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21 Tasty Meals You Can Make in One Pan

21 Tasty Meals You Can Make in One Pan

By Food & Wine and Bridget Hallinan

Updated March 19, 2020

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Jen Causey

There’s a lot to love about one-pan meals—less clutter, less fuss, and of course, fewer dishes to wash when all’s said and done. Some of our favorites include spring onion and salami sheet-pan pizza (yes, sheet-pan pizza!), which comes together in under an hour, and blackened skillet pork chops, too. Once you go one-pan, you won’t look back.

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Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash

Chicken quarters roasted with golden squash and sage are nice for a chilly autumn evening. To help the squash to brown evenly, be sure to spoon off the fat from the roasting pan after removing the breasts. This is a case where less is more: A thin layer of fat will brown the vegetable better than a quarter-inch of it.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Cooking with Chicken

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Sausage-and-Potato Pan Roast 

Credit: © David Malosh

For the perfect cold-weather weeknight dinner, Food & Wine's Justin Chapple makes this one-pan dish, roasting sweet sausages with potatoes and shallots and tossing them with brightly flavored arugula and lemon before serving.

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Roasted Chicken Legs with Potatoes and Kale

For this one-pan dish, Grace Parisi roasts chicken legs on a bed of potatoes and kale so the meaty juices keep the vegetables moist.

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Curried Eggplant with Chickpeas and Spinach

Canned chickpeas are often used in salads or hummus, but Grace Parisi roasts them here with eggplant, prewashed spinach and onion to make a great vegetarian main course.

Tips for Cooking with Vegetables

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One-Pan Chicken, Sausage and Sage Bake

“The dish is so simple,” says Nigella Lawson. “Just add one or two lemons if you like—it doesn’t matter. I put sage in some days, but other days I use thyme or parsley.”

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Pan-Roasted Cornish Hens with Calvados and Apples

“I got this recipe from an ancient French farmhouse cookbook and have tweaked it over the years,” says Andrew Zimmern. “I make this dish all during the cold-weather months, which include everything but July here in Minnesota.”

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Seafood Pan Roast

With this mixed seafood roast, Grace Parisi proves that a dish can be both luxurious and simple. “As a kid, I thought shrimp scampi was the height of sophistication,” Grace says. “I’ve taken it several steps higher by adding lobster, oysters and scallops.”

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Casserole-Baked Halibut with Leeks and Carrots

“Halibut is one fish that roasts up really nicely,” says Melissa Perello, who cooks the firm-fleshed fish on top of vegetables in a casserole. Because this dish is so simple and ingredient-driven, be sure to make it with the very best olive oil.

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Mixed Pantry Pan Roast

This one-pan supper combines a number of standard shelf-stable pantry staples, like sun-dried tomatoes, tinned sardines and hearts of palm, in a delicious all-in-one meal.

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Spring Onion and Salami Sheet-Pan Pizza

Credit: Greg DuPree

When making sheet-pan pizza, bring the dough to room temp before shaping. This ensures the gluten is relaxed and the dough doesn’t shrink from the pan edges.

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Sheet-Pan Chicken with Sourdough and Bacon

Credit: Con Poulos

Food & Wine Culinary Director-at-Large Justin Chapple’s roast chicken legs drip meaty, delicious fat onto a smoky, peppery bed of potatoes, red onion and crispy croutons.

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Sheet Pan Salmon with Brussels Sprouts

Credit: Antonis Achilleos

In this recipe, Klancy Miller pairs salmon with three vegetables: brussels sprouts, red bell pepper, and red onions.

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Steak Au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Credit: Justin Walker

Red wine pan sauce is an amalgamation of fond (those browned bits left in the pan after searing meat), shallots, broth, good-quality red wine, and a few pats of butter to bind it all together and thicken it to a syrupy consistency. A perfect interplay of acid from the wine and sumptuous fat, the sauce is an ideal accompaniment to a peppe rcorn-crusted rib eye steak.

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Sausage, Kale, and Potato Skillet Supper

Credit: Jen Causey

The brilliant thing about this recipe is that you can cook it all in one skillet. The key is adding each ingredient at the right time so that everything cooks without burning.

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Blackened Skillet Pork Chops with Beans and Spinach

Credit: Victor Protasio

This simple, one-pan dinner comes together in just 25 minutes.

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Harissa-Lamb Skillet Lasagna

Credit: Justin Walker

Chicken broth dials up the richness of this stovetop lasagna, which is all prepared in one skillet.

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Clam-and-Oyster Pan Roast

Credit: © Christina Holmes

This brothy, aromatic seafood dish from chef Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina, weaves steamed clams with traditional New Orleans creamed oysters. It’s hearty but not heavy, and the winter greens make it a full meal. Crusty bread is a must for sopping up the coveted broth.

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Braised Sausage and Fennel with Toasted Spices

Credit: Greg DuPree

With whole pink peppercorns and fennel seeds, this simple braise is gently perfumed and aromatic with fresh spring flavors inspired by the braised fennel at Red Hook Tavern in Brooklyn, New York, from chef Allison Plumer. Use a fresh, spicy sausage here to complement the creamy bean puree and sweet fennel.

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Tater Tot Casserole

The secret to this casserole is the layer of creamed spinach in the middle. It adds elegance to the dish, as well as a nice contrast to the crispy, crunchy Tater Tot top.

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Buttery Cast-Iron Shrimp with Winter Salad

Credit: Johnny Miller

Shrimp are seared and glazed in chipotle-honey butter in this warm seasonal salad from chef JJ Johnson. He serves the shrimp over gently sautéed radicchio and endive, which mellows their bitter edge without losing their color or delicate crunch.

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Cauliflower Curry

Credit: Christopher Testani

This coconut-infused curry is endlessly variable: swap in green beans, eggplant, carrots, potatoes or a mix for the cauliflower.

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By Food & Wine and Bridget Hallinan