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

  • JoAnn
    March 23, 2013

    My aunt just called from Fl. asking if I have Baba’s receipe for polanici. I’m sure the spelling is not correct. It is pretty much a sauerkraut pizza. It had a thin, crispy crust and sauerkraut on top. My aunt & cousins want to try to make it. Truth be told, I could give it a try myself right now. Do you have a receipe like this?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 23, 2013

      Sorry I actually don’t have a recipe for that, but if you come across something great, let me know! 🙂

      Reply

  • Yana
    March 23, 2013

    This is a really cool website! I love the way that each recipe is super easy to make and very well explained. I have been in love with cooking for a while, but have no time to cook complex dishes anymore since I am a full time student, and these recipes seem like they are are not that hard to make. This site is an inspiration whenever I have a cooking block. May God bless you and your wonderful family!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 23, 2013

      I try to make it easy and am hoping to make more videos for that reason! Happy to be a source of inspiration for you 😉

      Reply

  • elena
    March 16, 2013

    I really enjoy your blog and trying the recipes. Thank you, Natasha! So so tasty. Do you want to post recipes of Balsam as well? There are different tinctures that russian folks use for medicine and it would be cool to have the recipe for it. Also, stinging nettles are popular win the russian community, mostly for tea but there are other ways to eat it. I love superfoods!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 16, 2013

      Thank you Elena. I have no idea how to make that! I guess I need to learn 😉

      Reply

  • Olga Karpets
    March 13, 2013

    natasha, just wanted to say that i love your recipes!! i’ve tried a couple, and so far every one of them tasted wonderful!! they are easy and yet delicious!! there are days when i don’t know what to cook, and always go on your site to look for a recipe!! thanks so much for doing this!! i’m a big fan!! 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 13, 2013

      You are welcome Olga 🙂

      Reply

  • Angelina Zagorodny
    March 12, 2013

    Hey Natasha!

    First I want to start off by saying you are GORGEOUS and have a blessed family! I love all what you have to offer! Thanks for all that you do and all the time you put into here for everyone to enjoy. God bless you and keep cooking ;))

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 12, 2013

      Thank you for your words of encouragement. I feel… inspired! 🙂

      Reply

  • Jordan
    February 27, 2013

    I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to post your wonderful recipes to this blog. I met and fell in love with an Amazing man from Moldova two years ago and thanks to you, I’m able to feed him much of the traditional food that he loves and misses. He hasn’t seen his family in almost three years and he loves your recipes, many of which he states taste just like his mothers. So from both of us, thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 27, 2013

      That’s fantastic! Thank you for sharing your story with me. I’m so glad you both enjoy the recipes 🙂

      Reply

  • Sheila
    February 23, 2013

    Just wanted to say that we LOVE your recipe for your borscht!! The best! We miss eating food with our Ukranian friends back in British Columbia. Thanks for helping us to fill that gap and fill the tummy with delicious food too!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 23, 2013

      Your welcome Sheila 🙂

      Reply

  • Karina
    February 19, 2013

    Hi Natasha,

    I just poked around your website and watched your video. I think you are so cute! In addition to being talented and passionate about food, of course. Have you ever thought about sending your video/blog to Food Network? You really could host your own food show on TV! That tiny bit of the Slavic accent, I think people will love to watch you. And what better way to spread the word about Russian/Ukrainian cuisine? You could the Russian Giada! Think about it!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 19, 2013

      Karina you are so sweet 🙂 ok, I’ll think about it. 😉

      Reply

  • Mariya
    February 17, 2013

    Ha ha I like the” I’m not responsible I’d you eat to much pirozhki” or anything else you have posted might I add;) I just wanted to thank you for being so nice to us(me for sure! And I know others will agree) . You take so much of your time to respond and reply to all questions and comments. I just wanted to let u know that your and Vadim’s hard work is really appreciated:) the reason why this is my favorite site is probably because of that. You guys always respond even though you don’t know me, and I wanted you guys to know how great that is. Thank you!!! God bless;)

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 17, 2013

      Thank you for such a sweet comment Mariya, music to my ears :).

      Reply

  • Silvana
    February 6, 2013

    Dear Natasha. Do you know what is модифицированный картофельный крахмал(загуститель).сахарная пудра in english.
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 6, 2013

      Mодифицированный картофельный крахмал – modified potato starch and сахарная пудра – powdered sugar. Hope this helps :).

      Reply

  • Chef Moses Kelbatyrov
    January 20, 2013

    Natasha , Thank you so much for what you do! My wife Adores u. Christmas Day we were making Varonke My wife was Arguing With me Telling me I do not know how to make the dough! I started laughing She pulls up your blog And Begins to re make the dough!!!!!! We have been married 4 years. And have 2 Beautiful daughters. My wife (Irina) just started to cook The beginning part of last year After our second girl! Apparently I’m the cook of the household! Since I do professionally My Wife was counting on me to so all cooking at home.
    Irina claims that cooking is not her thing. And she never understand or took interest.
    I think the way you explain! The way you present! It helps people fall in love with cooking Russian style foods! I was raised in Cal all of my life! I really Did not know a lot about Slavic culture Especially Ukrainian. My wife was always afraid of the kitchen. Maybe because it’s a culture thing? Her mother is a wonderful cook! my wife never was interested in the kitchen, Until Her mom Told her to her About the blog. The last year she has been more confident! And has been trying to cook! I have to remind myself That is not my kitchen! Sometimes it’s hard. Especially their genre of food that I make. Personally I enjoy Russian food! But I have to admit that at times it could be bland, greasy , high in calories. Professionally The chef and for my catering company , Granary Kitchen. I have been taking the essence of a dish. Then fusing the dish With another culture. This style of food has exceeded my sales last two years! I realize that a lot of SonicFlood is like midwestern food! Nothing spicy nothing sweet more salty! Sour rather sweet! Last month I was following your blog! I have to admit I am impressed! If you are ever in Sacramento Contact me! I would love for you to come to our taste kitchen Granary Kitchen And have the opportunity to cook with you. I’ve also been recording a cooking instructional show. We only have completed three episodes. I would love for you to be a guess on one of them! I think it’s very important what you do. Growing up I would visit my friends houses I would see that the mom would hijacks the kitchen from everyone And would not let anyone near Because she was a perfectionist! I saw that a lot of times growing up With Ukrainian mothers Not all but some And that creates a this interest in the following generations, I think it’s important for Our children and our young people, To be included in the cooking process! So it wouldn’t get lost Some traditions And recipe are Which then you get generations without their identity a Slavic national treasure And a part of the make up of the identity of a culture, That is evolving into American only! Blogs like yours help with the transition Between grandma’s kitchen in mom’s kitchen! And makes the next-generation feel comfortable to make it their own kitchen! Thank you for your work I would love to get chance to work with you!

    Please think My page to yours! I would love to spread the word!

    Please email me at www.GranaryKitchen.com
    Moses@granarykitchen.com
    916-904-4775 sales

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 21, 2013

      I’d love to visit your restaurant some day! I really enjoyed reading your comment; I believe it’s the lengthiest one I’ve ever received. A cooking segment sounds amazing, but I’m only in Sacramento 1-2 times a year (my inlaws live there). I’m so glad your wife enjoys my blog. 🙂

      Reply

  • sveta
    January 16, 2013

    im so proud of u Natasha u are def the next food network star

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 16, 2013

      Thank you Sveta, you are too sweet :).

      Reply

  • Olena
    January 10, 2013

    Hi Natasha, this is my first time on the website, I love your dream and I think you are full of great ideas! I was looking for a napoleon cake recipe and yours looks very simple and delicious! I will be browsing your other recipes, I’m from Ukraine but when I moved to US I didn’t write down a lot of them, and now it’s hard to remember. I hope it’s OK to ask you if I have any more questions.

    You have a beautiful son, are you trying to teach him some Russian language? I also have a 5 year old daughter and we live in Indiana state; it’s been difficult to teach her Russian because nobody around speaks Russian.

    Have a nice day!

    Olena

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 10, 2013

      Welcome to the site Olena :). Feel free to ask questions any time. We are trying to teach our son Russian/Ukrainian, he seems to understand a lot but speaks mainly English. Its a little challenging.

      Reply

  • Anya
    January 7, 2013

    Love your recipes, especially Russian/Ukrainian 😉 Thank you for your wonderful website!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 8, 2013

      Thank you Anya. We are excited to start the new year. You will be seeing some video recipes as well very soon.

      Reply

  • Katie C.
    January 4, 2013

    Hi Natasha! I am so excited to find your website. I was looking for some Russian recipes to make as I am celebrating Russian Christmas this year with my new daughter Valeria, or as we call her Lera. We adopted her from St. Petersburg in June 2012, she is almost 5 years old, and we wanted to celebrate Russian Christmas on Monday. I invited a few close friends and family, two of my sisters who have also adopted a children from Russia. This is our first time celebrating, so I want it to be so special. I am going to try to make Nalesniki with cheese and pineapple, Golubtsi, and Russian Mushroom and potato soup. I am so excited and I just wanted you to know what a blessing your site is to me, as I want to make recipes that my daughter will love and maybe remind her of her Russian heritage. We live in South Carolina and poor Lera looks out of her window every morning to check for snow. I feel so bad because it never ever snows here, and I think she misses it. Thanks again, I will have to let you know how it turns out! Katie

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 4, 2013

      Welcome to the site Katie. I hope that you will find some new favorites that will remind Lera of her heritage :). I can’t wait to hear how everything turned out.

      Reply

  • Mariya F.
    January 3, 2013

    Hi Natasha, I just emailed u a really good recipe for ribs, hope you can try it out and post it someday if u end up liking it 😉 Take care!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 3, 2013

      I would love to give it a try. Email it to natashaskitchen(at)yahoo.com

      Reply

  • Katerina
    December 17, 2012

    Hi Natasha,

    I am so happy to have found your blog! I myself was adopted from Russia when I was 8, so I remember the awesomeness of Russian food 🙂 I love to cook, but haven’t tried many Slavic recipes yet; I will now, though 😀 I think I’ll start with your Mama’s Spartak cake.

    Love your blog!

    Katya

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 17, 2012

      Thank you Katya; I hope you love the recipes!

      Reply

  • Lily
    December 14, 2012

    Can you put a recipe for Cheesecake . Its always been my favorite . thank You so Much 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 14, 2012

      Here is the link for the cheesecake 🙂

      Reply

  • Irina
    December 9, 2012

    Hi, I am so happy to find this very well organised site concerning one of my favorite hobbies” Cooking”…I would like just to ask you Natasha if possible to get your recipes in Russian language ( or may be being published also in russian )! Thanks in advance…Looking forward! :).

    Reply

  • Mary
    December 2, 2012

    Hey Natasha,
    Where exactly do you buy Canadian flour? I was looking for it at winco and couldn’t seem to find it. Thanks

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 2, 2012

      It might be in a different section in your winco but I found it by the honey dispensers. I’d just ask a couple employees. Cash and carry has it too.

      Reply

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