Scottish recipes, proper comfort food and making the classics you grew up eating the VERY best they can be.
Hello! I'm Lauren Gourlay, the Scottish food creator and recipe developer behind Lauren's Cravings.
I'm a Mum of two from Glasgow, Scotland, with a love for good food, generous portions, proper gravy and a belief that some of the best meals you'll ever eat are the ones that remind you of home.
I'm passionate about traditional Scottish recipes, hearty homemade soups and comforting family favourites. But more than anything, I want to help you take the dishes you already know and love and make them even better.
Because there's a difference between knowing how to cook something and knowing how to make it really well. And don't just take my word for it - see what Jo has to say about my lasagne recipe:
"I made this for my partner and 4 teenagers this week. An absolute cracker! I used beef/pork mince and subbed out the wine for extra stock (drank the wine 😂). I cooked the ragu for a good 2-3 hours. It was just incredible. I’ve been making lasagnes for 30 years and this got everybody’s vote as the best ever"
What You'll Find on Lauren's Cravings
If you love food that tastes like home, you're in the right place. You'll find:
- Traditional Scottish recipes: The dishes I grew up eating, from family favourites to nostalgic Scottish baking.
- Proper comfort food: Pies, casseroles, slow-cooked dinners, rich sauces and hearty meals worth sitting down for.
- Homemade soup recipes: From Scottish classics to seasonal soups perfect for batch cooking and filling your freezer.
- Classic cakes and bakes: Traditional puddings, family recipes and indulgent desserts.
- Cooking tips and techniques: Practical advice to help you understand your ingredients, build flavour and get the best possible results.
Above all, I want you to rediscover the joy of cooking food from scratch and sharing it with the people you love.
Bringing Back the Classics (+ Making Them Better!)
I started Lauren's Cravings in 2018, sharing the food I loved cooking and eating. Over the years, it's grown into a community of people who share my appreciation for proper, home-cooked food.
My approach to cooking is simple: good food doesn't need to be complicated, but understanding how to build flavour makes all the difference.
I'm not interested in reinventing a classic for the sake of it. I'm interested in understanding what makes it so good in the first place, and finding ways to make it the very best version it can be.
Whether that's choosing the right cut of beef for a beautifully tender Slow Cooker Steak Pie, perfecting the texture of homemade Fruit Scones or building a peppercorn sauce that's better than anything you'll get from a packet.
It's about those little details that turn an ordinary dinner into something you can't wait to make again.
Scottish Food Is at the Heart of What I Do
I grew up eating the kind of traditional Scottish food that's been served around family dinner tables for generations.
Mince and tatties, steak and sausage pie, stewed sausages and big bowls of homemade soup with thick slices of buttered bread.
Some of my earliest food memories are of learning to bake with my Gran, visiting the greengrocers with my Papa, getting behind the butcher's counter as a child and eating fresh fish delivered by the fish van every Friday.
Those experiences shaped the way I think about food today. And now, as a Mum myself, there's something particularly special about cooking the same dishes for my own children.
You'll find plenty of traditional Scottish recipes here, including Scottish Stovies, Mince and Dumplings and my Gran's Fruit Loaf. I want to preserve these recipes, share the stories behind them and make sure the next generation knows how to cook them.
But I'm equally passionate about celebrating the quality of the ingredients we produce here in Scotland. From our farmers and butchers to fishermen and local producers, I believe understanding where our food comes from, how it's produced and why that matters is just as important as knowing how to cook it.
A Particular Love for Homemade Soup
If you've followed me for any length of time, you'll know I have a bit of a thing for soup.
And not just any soup. I'm talking thick, hearty, full-of-flavour soup that could practically be a meal in itself.
My Soup Sunday series celebrates everything I love about homemade soup, from traditional Scottish favourites to comforting recipes that make the most of seasonal ingredients.
My Scottish Lentil and Ham Hough Soup has become one of my most popular recipes on social media, with people telling me it tastes just like the soup their Mum or Granny used to make.
And that, to me, is the best compliment.
You'll also find recipes for Scotch Broth, Scottish Tattie Soup and plenty of other homemade soups designed to be enjoyed with a generous helping of buttered bread.
Because if there's one thing I believe, it's that a good bowl of soup deserves equally good bread for dunking.
Butter yer bread, folks!
My Experience & Work in Scottish Food
Since starting Lauren's Cravings in 2018, I've turned my love of cooking into a full-time career, developing and sharing recipes that celebrate traditional Scottish food, proper comfort cooking and quality ingredients.
My work goes beyond creating recipes for social media. I regularly develop and test recipes, work alongside food producers and share practical cooking advice to help people understand not just how to cook, but why certain ingredients and techniques make a difference.
I'm particularly proud to have been nominated for Content Creator of the Year at the 2026 British Farming Awards, recognising my work highlighting British farming, food provenance and the people behind the food we eat.
I've also worked with organisations and producers including Make It Scotch (Quality Meat Scotland), helping raise awareness of Scottish meat, quality assurance and the importance of knowing where our food comes from.
Through my recipes, partnerships and visits to producers, I hope to continue championing Scottish food, supporting the people who produce it and encouraging more people to cook confidently from scratch.
Lauren's Cravings - As Seen In:
Let's Cook Something Good!
Whether you've come here looking for a traditional Scottish recipe, a comforting Sunday dinner or a big pot of homemade soup, I hope you find something that becomes a favourite in your own home.
And if you do make one of my recipes, please leave a rating or comment. I love hearing how you've got on, especially when a recipe brings back memories of something you grew up eating.
You can also subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Instagram, Tik Tok, or YouTube for the latest updates; where I share new recipes, cooking tips, behind-the-scenes content and plenty of good food.
Butter yer bread, folks!
Lauren x
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