About
Welcome to Natasha’s Kitchen! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, and together with my husband, Vadim, we’ve been passionately developing and sharing tried-and-true recipes since 2009. Over the years, we have created a trusted recipe resource beloved by millions.
In 2023, I published my debut cookbook – Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook, which quickly became a New York Times Best-Seller for three consecutive weeks. The book is an extension of our blog with top-quality recipes you can trust.
I come from a family of fantastic cooks, and I’m here to share generations of recipes that are homey, fresh, healthy, family-friendly, authentic, and adventurous. Most importantly, our recipes are meticulously tested and guaranteed to be delicious and reliable.

My Family and Heritage
My culinary journey is deeply rooted in my family’s story. My family came to the U.S. as refugees from Ukraine when I was 4 years old. They brought 5 tiny girls and had nothing but a stack of suitcases. They didn’t know the language, but they worked hard and achieved the American dream. Watch the TV News Segment about our incredible story. My parents’ resilience and passion for food inspire every recipe I create.

Growing up, I was so shy that I thought no one would marry me until my husband came along and swept me off my feet (true story). Over 20 years ago, I married my wonderful husband, Vadim (who is also Ukrainian). We are blessed with two children. Every recipe that I develop is thoroughly tested and approved by each of us and is often critiqued by relatives and friends. We only post the recipes we love and make over and over.
We live in Idaho (famous for its potatoes), and we love the quieter pace of our beautiful state. We strive to walk in love and live our lives by the word of God and the life of Jesus.



Professional Background
We’re so thankful to be full-time foodies and recipe developers. We’re living our dream because of you and I can’t thank you enough! My heritage and diverse professional background, including years in business and nursing, have uniquely equipped me to be the recipe developer, video creator, photographer, writer, and business owner that I am today. We set the bar high so you can expect great recipes and videos here.
The Resume
- 2003-2007: I worked for 7 years as a business intern, which I consider my most valuable education. My boss and mentor taught me the importance of excellence in business and meticulous attention to detail, which has served me well.
- 2007 Earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a double major in human resource management
- 2007-2012 – Worked as a Realtor for 4 years. Fun fact: it was during my realtor days that I learned about blogging (although blogging about real estate was undeniably more boring than food)
- 2012 Earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and worked as a Registered Nurse in Telemetry. The courses I took in nutrition, as well as being in a caring profession, made for a natural transition into serving my audience with recipes and connections that nurture body and soul.
- Blogging since 2009 – What started as a way to share my family’s recipes and culinary journey, has turned into a vibrant community of millions of home cooks.
To summarize all of the many hats I wear – I am a wife, mom, food blogger, cookbook author, recipe developer, video creator, photographer, writer, influencer, social media boss, and entrepreneur, and I love to sing in my church choir. If I were a sandwich, I’d be a Chicken Bacon Avocado on Focaccia.

How I Got Started Cooking
To be completely honest, I wasn’t always excited about cooking. When I got married in 2003, it became a necessity – “must eat to live” and Mom wasn’t doing the cooking anymore. We had a lot of frozen meals and ate-out too much in the first year of our marriage. I had a free summer (and decided I would improve my cooking skills so we could live and eat healthier.
I dove into cookbook after cookbook and plundered my mom’s recipe books. I was at the library all the time bringing home piles of cookbooks; I was hooked! I even read my mother’s cooking textbook from her college days (Mom completed her culinary program when we moved to the US). I had discovered the joy of cooking. Within a few months, my husband and I each lost weight just from cooking more at home. Now I can’t stop cooking and thinking about cooking and dreaming about cooking… I was born for this!
My recipe collection continues to grow. I love to try new recipes and will share my favorites with you (like our internet-famous Meatloaf and beloved Banana Bread Recipe). I hope you enjoy this blog and find recipes that will become your family favorites as well.



Natasha’s Kitchen Today
I started this food and family blog in 2009 as a way to share favorite recipes and events with family and friends. It has grown much larger than I could have imagined with about 1,300 recipes and about 19 million hungry visitors per month. In 2024, we passed 3,500,000 subscribers on YouTube and our channel is growing fast. We’ve been featured on:
- Forbes
- Good Morning America
- ABC News
- New York Times
- Associated Press
- USA Today
- And hundreds more (see Press page for more)
My goal with Natasha’s Kitchen is for you to really discover and fall in love with cooking and find many new favorite recipes your family will love. The ingredients we use are simple and easily accessible, not overly hoity-toity. My motto: if you can read (a well-written, tested, and trusted recipe), you can cook.
Most of the recipes I share come from my mom and mother-in-law, family, friends, and my own experience in the kitchen. I am so thankful to have such amazing people in my life who generously share their rich knowledge of cooking.
It Takes a Village! I’m so blessed to partner with an incredible group of specialists who share their talents to support Natasha’s Kitchen. Whether it’s social media, email marketing, content editing, or video editing, their expertise helps everything run smoothly so I can focus on creating delicious recipes and fun videos for you. I’m so grateful for their contributions and for YOU, our amazing readers, who make it all possible.

Natasha’s Kitchen Recipes
It’s very important to me to share trusted recipes that are reliable and work well in every kitchen and for every cooking skill level. This is why I develop and perfect all of my recipes through careful research and several rounds of testing in my own Kitchen in Idaho (elevation about 2,600 feet).
Every recipe is tested and approved by my family, and often friends, relatives, and even neighbors. All of the photography is done by myself, and I’m the one showing up in our videos. My husband edits the photos and videos (and he’s the videographer, single-handedly running 3 cameras at once).

Get Featured: If you would like your recipe featured on this site, email it to me by clicking here.
Community Guidelines: I love how this food blog has grown into a supportive cooking community – your comments, questions, tips, and success stories make every recipe better. Review my Comment Policy, then join the conversation.
Disclaimer: Per my Nutrition Disclaimer, this blog includes only my own opinions and is not professional advice. It is not intended to be dietary advice or a diet plan. Please talk to your Doctor or nutritionist for medical or dietary advice. I am not liable if you eat too many Hamburgers.
Hi Natasha, love your recipes. I am going to make your cranberry bread w/orange glaze. I have fresh cranberries that I put in the freezer, are they now considered frozen cranberries? Or do I defrost them and use them as fresh?
Hi Dolores! Yes- they would be considered frozen. I hope you love the recipe!
Natasha, I love your beautiful story. You glow and spread love! I often entertain Ukrainian refugees, who have fled here to Florida, by the thousands. Your recipes are always perfect. 🥰🇺🇸🇺🇦
Thank you so much, Marianne! You are so kind.
Love your blog page, Natasha, and have tried several recipes, always very good! What a beautiful family and story. God bless you all!
Thank you for your kind words, Debbie. Appreciate it!
I have followed your blog for many years now, but have not needed to use it for some time now as I already have memorized the recipes I learned from you. Today I just found out you have a cookbook that is on the best selling list and I just want to congratulate you and your family. Well done. And thank you, AGAIN, for the wonderful recipes.
Thank you so much, Michael!
My husband and I did your meat loaf recipe. Amazing, so good.
Great to hear that you both enjoyed it!
Of all the food bloggers online, I always seem to trust yours the most. Your recipes are reliable and stable. However, I made the saulsbury steak the night before Valentine’s Day because my husband had been asking for it and I chose your recipe. I followed it to the letter except my hamburger was 85/15. Other than that it was exact! The meat could not be held together and it fell totally apart. It was nothing but cooked crumbles and looked awful. When food looks bad it seems to just taste bad. I won’t try it again.
Hi Renee, I’m so glad you decided to go with one of my recipes for Valentine’s Day! It’s hard to say without being there, but it sounds like the leaner meat ratio may have contributed to the Salisbury steak falling apart. Using the leaner 85/15 ground beef could result in a drier texture and less binding compared to a higher-fat content like 80/20. I recommend making recipes without substitutions or adjustments the first time around if possible.
I really enjoy your recipes. All the ones I have made are very good. Doesn’t matter if it’s a classic meatloaf, italian style lasagna, asian stir fry, oven fried vegetable, salad dressing, or dip! From soup to nuts you cover it all. All your tips and shortcuts are easily understandable. Everything always turns out great!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Thank you, Toby! I’m so glad to hear that.
Beet stains on hands are easily removed by sprinkling them with salt.
Rinse with water. Magic, the red is gone.
That’s a great tip! I have to try this, thank you for sharing, Penny!
Watched video on eggrolls. Do you have to cook before freezing? Thanks
Hi Desiree! See my note in the Egg Rolls Recipe blog, “how to freeze egg rolls” for suggestions and instructions.
Look at Vanilla Bean Kings as a resource for the greatest vanilla beans as well as recipes, tips.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I am a home cook who has an interest in many foods from different cultures. I found you on YouTube and have used several of your recipes, that have all been enjoyed by my family and friends. I just wanted to thank you for all of your time and energy in sharing your amazing talents with my family. You are a source of positivity and joy in my busy kitchen, many blessings to your family and you! Love and peace, Justin and Family
Thank you so much, Justin! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes. Be blessed!
Natasha: I followed your instructions for the homemade vanilla at Christmas. 48 bottles (4 ounces each). I was so disappointed when friends told me that their bottles were not vanilla/ just vanilla flavored liquor. Upon investigation, there were a couple of things wrong with your recipe. 1. The beans should always be weighed; not counted as different beans weigh more / less than others. 1 ounce beans to 8 ounces liquor. And the extracting time is a minimum of 6 months. Could you consider doing a little more research and edit your instructions. Lots of resources out there.
Hi Janna, thank you for sharing your feedback. I am always working on my making my recipes and tutorials better. I value your feedback and will use it to improve the post.
Hi Natasha!
I am such a fan of your cooking!!
The hubby and the littles aren’t too fond of sweets, but your apple pie is a major hit with the family! Since then, I have continued to visit your website to check on recipes I could try – I wish I could order your cookbook, but shipping might even be pricier than the cookbook itself LOL. Can’t wait to try even more of your recipes!
– Lots of love, Pam from the Philippines 🙂
Hi Pam! Thank you so much for sharing.
Regarding the cookbook. I would check with vendors that have this available in your area. Amazon, Fully Booked online, Shopee, Lazada, National Bookstore Online. These are some do the vendors I’ve heard has the book available in the Philippines.
You first caught my attention with your videos that don’t lag on. You fast forward through the boring stuff. I have been a loyal fan ever since. You use everyday pantry ingredients which is a big plus for me. I do have your most recent book. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Kim! I’m smiling so big and so inspired!
Natasha, I ABSOLUTELY FOLLOW AND LOVE YOUR “EASY TO FOLLOW- AND GREAT TASTING RECIPES!”
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THEM IN MY INBOX.
I THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR AMAZING STORY- AND BEAUTIFUL FAMILY WITH ALL OF US!
STAY BLESSED!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the love and support.
I first encountered your recipes with the loaded potato soup which has become a standard in our house. I visited your site for the first time today and loved what I saw and will be inspired by much of it. You are obviously a talented cook. Thanks for doing what you do.
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it. Hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try!
Hi Natasha!
I love your way of cooking! It’s simple and delicious. My daughter bought me your new cookbook for Christmas. I love it! I have a question. I buy chicken thighs for our wonderful dog and boil them to use with other ingredients for him but I am wondering if I can use the broth in recipes instead of buying expensive chicken broths from the store? Thank you for your help.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for the feedback. I’m so glad you got a copy. To be honest, I don’t know. But I don’t see why not. I don’t have a dog and have never made homemade dog food.
Natasha! I have been cooking for years and you are teaching this old dog some (a lot) of new tricks! Your story is delightful and i find myself sharing your site with people in the grocery store! Thank you!
Aw, thank you, Shawna! I appreciate the love and support.
Hi Natasha, I LOVE your recipes, your channel and you and your family! (Is your sister Natalya?)
Just wondered if you have a recipe for Polish Pączki?
Hi Jacqueline! I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I do not have a recipe for that. The closest recipe I have would be my Baked donuts recipe. No, I do not have a sister Natalya.
I’m wondering the same question as Jacqueline. The author of your recipe for Ground Beef Stroganoff is Natalya Drozhzhin. Is that you or someone else? The recipe was great, btw.
Hi Laura. Sometimes we have a guest post. Natalya is a friend and fellow food blogger.
I just made your almond croissant. My family said that was the BEST almond croissant they ever had. My wife has a very good knack for great food, and taste and she said that was the best. Straight out of the oven, warm and crispy.
That’s wonderful, Elwin!
I had hit a wall with many failed attempts to feed my picky family, I had almost given up. Then I found this site. My family has LOVED every.single.recipe. I still can’t believe it but with each recipe I serve to them, I’m met with lots of “Make that again!” and “That was really good!”.
The stress that this site has removed for me is priceless. Thanks Natasha!
Aw, that’s amazing! Thank you for sharing.