<p>We firmly believe homemade food tastes better, whether it’s a warming bowl of chicken soup, a gooey batch of brownies or fresh-from-the-oven sourdough. We took this question to our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/goodfoodeveryday/posts/whats-one-thing-youll-always-make-from-scratch-rather-than-buy/1521204540037718/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audience on social media</a>, asking them for the one thing that they always make from scratch, rather than buy.</p><p>Most people agree that homemade simply tastes better, often referencing <a href="/health/nutrition/what-are-ultra-processed-foods" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultra-processed foods</a> as a reason to cut back on shop-bought varieties. Below we’ve gathered the list of foods which home-cooks swear by cooking at home:</p><h3 id="1-sauces-and-condiments-68eb3622">1. Sauces and condiments</h3><p>Quick and easy sauces topped the list (25.5%), with mayonnaise the most mentioned, followed by <a href="/recipes/collection/pesto-recipes">pesto</a>, tomato sauce and <a href="/recipes/no-waste-gravy">gravy</a>.</p><ul><li>“Cheese sauce, pasta sauce, most sauces actually. In fact, pretty much everything, just so I know it’s so much better, and I know what’s in it!” – Kathleen Mary.</li><li>“White sauce/cheese sauce. The jars are not the same at all!” – Rebecca Straney.</li><li>“Mayonnaise & peanut butter. Sooo easy, seems silly to buy them” – Julie Dale.</li></ul><p><strong>Make our top-rated sauce recipes:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="/recipes/tomato-basil-sauce">Tomato sauce for pasta</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/cheese-sauce">Cheese sauce</a></li><li><a href="/videos/hacks/easiest-ever-white-sauce-video">Easiest ever white sauce</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/easy-garlic-mayonnaise">Easy garlic mayonnaise</a></li></ul>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/30/2023/05/Cheese-sauce-eea374d.jpg" width="3337" height="2223" alt="A saucepan of cheese sauce with a wooden spoon in it" title="Cheese sauce" />
<h3 id="2-fresh-pasta-1a183fcf">2. Fresh pasta</h3><p>Interestingly, fresh pasta (11.3%) was the second most popular choice, with many saying the texture and flavour are far superior to shop-bought. <a href="/recipes/spinach-ricotta-ravioli">Ravioli</a>, <a href="/recipes/collection/tagliatelle-recipes">tagliatelle</a> and homemade lasagne sheets were among the most frequently mentioned favourites:</p><ul><li>“Pasta 🍝 x” – Sophie Baber.</li><li>“Pasta … just about any kind of…” – Jan Whitmarsh.</li><li>“Shepherds pie and lasagna” – Babs Trypuc.</li></ul><p><strong>Try our pasta recipes here:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="/recipes/fresh-pasta">Homemade pasta</a></li><li><a href="/premium/baked-feta-pasta">Baked feta pasta</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/fajita-style-pasta">Fajita-style pasta</a></li></ul>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/30/2025/11/Classic-lasagne-5cb4209.jpg" width="1000" height="667" alt="Lasagne in a dish with a serving removed" title="Classic lasagne" />
<h3 id="3-yorkshire-puddings-2927171f">3. Yorkshire puddings</h3><p>A Sunday lunch staple, the humble Yorkshire pudding (11.0%) was also a firm favourite, with home cooks agreeing homemade versions are crispier, lighter and much tastier than ready-made.</p><ul><li>“Yorkshire puddings they taste so much better 🤗” – Sue Ranson.</li><li>“Gluten free Yorkshire puddings and gluten free pastry” – Karen Hope.</li></ul><p><strong>Make one of our tried-and-tested Yorkshire pudding recipes:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddings">Best Yorkshire puddings</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/yorkshire-puddings-for-two">Yorkshire puddings for two</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/yorkshire-pudding-wrap">Yorkshire pudding wrap</a></li></ul>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/30/2024/02/Air-fryer-Yorkshire-puddings-c56d28f.jpg" width="900" height="836" alt="Four air-fryer yorkshire puddings on a plate" title="Air-fryer yorkshire puddings" />
<h3 id="4-cakes-c4e19908">4. Cakes</h3><p>It’s no surprise to see that cakes (9.5%) completed the top four, with the classic <a href="/recipes/collection/victoria-sponge-cake-recipes">Victoria sponge</a>, <a href="/howto/guide/best-ever-chocolate-cakes">chocolate cake</a> and <a href="/recipes/lemon-drizzle-cake">lemon drizzle</a> all among the favourites, praised for their freshness and flavour.</p><ul><li>“Always make from scratch especially cake” – Julie Roberts.</li><li>“Lemon cheesecake” – Josephine Stokes.</li><li>“Almost everything, but love baking cakes and cookies” – Sheila Baker.</li><li>“Victoria sponge cake and trifles” – Sharron Machin.</li></ul><p><strong>Check out our most popular cakes:<br></strong></p><ul><li><a href="/recipes/double-chocolate-loaf-cake">Double chocolate loaf cake</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/raspberry-bakewell-cake">Raspberry bakewell cake</a></li><li><a href="/recipes/naughty-chocolate-fudge-cake">Easy chocolate fudge cake</a></li></ul>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/30/2026/06/Chocolate-victoria-sponge-with-peanut-butter-cream-8e755bc.jpg" width="3000" height="2728" alt="One chocolate victoria sponge cake with peanut butter cream" title="Chocolate victoria sponge with peanut butter cream" />
<h3 id="5-pastry-and-pies-02369ab8">5. Pastry and pies</h3><p>Making your own pastry is often considered more hassle than it’s worth – taking both time and skill – however our audience believes the pay-off is worth it. They also believe you can’t rival a homemade pie, spanning sweet and savoury varieties.</p><ul><li>“Bread, cake, sauces, wraps, pastry … If you’ve made it at home and got the hang of it you can’t find anything like it in the shops 😬” – Louise Garrett.</li><li>“Pie. Any sort of pie” – Sue Doyle.</li><li>“Lemon Meringue pie” – Suzie Warren.</li></ul>
<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/30/2025/10/Ultimate-lemon-meringue-pie-ef84644.jpg" width="6336" height="4224" alt="Lemon meringue pie with a section removed" title="Ultimate lemon meringue-pie" />
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