24 Hearty Fall Dinner Recipes to Add to Your Rotation

The vibrant magenta beet puree that accompanies these luscious pork chops is made with almost equal parts beets and creamy Yukon Gold potatoes.

The sweet licorice flavor of aniseed or fennel seeds adds depth to pork. For the sauce, look for dried figs that are soft and moist. If they seem very dry, soften them in hot water before cutting.

This velvety soup has a wonderful balance of sweetness, spice and tang. The secret ingredient: gingersnap cookies.

This luscious squash-studded bread pudding is the ideal accompaniment to roasted meats and birds, or cut it into large squares and serve as a main course with a green salad on the side.

Fistfuls of fresh herbs, fragrant strips of orange peel, and plenty of garlic perfume the wine-infused braising liquid penetrates this essential Corsican comfort food. The resulting jus is vibrant and richly seasoned; ladle extra over the polenta on each plate.

Roasting sweet potato and apples with a little sherry vinegar and tossing them with farro, dried cherries and roasted cashews makes for a hearty cold-weather dish.

Rich pork broth—made with pork butt and smoked ham—brings together this comforting stew from brothers Andrew and Eric Dayton’s restaurant The Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis.

The neck of the butternut squash is easy to peel and cube, making it perfect for dishes easy pasta dishes. This recipe is a great way to use up that pesky bottom half, as here the halved squash is simply baked until soft, and then the flesh is scooped out.

Legendary chef Jeremiah Tower’s satisfying lamb shank dish makes the perfect dinner for when the weather stars to cool.

No need to roast fresh pumpkin for this dish (although you certainly could); using canned unseasoned pumpkin puree is much quicker, and it works just fine. Like most lasagnes, this one is easier to cut if left to set for ten minutes or so before serving.

Poached pâte à choux dumplings crisped in brown butter and topped with ham and cheese make a wonderfully rich entrée.

This rustic chicken stew is seasoned with a carefully toasted mix of seeds and spices, which are ground into a coarse paste with roasted tomatoes and tomatillos. Stirred into the stew toward the end of the cooking process, the paste both thickens and seasons this warming fall dish.

A classic browned butter and sage sauce gets a boost of fall flavor from pumpkin butter. Be generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano—its salty, savory bite adds the perfect hit of umami flavor to this decadent pasta dish.

For this sheet-pan dinner, use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples, which hold their shape better during roasting that other varieties. Plus, their pleasant sweetness balances the intensely spiced merguez sausage.

Pre-salting the chicken makes for savory flavor throughout and helps crisp up the skin. Browning the butter adds nutty depth to the sauce; a flourish of sumac and Aleppo chile adds a fresh, bright flavor to the finished dish.

A sweet and spicy take on Bordeaux-style red-wine sauce makes this tender, flaky fish extra flavorful. Store-bought veal demiglace is the secret to the sauce’s depth; look for it in specialty stores or online.

This classic chicken pot pie comes together in just about an hour and uses only one skillet.  Come for the patchwork of crispy, golden-brown puff pastry; stay for the comforting, classic flavors of the filling. Leeks and thyme lend a cozy, traditional flavor to this dish, while Dijon mustard adds a subtle, unexpected punch.

Braising lamb shoulder in garlic-infused oil yields a super-tender, falling-off-the-bone meat. Drizzle leftover braising oil on each plate for a delicious garnish. If the polenta begins to clump as it sits, simply vigorously whisk it back to a smooth and creamy texture.

For his zippy version of coleslaw, F&W’s Justin Chapple swaps the cabbage for a mix of sweet and tart apples—Gala, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith—and then tosses them with a creamy, Tabasco-laced dressing.

This fantastic salad from Laura Rege combines crisp roasted fingerling potatoes and chorizo with fresh, sweet figs, crunchy fennel, and sharp arugula.

There’s nothing better than coming home to a simmering pot of this hearty stew on a cool fall or winter day. Hearty chunks of beef turn tender after a low and slow trip in your favorite Dutch oven; potatoes join the party during the tail end of cooking so they don't dissolve into the stew. Cut potatoes into similar-size pieces to guarantee they cook evenly.

In their book Wine Food, sommelier Dana Frank and recipe developer Andrea Slonecker pair funky, bright wines with flavorful, vegetable-forward dishes like this easy weeknight crostata, which layers fennel-spiced sausage, chile, delicata squash, and honey for a dinner that pairs well with a northern Italian Dolcetto.

Cooler weather taps into my cravings for heartier fare, and I’m happy to turn on the oven again,” Colu Henry writes. “Of all the fall vegetables, it’s the return of my beloved cauliflower and its elegant florets that I celebrate the most.” In this recipe, cauliflower comes together with capers, garlic, anchovy, crushed red pepper, lemon zest, parsley, and Pecorino Romano to form a comforting pasta dish that’s ready in under an hour.

This luscious, creamy cauliflower soup from star chef Anne Burrell gets a delicious topping of crispy roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.