10 Recipes Inspired by I Love Lucy (2024)

Home Recipes Cooking Style Comfort Food

Take a bite out of the beloved sitcom with these recipes inspired by I Love Lucy.

1/10

Inspired by: Job Switching

In one of the show’s most famous episodes, Lucy and Ethel get into an argument with Ricky and Fred about which is harder: housework or holding a job. As a result, Lucy and Ethel decide to get jobs at a local candy factory. When things don’t go well, the women battle a lightening-fast conveyer belt by stuffing their pockets, and mouths, with excess chocolates.
Check out recipes inspired by more vintage TV shows here.

2/10

Inspired by: Job Switching

In the same episode, Ricky and Fred attempt to do the laundry and cook Ricky’s favorite dinner, Arroz con Pollo. When the men start off by measuring a pound of rice per person, it isn’t long before the rice is overflowing out of the pot and the chicken explodes out of a pressure cooker.

3/10

Inspired by: Lucy's Italian Movie

To gain a better understanding of Italian culture, Lucy visits a winery. While there, she tries her hand at grape stomping, which quickly turns into a fight with her fellow stomper.

4/10

Inspired by: Lucy Hires an English Tutor

Lucy’s pregnancy cravings begin to hit, and they hit hard. Rather than eating her papaya juice milkshake with a spoon or straw, Lucy eats it with an entire deli dill pickle.

5/10

Inspired by: Ricky Has Labor Pains

In the next episode, Lucy sends Ricky out in the middle of the night for pistachio ice cream topped with rich chocolate fudge and… sardines. Though disgusted by his wife’s combination at first, Ricky eventually takes a huge bite of the fish and chocolate sundae.

6/10

Inspired by: The Diner

When the couples decide to run a diner together, they quickly dissolve into bickering over the division of labor. Splitting the diner in two to see who runs a better restaurant, the Mertzes and Ricardos get into a price war for a hamburger to win over a lone customer.

7/10

Inspired by: Visitor from Italy

Lucy steps in at a pizza parlor when her and Ricky’s Italian friend isn’t able to work his shift. This leads to Lucy tossing, rolling and throwing her way around the restaurant’s kitchen, dropping nearly every pizza dough she touches.

8/10

Inspired by: Be a Pal

Trying to keep her marriage interesting, Lucy follows advice from the book How to Keep the Honeymoon from Ending. This leads to Lucy recreating Ricky’s Cuban hometown and dressing as Carmen Miranda, fruit hat and all!

9/10

Inspired by: Deep Sea Fishing

Betting their husbands $150 that they can get a bigger catch while on a fishing trip, Lucy and Ethel buy a 100-pound tuna to ensure they win the bet. The only problem is, Ricky and Fred also bought a 100-pound tuna!

10/10

Inspired by: Pioneer Women

In an attempt to live without the conveniences of modern technology, like dishwashers and store-bought butter, the couples try their hand at living like it’s 1890. While making homemade bread, Lucy misreads the instructions and accidentally bakes an eight-foot long loaf!

Caroline has been with Taste of Home for the past seven years, working in both print and digital. After starting as an intern for the magazine and special interest publication teams, Caroline was hired as the third-ever digital editor for Taste of Home. Since then, she has researched, written and edited content on just about every topic the site covers, including cooking techniques, buzzy food news, gift guides and many, many recipe collections. Caroline also acts as the editorial lead for video, working with the Test Kitchen, videographers and social media team to produce videos from start to finish.When she’s not tip-tapping on a keyboard, Caroline is probably mixing up a killer co*cktail, reading a dog-eared library book or cooking up a multi-course feast (sometimes all at once). Though she technically lives in Milwaukee, there is a 50/50 chance Caroline is in Chicago or southwest Michigan visiting her close-knit family.