6 One-Pan Dinners
for Nights When You Hate Doing Dishes
There are nights when I’m happy to cook dinner. There are considerably fewer nights when I’m excited to clean up dinner.
After cooking for clients all day or running everyone around after school, the last thing I want is four pans soaking in my sink. I still want real food that tastes freaking good, I just don’t need a kitchen disaster attached to it. These are 9 one-pan dinners I come back to when I want everyone fed and cleanup kept to a minimum.
Juicy chicken thighs simmered in salsa until tender and packed with flavor. Serve them with rice, tortillas, or whatever you already have because we’re specifically trying NOT to make this harder.
Perfect for: Taco night without all the taco-night work.
Ground pork, crunchy vegetables, and a savory-sweet sauce all happen in one skillet and FAST. This is one of those dinners I make when ordering takeout feels dangerously close.
Perfect for: Busy nights when you need dinner immediately.
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Chicken, rice, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes cook together in one pan, so the rice gets to soak up all that good stuff. It’s filling, flavorful, and feels considerably fancier than the amount of work involved.
Perfect for: A weeknight dinner that doesn’t taste like a weeknight dinner.
Chicken and vegetables get tossed with bright, citrusy mojo flavors and roasted together on one sheet pan. Throw it in the oven and go deal with the other 47 things happening in your house.
Perfect for: Soccer nights and minimal brainpower.
Tender salmon in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce is exactly my kind of comfort food. It feels rich and cozy without being ridiculously heavy, and there’s only one pan staring at you when dinner is over.
Perfect for: When you want salmon but don’t want another boring salmon dinner.
This is hearty, cozy comfort food without the meat. Vegetables and a savory filling get topped with creamy mashed potatoes for a dinner that makes eating more vegetables feel like a pretty excellent deal.
Perfect for: Meatless nights when everyone still wants something filling.
Chicken gets simmered with tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, and all those salty, briny flavors that make puttanesca so good. Spoon it over rice or gluten-free pasta and make sure you get plenty of that sauce.
Perfect for: When chicken needs a personality.
Chicken cacciatore sounds like something you should make on a Sunday afternoon. This version disagrees. Chicken, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and plenty of sauce come together in one pan for an easy weeknight version of the classic.
Perfect for: Comfort food without committing your entire evening to it.
Sweet potatoes and cauliflower simmer in a creamy, warmly spiced curry sauce until tender. Serve it over rice, add plenty of fresh herbs, and you have a vegetarian dinner that I will very happily eat for lunch again tomorrow.
Perfect for: Meatless dinner and seriously good meal prep.
One Pan. Everyone Fed. Moving On.
I’m never going to tell you that cooking dinner every night is relaxing and magical. Sometimes it’s 6:00, everyone is hungry, you’ve already made approximately 900 decisions that day, and dinner just needs to happen.
That’s why I love these recipes. Real food, plenty of flavor, and when dinner is over, there isn’t a small mountain of cookware waiting for me.
Now tell me: which one are you making on the night you absolutely do NOT want to do dishes?
Chef's Note
“One pan” doesn’t mean you need to serve dinner completely on its own. I keep the sides just as easy: microwave rice, a bagged salad, gluten-free bread, or vegetables that can cook right alongside dinner. The goal here is fewer dishes, not creating three extra side projects.
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Hi, I'm Kat.
Welcome to my Kitchen Counter. I’m excited to share with you a new series called “Make my kitchen work for you” along with a collection of blog posts about a variety of topics – building a gluten free pantry, staples to always have on hand and gift guides for the Chef in your life. Take a look around. I’d love to hear from you – do you like these posts?
