafood dishes, which is something that many Italians would balk at.

In a TikTok post, Flay offered his opinion on the whole fish and seafood debate. He said, "One of the things I'm tired of is people just having an across-the-board rule about things ... like you can never put cheese in with some fish in a pasta dish." He stated that sometimes it makes sense to add a nice salty and dry cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino to seafood pasta. "It just gives it that perfect saltiness throughout the entire dish," he said. He did, however, point out that it depends on the dish and that cooks should taste the dish first and use their own judgment.

Mushrooms are another favorite ingredient that Flay uses to amp up the texture and flavor of many of his dishes. He revealed on Instagram that often keeps dried mushrooms stocked in his pantry. "I can rehydrate them, put them in a pasta or a rice dish," the chef said. Dried mushrooms were also Flay's secret ingredient for the perfect French dip sandwich on an episode of "Beat Bobby Flay." The chef added dried porcini mushrooms to his jus to elevate the flavor of the beef. He cooked the porcinis in beef broth with onions, garlic, and rosemary. Then he blended the jus and strained it to get rid of the solids.

Flay is also a fan of fresh mushrooms. For example, a previous pasta special at his Amalfi restaurant featured porcini agnolotti with hazelnut chive sauce and a topping of shaved truffles. Flay has also created dishes like kale and wild mushroom paella and Salisbury steak topped with rich cremini mushroom gravy. From porcinis and creminis to shiitakes and even humble button mushrooms, Flay isn't afraid to get creative with fungi.