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.

Natasha holding a lasagna casserole

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.

Natasha with family posing on steps next to a house
Natasha with her parents and 4 sisters (Natasha is the middle child)

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.

Natasha and Vadim slicing vegetables in the kitchen

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.

Natasha with family serving 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 (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 with mom and daughter making pierogi

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 family prepping food in the kitchen

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.

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Comments

  • Alina
    September 11, 2012

    Thank you for sharing recipes with the world.
    I use the Herb-ox brand chicken bouillon cubes for making soup. It comes without MSG and GLUTEN free. You can find it at Winco or Safeway stores. It has different flavors beef, vegetables.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 11, 2012

      I’ve never tried that brand. I love that different brands are catching on with healthy trends i.e. no MSG and gluten free. Thank you for sharing 🙂

      Reply

  • aneta surma
    September 10, 2012

    So I started dating a Russian guy and I fell in,love with their food. Im Polish by the way. Your blog is awesome and everything looks delicious. Do you by any chance use any cookbooks as well that I can purchase somewhere online or in stores?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 10, 2012

      I have a few that I recommend in the Shop tab above, but they aren’t Russian or Ukrainian but when I publish one, I’ll let you know 😉 do you have any famous polish dishes that you’d recommend that your family loves? I’d love to try some more polish food!

      Reply

  • Yuliya D.
    September 7, 2012

    My sister-in- low told my about your website it’s great. I will be telling girls about it. Tanx!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 7, 2012

      Welcome to the site Yuliya, thank you for spreading the word 😀

      Reply

  • Lauren
    September 5, 2012

    I am so glad I stumbled across your blog, Natasha! It’s just wonderful! My husband is from Ukraine, and his mother cooks us wonderful food all the time. How impressed she’ll be when I start making some on my own! Your pictures look just like the dishes she makes, so I know they’ll be just as delicious 🙂 We’ve been together 4 years, and married for almost 1; I’ve been to many Russian/Ukrainian birthday parties and events with long tables with tons of great dishes. I hosted my first party by myself this past year, wish I had this site to get some tips!!
    <3 Lauren
    http://www.rivercitysammon.com/2012/07/russianukrainian-parties.html

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 5, 2012

      Welcome to the site Lauren. I have to agree, tables are loaded with tons of great dishes at all the parties I have been to 😀

      Reply

  • kristen h.
    September 1, 2012

    i’m so glad i found your blog! i’m an american working as a teaching volunteer (with peace corps) in ukraine and love trying new ukrainian recipes. thanks so much for sharing! i’ll definitely be making these when i get back to the states!

    -kristen

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 1, 2012

      Welcome to the site Kristen :). What is your favorite Ukrainian dish so far?

      Reply

  • Kelly
    August 23, 2012

    This is a wonderful blog! My husband is from Russia & I am classically trained chef who enjoys learning all cuisines. Russian & Ukrainian food have been very hard for me to find out any information on. My Russian is very poor so I have a difficult time communicating with my in laws on the “proper” way to cook certain foods. Keep up the great work!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 23, 2012

      Thank you Kelly! I’d love to go to culinary school some day 🙂

      Reply

  • Marina
    August 22, 2012

    Dear Natasha,

    Found your site on Pinterest. I am surprised to find so many boards connected to food and recipes on there.Still, I am really pleased to find your blog.I love it. Everything is clean and crisp.Simple to understand.Your photos are great and instructions are super easy to follow. I am thinking about trying out your cucumber salad.

    I love finding a childhood dish and adding it to my pin boards. Grins.

    I am Russian.I came to the US when I was 8.I was born in St. Peterburg. Both my parents are Ukrainian. They were born in a small town called Coresten (spelling). I still remember a little about the town I left.In recent years thanks to the internet I was able to reconnect with my Russian childhood friends on VK http://vk.com .I have some great memories.I am sorry to hear that you don’t remember much.But at least your love of Russian food stayed true. I think your dream is awesome. I always want to share Russian food with others.Keep up the great work.

    Best,
    Marina (Jew)
    Brooklyn, NY

    Reply

  • Sandi
    August 17, 2012

    I really like your site. I was looking up recipes for cherry vareniki and stumbled upon your site. My mother told me that her grandmother would make them when she was a little girl so I am going to try and make them for her. My family came from the Ukraine except 100 years ago it wasn’t called that. It was called Galicia part of the Austro Hungarian Empire. What part of the Ukraine are you from? My family came from a little town called Trembowla, about 20 miles south of Ternipol

    Where do you buy pitted cherries? Are they fresh, frozen or canned?

    Thanks and have a great day!
    Sandi

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 17, 2012

      We have our own cherry trees, or we buy them fresh when in season. I pit them at home using cherry pitter. I’m from Krivoy Rog, I was 4 when we moved, so don’t really have any memories :(. Welcome to the site Sandi 🙂

      Reply

  • Lizka
    August 15, 2012

    Hi Natasha,

    I came across your site the other day, when I was looking for recipes for okroshka. My husband is from Ukraine, and he had a craving for it. I ended up making your olivye salad last week and we both loved it. I am going to trying making shuba and okroshka this week. I just wanted you to know that I think your site is absolutely wonderful!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 15, 2012

      Thank you so much 🙂 your comment lit me up like a Christmas tree 😀

      Reply

  • Natalie Leshch
    July 28, 2012

    So happy you created something like this! Love your style with pictures and directions – makes it so simple to learn how to cook!
    I appreciate the work you do, please keep doing what you’re doing! :0)

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 28, 2012

      Thank you very much Natalie 🙂

      Reply

  • Inna
    July 26, 2012

    Hey girl,
    love your recipes they are amazing!

    Do you have any favorite foods you make during camp? We are going camping and I am trying to plan out my meals and need some ideas! =]

    Thanks for all your hard work!!! God bless you!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 26, 2012

      I’ve always struggled with camp menus. We like to make things as simple as possible. Last year I made Katleti in advance and they reheated well. You can marinade some chicken or pork for the BBQ or gas cooktop. We’ve even gone as easy as minute rice 🙂 . Take lots of cucumbers and tomatoes with onion so you can make yourself salads (I never get tired of that classic salad – or make it with sunflower oil, s&p). Hope that helps.

      Reply

  • Kelsee
    July 14, 2012

    Natasha! I taught English in Russia last fall and my host mother made so many delicious recipes that I was sad to say goodbye to. What a blessing to stumble across you blog and find almost all of them! They look amazing and I am excited to try them! Thank you so much for all your time and effort!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 14, 2012

      Hi Kelsee! You’re welcome 🙂 There will be some differences (every family makes every recipe slightly differently). I hope you love these recipes just as much!

      Reply

  • Olya Shem
    July 12, 2012

    I like the disclaimer you added about eating too much Piroshki. Shoot, cuz I was going to blame you for my lack of self control 🙂

    Awesome blog and recipes. I probably spend a little more time on here than I should. Okay, I’m off to make some Ukrainian Fried Potatoes before the hubby gets home from work.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 12, 2012

      Hahaha good eye! I just added that last night 🙂 happy cooking!

      Reply

  • Rebecca
    July 9, 2012

    I’m so excited to find your blog! My mom’s side of the family is Ukranian and Czechoslovakian, so family holiday’s were full of Russian food. And my husband and I have three children adopted from Russia, so I want to learn to cook Russian food for them. I bought a Russian cookbook a few months back, and I have only used it once. Blogs are much more likely to inspire my menu. Looking forward to digging through your archives, and to seeing what you have coming!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 9, 2012

      Welcome to the site Rebecca. I hope you enjoy the recipes

      Reply

  • Kelly
    July 9, 2012

    Hi there! Just writing to say I love your blog and I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award 🙂

    http://kellyinthekitchen.net/2012/07/09/an-award-and-brown-butter-pecan-cake-with-chocolate-ganache-glaze/#comments

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      July 9, 2012

      Thank you Kelly! That is so sweet! 🙂

      Reply

  • Liz
    June 27, 2012

    So excited to find this site on Pinterest. My two children are adopted from Russia and I would love to be able to introduce them more to Russian food. I’ve bought a few Russian cookbooks in the past, but I haven’t had much luck with them. The only real success has been an apple cake. I can’t wait to try some of these recipes!

    Reply

  • Camille
    June 23, 2012

    Great recipes Natasha and fantastic presentation! Can’t wait to try them all! I have the same dream for Russian food – I want non-Russian speaking people to experience it! Again, like you, I was never into cooking, until I turned 21. Slowly now, I am trying to master the art, starting with Russian food, because I grew up on it. God bless, keep it up! Vsego nailuchshego! Camille

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 23, 2012

      We share the same dream of having people fall in love with Russian food 🙂

      Reply

  • Olesya
    June 19, 2012

    I have really enjoyed your blog. I have made many things that you have posted. They are delicious. Your mom’s Spartak was a HUGE hit in my household. I crave it everyday but am too lazy to make it sometimes…lol. Me and my sister read your blog/check it daily for new things. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes. Keep this blog going darling.

    Reply

  • Beth
    June 10, 2012

    Hi Natasha! Wow! What a great website! The sour cherry tree we planted a few years ago, finally produced enough fruit this year to make something wonderful. So, I googled a recipe for cherry vareniki and came across your recipe! I just made it! And now I’m in front of my computer with a very fully stomach, a completely dirty kitchen and a very happy husband! 🙂
    My husband and I moved from San Jose CA. to Donetsk Ukraine 17 years ago to help Ukrainian Nationals start new Christian churches (Baptist, mostly.) I absolutely love Ukrainian/Russian food! When we first moved here, the store (renock) shelves were bare and products nothing like what I was used to in America! I quickly had to learn how to cook with what I could buy. Hence my need to learn how to cook like everyone else! And a love affair was born! There isn’t anything we don’t like to eat here! My husband even has his own Salo recipe! I have enjoyed the brief amount of time I’ve had to look at your site, and look forward to searching every recipe and reading about your life there in America. (our daughter was five when we moved here and now lives in America and in University). But for now, I must go clean my kitchen, you never know when or who will stop by for a visit and tea! 🙂 God bless you!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 10, 2012

      I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I guess I should include a disclaimer that it does create quite a mess 🙂

      Reply

      • Beth
        June 11, 2012

        Ha ha! It wasn’t all your fault! I was in a hurry to use the fresh picked cherries, and didn’t start with a clean kitchen! I don’t know how we all go to bed on Saturday night with a perfectly clean house, and somehow between then and coming home after church on Sunday the house is a wreck! It’s a mystery… 🙂

        Reply

  • Valentina Coman
    June 5, 2012

    Hi Natasha I love your blog! I love that you break everything into small steps! I can’t wait to try the stuff that I don’t know! Ti Molodets!

    Valentina

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      June 5, 2012

      Thank you Valentina 🙂

      Reply

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