One-pot dinners are the kind of meals that make you question why you ever dirtied three pans for one meal. These recipes keep it simple without being boring, and they’re especially great when the goal is dinner without the aftermath. If you’ve been making things harder than they need to be, one-pot dinners like these are a very welcome correction.
Tuscan Garlic Shrimp and Spinach
Tuscan Garlic Shrimp and Spinach deserves a permanent place in your rotation of one-pot dinners. The shrimp simmer in a light coconut milk sauce with garlic, tomatoes, and spinach, delivering a flavorful meal without overcomplicating things. Ready in 30 minutes and finished in one pan, it fits right into those weeks when you need your meals to work harder than you feel like doing.
Get the Recipe: Tuscan Garlic Shrimp and Spinach
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites manage to stay impressive without dragging out your evening. These chicken bites crisp up in a skillet and are tossed in a buttery garlic sauce that’s bold but not overpowering. You’ll have dinner on the table in just 20 minutes, which gives this recipe every reason to be among the one-pot dinners you regret not making sooner.
Get the Recipe: Garlic Butter Chicken Bites
Reuben Bowls
Reuben Bowls keep the spirit of a classic deli sandwich without any of the extra work. Corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and coleslaw come together in one pan and are done in 30 minutes, making this feel like a shortcut without sacrificing flavor. These one-pot dinners are great when your fridge feels uninspiring but you still want to pull together something that feels like an actual meal.
Get the Recipe: Reuben Bowls
Creamy Dijon Chicken
Creamy Dijon Chicken brings just enough comfort to feel like a proper dinner without taking over your evening. Chicken thighs and crispy bacon simmer in a creamy mustard sauce that’s both sharp and rich, all done in 30 minutes. One-pot dinners like this make it easier to keep your week on track without giving in to the takeout menu again.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Dijon Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Chicken Pot Pie Soup skips the crust but keeps everything else that makes the classic worth eating. Chicken, potatoes, carrots, and corn simmer together in one pot and come together in about an hour. This is the kind of one-pot dinner that makes it easier to serve something comforting without dealing with anything complicated.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Hungarian Mushroom Soup has the kind of earthy flavor that feels like it came from somewhere more impressive than your stovetop. Mushrooms, onions, broth, sour cream, and paprika come together in 45 minutes to make something that tastes a lot fancier than it is. Recipes like this keep one-pot dinners feeling worth it, even after a long day.
Get the Recipe: Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls take everything good about the traditional version and skip the wrapping part entirely. Ground beef, onions, cabbage, and rice all cook together in one pot, and it’s ready in about an hour. This one-pot dinner earns its keep with hearty portions, great flavor, and exactly one dish to wash afterward.
Get the Recipe: Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Baked Ravioli
Baked Ravioli is like the shortcut you didn’t realize your weeknight dinners needed. Cheese ravioli gets layered with marinara and shredded mozzarella, then baked in one dish until golden and bubbly. You’ll want to keep this in your rotation because it’s hearty, low-maintenance, and doesn’t leave much cleanup behind.
Get the Recipe: Baked Ravioli
Sausage Curry
Sausage Curry pulls together sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and sausages in a rich, slightly sweet curry sauce. The whole thing simmers in one pan for 45 minutes, and you’re left with something that tastes like you actually tried. This one-pot dinner doesn’t make a mess of your kitchen and doesn’t require much thought, which is exactly the point.
Get the Recipe: Sausage Curry
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken earns a spot in the rotation with tender chicken thighs simmered in a garlicky cream sauce filled with sun-dried tomatoes. It’s ready in 30 minutes and cooks entirely in one skillet, so you can skip the usual mountain of dirty pans. Serve it with pasta, rice, or on its own — either way, this dish makes a strong case for simplifying dinner.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole
Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole skips the extra steps and gets right to the point. Ground beef, rice, bell peppers, and cheddar all cook together in one pot and come together in 45 minutes without the need for assembly line prep. It’s a great example of how one-pot dinners can deliver the same flavors without all the ceremony.
Get the Recipe: Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole
Chicken Tortellini Soup
Chicken Tortellini Soup keeps it simple with shredded chicken, cheese-filled tortellini, and vegetables simmered together in one pot. Everything’s ready in 40 minutes, and it still feels like something you made on purpose. It’s the kind of easy meal that actually holds up in the weekly dinner rotation.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Tortellini Soup
Cabbage and Sausage
Cabbage and Sausage delivers a one-pan dinner that makes sense to keep in rotation. Smoked sausage, green cabbage, and a bit of butter cook down in under 30 minutes into something crisp-tender and flavorful. It’s the kind of recipe that makes one-pot dinners feel less of a compromise and more like a plan.
Get the Recipe: Cabbage and Sausage
Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup gets by on a short list of ingredients and a good blend. In one hour, sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and onions cook down into a creamy soup that doesn’t taste like a shortcut. This one makes one-pot dinners feel less like you’re settling and more like you actually had a plan.
Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce keeps things efficient without losing any appeal. In 30 minutes, mushrooms and seared chicken simmer in a garlic-heavy cream sauce that works well with pasta, rice, or just on its own. It’s the kind of one-pot dinner that actually makes cleanup feel like an afterthought in the best way.
Get the Recipe: Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Green Chile Chicken
Green Chile Chicken keeps things moving with bold flavors and zero extra cleanup. In 20 minutes, chicken, green chilies, jalapeños, and cheese come together in one skillet for a dish that’s equal parts spicy and comforting. It works well with tortillas or rice, but it’s just as good straight from the pan, which fits the spirit of one-pot dinners perfectly.
Get the Recipe: Green Chile Chicken
Creamy Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts
Green Chile Chicken keeps things moving with bold flavors and zero extra cleanup. In 20 minutes, chicken, green chilies, jalapeños, and cheese come together in one skillet for a dish that’s equal parts spicy and comforting. It works well with tortillas or rice, but it’s just as good straight from the pan, which fits the spirit of one-pot dinners perfectly.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup doesn’t waste time making its case for a repeat dinner. In 30 minutes, spicy sausage, tomatoes, and cream cheese turn into a hearty soup that checks all the boxes for flavor and convenience. It earns a spot on your one-pot dinners list by being just as easy to make as it is to enjoy.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
Creamy Garlic Chicken
Creamy Garlic Chicken keeps dinner simple without leaning on shortcuts that taste like it. Chicken thighs simmer in a garlicky Parmesan cream sauce, ready in 30 minutes and perfect with rice, pasta, or whatever’s hanging out in the fridge. Add it to your rotation of one-pot dinners when you want something rich that doesn’t derail your whole evening.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Garlic Chicken
Chicken Corn Soup
Chicken Corn Soup delivers something hearty without making your kitchen look like a tornado hit it. In under an hour, you’ll have a pot full of chicken, corn, and potatoes simmered in broth for a cozy, filling meal that actually feels like dinner. It’s the kind of one-pot dinner that keeps things calm when you don’t have the bandwidth for anything else.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Corn Soup
Creamy Ground Beef Skillet with Cauliflower Rice
Creamy Ground Beef Skillet with Cauliflower Rice works well when your schedule is tight, but you still want something warm that doesn’t feel thrown together. In just 30 minutes, ground beef cooks down with cauliflower rice, mushrooms, and cheddar into a filling skillet meal that doesn’t take much thought but still feels complete. It’s a great example of one-pot dinners doing what they’re supposed to do — handling dinner without making a scene.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Ground Beef Skillet with Cauliflower Rice
Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner skips the unnecessary steps and keeps your evening on track. Toss sausages, mini peppers, and any other vegetables you’ve got onto a pan, and after 30 minutes in the oven, dinner’s done. It fits right in with other one-pot dinners because it works hard without making your sink pay the price.
Get the Recipe: Sausage and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
Fried Cabbage with Bacon
Fried Cabbage with Bacon leans into the kind of dinner that gets the job done without pretending to be anything it’s not. Everything comes together in 25 minutes with chopped cabbage and crispy bacon sautéed in one pan until golden and tender. It’s a simple way to keep one-pot dinners in rotation without running out of ideas.
Get the Recipe: Fried Cabbage with Bacon
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