12 Stars Who Showed Us Their Kitchens, and the Apple Cake Jennifer Garner’s Mom Says Counts as Breakfast

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10/25/2026
12 Stars Who Showed Us Their Kitchens, and the Apple Cake Jennifer Garner’s Mom Says Counts as Breakfast

Every time my sisters show my mom a celebrity kitchen on their phones, she asks the same thing: where do they keep the dishes? Her rule is that a kitchen is good if four daughters fit in it and nobody blocks the stove. These 12 stars opened their own kitchens to us, and most of them would pass her test.

Ina Garten’s Barn Kitchen, Where Summer Means Paella Cooked Outside

Ina Garten, 78, cooks and films in a barn next to her house in East Hampton; she has written that roast chicken is her husband Jeffrey’s favorite Friday night dinner.

“There’s nothing better than cooking outside in the summer! We’ve been playing around with paella recipes at the Barn. Does anyone have a great recipe they can recommend?”

Ree Drummond’s Ranch Kitchen and the Cookies She Hides as a Birthday Present for Her Grown Son

Ree Drummond cooks and films her show on the family’s cattle ranch near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, where she and her husband, Ladd, raised their kids.

“Birthday present for my youngest. Oatmeal Crispies are 100% his love language. (Shhh. Don’t tell him!)”

Martha Stewart’s Farm Kitchen and the Menu She Planned for Her Granddaughter’s Visit

Martha Stewart, 85, cooks at her farm in Bedford, New York; Jude is the older of her two grandchildren, the children of her daughter, Alexis.

“Getting ready for the newly Vegan Grandaughter Jude’s visit to Bedford okra tomato pepper stew, Brazilian red onion rice, dashi soup with mushrooms etc etc !!!!”

From the author:

My mom plans menus the way Martha does, out loud, with a lot of etc etc. When one of the grandkids announces a new food rule, she doesn’t argue. She just makes one extra dish and sets it at that kid’s end of the table. Seven grandkids, and not one has ever had to ask twice. The extra dish is how my mom says she was listening.

Jennifer Garner’s Kitchen and the Apple Cake Her Mom Says Counts as Breakfast

Jennifer Garner films her Pretend Cooking Show in her own kitchen, often with her mom, Pat, who grew up on a farm in Oklahoma.

“Apple Cake tastes like autumn, even as LA boils in October heat. A very happy dessert, snack after school......breakfast? My mom says yes.”

Nigella Lawson’s Busy-Day Lunch: Rice Started Early in a Little Rice Cooker

Nigella Lawson has written more than a dozen cookbooks since How to Eat came out in 1998.

“I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to make lunch today, so put some red rice (along with a sprinkling of seaweed flakes) into my little rice cooker so that it would be ready and waiting patiently for urgent eating later.
Then, once I’d unpacked my Friday haul, I tossed a handful of samphire into a pan with a little chilli oil and, when warm, added some clams and steamed them. A scant five mins later, I tumbled them, plus samphire and the fiery, briny juices, into the rice (anointed with a few dots of toasted sesame oil) and dived in. An odd combo maybe, but heaven!”

Carrie Underwood Baked Brownies From Zucchini Flour She Made From Her Own Giant Zucchinis

Carrie Underwood grows much of her own produce in her garden in Tennessee.

“Had some zucchini flour that I made with my freeze dryer last year from zucchinis that got giant in my garden. Wasn’t sure what to do with it so I used some today to make some cakey brownies. Pretty dang good, if I may say so myself. I am NOT A CHEF or BAKER OF ANY KIND!”

Trisha Yearwood’s Potato Salad, the First Recipe Her Mama Gave Her Over the Phone

Trisha Yearwood wrote her first cookbook, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, with her mother and sister in 2008.

“Happy 18th Anniversary to the one that started it all... ‘Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen’ — I made the potato salad this weekend — it was the first recipe Mama gave me over the phone from Georgia when I first moved to Nashville and was so homesick. I still have that original cookbook.”

From the author:
When I moved out, my mom didn’t give me recipes. She gave me phone calls. I’d call from the grocery store, and she’d say buy the onions that feel heavy, then hang up, because the stove was on at her end too. I still don’t have her lasagna recipe written down anywhere. Every time I call for it, she starts with the same question: are you near a pen? I never am.

Hoda Kotb’s Kitchen Island, Where Gifts From Friends Are on Full Display

Hoda Kotb left the TODAY show in January 2025, after 17 years, to spend more time with her two daughters.

“As I’m heading out this morning... I looked at the centerpiece of our island... These were some beautiful gifts from the women who came to our retreat last month...Just wanted you to know they’re on full display XO”

Valerie Bertinelli Declared Sunday Apple Fritter Day in Her Kitchen

Valerie Bertinelli hosted Valerie’s Home Cooking on Food Network and has written several cookbooks.

“it’s apple fritter day! It’s not a thing, but it should be a thing, let’s make it a thing”

Giada De Laurentiis Made Simple Bagels for the Cheese King, Her Dance Partner

Giada De Laurentiis, who was born in Rome, now cooks on a YouTube series with Alan Bersten, her partner on this season of Dancing With the Stars.

“We’re back in the kitchen... the cheese king requested bagels, so super simple bagels it is (topped with cheese)”

From the author:
At my parents’ house, the kitchen island is wherever my dad sets down whatever he is fixing. Right now it is a toaster, in pieces, on a dish towel. My mom cooks around it the way you walk around a sleeping dog. Every kitchen on this list looks finished in the photos. Ours never did, and nobody ever went hungry.

Rachael Ray’s Kitchen Rule: Your Hand Is the Original Measuring Spoon

Rachael Ray never went to culinary school and built her TV career on 30-minute meals.

“When you’re seasoning as you go, don’t overthink it. A little pinch, a little palmful, a little confidence is all you need to cook by feel. Your food will thank you.”

Pamela Anderson Cooks on the Farm Where She Grew Up, Which She Bought From Her Grandmother

Pamela Anderson grew up in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island and lives on the property she bought from her grandmother, where she films Pamela’s Cooking With Love; her 2024 cookbook, I Love You, grew out of the meals she makes there.

“Cooking with Love... our little show that’s everything I could ask for—my garden, a little farm on Vancouver Island, and chefs from all over the world. I’m so happy that so many of you have loved it—It’s been a dream come true. ... and fun, fun, fun.”

The last kitchen on this list sits on the land where Pamela Anderson grew up, on a farm she bought from her grandmother. She calls the show she films there a dream come true. Famous or not, every kitchen here works the same way: somebody cooks the thing their people keep asking for.

Which celebrity would you most like to have Sunday dinner with in their own kitchen? Tell us in the comments.

Preview photo credit jennifer.garner / Instagram

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