How to Recreate Every Dish in Season 3 of ‘The Bear’

This season on FX and Hulu’s The Bear, Chicago is even more delicious than usual. In season three of the award-winning show that combines mouthwatering food photography with lots of laughs and drama, cameos from famous chefs abound—including in the opening credits—and recipe inspo appear in just about every episode. As chefs Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) work to make their menu Michelin star-worthy, viewers get to see a variety of delicious dishes, from delicate fish and scallops to easy slow-cooker dinners.

Of course, some of these dishes would be pretty hard to recreate in your own kitchen. (For example, we don’t know too many folks who want to make a béarnaise sauce, turn it into foam using a whipped cream canister and serve it with Wagyu beef.) But others, like Carmy’s little vegetable tarts or Tina’s pot roast, can definitely be modified for a home cook. That’s why we’ve rounded up 16 of our favorite dishes from this season of The Bear, plus some simplified recipes you can use to cook along with the show on your next rewatch. 

Episode 1: “Tomorrow”

Scallop in Puff Pastry with Spinach

This season of The Bear opens with a journey back into chef Carmy’s past, which means we get to see a mouthwatering carousel of fine dining dishes from Carmy’s previous gigs. One that Carry works on with a fellow chef is a scallop wrapped in spinach and puff pastry. You could make your own version of this scallop Wellington at home with tender scallops, frozen puff pastry and your own take on seasoned spinach. But if you want a less fussy recipe with similar flavors, look no further than our Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops with Spinach. This simple, crowd-pleasing appetizer gets brightness from lemon juice and lemon pepper seasoning, and you can make it a main dish with a side of sautéed corn or a slice of freshly baked Whole-Wheat Sourdough Bread.

Pan-Seared Fish with Blood Orange

This fish dish is a tricky one from Carmy’s past. Though his former boss insists on serving the delicate fish with fennel accents, Carmy strikes out on his own to create a blood orange version of the dish, which is served with a beautiful citrus reduction. To mimic the dish at home, we’d recommend making your favorite flaky fish—like this seared cod, for example—and pairing it with a light and fresh Citrus Salad with Pomegranate & Mint. 

Episode 2: “Next”

Rough Draft Scallop

Episode 2 finds Carmy reworking The Bear’s opening menu, and that includes this small dish of seared scallop and grains. You can copy Carmy’s dish with significantly less stress when you opt for our Scallop Risotto with Brown Butter & Parmesan. Pair it with a light and fresh salad, like our Zucchini Salad with Burrata, for a delicious meal you can get on the table in under an hour.

Vegetable Tart

Also a part of Carmy’s revamped menu is a small, colorful tart that appears to be chock full of delicately sliced and arranged vegetables. We have a few options to help you capture that veggie-pastry magic, including our Potato-Leek Tart with Gochujang & Honey and our Tomato Tart with Burrata. Both of those dishes will help you recreate the beautiful, colorful dish that Carmy pitches to Sydney. Plus, both of those tarts (and others, like our Roasted Carrot Tart with Carrot-Green Pesto) can be modified into mini tarts—just shorten the bake time and watch the tarts carefully. With a mini vegetable tart on everyone’s plate, you’re bound to impress your dinner guests.

Raviolo

Another of Carmy’s somewhat controversial changes to the menu is swapping the classic ravioli for one large raviolo. The raviolo in question is rolled out by hand and filled with an egg yolk. Our friends at Food & Wine have a great take on that pasta-making adventure, so you can start rolling out your dough and separating your eggs ASAP. Pair the pasta with good company and our Best Caesar Salad with Crispy Parmesan for a meal worth salivating over.

Episode 3: “Doors”

Asparagus with Duck Egg

Though we never see this dish on screen, it’s one of the courses during The Bear’s opening week. Chefs Carmy and Syd pair the dish with potato purée, but we might serve ours as a simple salad with a bit of delicate cured ham, as we do in our Asparagus Salad with Eggs & Jambon de Bayonne. Of course, you’re welcome to substitute duck eggs for the standard eggs we use in this recipe, but be aware that your budget, like Carmy’s, may balloon a tad.

Ravioli with Peas and Parmesan Mousse

Since chef Carmy decides that The Bear’s menu should change each day, that means the return of the ravioli to the menu. On one particular day, the ravioli is served with fresh peas and a Parmesan mousse, which reminds us of our comforting Lobster Ravioli, which is served with a light cream sauce and studded with vibrant green peas and tender lobster. Of course, you could substitute your own handmade pasta for the store-bought kind for a tastier experience that doubles as a fun project.

Duck with Apricot (or Cherry or Orange)

The duck dish at The Bear is always changing, which causes everyone a bit of a headache later in the season. The good news is that we have a couple of fruity takes on this rich and juicy bird, including our Orange Roasted Duck and Pomegranate Duck, to help you achieve your culinary dreams. Pair either one with something like our Cherry-Almond Farro Salad for a lighter side that incorporates yet another of chef Carmy’s duck sauce flavors. 

Episode 4: “Violet”

Roast Chicken

We don’t see too much food in this episode, but we do see Carmy give Tina a lesson in preparing roast chicken in The Bear’s gleaming kitchen. There are infinite ways to make a truly spectacular roasted bird, but we’re partial to our recipe for Grandma’s Polish-Style Roast Chicken, which results in crispy, well-seasoned skin and tender meat that pairs well with all your favorite veggies and classic sides, whether it’s Green Bean Amandine or Zucchini Bites with Pesto & Burrata.

Episode 5: “Children”

Potato Gnocchi with Beef Cheeks

Sadly, viewers don’t get a look at this last-minute menu addition, which joins the ranks of The Bear’s other rotating dishes a few weeks into the restaurant’s time open. If you’ve never made homemade pasta before, gnocchi is a great place to start. Our Homemade Potato Gnocchi comes together with just a few ingredients, and you can pair it with an equally simple sauce, like our No-Peel Slow-Cooker Marinara Sauce. As for protein, you can mimic chef Carmy’s slow-cooked beef cheeks with a recipe for braised cheeks from our friends at AllRecipes. Add some veggies to the meal with a salad to start—like our Use-a-Spoon Chopped Salad—and you’re sure to have rave reviews on your hands.

Episode 6: “Napkins”

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast

In this flashback episode, future chef Tina hits the streets of Chicago to find a new job after being fired. Her busy days of job hunting always start and end in the same ways—in the morning, she packs her son’s lunch and prepares the slow cooker; in the evening, she opens the slow cooker to find a delicious meal waiting inside. Though we see Tina hard at work on many a slow-cooker dinner, there’s only one that we see clearly at dinner time: a classic pot roast. We love this Instant-Pot Roast Beef for a faster, hands-off cooking experience, but you can also put your slow cooker to use with our Spicy Tomato-Braised Pot Roast. Tina pairs hers with time with her family at the dinner table, but you can also pair yours with something creamy, like our Garlic Mashed Potatoes or some Cheesy Polenta.

Episode 9: “Apologies”

Lasagna with Extra Crispy Edges

After Sugar (Abby Elliott) gives birth, Sydney swings by her house to drop off a big batch of prepared dishes that Sugar and her husband, Pete, can depend on for a few days. One of Sugar’s favorites is a batch of lasagna with extra crispy edges, which should be pretty straightforward to mimic at home. Our Easy Lasagna is simple, beautiful and delicious, and you can get those overcooked edges you love by baking it in a more shallow dish or tacking a couple of extra minutes on to the cook time. In either case, just be vigilant about checking your oven—no one wants burnt edges to turn into burnt lasagna.

Beef Stew

Also in Syd’s slate of comforting classics is a big batch of fragrant beef stew. Keep it classic with a recipe like our Slow-Cooker Beef Stew, which combines beef chuck with Yukon Gold potatoes and carrots for a flavorful and filling dish that everyone can fall in love with. Plus, using the slow cooker means you can let that stew come together while you’re out running errands, heading off to work or just enjoying a day around the house. There’s nothing like coming home to the smell of a delicious stew simmering away on the counter.

Minestrone

And no care package of frozen suppers is complete without some soup. Syd opts for minestrone, a simple and delicious combination of veggies, stock, beans and pasta or rice. One of our favorite versions is this Mom’s Minestrone, a hearty vegetarian soup that is sure to leave you scraping the bowl. Pair it with a hunk of fresh bread, like our Crusty Wheat Boule, so you have something to soak up whatever broth you can’t snag with your spoon.

Beef Bolognese

The last of Syd’s offerings is a container of fresh pasta and another container of savory beef bolognese that looks so good, Pete immediately asks to heat some up. Making fresh pasta is a hands-on project, but making the sauce doesn’t have to be. Recipes like our Slow-Cooker Pork Sausage Bolognese (or our Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Bolognese) give you the complex, slow-cooked flavor you know and love without needing constant attention in the kitchen. If you want to go all out with fresh pasta and bolognese, you could also turn to our Fresh Pasta with Quick Bolognese Sauce, which compresses the cooking timeline for bolognese down to about 35 minutes, so you can enjoy this flavorful meat sauce on a weeknight. 

Episode 10: “Forever”

Caviar and Crème Fraîche on Waffles

Few on-screen funerals are as fun and carefree as the one for Ever, the Chicago restaurant run by chef Terry (Olivia Colman). When the funeral becomes an afterparty at Sydney’s house, just about every character on the show kicks back with drinks and some late night snacks, including frozen waffles baked and topped with crème fraîche and a dollop of caviar. With just three ingredients, this dish is probably the easiest to recreate—depending on what your caviar budget is these days. If you end up with leftover waffles, use them to make a sweet sandwich, like our Strawberry Jam & Goat Cheese Waffle Sandwiches.