About

Hi there! My name is Natasha Kravchuk. My handsome husband, Vadim, and I started Natasha’s Kitchen in 2009 and develop recipes and recipe videos together full-time. In 2023, we published our debut cookbook – Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook, which quickly became a New York Times Best-Selling Book (on the list for 3 weeks in a row!).

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 taste great and you can trust that they actually work.

Natasha of NatashasKitchen sitting

My Family:

My parents 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 worked hard and achieved the American dream. Watch the TV News Segment about our incredible story.

Growing up, I used to be so shy I thought no one would marry me until my husband came along and swept me off my feet (true story). I married my wonderful husband Vadim (who is also Ukrainian) over 16 years ago. 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, “Ida-who?” Potatoes, people, potatoes! Our family attends Life Church Boise. We strive to walk in love and live our lives by the word of God and the life of Jesus.

Family crouching down and smiling

My 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! I draw on all of my past experiences which make me 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. God has made all of my past experiences work for my good.

The ‘Resume’:

  • Starting as a teen, I worked for 7 years as a business intern (my most valuable ‘education’).
  • Earned my bachelor’s degree in business (long story)
  • Worked as a Realtor for 4 years during which I had an early mid-life crisis and cried a lot (let’s just say it wasn’t for me).
  • Earned a second bachelor’s degree in nursing and worked as an RN in telemetry (shorter story, but still long).
  • Blogging since 2009

So, I’m a wife, mom, food blogger, video creator, photographer, writer, influencer, social media boss, entrepreneur, and worship leader. If I were a sandwich, I’d be a chicken bacon avocado on focaccia.

Natasha serving food to children

About Natasha’s Kitchen:

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 1,200 recipes and about 19 Million hungry visitors per month. In 2023, we passed 3,000,000 subscribers on YouTube and our channel is growing fast.

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.

This is a personal website and all of the recipes are tested and approved by my family. 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).

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.

father and son eating food

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. I hope you enjoy this blog and find recipes that will become your family favorites as well.

family laughing and smiling together

Get Featured: If you would like your recipe featured on this site, email it to me by clicking here (warning: spammers will get hit in the face with unripe avocados).

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, although I try to post healthy-ish recipes, please talk to your Dr. for medical or dietary advice. I am not liable if you eat too many cheeseburgers.

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Comments

  • Natalie Lang
    May 1, 2017

    Just found your website through a facebook video! ( healthy world recipes) and I am so hooked! I can’t wait to make the cucumber tomato avocado salad! we eat out way too much and I am trying to learn how to cook myself. So can’t wait to try out your recipes.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 1, 2017

      Awesome! Thanks for following and please let me know what you think of the recipes Natalie! 🙂

      Reply

    • Natalia
      May 3, 2017

      To all of you:
      I love the way you’ve done and doing it!! Love the transparency, humour, polite sarcasm… Hope you have time for everything else as well ;-))
      Take care and I’m going to try your strawberry birthday cake 😉

      Reply

  • Sharon (Chrupka) Markey
    April 29, 2017

    My grandparents were from Czechoslovakia and I discovered your site, and I look forward to trying your recipes.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 29, 2017

      Welcome to the site Sharon, I hope you will find many new favorites here 😬

      Reply

  • Donna
    April 28, 2017

    can’t wait to get started, my husband is from a Ukrainian background and loves talking about what his mother and grandmother cooked and served for the family. Have seen some people try to duplicate but just wasn’t the good food I know he experienced.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 28, 2017

      Thanks for following Donna! Please let me know what you and your husband think of the recipes! 😀

      Reply

  • Mohamed samir
    April 27, 2017

    HI, Natasha, l like your recipes in fact tried the cheery dessert it was very nice everyone in my family like it, I wish for you and your husband all the best , l am also like cooking and I am planning to do something about it and when it come true I will share my ideas with you, and if you like any information about Egyptian food we can share or ideas .

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 27, 2017

      I am so glad you are enjoying our recipes!! I would love to try Egyptian cuisine! I’m actually very unfamiliar with that cuisine but I’m definitely interested! My email if you would like to share any recommendations or recipes is: natasha@natashaskitchen.com and thank you so much for the offer!

      Reply

  • Lena
    April 25, 2017

    Hi Natasha! Thank you so much for inspiring me into cooking! I feel like I’ve known you for so long even though personally I’ve never met you… unfortunately😆… Your family is lovely, and I wish you luck in finding the right house for you guys right now if you haven’t yet! Blessings your way!!!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 25, 2017

      Hi Lena, thank you so much for writing in and sharing your encouraging note. I really appreciate it and I’m so glad you are inspired by our recipes 🙂 Blessings to you and your family also!! 🙂

      Reply

  • Anne W DuBois
    April 24, 2017

    I would like to make the Blueberry Lemon Cake. However, I live at an altitude of 7500 hundred feet. Would I need to alter the recipe? Thank you

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 24, 2017

      Hi Anne, I really am not able to guess since I don’t do any high altitude baking. Has anyone else tried baking at higher altitudes? Did you have to make any changes?

      Reply

  • Marina
    April 21, 2017

    Natasha, thank you so much for your amazing blog and outstanding recipes! We, your readers and foodie enthusiasts, appreciate your sharing.
    Your recipes are delicious, nutritious and suitable for beginners and advanced cooks.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 21, 2017

      Marina, thank you for the compliment and for taking the time to share that. It is appreciated very much 😊

      Reply

  • Ed Brown
    April 20, 2017

    I tried one of your recipes and it turned great which is amazing given I am a terrible cook. When my daughter was in elementary school they were teaching her how to write and had write answers to questions like what is your favorite thing S and what scared you the most. She responded to the second question with the answer my Daddies cooking. She must have done okay in school as she ended up as a NICU Nurse.

    I like fast frame photography.
    Regards,
    Ed

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 20, 2017

      LOL! I’m glad you nailed the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review Ed! 😀

      Reply

  • Elaine
    April 14, 2017

    I love your Avocado Tuna Salad recipe, and want to make it for a luncheon with special people. The only thing wrong is that I’m one of those people who taste ‘soap’ when tasting cilantro. Can you think of a good alternative to cilantro that will still make it taste fresh?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 15, 2017

      Hi Elaine, I think the next best thing would be fresh chopped dill and add it to taste. I hope you love it!! 🙂

      Reply

  • Nicholas
    April 13, 2017

    Hi Nat, an interesting site indeed. I note that many (most?) of your featured recipes are not traditional Ukraine. I was a little disappointed, but the other recipes certainly impress. My parents were WWII refugees and chose to settle in Australia, as did so many thousands of other Ukrainians. My mother was simply the best cook and I miss a lot of her recipes – now gone with her. I remember a ‘peasant’ soup made simply of potato (and carrot if available) in a clear broth. I’m not sure what kind of stock she used but the flavour was so rich and the soup so satisfying. Do you know of any such peasant dish?
    Keep the true original recipes coming.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 13, 2017

      Hi Nicholas, No worries, I have hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian recipes. You can find all of my soup recipes on my recipes index page or click here. I hope you love everything you try!

      Reply

  • Mara Rizzio
    April 11, 2017

    Hi we have a lot in common and a similar story. I too am a Russian refugee I had my 5th birthday in America raised in Chicago, now we live in Boise. I am wondering if you know where to buy Paska out here, instead of making it. Thank you

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 12, 2017

      Hi Mara, there is a European store off Locust Grove and Fairview in Meridian but I have not been there in a couple of weeks so I’m not sure if they sell Easter breads or not before Easter. I can’t think of any other place that might sell them.

      Reply

  • Mohammed Ali
    April 9, 2017

    Thanks Natasha for sharing your delicious receipes with us. We love it….esplly the last part when u enjoy eating it. Take care n please keep sharing your delicious treats.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 10, 2017

      My pleasure! Thank you for following 😀

      Reply

  • Karyn A Giblin
    April 9, 2017

    My mom was a uki and I lo v ed her cooking I can do some love to follow this reminds me of home and her

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 9, 2017

      Thanks for sharing that with us Karyn 😀

      Reply

  • Ashlee Harms
    April 3, 2017

    Natasha and family. Thank you for all that you do. You are such a blessing to our family. We (me, my husband, and our three children) have incorporated many of your recipes into our daily lives. I am encouraged by your love for Jesus, your aspiration for health, and your family values. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 3, 2017

      Thank you for the great compliments and for following my blog! God Bless 😀

      Reply

  • Piunik
    March 30, 2017

    Hi Natasha,

    I’m a big fan of your delicious recipes and everything you include here in your website. I would really love if you could include an Easter Paska recipe in your website since the Easter is coming.

    I found many recipes online, but never experience any of them , so if you can refer or put your own recipe, I would be appreciated.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 30, 2017

      You will find our Paska and other Easter recipes in our Easter category 🙂

      Reply

      • piunik
        March 31, 2017

        Thank you so much, I missed that 🙂

        Reply

  • Angelina
    March 28, 2017

    Natasha, spasibo za recepti. Nadeus’, vi govorite po-russki. Vi priehali v 4, ya v 25 i mogu skazat’ to zhe samoe – God’s plan is the best and He uses all our experiences for good. Uspeha vam i vashei sem’e!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 28, 2017

      Thank you so much Angelina! 🙂

      Reply

  • Genny Joiner
    March 24, 2017

    Our family has hosted an Ukranian exchange student for four years. After completing high school (for the second time), he is now in his second year of college. He is very active in international relations. I would like to be able to prepare more of these recipes for him.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 24, 2017

      That would be great Genny! Let me know what your family thinks when you decide to make a recipe please!

      Reply

  • Annari Jansen
    March 22, 2017

    Hi Natasha, you blueberry lemon cake looks wonderful. I was just wondering if one could make it the day before? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 23, 2017

      Yes, you can absolutely make it the day before. I would add the powdered sugar before serving though. You can keep it at room temperature if it is just overnight, or you can refrigerate, but if you do refrigerate, let it come to room temperature before serving. I hope you love it!

      Reply

  • Malvina Duane
    March 19, 2017

    I am so happy I came across your blog. I am of Russian/Polish and Ukrainian heritage. (2nd generation American and proud of it). I have been looking for a blog like yours, I can not wait to try your recipes. Keep up the great work.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 20, 2017

      Awesome! I’m so glad you are following Malvina! Let me know what you think of the recipes please! 😀

      Reply

  • Zinnooran
    March 18, 2017

    Hey Natasha,
    I just randomly searched your website and trying my first ever recipe that’s Teriyaki Chicken. I hope I will come back for more after tonight.

    P.S. Put some subcontinental recipes as well and sorry if you already had them as I haven’t gone through complete website yet.

    Love and best wishes from Pakistan

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 18, 2017

      Hi Zinnooran, I do have some categories for food by location on my recipes index page if that helps although I’m not sure it will be as specific as you are searching. I hope you love everything you try and welcome to my blog! 🙂

      Reply

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