19 Easy One-Pot Meal Recipes to Make This Winter
Because nobody loves a sinkful of dirty dishes.
If you despise doing dishes but love big, hearty meals, listen close: This collection of one-pot—and one-skillet and one-sheet-pan—recipes are your ticket to simple yet impressive meals all winter long. From our most popular soups and stews year in year out to our boldest one-pot cooking ideas (from Benjamin Kemper’s One Pot Bangers column), we’ve got you covered with these 19 knockout recipes.
Canned pumpkin cooks down into a rich, silky sauce in this dead-simple recipe that’s also fancy enough to serve at a dinner party. A couple handfuls of grated parm add richness, while the toasted pumpkin seeds bring a welcome crunch. Get the recipe >
Meatballs flecked with handfuls of cilantro cloaked in a rich sauce that pops with mustard seeds and cumin—this one-pot wonder brings the spice and the comfort. Get the recipe >
A silky garlic cream adds welcome zing to this dish that hails from Chile. We love spreading leftover sauce on sandwiches and wraps. Get the recipe >
If you like birria tacos, you’ll love this fork-tender goat bobbing in a tomatillo broth. No goat? No problem—substitute pork instead. Get the recipe >
A favorite appetizer at La Boîte à Sardine, Marseille’s coziest seafood restaurant, these sardine meatballs are as easy to prepare as salmon croquettes. We like making tiny, toothpick-able ones when entertaining for a crowd, and burger-size patties for weeknight dinners (either slid onto a bun or enjoyed with a simple salade verte). Green goddess is an unorthodox accompaniment, but it makes a perfect foil for its color, tang, and freshness. Get the recipe >
Turn yesterday’s spaghetti into a cheesy, protein-packed meal in a skillet with this Marcella Hazan-inspired recipe. The dish starts on the stove and finishes under the broiler, where it puffs and hisses and browns. Don’t be afraid to overcook both the pasta and the broccoli, which makes for gorgeously brûléed whorls, a creamy texture, and neat slices. Get the recipe >
Two types of soy sauce and a touch of sugar give this dish—beloved throughout China—its signature glossiness and a deep red-brown tint. Serve the tender, meaty morsels and boiled eggs with a light vegetable, like bok choy, for a complete meal. Get the recipe >
“If there’s one thing to know about Spaniards and their fish, it’s that the simple is often sublime,” writes Senior Editor Benjamin Kemper. A case in point is this hearty tuna stew recipe inspired by a Madrid hole in the wall. Get the recipe >
Beef suet and masa are the ingredients that set this Lone Star chili (no beans, no tomatoes) apart from other styles. The recipe comes from Carter Rochelle, a native Houstonian and chili connoisseur. Get the recipe >
When the temperature plummets, we love tucking into this peppery Basque braise enlivened with tart green apple and piment d’Espelette. Get the recipe >
Smoky Kashmiri chile and rich ghee are the foundations of this recipe from Ahdoos Hotel in Srinagar, Kashmir. Cooked for weddings and other auspicious occasions, the Kashmiri feast wazwan can include up to 36 dishes, often including these tender lamb shanks. Get the recipe >
Americans call pollo alla cacciatora (“hunter’s-style chicken”) cacciatore, a term that applies to any range of poultry and game stewed in wine with tomatoes and onions. We like serving this simple yet hearty recipe over buttered spaghetti. Get the recipe >
Pollo en salsa de almendras (chicken in almond sauce) is an Andalusian stew that, when done right, evokes the heady flavors of Moorish Spain: saffron, garlic, oregano, parsley. Our favorite version adds white wine for depth and sherry vinegar for subtle tartness. Get the recipe >
We love a sloppy Joe—that American dish of gloopy, pebbly beef drenched in sweet-sour sauce and spooned onto a hamburger bun—and felt inspired by Boston chef Joanne Chang to put a Korean spin on our usual formula. TL;DR: If you haven’t tried a sloppy Joe spiked with gochujang and sesame oil, get after it. Get the recipe >
“There are as many ways to make gumbo in Louisiana as there are cooks,” says chef Frank Brigtsen of Brigtsen’s Restaurant in New Orleans. His rich, meaty version thickened with ground sassafras leaves uses the flavorful oil left over from browning the chicken to make the roux, upping the umami complexity of the dish. Get the recipe >
Bigos is a Polish winter wonder brimming with pork shoulder, bacon, kielbasa, and sauerkraut—celebration food at its finest. Get the recipe >
Better than bouillabaisse? This bright, meal-in-one seafood dish from Marseille is as flavorful as the city’s signature stew—and much, much easier to cook. Get the recipe >
Don’t make zoodles—treat yourself to this creamy, lemony fusilli instead. Get the recipe >
A light, bright French red wine not only marinates and tenderizes the meat in this classic French stew—it also lends sweetness and depth to the final dish. Get the recipe >
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