One-Pot Meals

A riff on Chinese American sesame chicken, this recipe is super sesame-y from the sauce up: Tahini (an untraditional but logical addition) adds richness, and sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds hit the flavor home.

This cream of broccoli soup (without the cream) gives the classic a run for its money.

This spicy and sweet, slightly nutty, and creamy stew is worth all the tending (and time) it requires over the stove.

Tinned sardines add briney flavor (and protein!)—leave them whole or break them up and fold them into the soup.

To get the best texture, evenly distribute the rice in your pan and gently press down to flatten it. Don’t touch until you hear it crackle!

The beloved Korean stir-fried chicken dish dakgalbi is spicy, sweet, aromatic, and comforting—and it comes together in a few easy steps and one pan.

Cabbage has emerged as the hero of weeknight pantry cooking. Inexpensive and infinitely versatile, with an impressively long shelf life, one head of cabbage goes a long way. In this recipe, half of a cabbage is bathed in a turmeric-accented coconut milk until it’s meltingly tender and sweet. 

This sour-salty soup was made for using up sweet, late-season tomatoes.

Hetty McKinnon’s showstopping tater tot casserole is directly inspired by, and strikingly reminiscent of, tortilla española.

Make this on a Monday and show Garfield what’s up.

Crunchy chicharrones are ideal for soaking up bright tomatillo salsa, taking on an ultimate crispy-gone-soggy chewy texture. 

The combination of corn, soy, and butter is as delicious as it is classic. As Hiroko Shimbo writes in her book Hiroko’s American Kitchen, corn and butter are a common pair in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, where both are produced. Here, the three come together along with pan-fried tofu, scallions, mirin, and sesame oil to make an ultra-flavorful, just-rich-enough vegetarian main. Serve it over rice, a chewy grain like farro or wheat berries, or arugula dressed with rice vinegar and more sesame oil. A crispy fried egg would also be welcome.

My grandma used to make a version of this dish using pork and showers of Parmesan. I have updated it to include ground chicken and miso for a lighter, late-summer dish with equally deep flavor,  but feel free to use whatever ground meat you prefer. Gently poaching the meatballs is not only faster than roasting, but means none of their flavor is lost to a baking sheet.

The key to stress-free stir-frying is all in the prep work. Be sure to chop, slice, and grate everything before even thinking about turning on the stove. Top this dish with fried eggs to put it over the top, but it’s also great without them.

This picadillo is inspired by a version found in San Luis Potosí in central Mexico with potatoes and poblanos.

Adding ginger and soy sauce to caramelized onions gives a bit of zingy punch and intrigue, creating a multidimensional meal that comes together in just one skillet. 

We took loose inspiration from Hainanese chicken rice to create this weeknight-friendly dish.

A fragrant, sweet-and-sour, perfectly acidic roast chicken. 

Here, chicken legs are gently oven-braised in puttanesca sauce until nearly falling off the bone. 

With a crispy, toasted top hiding saucy, tomato-y noodles, this one-skillet broken spaghetti dish is anything but one-note.