This Gal Cooks

Top Ten Recipe Posts of 2013

Good morning! I’d like to thank all of you for making this a fantastic year for This Gal Cooks! At the beginning of the year, in January, I was only getting around 30k page views per month. Now I’m up to 200k! This wouldn’t be possible without all of YOU!

Top Ten of 2013 - This Gal Cooks

Thank you for all of your lovely comments, recipe feedback, shares and post love! You all are amazing. I’m looking forward to another amazing year in 2014. Have a lovely New Years and a great 2014.

As you can see, 6 of the ten recipes in my top ten were posted in the second half of the year (you can see the dates in the links in the image below.) Normally, I think top posts for blogs are posts posted at the beginning of the year but my blog was still fairly new at the beginning of the year. It’s grown quite a bit since then. (Thank you Aimee (Shugary Sweets) for the Analytics report.)

Top Ten Recipes of 2013

We’re going to count backwards from the number 10 recipe. Just click the images to view the recipes.

Top Ten Recipe Posts of 2013

{click images to view recipes}

10. Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins

10. Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins

These muffins went viral on Pinterest. They were super easy to make and full of blueberry flavor. This was a semi-homemade treat. The base was from cake mix but the blueberry topping was my Homemade Blueberry Preserves.

10. Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowls

9. Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowls

I attribute the success of this recipe to my 10 Super Simple Crockpot Chicken Recipes roundup. You’ll find the link to that post below, as it was in the top ten this year!

9. Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

8. Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Wow, people love spaghetti sauce, especially when it’s made in a crockpot! The success of this recipe was due to Pinterest, Google Search and the success of my Twenty Minute Easy Tortellini Bake. You’ll find the link to that recipe below as it was in the top 10 this year!

8. Raspberry Lemon Muffins

7. Raspberry Lemon Muffins

The success of this recipe is due to a few pins going viral on Pinterest. For a good part of the beginning of the year, this recipe was in my top 10 posts. People loved the raspberry topping!

7. Tomato Bacon Spinach Quiche

6. Tomato Bacon Spinach Quiche

This Tomato Bacon Spinach Quiche was pretty darn popular on Pinterest. Oh the power of the pin!

6. 10 Homemade Holiday Appetizers

5. 10 Homemade Holiday Appetizers

This appetizer roundup was actually posted in November but it went viral on Pinterest. Paula (Call Me PMc) and I put a series of holiday recipe posts together, which were well received by our readers and the Pinterest community!

4. How to Roast Poblano Peppers

4. How to Roast Poblano Peppers

This isn’t really a recipe but a how to. And apparently a lot of people search Google to find out how to roast Poblano peppers. The success of this recipe is totally due to high ranking in Google search results!

3. Twenty Minute Easy Tortellini Bake

3. Twenty Minute Easy Tortellini Bake

This Easy Tortellini Bake not only went viral on Pinterest, it was also picked up by AllFreeCasseroleRecipes.com. The recipe has also had some success in the world of Google – it has gotten traffic from Google Search results.

2. Homemade Cornbread Dressing

2. Homemade Cornbread Dressing

I posted this Homemade Cornbread Dressing in late November, about a week before Thanksgiving. It’s success was due to showing up as the third item in Google Search results. This recipe brought thousands of page views to my site within a week of being posted. hey, it’s delicious. What can I say!?

1. Ten Super Simple Crockpot Chicken Recipes

1. Ten Super Simple Crockpot Chicken Recipes

This Crockpot Chicken Roundup is by far the most popular recipe this year. The success is a combination of Pinterest traffic and Google Search result traffic. Since posting this roundup, my number one traffic referrer is Google. Check out the great recipes if you haven’t already!

And there you have it, folks! These were the top ten recipes posts on This Gal Cooks for 2013. Notice that only two of them were sweets? I always thought people went crazy over the sweets (cause I know I do!) but my savory dishes are more popular than my sweet treats. But don’t worry, you’ll still see sweet treats from me in 2014.

Have a lovely and safe New Years.

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39 comments on “Top Ten Recipe Posts of 2013”

  1. Wow, that is amazing, Julie! As always, love all of your recipes. And I hope that 2014 is even bigger and better!

  2. You’ve got great numbers there, with some fabulous dishes! I love so many things it’s impossible to pick a favorite, but that tortellini bake really does look scrumptious. Happy 2014, Julie!

  3. I can see why these all made the top 10 cut! Awesome ideas. :)

  4. They all look yummy! What a great year for you! Congratulations and wishing you a great 2014.

  5. Oh my!! What great recipes!! Love that your numbers increased rapidly too this year. Congratulations Julie!! I don;t see my favorite quick bolognese sauce on the list. Must be I should re-pin :) Happy New Year!

  6. Your Chicken Crockpot Recipes post stayed in my top referrals for weeks, so thank you! =) Here’s to 2014!

  7. Great round up Julie, these all look delicious! I’m so glad to have found your site this year too and would love to try so many of these recipes :) Here’s to another fantastic 2014 and can’t wait to see what you make :) Hope you have a Happy New Year!

  8. I should could use one of those Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins- that’s for certain!

  9. Congratulations on your amazing growth this year, Julie! Love seeing this list of your top 10. All these recipes and posts are fab. Happy New Year!

  10. It looks like it was a great year for you! Congrats on all the progress you’ve made in 2013. Happy New Year!

  11. Well, you know I love all your recipes! I can’t wait to see what you make for 2014… pinning! Have a Happy New Year friend!

  12. Happy New Year Julie! I just love seeing what was most popular on all my favorite blogs, here’s to a fantastic 2014 :)

  13. Happy New Year, Julie!! I am so glad This Gal Cooks had so much success in 2013 and I know that 2014 will be even better! Thanks for including me in your #1 Crock Pot Chicken Recipe round up – it sure has been popular! All the best in 2014. xo

  14. These are all wonderful recipes! Love your photos! Have a Happy Healthy New Year! :)

  15. Congratulations on a successful year! I always enjoy your posts– your writing, recipes and photography are all excellent and among the best out there. I am sure you’ll see that same growth (and more!) again this year. All the best to you in 2014!

  16. May this year be more big for you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
    Great recipes my dear. Thanks for sharing some wonderful food with us.

  17. All recipes are Great! Thanks for sharing!! I will be trying the Crockpot chicken enchilada rice bowls tomorrow morning!! Have a wonderful 2014.

  18. Julie, I loved every single one of these recipes and it’s great to see them all again! No way I can pick a favorite! :) Thanks for sharing so much inspiration throughout the year and for your friendship. Wishing you a happy and wonderful 2014 and looking forward to a great year!

  19. I’m headed over to a few of these now to pin but seriously, you have to tell me your SEO secrets! You do so well with Google – I’m jealous :)

    • Hi Trish! I’ve been using the Yoast SEO plugin. Before I title my posts, I go down to the keyword section and play around with keywords. When I get something that ranks high in the list, I incorporate the keyword into my title. For example, my most recent post, Savory Mushrooms with Orzo, I played around with words and saw that “Mushrooms with Orzo” was a phrase that is often searched for in Google. So I used that along with “Savory” to title my recipe. Hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by. :)

  20. Amazing! All the items are unique and tasty. I have tasted a few from here and you can trust me that these menus are awesome.