14 Surprising Things Marilyn Monroe Loved to Eat and Drink
Before Marilyn Monroe was the most photographed woman on the planet, she was Norma Jeane, a regular girl with an unusual love for nutrition and a soft spot for sweets. Throughout her life, Marilyn combined old-fashioned comfort food with trendy health habits long before they were mainstream. Here’s a lighthearted look at what truly fed Hollywood’s most iconic star.
Raw Eggs in Warm Milk
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Before morning showers, Marilyn heated a cup of milk on a hot plate in her hotel room, cracked in two raw eggs, whipped them with a fork, and drank the mix while getting dressed. She told Pageant magazine it was her version of a nourishing breakfast. The routine raised eyebrows even in the 1950s, but she didn’t seem bothered by the reactions.
Chili from Barney’s Beanery
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Filming long days on Some Like It Hot didn’t stop Marilyn from heading to Barney’s Beanery for a break. She was a fan of their chili, considering it was thick, cheesy, and topped with sour cream and onions. The recipe hasn’t changed since the 1920s, and it’s still on the menu. Other celebrities came and went, but it’s Monroe’s chili order that remains the diner’s most talked-about legacy.
Rice Pudding
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Marilyn regularly ate rice pudding, a simple dish made with milk, rice, and sugar. A typed meal schedule found in her old cookbooks listed it as one of her go-to desserts. While her exact recipe isn’t known, it matched her overall preference for creamy, dairy-based sweets. She also enjoyed similar options like custard and junket.
Lamb Chops
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The Some Like It Hot star often stopped by the market near her hotel to pick up lamb chops, which she either pan-seared or broiled. She kept her dinners minimal and often paired meat with raw vegetables like carrots.
Hot Fudge Sundaes
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Evenings often ended the same way for the star: acting class, then a hot fudge sundae from Wil Wright’s in Beverly Hills. Marilyn mentioned it in Pageant magazine by calling it her one indulgence, thanks to her otherwise protein-heavy diet. Wil Wright’s is long gone, but at the time, it was her go-to treat spot.
Spaghetti Without Cheese
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One of her annotated meal plans listed spaghetti with butter or tomato sauce, but specifically without cheese. That same plan included cottage cheese or eggs as side protein choices. Her pasta habits suggest she leaned toward simpler meals without heavy toppings. Still, she kept a clipped recipe for cheese lasagna in one of her cookbooks, complete with handwritten doodles in the margins.
Marrow Bone Soup
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Marilyn once scribbled down a list of ingredients for marrow bone soup, including multiple bones and bouillon cubes. She likely simmered them for hours to extract the rich flavor and nutrients. The collagen in bone broth was believed to support skin and joint health, something modern diets now echo.
Raw Carrots
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“I must be part rabbit,” Marilyn joked to Pageant magazine. That’s because she ate four or five raw carrots every night with dinner. That’s not all, this vegetable showed up frequently in her home-cooked meals, especially as a side to broiled meats.
Chocolate Soufflé from Romanoff’s
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Marilyn regularly ordered the chocolate soufflé at Romanoff’s, a popular Beverly Hills restaurant known for its celebrity clientele. While the original recipe didn’t survive, multiple sources note her love for the dessert. A modern version with bittersweet chocolate and orange zest closely resembles what she likely enjoyed.
Warm Cereal
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Marilyn sometimes started her mornings with something as simple as warm cereal. Notes from her old cookbooks and a typed meal plan suggest she poured hot milk over cornflakes or a similar grain. Breakfast often came with stewed prunes, orange juice, or weak cocoa, and she snacked on milk and crackers between meals.
Beef Bourguignon
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Inside one of Marilyn’s cookbooks was a recipe for beef bourguignon, the classic French stew made with red wine, beef, and vegetables. Preparing it requires patience and multiple steps, including slow braising to develop flavor. Her notes suggest she didn’t shy away from long, detailed recipes when cooking for herself.
Eggnog at Night
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According to her typed daily routine, Marilyn drank a glass of eggnog around 11 p.m. The drink combined her favorite ingredients, eggs and milk, and was likely homemade or adapted from classic recipes that used nutmeg, sugar, and cream. While there’s no direct mention of whether she added alcohol, the timing of the drink suggests she treated it as a gentle, indulgent nightcap.
Rum and Coke at the Polo Lounge
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When dining solo, she occasionally ordered rum and Coke at the Polo Lounge inside The Beverly Hills Hotel. Though less iconic than her love for champagne, the drink matched her tendency to keep things low-key in her off-hours. She reportedly preferred simple cocktails when relaxing alone, without the attention that followed her more public appearances.
Onion Gratin Soup in Fukuoka
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During a trip to Japan in 1954 with Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn dined three nights in a row at Royal Nakasu Honten, a French restaurant in Fukuoka. She ordered the onion gratin soup each time. The restaurant eventually relocated and rebranded as Hananoki but still serves the same soup today. A framed photo of the two remains displayed inside.
Stuffing with Sourdough and Beef
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Of all the recipes left behind in her notes, none was more elaborate than the stuffing. It called for sourdough soaked in water, plus beef, liver, raisins, nuts, and eggs—18 ingredients in total. It was scribbled on insurance company stationery and read like a dish from someone who didn’t shy away from kitchen prep.