The Best Messy Recipes (And How to Clean Up After Them)

Cooking is all about digging in and getting your hands dirty. Some ingredients in particular (often the best) are particularly good for dirty hands. Chocolate, tomatoes, and red wine are hazards to be sure, but what are you gonna do? Not eat them? Here are five of our most delicious messy recipes, and a few tips for cleaning up after them so you can eat with abandon.

This soup is comfort food at its best — rich, creamy, and the perfect deep red-orange. Just watch out; it’ll do a number on your white linen tablecloth. If that happens, soak your linens in a mixture of warm water and OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover to bring them back to life.

There’s no way you can improve on this classic kids’ favorite. Except for doing this! Make the spaghetti and meatballs as usual, then top it with mozzarella and bake it all in the oven. You can let it brown a little, or take it out just before for maximally gooey cheese. Kids love this dish almost as much as they love smearing the sauce and noodles all over their face, the high chair, and the floor.

Real hot chocolate (vs. hot cocoa) is made from whole milk, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and about a candy bar’s worth of dark chocolate. It’s pure warmth and sweetness on a cold day, especially when you add marshmallows. Use dark chocolate in the 60-percent range or higher. As for the dairy, the richer the better. The recipe above uses whole milk, but if you’re feeling decadent you can use half-and-half or heavy cream.

Piled high on hearty toast, this delicious egg and avocado salad upgrades a morning staple with greek yogurt, fresh herbs, and scallions. It’s also the perfect breakfast-in-bed treat for combining your #iwokeuplikethis and #avocadotoast posts.

A crunchy snack and dessert in one, this salty-sweet treat is objectively best eaten while watching your favorite movie on the sofa. Don’t fret. OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover works on upholstery, too.

^{This post is sponsored by the maker of OxiClean™ and was created by the Apartment Therapy Creative Studio.
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