21 One-Pot Dinners for When You’re Fed up With Dirty Dishes

For those nights when you can't even, any one of these 21 one-pot dinner recipes will be your best friend.

plate of 20-Minute One-Pan Beef and Chickpeas with rice and greek yogurt — Simply Recipes / Frank Tiu

I love one-pot dinners. Although I get plenty of help loading and unloading the dishwasher, I’m the one in the family who regularly washes the pots and pans, so I’m thrilled whenever there are fewer dishes to do at the end of the night. Also, one-pot dinners are incredibly efficient. Why get out a stockpot and a skillet when a single Dutch oven will suffice?

What exactly is a one-pot dinner? To me, a one-pot dinner is a recipe that uses a single pot (or skillet) to prepare the whole dinner. These meals don’t require me to make a separate pot of rice, boil pasta as a side dish, or get out a slew of tortillas and toppings to be considered a meal. No. A one-pot meal is made in one pot and can be served as is.

Without further ado, you can read on to find one-pot dinners that will make busy nights as easy as can be.

1. Skillet Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Carrots, and Greens

A grey non-stick skillet is full of the best crispy skillet chicken thighs with potatoes, carrots and greens. The skillet is on a marble background. — Sally Vargas

Braising doesn’t have to be an all day affair. This skillet version braises the chicken thighs and vegetables in the oven in 30 minutes. Feel free to swap out the swiss chard for baby spinach (no chopping required!) or kale.

2. One-Pot Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Capers

One-Pot Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Capers in a Bowl — Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

Not only is this one-pot but it takes only one step! Put all the ingredients in the large skillet, simmer, and serve. The short ingredient list uses easy to find ingredients that sing when put together. Stir in a can of white beans for an extra-filling meal.

3. 20-Minute Beef and Chickpeas

Contributor Devan Grimsrud says, "Get your greens in by tossing in a few handfuls of frozen peas or frozen spinach to round out this meal even further."

4. One-Pot Taco Pasta

One-Pot Taco Pasta in a Pot, and in the Surroundings, a Bowl With Lime Wedges, a Bowl With Sliced Green Onions, a Bowl With Sour Cream, Glasses With a Drink, and a Mustard Colored Table Napkin — Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Take the spices in chili and add ingredients similar to hamburger and macaroni and you get this delightful one-pot taco pasta. You can add toppings, like sour cream and additional shredded cheese, but it’s perfectly wonderful as is.

5. Creamy One Pot Pasta with Zucchini

Still trying to use up all that zucchini? This is the perfect one-pot meal for you. Shredded zucchini is cooked down and then combined with tube-shaped pasta and cream cheese. Six ingredients never tasted so good.

6. Skillet Chicken and Rice

stovetop chicken and rice recipe made in a skillet — Nick Evans

Chicken and rice was my favorite casserole but cooking it in a skillet makes it so much quicker. You can make this recipe your own by adding cheese, garlic, or change up the herbs. Remember to rinse the rice before adding it to the skillet so that the finished dish isn’t gummy.

7. Skillet Cacio e Pepe Tortellini With Wilted Greens

Skillet Cacio e Pepe Tortellini With Wilted Greens in a Pot With a Serving Spoon, All on a White Kitchen Towel on the Counter, and Next to It, a Bowl of Cracked Pepper, a Glass of Water, and a Block of Pecorino Romani Cheese — Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Being able to conserve water while speeding up dinner sounds like a dream combination. In this recipe, the water that cooks the tortellini also turns into a silky sauce. 25 minutes later and you’ll be sitting down to dinner.

8. Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

The Instant Pot turns a weekend meal into a quick and easy one-pot sensation. The chicken thighs are simmered along with the sauteed vegetables, spices, and beans. Once the pressure cooking cycle is complete, you can keep it on the warm setting for up to 10 hours before finishing the chili.

9. White Bean, Tomato, and Shrimp Skillet Dinner

Shrimp and Vegetable Skillet Dinner - beans, fennel, tomato and shrimp skillet — Sally Vargas

If you haven’t tried fennel yet, now is the time. Sauteed fennel flavors the tomato sauce that the shrimp and white beans are cooked in and adds a touch of sweetness to the dish. It’s important to cook the shrimp gently to keep it from becoming rubbery.

10. Shakshuka with Feta, Olives, and Peppers

Best Shakshuka with a side of bread and topped with feta and olives. — Sally Vargas

Shake up the breakfast for dinner routine with a simmering pot of tomatoes, cheese, and eggs. Shakshuka is a versatile dish typically eaten for breakfast but makes a fantastic dinnerl. Use a skillet with a lid to steam the eggs.

11. Creamy Skillet Gnocchi With Bacon and Peas

Creamy Skillet Gnocchi With Bacon and Peas in a skillet with a spoon at a table setting with a stack of plates, a bowl of chopped chives, and a small plate of bacon pieces — Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell Royster

Cooking ever-handy packaged gnocchi in a skillet may just become your default method after you try this easy-peasy dinner.

12. Tuscan Chicken Pasta Skillet

Side view of a plate of one pot chicken pasta dinner. A large skillet is behind the plate of pasta and grape tomatoes, basil and seasoning are in the upper right. — Jessica Gavin

Quickly marinating the chicken in oil and Italian spices makes for a highly flavorful chicken dinner. The spaghetti noodles are cooked in the same skillet as the chicken but not at the same time. This keeps the chicken from losing its crisp exterior. You could substitute a Dutch oven for the large high-sided skillet.

13. Chicken Marengo

chicken marengo served over pasta — Simply Recipes / Coco Morante

Contributor Coco Morante says, "If your pot is not big enough to fit all of the chicken thighs, brown the thighs in 2 batches."

14. Easy Pork Fried Rice

A black skillet with prepared pork fried rice recipe inside. Steam is coming up from the dish and a spatula is resting in the rice on the left side. — Nick Evans | Art Banner Credit: Andy Christensen

Fried rice is such a weeknight dinner staple that it's easy to take its one-pan status for granted. Bust this one out when you have leftover rice to blast through. Frozen veggies make the prep minimal.

15. Taco Chicken Alfredo

One-pot taco chicken alfredo in a pot — Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Senior Editor Laurel Randolph says, "If you find the chicken sticks to the pan, let it cook a little longer. It will separate from the pan as it cooks."

16. Chicken Scarpariello

Chicken scarpariello in a red Dutch oven — Simply Recipes / Coco Morante

Contributor Coco Morante says, "Scarpariello can be as spicy as you like—add jalapeños along with the bell peppers for more heat, or include a pinch of red pepper flakes along with the Italian herbs. Choose varieties of pickled peppers that are on the spicier side, like hot banana peppers, hot cherry peppers, or pepperoncini. Go for hot Italian sausages, too."

17. One Pot Chicken and Orzo

Though similar in size to rice, orzo is a small pasta. Bone-in chicken thighs are first browned in the skillet, leaving enough fat for the orzo to be toasted in before bringing it all back together. The meal is on the table in 35 minutes and can be adjusted easily to include more vegetables and spices.

18. Curried Ground Turkey With Potatoes

This simple one-pot uses ground turkey, easy to find spices, and cubed potatoes to create a nourishing meal. Rice is optional here, unlike more traditional curries that have more liquid.

19. Skillet Chicken with Cheesy Orzo and Zucchini

Skillet Chicken Breast with Orzo and Zucchini — Kerri Brewer

You really can’t go wrong with cheesy pasta and chicken. Lean chicken breasts are a tasty counterpoint to the rich pasta. You can serve it right out of the skillet or chop the cooked chicken and stir it in before serving.

20. One-Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Plateful of one pot mac and cheese with a fork, and in the surroundings, a dutch oven with more, a glass of water, utensils, and a mustard kitchen towel — Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

The stirring you do from time to time helps make this roux-free macaroni and cheese extra silky. The starch from the pasta slowly helps thicken the sauce. Less to wash, more to love.

21. Spaghetti all'Assassina (Assassin's Spaghetti)

Bowlful of assassin's spaghetti at a table setting with more in a bowl, a glass of water, utensils, and light blue kitchen towel — Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Senior Editor Laurel Randolph says, "The amount of red pepper flakes in this recipe makes a spicy but not super spicy dish. If you like heat, up it to one teaspoon and consider garnishing with more. You can also use fresh, thinly sliced red chiles instead."