One-Pot Dinner Recipes You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less

By Lynn Andriani
February 22, 2021
Credit: Armando Rafael

Here are the streamlined weeknight dinner recipes you love, just faster than you thought possible! We're sharing one-pot pasta, sheet-pan salmon, chicken and mushrooms, and other irresistible main courses that you can make fast.

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Credit: Kate Sears

The allure of a one-pot recipe is strong: It's hard to argue with a dinner that is hearty, filling, and satisfying without the addition of any side dishes. Of course, practically any meal could be rounded out with a salad and a loaf of bread, but on nights when you don't have the time or energy to expend, any one of these meals will do the trick and then some. Most of our one-pot dinner recipes include a protein, vegetable, and starch, and all of them can stand on their own as a complete meal. Perhaps best of all, each of these recipes comes together fast—they'll be on the table in just 30 minutes.

There are stews that boast surprisingly complex flavor for having just simmered for a half hour; sheet-pan suppers where everything cooks on the same pan (sometimes in stages); and skillet suppers that have you use the same pan to cook the protein and vegetables. One meal we love is the dish shown here: Sumac-Dusted Salmon with Broccolini, a simple sheet pan dinner that stars salmon fillets, crunchy croutons, garlicky broccolini, and quartered oranges, all livened up with sumac, a spice popular across the Middle-East. It brings a tart and tangy flavor, adding depth that can be otherwise hard to achieve in just a half hour.

Armed with these recipes (as well as one pot, skillet, or sheet pan), you can get a healthy, delicious dinner on the table in 30 minutes or even less. What more could a busy cook ask for?

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Fish Stew with Herbed Toasts

Credit: James Ransom
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Quick-cooking and mild-tasting cod stars in this tomatoey fish stew. Just before serving, you spread baguette slices with butter, sprinkle them with minced shallot and thyme leaves, place them atop the fish, and broil for a few minutes. The toasty bread becomes a wonderful tool for soaking up the delicious broth.

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Chow Mein

Credit: Martyna Szczesna
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This Chinese-American restaurant staple pairs crispy fried noodles with chicken and vegetables, and you'll stir-fry everything in a thick brown sauce. Because the recipe calls for Hong Kong chow mein noodles, which don't need to be boiled ahead of time, dinner is on the table in a flash.

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Chicken Cutlets with Summer Squash and Feta

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Chicken cutlets cook in a matter of minutes, and dredging them in flour helps form a luscious pan gravy. Then, in the same pan, you cook summer squash rounds, spinach, and feta. A caper sauce is wonderful atop both.

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Corn-and-Mushroom Soup

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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You can follow this recipe to a T and be wonderfully satisfied with the rich and flavorful finished dish, or make an egg-drop version of it, by beating eggs in a bowl and slowly drizzling them into the simmering broth just before serving.

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Steak and Asparagus Stir-Fry

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Thinly sliced steak and asparagus would be wonderful on their own, but add ginger, red Thai chiles, and scallions, and the resulting dish is even tastier. Serve this easy stir-fry with steamed rice, lime wedges, and roasted peanuts.

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One-Pan Creamy Tuna Pasta

Credit: Armando Rafael
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This lighter take on tuna casserole gets brightness and crunch from fresh asparagus and arugula. The one-pan angle? You cook the pasta in a large, straight-sided skillet or stockpot in a combination of broth and water that doesn't need to be drained once the pasta is al dente. Once the pasta is cooked, add the rest of the ingredients in that same pot.

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Coconut-Curry Shrimp and Couscous

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Teaming quick-cooking ingredients including fresh shrimp, frozen peas, and couscous with the flavor bomb that is red curry paste means this curry stew comes together fast, but doesn't lack in taste.

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Roasted Salmon with Kale and Cabbage

Credit: Andrew Purcell
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A very hot oven can work wonders on kale and cabbage. Add salmon filets for the final 10 minutes and a lemon-mustard-dill dressing, and you've got a simple, healthy, and delicious dinner.

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Chicken with Mushrooms

Credit: Andrew Purcell
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Here's an example of a recipe where the whole is worth way more than the sum of its parts. Flour, chicken, salt and pepper; then thyme, mushrooms and butter; finally, wine and broth—and you've got a quick and delicious one-skillet meal that pairs so well with crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

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Pressure-Cooker Corn Risotto

Credit: Marcus Nilsson
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For this low-effort risotto, you add corn cobs to the Instant Pot or pressure cooker at the same time that you add rice, creating a broth that infuses the risotto with incomparable corn flavor. Then you stir in corn kernels at the end, along with basil and cherry tomatoes for a beautiful and rich-tasting meal.

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Chicken, Collard Greens, and Sweet Potato Stew

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Searing the chicken first creates a tasty fond (the caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan) for the broth in this stew. Then you add onion and celery, deglazing the pan with vinegar, before adding the diced sweet potatoes and chopped collard greens. Within 30 minutes you'll be enjoying a Southern-influenced, hearty supper.

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Potato Hash with Spinach and Eggs

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Classic potato hash and eggs get a nutritious element here, thanks to spinach. And while this quick dish makes a fabulous weeknight supper, it's also a great weekend brunch offering, too.

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Pork Fried Rice

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If you have any leftover cooked rice, use it for this dish—it won't stick together in the skillet and forms the basis of this economical, tasty supper that's super fast to make, too.

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Salmon with Fennel, Bell Pepper, and Olives

Credit: Johnny Miller
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Here's another sheet pan salmon dinner, but this one featuring Mediterranean flavors. Fennel, bell pepper, olives, and orange are a lovely combination that beautifully complement the fish.

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By Lynn Andriani