Whether you’re a kitchen master or a microwave magician, food has a way of bringing people together — and giving us plenty to complain about.
From burning the toast to ordering something disappointing at a restaurant, we’ve all had our foodie fails. If you want a bigger menu of food vocabulary, see the Food topic list.
So, let’s tuck in and learn some tasty English phrasal verbs that will help you talk about cooking, eating, and everything in between — the good, the bad, and the burnt.
Phrasal Verbs for Cooking & Eating
Whip up
To prepare food quickly and easily.
‘I’ll whip up some pasta — it’ll only take ten minutes.’
Chop up
To cut something into small pieces.
‘Chop up the onions finely so no one cries too much.’
Boil over
When liquid in a pot rises and spills out while boiling.
‘Watch the soup or it’ll boil over!’
Fry up
To cook something by frying, often quickly or simply.
‘We’ll just fry up some eggs and call it dinner.’
Heat up
To make food warm again after it’s gone cold.
‘Can you heat up the leftovers from yesterday?’
Eat out
To have a meal at a restaurant instead of at home.
‘We eat out every Friday — it’s our little treat.’
Pig out (on)
To eat too much, usually junk food or treats.
‘We pigged out on pizza and ice cream last night.’
Cut down on
To reduce the amount of something you eat or drink.
‘I’m trying to cut down on sugar — it’s not going well.’
Tuck in
To start eating with enthusiasm.
‘Everything’s ready — tuck in before it gets cold!’
Warm up
Similar to ‘heat up’, to make food hot again.
‘I’ll warm up the curry from last night — it tastes even better today.’
Run out of
To have none left of something.
‘We’ve run out of milk again — typical.’
Throw away
To get rid of something, often food that’s gone bad.
‘Don’t throw away those bananas — they’re perfect for banana bread!’
Boil down to
To be the main reason or most important part of something.
‘Good cooking really just boils down to patience and salt.’
Live on
To survive by eating or depending mainly on one type of food.
‘At uni I lived on instant noodles — classy, I know.’
Pick at
To eat only a small amount of food because you’re not hungry or don’t like it.
‘He just picked at his salad and said he wasn’t hungry.’
Before You Go
So there you have it — a menu full of tasty phrasal verbs for your English learning appetite. Whether you’re whipping up dinner, eating out with mates, or complaining that your chips went cold, these are the phrases that will make your English sound deliciously natural.
Now go on — whip something up, tuck in, and remember: if it all goes wrong, just call it ‘rustic’ and carry on.