17 Best Ginger Recipes

Ginger soy steamed fish recipe — The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

If your experience of ginger starts and ends with ginger ale, we've got a whole new category of deliciousness ready for your taste buds. Home cooks around the world love the way ginger adds a little heat, a little sweetness, and an intense flavor to both sweet and savory dishes. Try adding a few of these gingery recipes to your repertoire.

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Carrot Ginger Soup

The Spruce

Ginger brings out carrot's natural sweetness while adding a bit of a kick for interest. Adding almonds thickens this creamy carrot soup, making it perfect for a light lunch with a side of crusty bread or as an interesting start to your dinner.
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Japanese Pickled Ginger

The Spruce

If you love the pickled ginger that comes with many sushi rolls, make your own at home with this simple recipe. For best results, use fresh young ginger that has a thin skin you can peel with your fingers or a spoon.
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Vegan Tofu-Vegetable Stir-Fry With Ginger

The Spruce

For a simple, zesty meal that works for vegan diets, try this one-dish stir-fry with a ginger sauce that comes together in a flash. This recipe uses precooked rice to use up any leftovers you have hanging around. If you don't have any, cook the rice while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
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Plum and Ginger Jam

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

Keep the summery excitement of stone fruit going all winter long by making your own plum and ginger jam. Adding ginger gives it a nice warming note that you'll enjoy spreading on English muffins or toast, using to fill cakes or doughnuts, or spooning over vanilla ice cream.

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Ginger Cake

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

Two types of ginger give this fall loaf cake its enticing flavor: candied ginger and ground dried ginger. Mace and mixed spice round out the autumnal flavor in a soft cake that will turn an afternoon tea break into a special occasion.
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Gingerroot Tea

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Tea made with fresh gingerroot tastes so much more flavorful than the kind you buy in teabags. Ginger tastes great hot or cold, and it may help settle upset stomachs and soothe jangled nerves.
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Spicy Ginger and Lime Sauce

The Spruce / Nancy Lope-McHugh

This zippy ginger and lime sauce is reminiscent of Vietnamese and Thai flavors and works great as a dipper for spring rolls or dumplings, a marinade for poultry, fish, or pork, or a condiment for any kind of meat or fish. You can also easily adjust it to suit your heat tolerance.
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Traditional Ginger Biscuits (aka Ginger Snaps)

Ben Monk / Getty Images

Ginger biscuits—also known affectionately as ginger nuts or ginger snaps—are one of Britain's favorite cookies. Sweet with a hint of spice, they make the perfect partner to a hot cup of tea. Once they cool, they become extra crisp, perfect for dunking.

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Sweet and Sour Pork With Ginger Sauce

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Ginger complements the natural sweetness in pork perfectly, and the addition of pineapple, bell peppers, and soy sauce rounds it all out. Serve this Asian-inspired sweet and sour pork over white rice to soak up all of the delectable sauce.
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Ginger-Soy Steamed Fish

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Steaming fish gives it a tender, moist texture—and it couldn't be easier. You can apply this technique to both whole fish or fillets. The soy-ginger sauce adds savory flavor with light and dark soy sauce and plenty of fresh ginger.
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Pineapple Ginger Margarita

The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

Feel your taste buds dance as you sip this refreshing spin on a classic drink. Made from fresh ginger, pineapple juice, lime, and of course tequila, this sweet yet tart cocktail is a fun adaptation of a traditional margarita. It makes for a great mocktail as well, simply swap out the alcohol for seltzer or club soda.
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Slow-Cooker Garlic Ginger Chicken Wings

The Spruce

For a nearly hands-off dish that works great for a weeknight meal or even a snack to watch a game, try these ginger and garlic wings that come together in the slow cooker. The sauce also works great for stir-fries, so save the recipe for other uses, too.

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Banana Date Smoothie with Ginger and Cardamom

The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

Need to spice up your breakfast from the same old? This smoothie is your answer, with a wonderfully warm and fragrant blend of ginger and cardamom to balance the sweetness of banana and date. It’s great for a nutritious meal on-the-go, and a much-needed departure from the everyday cereal or scrambled eggs.
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Ginger Simple Syrup

The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Ginger simple syrup is an incredibly useful ingredient for the kitchen and home bar. Easy to make, you can add the sweet spice to your drink routine without hassle. Try adding it to cocktails, iced tea, and iced coffee for sweetness with a little spice. You can even use it to make ginger ale for yourself.
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Japanese Onion, Ginger, and Carrot Salad Dressing

The Spruce / Loren Runion

Try this wafu dressing, or "Japanese-style dressing," the next time you are looking for a flavorful topper for your crisp lettuce leaves or grilled vegetables. The combination of ingredients, from carrots and onions, to ginger and soy, balanced by rice vinegar, is perfect to pour all over your salad or even use as a marinade.
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Candied Ginger

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Candied ginger is one of those ingredients that may seem like a splurge from a specialty store, but it’s actually easier to make at home than you may realize. It just takes a little time (and a lot of ginger and sugar). And then you’ll have it on hand to pull out of your pantry whenever you want to serve it alongside an afternoon espresso or use it in baking cakes, cookies, or scones.

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