Our Favorite A-maiz-ingly Corny Dad Puns (with Recipes)

My dad mans the cast-iron skillet, periodically adjusting the burner’s heat as to not incinerate any pancakes. This is Sunday: Every drop of batter counts.

He flips a pancake, using a metal spatula with a chipped white handle sourced from some dollar bin at a random garage sale. My dad claims this is where all the forgotten, spatula gems are found. 

“These are going to be so flipping good,” he says, his face breaking out into a “I just made a pun” look of pride. “HA,” I say, my tween voice dripping with apathy. I didn’t appreciate the power of a pun—yet. 

My dad stacks the pancakes high, pouring plenty of the maple syrup he tapped from the trees in our front yard and syruped in our greenhouse-turned-sugar shack. My pancakes are 50% chocolate chips, my sister’s have banana slices, and my dad’s are nothin’ but buttermilk. All are slightly raw in the center. Something that, when pointed out, my dad defends. “Well, batter’s up!” he says, making a motion quasi-resembling that of a baseball player.

These days, I like to think I have my dad’s voracious appetite and work ethic—which may well be the case—and  I certainly acquired his affinity for puns. I search for puns in everything, all the time. It’s even better if the pun’s food-related, in queso were wondering. I, like my dad, have a pun face: a slightly spastic smile of anticipation and excitement. We have pun spars over the phone on a weekly basis. 

For all the the dads like mine, here are 16 of my favorite dad jokes and puns—plus recipes he’ll love (pun or not). For my dad, I have two words: “Batter’s up.” 

What does a nosy pepper do? It gets jalapeño business.

Cheeto-Crusted Jalapeño Poppers with Bacon by molly yeh

 

Let’s taco ‘bout it. 

California Chicken Tacos with Corn and Red Cabbage Slaw by Linda Burkhart

 

Hands off! These are nachos nachos.

Super(bowl) Chicken and Black Bean Nachos by Kendra Vaculin

 

There are grater problems than having too much cheese.

Macaroni-and-Cheese (and Broccoli) Casserole by Nicholas Day  

 

What kind of jokes does corn tell? A-maiz-ing ones. 

Grilled Corn with Basil Butter by lisina

 

The wedding was so beautiful, even the cake was in tiers.

Banana Cake with Penuche Frosting by Lindsay-Jean Hard

 

Why did the tomato blush? Because it saw the salad dressing. 

Allen Miglore's Caesar Salad by Genius Recipes

 

Holy shrimp! This scampi happening. 

Sautéed Shrimp with Lemon, Garlic, and Parsley by Nicole Franzen 

 

Question: "What does an angry cake ask?" Answer: “You wanna piece of me?”

Maya's Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake by Alice Medrich

 

I’m fondue of you. 

Aged Cheddar and Pilsner Fondue by darksideofthespoon

 

Eggscuse me?

Momofuku's Soy Sauce Eggs by Genius Recipes

 

Romaine calm. 

Grilled Salad with Romaine, Peaches, Garlic Scapes, and Steak by Elizabeth Stark 

 

I don’t give a jam.

Pickled Strawberry Jam by Christina Tosi

 

Pickles are a big dill.

Quick Hot Pickled Peppers by Mei Chin

 

Ice cream is the coolest. 

Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate-Covered Pretzels by fiveandspice

 

Quit waffling around! I pancake it anymore. 

Aretha Frankenstein's Waffles of Insane Greatness by Genius Recipes

Have a favorite pun or dad joke? Tell us in the comments below!

Photos by Molly Yeh (jalapeño poppers), Elizabeth Stark (grilled steak salad), Bobbi Lin, James Ransom, and Mark Weinberg