Chefs Share Their Favorite Late-Night Snack Recipes

Since we're all currently stuck at home and becoming the home chefs we were always meant to be, it seems only natural that we partake in the occasional midnight meal. I mean, at this point I've eaten cereal, eggs, and banana bread for dinner -- gathering only the available ingredients I've stocked in my fridge and pantry to try and come up with something to satisfy my hunger in the earliest hours. Time is but a construct.

The same applies for chefs. 19 of the nation's top chefs let us in on what they personally indulge in when the clock nears (or passes) midnight. Some of these recipes are meant to help with hangovers, others cap the day off on a high note, and some just fully embrace the culinary hedonism that can come with being a professional chef. Here are our findings, and some inspiration you can use when crafting up your own midnight snack.

"I’m not usually hungry throughout the day, most likely because I taste so many items while at work at Tanta, but once I head home late at night my first thought is 'what am I going to eat?' One of my favorite late night snacks since I was a kid is 'Salchipapa' -- the Peruvian street food. I remember going to the corner store as a kid as there used to be a small cart with a very kind gentleman who made the best Salchipapa in the neighborhood.

So once I have a craving for Salchipapa I start by peeling and cutting potatoes into wedges and frying them. After they’re fried I cook some Spanish pork sausage and break it up in the pan – it smells amazing and they have just the right amount of fat. I also cut a good beef hot dog into thin slices and let them cook along with a nice egg over easy finished with avocado, mayo, yellow mustard, ketchup, and Peruvian Aji sauce. Paired with a Riesling or a Lambrusco -- salchipapa is a perfect midnight snack." -- Giancarlo Valera, Tanta, (Chicago, Illinois) Open for delivery/pick-up; Employee Relief Fund

“After a long day, the easiest and most satisfying meal to make is a Seinfeld-style ‘big salad’! I love crunchy lettuce, so I make sure to have romaine hearts or iceberg lettuce in the refrigerator at all times. Cucumber, tomato, and red onion are always included but the key ingredients to bring this gem of a salad together are artichoke hearts, pepperoncini peppers, and hard salami. I top it off with a homemade dressing made out of red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano and salt and pepper. The best part of this meal is that I put all ingredients into a huge pot, mix it up and eat it right out of the pot, no other plating necessary!" -- Tony Galzin, Nicky’s Coal Fired, (Nashville, Tennessee) Temporarily closed

“One of my absolute favorite midnight snacks is Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino. I love this dish because it is so simple, so delicious, and so easy to make. The dish is done within a couple of minutes and only consists of a few basic ingredients: Spaghetti with Garlic, EVOO, and Red Pepper. All of these ingredients are all items that I always keep home.” -- Simone Falco, SIMÒ Pizza and Rossopomodoro, (New York, New York) Rossopomodoro temporarily closed; SIMÒ open for delivery/pick-up 

"Use leftover waffles or frozen waffles from your freezer to make a sandwich. Use a skillet to make a hot ham, bacon & American cheese waffle sandwich. Add lettuce, tomato, and a mustard, honey aioli sauce. If you want to get really fun with it you can also add crushed up potato chips drenched in hot sauce to your sandwich to offer a satisfying crunch." -- Jose Guerrero, ViewHouse (Denver, Colorado) Open for delivery/pick-up 

"My guilty pleasure is McDonald’s but when I’m home, my go-to is instant noodles. I’ll take Shin Ramyun, adding two cracked eggs into the boiling water. While that’s cooking, I fry up whatever protein I have in the fridge -- beef, pork, shrimp, spam -- or a combo of all of it. Once the noodles are done, I pair it with the protein and then add scallions and bean sprouts.” -- David Choi, Seoul Taco, (Locations all over Missouri and Illinois) Open for delivery/pick-up 

“Right now, my favorite midnight snack, that also happens to be carb-free, is deli ham, salami or corned beef wrapped around Boursin cheese and a Claussen pickle! It’s easy, cold, and my doc would approve!” -- Ryan McCaskey, Acadia, (Chicago, Illinois) Open for delivery/pick-up Tues-Sat; FREE market for restaurant industry only on Saturdays

“I try to avoid cutting or burning myself at all costs, especially after midnight when I may or may not be inebriated. My current go-to late night favorite snack is an Elvis inspired smoothie bowl. With no sharp objects required, it starts with a heaping spoonful of peanut butter then topped with Greek yogurt and sliced bananas. I typically go on a full pantry raid looking for crunchy and chocolatey items. Some of my healthiest choices have included esoteric food erotica such as cacao nibs, wildflower honey, chia seeds, and Marcona almonds. On the flip side of my culinary scumbaggery, my preference shifts towards bacon bits, chopped up butterfingers, and a few more shots of amaro. Though whichever adventure I choose, this king size snack usually prevents me from getting sick all over my blue suede shoes or otherwise feeling like a hunka-hunka pile of burning poo.” -- Nick Korbee, Egg Shop (New York, New York) Temporarily closed

“Nachos are my favorite late night snack. I’ll combine all the tasty leftovers in the fridge -- shwarma, roasted chicken, short ribs, roasted veggies -- as well as freshly sliced avocados, a dash of sour cream, and cheese. Even late night I”ll go to my garden and pick my cilantro, chilies and tomatoes for a house made salsa. It’s a fairly simple recipe and only takes a few minutes!” -- John Lechleidner, WP24 by Wolfgang Puck ( Los Angeles, California) Temporarily closed

“I almost always have leftover takeout rice, eggs and some random combination of Asian condiments in my refrigerator, so when I need a quick late-nick snack, I’m looking for some way to throw all those ingredients in a bowl. I just scramble eggs into the rice and cook slowly while I get all my other toppings together. My favorite combination is gochujang, toasted sesame seeds or togarashi, green onions, and cilantro. If I have any crunchy vegetables, I'll toss that in some rice vinegar and put it on top to feel better about my life choices!" -- Molly Martin, Juniper Green (Nashville, Tennessee) Catering business creating meals for first responders

“After a long night out on the town or just a long shift in the kitchen, my go-to is a good and messy fried bologna sandwich. The Sunnyside egg, cheese and bologna provide the perfect amount of protein and fat to help fight off a hangover! The bread helps too! It’s so good, in fact that we serve it in Bobby’s Garage Bar to make sure our guests are ready to go the next morning!” -- Jeff Axline, Tavern at Bobby (Nashville, Tennessee) Open for delivery/pick-up

“Where I come from in Belgium we have something that is called a "frietkot" or translated a "fry shack." Every town has a couple of them and they are always open very late at night, definitely when there are bars in the neighborhood. I always get a small portion of Frites, topped with mayonnaise and beef stew sauce. The good ones sell mostly Belgian Frites and only a couple of other meaty snacks, all deep-fried.

"There is no other cooking equipment in the shack. If it is a good shack, they fry everything in beef tallow - and they serve Belgian beef stew, beef braised in brown beer, mustard and tart cherries (when I was young it was mostly braised horse meat, but they never tell the people). The sauce has to be sweet, salty and a little sour at the same time. You pour a little of the sauce over fresh Frites, top it off with some mayonnaise and done. You have to eat with your hands. I can eat it every day or night.” -- Dieter Samijn, Bar Boulud, (New York, New York) Temporarily closed

“No junk or indulging late at night here. I usually go for raw vegetables as a late night snack -- cucumbers, carrots, or hearts of palm. Perfect balance and fiber for your body, and won’t make you feel bad the next day. If I have one too many negronis, I usually pop a milk thistle before I go to bed with plenty of sparkling water. Next morning, brand new, ready for another 14-hour shift.” -- Fernando Darin, Ray’s & Stark Bar (Los Angeles, California) Open for delivery/pick-up 

“My go to late night bite is what Italians call a 'piadina' which is a thin Italian flat bread and used to make pressed panini. Of course, I don’t always keep piadina on hand, but I improvise with an organic whole grain tortilla, which I always have in the fridge for my daughter’s school lunch. I put sliced fresh mozzarella and prosciutto, or ham or salami and fold it over like a quesadilla and griddle it with olive oil in a non-stick pan until crisp and oozing cheesy goodness." -- Luke Palladino, Sinatra at Wynn Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada) Temporarily closed

“I have to be honest, after being in the kitchen literally all day, the last thing I want to do is go home and cook, but if I’m hungry, I keep frozen French bread pizza stocked in the freezer, spicy Korean Ramen, and my all-time favorite -- ice cream! I love any and all types of ice cream, drumsticks, frozen custard, and ice cream sandwiches.” -- Devin Hashimoto, Mizumi at Wynn Palace (Las Vegas, Nevada) Temporarily closed

"The main thing I crave when I get home is pretty basic, but delicious nonetheless. I put an over-easy egg on toast with butter and soy sauce -- kind of like an open faced sandwich. Growing up in a quasi-Asian household, soy sauce was always on the table much like people would have salt and pepper.

"For my mom, it was that 'I put that shit on everything' condiment, so the egg on toast with soy sauce was a constant for breakfast. Once I started cooking, I would get home and crave this! Mostly because it’s easy, but also because it’s delicious. I cut the whole thing into bite size portions which inevitably turns into a yolky, soy-saucy bread mash. It definitely satisfies and helps with that hangover the next day!" -- Benjamin Lacy, Senses (Cambridge, Massachusetts) Was slated to open spring 2020; new open date TBD

“I take all the flavorful drippings that come off of the wood burning grill throughout the evening and set them on the stove to slowly reduce with an easy 'self stir' made possible by a magnetic induction burner. I’ll add caramelized onions and make an incredible au jus for grilled gruyere sandwiches served on leftover pretzel buns.” -- Charlie Foster, Woods Hill Table (Concord, Massachusetts) Temporarily closed; delivery/pick-up via Adelita 5-8pm

“Anything I don’t actually have to cook or heat up is always a safe bet after a late night. I usually always try to eat healthier in the evening, so I have no regrets in the morning! My absolute favorite late-night snack is a caprese salad with burrata and local tomatoes tossed in Sicilian olive oil, balsamic, sea salt, chiffonade of basil and fresh cracked pepper.” -- Andrew Garbarino, The Twisted Frenchman (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Temporarily closed

"My favorite midnight snack is spaghetti cacio e pepe. After a busy service and feeding a lot of people, there is something comforting in the simplicity of it. Spaghetti cooked al dente, lightly toasted coarse cracked black pepper, fresh cracked black pepper, butter, and Pecorino Romano is simple perfection. I like to make my cacio e pepe a little creamy with some of the water that the pasta has been cooked in. For those who have never had it, it almost has a macaroni and cheese creaminess, and the coarse cracked pepper is perfectly balanced with the sharpness of the cheese.

"I make mine with about 2 tablespoons of butter, 4 oz of pasta cooking water, 20 turns of coarse ground pepper, 10 turns of fresh black pepper- not toasted, and about 4 oz of Pecorino Romano. One trick for cooking at home is to cook the pasta in a saute pan and lay the pasta sideways. This ensures even cooking, but it also makes the water more starchy for ensuring you get a nice sauce at the end. Also, don't cook the pasta anymore when you add the cheese." -- Adam Hill, Manzo (Eataly Flatiron) (New York, New York) Temporarily closed but Eataly market remains open

"Best enjoyed with a nice cold beer or two (add warm, buttered corn tortillas as a total power move!) -- I love this dish as a late night snack because breakfast at any other time than morning is always great, and what’s not to love about spicy food and beer late at night?” -- Andrew Wilson, The Emporium Kitchen & Wine Market (Savannah, Georgia) Grab & Go menu available at Bowerbird every day from 7am-3pm

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