One-Pot Dinners With Easy Cleanup

Shrimp creole starts the way a lot of Louisiana cooking does, with onion, celery and green pepper softened in a little butter. Add garlic, a can of crushed tomatoes, some stock, Cajun seasoning and a bay leaf, and let it simmer about 20 minutes so it thickens. The shrimp go in last and only need 3 to 4 minutes, until they curl and turn pink.

To keep it to one pot, stir 1 cup of raw long grain rice and an extra 2 cups of stock into the sauce, cover it, and give it 20 minutes before the shrimp go in. Or mound plain rice in the middle of the bowl like this one and spoon the creole around it.

Onion, carrot and celery softened in olive oil, then garlic, cumin, a can of diced tomatoes, a cup of rinsed brown or green lentils and about 6 cups of broth. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are soft but still hold their shape. No soaking needed.

Squeeze in some lemon right before serving and throw a handful of greens on top, like the bowl here. I’d eat it with bread, though a spoon does fine.

Onion, garlic, a jalapeño and cumin in a pot, then broth, a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans and corn. Shred in rotisserie chicken and simmer about 20 minutes.

The topping is the fun part. Crisp tortilla strips, a spoonful of sour cream and some shredded cabbage, like this bowl.

Beef chow fun is all about wide, fresh rice noodles and a very hot pan. Thin slices of flank steak, marinated in soy sauce and a pinch of cornstarch, get seared first and pulled out. Then the noodles, onion and bean sprouts go in with dark soy and oyster sauce, and the beef goes back in at the end.

Pull the noodles apart by hand before they hit the pan (cold ones from the fridge stick together in a brick). You want a little char on the edges, like the plate here.

A light, brothy stew with scallops or shrimp, little potatoes, carrots and snap peas. Simmer the potatoes and carrots in seafood or chicken stock until they’re tender, around 15 minutes, then add the seafood and the snap peas for the last 4 or 5 minutes so the peas stay crisp and green.

Scallops are done when they turn opaque all the way through. In a wide bowl like this one, it doesn’t look like a Tuesday night dinner at all.

Meatless, cheap and done in one pot. Toast a cup of rice in a little oil with garlic and a diced jalapeño, add broth and a can of drained pinto beans, then cover and simmer about 18 minutes. The lime zest and juice go in when you fluff the rice.

I like it the way it’s plated here, with chopped tomato, cilantro and a few slices of avocado on top.

Shelf-stable gnocchi can go straight into the skillet without boiling, which is the whole trick here. Crisp some diced pancetta and pull it out, then brown the gnocchi in the fat for a few minutes per side. Add asparagus pieces, garlic and a splash of cream or chicken broth, cover for 3 minutes, and stir the pancetta back in with a handful of parmesan.

The sauce in this bowl is on the loose side, which I’d take over a thick one any day.

Fry a couple of tablespoons of curry paste in a little oil for a minute before the coconut milk goes in. That one step makes most of the difference. Then cubed butternut squash simmers about 15 minutes until a fork goes through it, and broccoli florets go in for the last 5 so they stay bright.

Cilantro on top, like the pan here, and a squeeze of lime. Chicken or chickpeas can go in too, but it stands fine on its own over rice.

This is everything that goes into it, laid out: a block of firm tofu, carrots, red pepper, broccoli, snap peas, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. Press the tofu for 15 minutes and cube it, then brown it in a hot skillet before the vegetables go in so it holds its shape.

The sauce is soy, a little honey and a spoonful of cornstarch in water, stirred in at the end until it turns glossy.

Italian sausage browned in a soup pot, then onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, broth and a splash of cream. Chopped kale goes in for a few minutes, and the shrimp last, only until they turn pink. Like the bowl here, it comes out rich and orange and a little spicy if you use hot sausage.

Leftover rice does better here than fresh, since it’s drier and doesn’t go gummy. Brown ground beef with garlic, add a quick sauce of soy, brown sugar and ginger, then stir in cold cooked rice, broccoli and some diced squash until it’s all hot.

Pile it into a deep bowl like this and you’ve got dinner in about 15 minutes.

Eggs poached right in a skillet of tomato sauce, which makes this about the most hands-off dinner on the list. Soften onion, red pepper and garlic in olive oil, stir in cumin, paprika and a can of crushed tomatoes, and let it bubble for 10 minutes or so until it thickens.

Make little wells with the back of a spoon, crack an egg into each one, cover the pan and cook until the whites and yolks are set, 6 to 8 minutes. Crumbled feta and parsley go on top. The pita on the side, like the pan here, is for dragging through the sauce.

Here is everything laid out before it goes in the pot: smoked sausage, dried red beans, rice, onion, celery, green pepper and the spices. Brown the sausage in a Dutch oven, soften the vegetables in the drippings, then add cooked or canned beans, Cajun seasoning, a bay leaf and broth and simmer until it gets thick and creamy. Mash a few of the beans against the side of the pot to help it along.

Serve it over rice. A big pot cools slowly, so FSIS suggests dividing large amounts into shallow containers so they chill quickly in the fridge. Eat the leftovers within 3 to 4 days.

Cold, day-old rice goes into a very hot wok with a little oil and gets broken up and tossed until every grain is coated, which is the stage in the photo. Push it to the side, scramble 2 or 3 eggs in the empty space, then fold everything together with soy sauce, sesame oil and sliced green onions.

Fresh rice turns mushy. If that is all you have, spread it on a tray and let it dry out in the fridge for an hour first.

Soak the rice noodles in hot water while you get the sauce together (tamarind paste, fish sauce, brown sugar and a little sriracha). Scramble an egg in the wok, push it aside, add the shrimp or chicken, then the drained noodles and the sauce, and toss until the noodles soak it up.

Bean sprouts, green onion and crushed peanuts go on at the end. The lime wedge on this plate isn’t optional, and neither is the sriracha bottle sitting in the back.

Brown turkey meatballs in a deep skillet, add sliced mushrooms and cook until they give up their water, then pour in a jar of marinara. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, until the meatballs reach 165°F in the middle. A thermometer saves you from cutting one open to check.

This plate has a spoonful of pesto on the side, which I’d steal for a weeknight.

Dice the sweet potato small, around 1/2 inch, or it takes forever. Brown the ground turkey with onion until it reaches 165°F, add the sweet potato with a splash of water and a lid for 10 minutes, then take the lid off so it gets some color.

Make a few wells and crack eggs into them for the last 5 minutes, like the skillet here. Breakfast for dinner, one pan.

Corn tortillas torn into pieces and layered in one baking dish with shredded chicken, black beans, enchilada sauce and cheese, then baked at 375°F for about 25 minutes until it bubbles at the edges. Same flavor as the rolled kind, with none of the rolling.

Rotisserie chicken does fine here. It does use the oven, but it is still one dish to wash.

Stovetop mac where the pasta cooks right in the milk and broth, so there’s no draining and no colander to wash. Use about 2 cups of liquid for every 8 ounces of short pasta and stir often so it doesn’t stick. Once it’s tender, take it off the heat and stir in shredded sharp cheddar a handful at a time.

It’s creamiest straight from the pan, like this one.

Onion, garlic, ginger and curry powder, then 2 cans of chickpeas, a can of coconut milk and a can of diced tomatoes. This is it partway through, simmering in the pan before it thickens up. About 20 minutes total, and a few handfuls of spinach can wilt in at the end.

Curries and stews keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge and 2 to 3 months in the freezer, so I’d freeze half in flat bags.

Brown bite-size pieces of chicken thigh in a Dutch oven, then add onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, a little flour and enough broth to cover. Simmer with the lid partly on for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

The pot here is at the browning stage, which is where most of the flavor comes from, so don’t crowd it. Chicken is done at 165°F, and in a stew it will get there long before the vegetables do.

Leftover chicken, cold rice, frozen peas and carrots, a scrambled egg and soy sauce. That’s about it. Use a wok or your biggest skillet over high heat, and cook in batches if you have to so the rice fries instead of steaming. A bowl like this one is dinner in about 15 minutes.

Brown bone-in chicken thighs in a Dutch oven and set them aside, then cook sliced peppers, onion and garlic in the drippings. Crushed tomatoes, a splash of red wine or broth, oregano and a few olives go in, the chicken goes back on top, and it braises with the lid on for about 40 minutes, until the thighs reach 165°F.

Halved baby potatoes can go right in the pot with the chicken, which is how you end up with a plate like this one without boiling anything on the side.