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10 Good-For-You One-Pan Dinners Your Family Will Love

By Carrie Havranek
|
September 2, 2020
Photo Credit: With Food + Love

Dinners that require one pan, whether they’re sheet pans, a skillet, or a pot, are dinnertime genius. They’re the key to getting something delicious and healthy on the table quickly, with a clean-up that’s even faster. Because as meditative and satisfying as it can be to do the dishes and get lost in that chore for a bit — I get some good ideas this way! — I would really rather be going for a walk after dinner or reading or hanging with my kids or basically doing something else besides cleaning up. Wouldn’t you? Here are 10 meals to add to your dinner rotation.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Rainbow Vegetables from Well Plated by Erin

It’s hard to go wrong with a sheet pan full of veggies, and this one is pretty perfect for using up an abundance of fresh produce and pairing it with chicken, too. Think of this recipe as a formula, swapping in whatever veggies you have on hand.

Roasted Kale Caesar Salad with Chickpeas and Avocado from Happy Veggie Kitchen

Sometimes you just want a really big salad for dinner, one that satisfies. The key to a good salad is building ingredients that balance each other in both flavor and their benefits. This one from Happy Veggie Kitchen doesn’t skimp on healthy fats or protein and doesn’t leave you hungry.

Sweet Potato Kale and Sage Quinoa Skillet from With Food + Love

On their own, these ingredients are superstars. When you put them together, they’re a combo of sweet, earthy, and nutty. This one-skillet dish is ready in a half an hour and doesn’t require pre-cooked quinoa; it all comes together in the pan.

Easy Honey Citrus Sheet Pan Salmon from Killing Thyme

Salmon is a great candidate for a sheet-pan dinner, but as with all dinners cooked this way, it’s about staging the ingredients. Halved potatoes first with garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper, followed by the asparagus and salmon with a light and sweet honey-citrus glaze.

Broccoli Rabe Frittata with Pesto Ricotta from Vanilla and Bean

Shave minutes off dinner prep by making the ricotta pesto in the food processor ahead of time. Blanch the broccoli rabe to tame some of that assertive bitterness. And watch the frittata do its thing in the oven in a cast iron pan—a total hands-off cooking process.

Sweet Potato Kale and Shrimp Skillet from Primavera Kitchen

Oh, sweet potatoes, you are so versatile. This one brings together kale and shrimp and is ready for dinner tonight in a hurry. Serve with a green salad and it’s ready for anyone at your dinner table who’s following Whole30 gluten-free, and/or paleo protocol. It also only requires four ingredients

One-Pot Udon and Zucchini Noodle Curry Bowls from Life as a Strawberry

It’s not all zoodles here, so you still get both carbs and veggies. They cook in one pot with onion, garlic, pepper, and coconut milk for a delicious weeknight curry in a hurry.

Sheet Pan Taco Bowls from Castaway Kitchen

No, this doesn’t use two different vessels: you put all your taco ingredients (chicken thighs, red onion, and cauliflower rice, for starters) on the sheet pan, transfer to a bowl, and then drizzle it all with a flavorful cilantro coconut butter sauce. This recipe is perfect for anyone following keto, paleo, Whole30, or AIP-based diets—it meets all those protocol requirements.

One-Pan Gnocchi with Sundried Tomatoes and White Beans from Sweet Peas and Saffron

Cooking gnocchi in a pan to crisp it up adds a level of texture to what can be bland, heavy food. Paired with tomatoes, spinach, and mushrooms, and just some good olive oil and salt and pepper, and dinner is ready in 30 minutes. Grab a bowl.

Swap the gnocchi for the cauliflower variety? Read this: The 3 Most Common Cooking Questions People Have About Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi

One-Skillet Pork Chops with Apples from Paleo Running Momma

Pork chops are a great candidate for the sheet pan treatment, especially bone-in ones, which tend to have more flavor and retain their moisture better than their boneless counterparts. Here, they’re paired with apples, their seasonal counterpart. Serve alongside rice (cauliflower or otherwise, this recipe is paleo and Whole30), a green salad, and/or some roasted sweet potatoes.

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