Season 18 of MasterChef Australia will premiere at 7pm on Sunday, April 19, 2026, on Channel 10. The four judges are back with all new contestants.
Update April 20, 2026: So did you watch the premiere last night? If you have, you would know who will be a guest judge later this season – here’s a hilarious tongue in cheek article about that guest judge…
Episode 1: Sunday, April 19, 2026
MasterChef Australia returns with auditions and 40 of the country’s best home cooks are ready. Tonight 20 cooks have 90 minutes to cook their dream dish in order to win one of the 10 aprons on offer.
Charred Octopus with Leek and Potato and Yoghurt Sauce with Dill Oil (Lydia Kamperos)
Black Sesame Yuzu Cake (Jackie Yu)
Recipe from Coles – Chicken and Prawn Dumplings with Crispy Chilli Oil (Inspired by Jeff’s mouth-watering “Mala Chicken & Prawn Dumplings” recipe)
Episode 2: Monday, April 20, 2026
Another 20 home cooks enter the MasterChef kitchen to compete for 10 aprons on offer. For those who miss out, they learn there will be one final chance to cook for the last four aprons tomorrow.
Episode 3: Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Tonight, the 20 remaining hopefuls have a second and final chance to cook their way into the competition. Just who will score themselves one of the final four places?
Prawn Bisque Pasta With Citrus Prawns (Petro Papathomas)
Episode 4: Sunday, April 26, 2026
Aussie Rock legend Jimmy Barnes set this season’s first mystery box, inspiring the Top 24 with seasonal ingredients they love to cook with. Dish of the day will see its maker safe from elimination.
Immunity: Casper Kenworthy
Hmm, interesting that they didn’t publish Casper’s immunity winning dish… Maybe later or are they keeping it for a cookbook in the future?
Episode 5: Monday, April 27, 2026
In the first elimination of the competition, 23 cooks will show the judges a window into their homelife, through a favourite dish that they cook at home for their loved ones.
Hazelnut, Coffee and Fennel Seed Mille Feuille (Bella Di Conza)
Recipe from Coles – Spicy Beef Short Rib Pho (inspired by Emily’s mouth-watering short rib recipe, titled ‘To my mate Shorty’)
Eliminated: Megs Steel
Episode 6: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
It’s the return of a MasterChef classic with an Invention Test challenging cooks to create an inventive dish using cereal.
Episode 7: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
The bottom five cooks from the Invention Test face off in a Pressure Test set by MasterChef favourite Maggie Beer, tasked with mastering her signature sour cream pastry in a high-stakes pie challenge.
Sour Cream Pastry (Maggie Beer)
Tips for Failsafe Pastry (Maggie Beer)
Chicken Curry Pie With Sri Lankan Green Apple Salad And Mango Chutney (Pat McGarry)
Eliminated: Jeff Lam
Episode 8: Sunday, May 3, 2026
It’s Family Favourites week and social media sensation Andy Cooks (chef Andy Hearnden) is on the hunt for the ultimate breakfast, in an immunity challenge cook with 60 minutes on the clock.
Turkish Eggs, Herb Yoghurt Sauce, Turkish Spiced Lamb Mince, Spiced Butter, Filo Crown (Dot McHugh)
Immunity: Aaron Kher (Dish of the Day), Kanika Gadyok, Alita Harvey-Rodriguez & Dot McHugh
What’s going on with the recipes this year? They made such a big fuss about the Pinterest and multi-platform campaign this year, yet the recipes are now slower in availability and it seems only one recipe is released per episode, and ridiculously not the recipe for the best dish of the night! Also Pinterest only releases the recipes at the end of the week instead of the next day as in previous years. ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead of fast and efficient of previous years, this year it is the slow and late campaign, the worst thing is that the Channel 10’s MasterChef official site doesn’t provide links to this year’s recipes anymore!
Episode 9: Monday, May 4, 2026
In an elimination challenge centred on reinventing the judges’ quick carb midweek dinner recipes, mistakes and time pressure sends one cook home.
Fakeaway Beef & Mushroom Noodles (Lucy Mansfield)
Recipe from Coles – Crispy barramundi with coconut sambal rice (Inspired by Annabel’s mouth-watering Pan-Fried Barramundi with Coconut Sambal Pilaf Rice recipe)
Eliminated: Belinda Gosden
I tried to get the recipes for the judges’ hacks from the episode, and have written them down in the comment section below. For Poh’s rice noodle hack, please refer to Lucy’s recipe above. For Jean-Christophe’s pilaf rice hack, I have to do a bit of research to get some approximate proportion since he didn’t specify how much of each ingredient is used…
Episode 10: Tuesday, May 5, 2026
It is the first team challenge of the series, and the contestants are all eager to see how well they can work together. The bottom two teams will find themselves in the elimination the following day.
Turquoise Team’s Middle Eastern Family Feast (Dot, Miin, Alita)
Best Dishes: Turquoise Team (Dot, Miin, Alita), Purple Team (Emily, Aaron, Lucy)
Elimination: Pink Team (Pat, Lydia, Olaolu), Navy Team (Hannah, Bella, Alyona)
Episode 11: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Six contestants face elimination as they must create a dish that represent their family food traditions to fight for their place in the competition.
Chicken Ball Avgolemono Soup (Lydia Kamperos)
Eliminated: Bella Di Conza
Episode 12: Sunday, May 10, 2026
The Top 20 compete for Immunity from tomorrow’s Elimination in a fruity Mystery Box challenge set by Catherine Zhang, marking the start of Viral Wonders Week.
Lemon Granita With A Lemon Leaf, Sesame And Fennel Biscotti (Grace King)
Immunity: Grace King
Episode 13: Monday, May 11, 2026
Viral sensation Victoria Minell (aka @recipesbyvictoria) sets a challenge to use one of her five viral ingredients in a 75-minute cook to save their place in the competition.
Advance to Immunity Pin Cook Off: Alyona Iljuhhina
Eliminated: Alita Harvey-Rodriguez
Episode 14: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Six teams will compete in their first service challenge, tasked with creating one perfect viral-worthy dish to serve to hundreds of diners, and impress a mystery social media-star critic.
Goodness gracious me, FINALLY, they put up the first recipe for Season 18 on the MasterChef Australia website from this episode today… They must have gotten plenty of complains as viewers couldn’t find any recipes this season, LOL… Pinterest is just useless for recipe updates after every episode, I don’t know why they decided to go with the recipe links there this year as recipe links are only available at the end of the week instead of a few hours after the episode aired like in previous years! Update: Oh well, the Season 18 recipes on MasterChef Australia site has disappeared after just a couple of hours, LOL…
Orange Team’s Pork Rendang Tostada With Pineapple And Cucumber Salsa (Miin, Jackie, Annabel)
Blue Team’s Pork Belly Roti Tacos (Hannah, Aaron, Lydia)
Best Dishes & Advance to Immunity Pin Cook Off: Orange Team (Miin, Jackie, Annabel), Blue Team (Hannah, Aaron, Lydia)
Episode 15: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
MasterChef alum and social media star Khanh Ong sets an epic challenge to create a bold, out-there sandwich with a banging cross section, to win the first immunity pin of the season.
Recipe from Coles – Bulgogi Philly cheesesteak (Inspired by Jackie’s mouth-watering Bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak recipe)
Immunity Pin: Jackie Yu
Episode 16: Sunday, May 17, 2026
It’s the start of Around the World Week, and global food icon Rick Stein joins the MasterChef Kitchen to set an extra spicy Mystery Box challenge.
Crab Curry And Spiral Spinach Flatbread (Miin Wei Looi)
Immunity: Casper, Grace, Miin, Alyona
Did anyone notice that Kanika was not present at the end when the result was announced? Wondered if she was sick or not feeling well during the cook, that may have affected her cooking since a challenge using spices is right up her alley…
Episode 17: Monday, May 18, 2026
In an Around the World elimination challenge, MasterChef contestants must create a dish inspired by a chosen cuisine, featuring a surprise hero ingredient revealed only after they commit.
Recipe from Coles – Stuffed eggplant with lamb and rice with tahini sauce (Inspired by Lydia’s mouth-watering Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Rice, Tahini Sauce and Pine Nuts recipe)
Eliminated: Kanika Gadyok
Episode 18: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
It’s a fusion invention test today with the contestants having to make dish featuring cuisines from two countries.
Tsukune Dolmades (Casper Kenworthy)
Best Dishes: Casper, Dot, Alyona
Elimination: Jackie, Lucy, Vinnie, Miin
Episode 19: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Chef Rosheen Kaul sets the first full Pressure Test for the season, with an intense, three-hour challenge.
Immunity Pin: Played (Jackie Yu)
Eliminated: Lucy Mansfield
Episode 20: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Kicking off nostalgia-themed week in the MasterChef kitchen, social media sensation chef Dim Sim Lim sets a 60-minute mystery box challenge requiring a steamed element.
Corner Café 
Episode 9 hacks…
Jean-Christophe Novelli’s Oven Baked Pilaf Rice Hack
1 part rice (preferably long-grain)
1.5 to 2 parts chicken or vegetable stock
white wine (optional, just replace a little of the stock with the wine if you preferred)
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 celery, cut in half
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme and 4 parsley stalks, tied together)
salt and black pepper
Pour some olive oil into an oven-proof pan or casserole dish, add all ingredients, give it a stir and bring to a boil, cook for a couple of minutes. Cover with lid and bake in 200°C oven for about 10 minutes.
From the research, I am not sure whether the rice and stock ratio is in volume or weight, so you may have to experiment a bit, LOL… My usual tip for cooking rice is that the liquid should be about one knuckle of your forefinger above the level of the rice for the first time of cooking, then next time you know much much liquid to use for the perfect cook. It is the same principle depending on how old the rice is and how much liquid to use…
Comment by SeaDragon — May 7, 2026 @ 11:22 am |
Andy’s 2-ingredient flatbread hack
200g self-raising flour
180g Greek yogurt
(Optional: Pinch of salt, some chopped herbs of choice)
Since it is a soft wet dough, dust with more flour when kneading and rolling out…
Comment by SeaDragon — May 7, 2026 @ 11:24 am |
Sophia’s Latkes hack
For 10 Latkes
2 potatoes (starchy, floury potatoes such as Russet Burbank or Sebago)
1 small to medium onion
grate and put in a muslin cloth or clean teatowel, squeeze as dry as possible.
Add an egg, a little binding agent such as breadcrumbs or flour, mix together and divide into 10 portions. Fry in olive oil until golden brown around the edges on one side, about a couple of minutes, turn and fry the other side for about one to two minutes more. Season with salt before serving.
Comment by SeaDragon — May 7, 2026 @ 11:27 am |
Thank you for giving the recipes, such a pity that there are so few compared to other seasons and ten does’nt have any. Would have loved the icecream recipe from Caspar. But thanks again for your webside, have followed it from Belgium, since the start.
Comment by Mini Struycken — May 20, 2026 @ 12:40 am |
You are welcome 🙂 Yes, it is very annoying this year in finding the recipes! Some recipes are under the contestant bio, but not all.
Comment by SeaDragon — May 20, 2026 @ 6:40 am |