These are the most useful cooking-related verbs to help you follow recipes and talk about preparing food in French.

Common Cooking Actions

These are the basic cooking verbs you’ll see most often, along with example subjects and objects.

French Verb	English Verb	Example (French)	Example (English)
cuire	to cook	Je vais cuire le poulet.	I am going to cook the chicken.
couper	to cut	Il coupe les légumes.	He cuts the vegetables.
mélanger	to mix	Nous mélangeons la pâte.	We mix the dough.
battre	to beat	Elle bat les œufs.	She beats the eggs.
rôtir	to roast	Je rôtis un poulet.	I roast a chicken.
griller	to grill	Ils grillent du poisson.	They grill fish.
cuire au four	to bake	Je cuis un gâteau au four.	I bake a cake.
faire frire	to fry	On fait frire des pommes de terre.	We fry some potatoes.
éplucher	to peel	Tu épluches les carottes.	You peel the carrots.
assaisonner	to season	Elle assaisonne la salade.	She seasons the salad.
ajouter	to add	J’ajoute du sel.	I add salt.
laisser reposer	to let rest	Laissez reposer la pâte.	Let the dough rest.

Preparation Verbs

These verbs describe actions you do before cooking.

French Verb	English Verb	Example (French)	Example (English)
laver	to wash	Je lave les légumes.	I wash the vegetables.
émincer	to slice thinly	Il émince l’oignon.	He thinly slices the onion.
hacher	to chop	Je hache le persil.	I chop the parsley.
découper	to cut up	Elle découpe le poulet.	She cuts up the chicken.
préparer	to prepare	Nous préparons la sauce.	We prepare the sauce.
mesurer	to measure	Je mesure le sucre.	I measure the sugar.
tremper	to soak	Je trempe les pois chiches.	I soak the chickpeas.
délayer	to dilute	On délaye la farine dans l’eau.	We dilute the flour in water.
bouillir	to boil	Je fais bouillir de l’eau.	I boil some water.

Nous mélangeons la sauce.

Nous préparons la sauce.

Nous coupons la sauce.

Nous lavons la sauce.

Nous préparons la sauce.

'Préparer' means 'to prepare,' so 'Nous préparons la sauce' means 'We prepare the sauce.'

These verbs describe specific methods or styles of cooking.

French Verb	English Verb	Example (French)	Example (English)
poêler	to pan-fry	Je poêle les champignons.	I pan-fry the mushrooms.
mijoter	to simmer	La sauce mijote doucement.	The sauce simmers gently.
sauter	to sauté	Je saute les légumes.	I sauté the vegetables.
flamber	to flambé	Il flambe le steak au cognac.	He flambés the steak with cognac.
cuire à la vapeur	to steam	Je cuis les brocolis à la vapeur.	I steam the broccoli.
déglacer	to deglaze	Je déglace la poêle au vin.	I deglaze the pan with wine.
gratiner	to brown/gratin	Je gratine le fromage.	I brown the cheese.
caraméliser	to caramelize	Elle caramélise les pommes.	She caramelizes the apples.

Elle épluche les pommes.

Elle caramélise les pommes.

Elle coupe les pommes.

Elle gratine les pommes.

Elle caramélise les pommes.

'Caraméliser' means 'to caramelize,' so 'Elle caramélise les pommes' means 'She caramelizes the apples.'

These verbs relate to the final steps of cooking and serving food.

French Verb	English Verb	Example (French)	Example (English)
garnir	to garnish	Je garnis le plat de persil.	I garnish the dish with parsley.
servir	to serve	On sert le dîner.	We serve dinner.
napper	to coat/cover (with sauce)	Elle nappe le gâteau de chocolat.	She coats the cake with chocolate.
décorer	to decorate	Je décore les cupcakes.	I decorate the cupcakes.
refroidir	to cool	Laissez refroidir le gâteau.	Let the cake cool.

Here are some extra verbs that can be useful when talking about cooking and recipes.

French Verb	English Verb	Example (French)	Example (English)
goûter	to taste	Goûte la soupe !	Taste the soup!
répéter	to repeat	Répète la recette.	Repeat the recipe.
réussir	to succeed	Le gâteau a réussi !	The cake turned out well!
rater	to fail	J’ai raté la sauce.	I failed the sauce.
suivre	to follow	Suivez la recette.	Follow the recipe.
partager	to share	Je partage le dessert.	I share the dessert.
attendre	to wait	Attends 10 minutes.	Wait 10 minutes.
couper en morceaux	to cut into pieces	Je coupe en morceaux.	I cut into pieces.
mélanger délicatement	to fold (gently)	Mélangez délicatement la pâte.	Fold the batter gently.

Now you have the full set of French cooking verbs to prepare, cook, and talk about food with confidence!

Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025