The English words for meals, ingredients, cooking and eating out, each with its CEFR level, so you can start with the words a beginner needs and add the rest later.
For anyone who wants to order in a restaurant, follow a recipe or talk about what they eat.
Food is one of the first topics every course teaches, and one of the widest. The A1 words (bread, egg, apple) come up every day. The B1 and B2 words (ingredient, portion, nutrition) are the ones you need to read a recipe or a menu without guessing.
Beginners who want the everyday words first, and intermediate learners who can already order a coffee but get stuck when a conversation turns to cooking or diet.
Learn the words in groups you would use together: a meal and what is on the plate, a verb and what you do it to (peel a potato, slice bread). Say them out loud when you cook or shop, because that is where you will need them.
She lost her appetite.
The apple was falling.
The bacon smells good.
Bake until golden brown.
I ate your banana.
I eat one bean.
I tried the beef.
I would like a cold beer, please.
Bill has stopped smoking.
Help yourself to a biscuit.
The medicine is bitter.
The boil on my skin is very painful.
He boiled some eggs.
This bottle is empty.
The bowl is white.
That man ate bread.
I enjoy making breakfast.
Eating broccoli is healthy.
Order me a burger.
With or without butter?
Cabbage is in season.
We left the cafe.
I passed the cake.
You should check your calorie intake.
The carrot is orange.
My breakfast was cereal.
Frank eats some cheese.
Are you the chef?
The table was made of beautiful cherry wood.
I feel like chicken.
Dark chocolate is healthy.
I chop down trees.
Then everyone drank coffee.
My new cooker is much faster than my old one.
Cookie is always hungry.
I enjoy buttered corn.
Serve cold with cream.
The cucumber is green.
This cup is mine.
I ate curry yesterday.
That looks really delicious!
The dessert was great.
Maintain a healthy diet.
Thanks for making dinner.
Is the dish hot?
They always drink alone.
I want an egg.
We ate fast food for dinner.
Fish stocks are low.
What flavour is it?
It is this flour.
I ate that food.
Eat with your fork.
Do you have a freezer?
The cake is fresh.
The fridge is empty!
He fried some eggs.
I weighed the fruit.
Fry yourself an egg.
The frying pan is rusty.
You smell like garlic.
The glass was empty.
This is grape juice.
The grill is hot.
I made grilled meat.
She baked a ham.
This herb adds a wonderful flavor to the soup.
Honey bees are vegetarians.
I was getting hungry.
Long live ice cream!
The main ingredient is sugar.
She loves strawberry jam.
Open the jam jar.
I love orange juice.
The kitchen faces south.
Put the knife back.
I had the lamb.
It smells like lemon.
We washed the lettuce.
The loaf is small.
The lunch was great.
The main course for dinner was roast chicken.
Pick up the mango.
Enjoy your meal, everyone!
The cat ate meat.
Who cut the melon?
I read the menu.
Open the microwave door.
He needs some milk.
Is this mushroom poisonous?
Pass the mustard, please.
This is a nut.
Read the nutrition information.
The oil is low.
The omelette will include cheese.
This is an onion.
An orange is orange.
The oven is on.
One last pancake, please.
I fancy some pasta.
Do you like pea soup?
This peach is juicy.
He wants peanut butter.
I want a pear.
Peel me an orange.
Do you eat pepper?
This pie is delicious.
This is pineapple juice.
I want some pizza.
This plate is round.
Nobody ordered pork chops.
Everybody gets their portion.
I like potato crisps.
The prawn cocktail was delicious.
I need more protein.
This is raw meat.
The recipe is easy.
I love this restaurant.
Who cooked the rice?
I like roast chicken.
I made the salad.
This tastes like salmon.
It has enough salt.
Why is seawater salty?
I have a sandwich.
Is tomato sauce healthy?
Pour the milk into a saucepan.
I like dried sausage.
I like eating seafood.
Could you slice the potatoes?
I ate a small snack after school.
Would you like a cold soft drink with your meal?
Soup should be hot.
This milk is sour.
May I have spaghetti?
The spice must flow.
It was too spicy.
Eat all your spinach!
This is my spoon.
The steak was excellent.
She had a stew.
Add water and stir.
She loves strawberry jam.
Any milk or sugar?
Have I missed supper?
The apple is sweet.
Should I ring for a takeaway now or when we get home?
These pancakes taste good.
The nuts are tasty.
The tea is cold.
The insect is thirsty.
Leave me a tip.
I propose a toast.
Is tomato sauce healthy?
I had the tuna.
I love vegetable soup.
Is she a vegetarian?
Vinegar is an acid.
Do you take vitamin pills?
Are you a waiter?
The waitress saw nothing.
The water is dirty.
Is this red wine?
Do you like yogurt?
Some example sentences come from the Tatoeba Project (tatoeba.org), CC BY 2.0 FR. The rest were written for MindDory. Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR.
A list has an end. The words you keep for good usually turn up somewhere else — in a page you read, a show you watched, or a conversation you had — one at a time, and rarely at the level you planned for.
MindDory connects to Claude, Cursor, and other assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol, so a word you meet while you are chatting is saved to your deck as a flashcard without you leaving the conversation. There is no copy and paste, no CSV export, and no browser extension.