36 One-Pan and One-Pot Recipes to Save You From Washing the Dishes

Hello and welcome to this thing we’re doing where we help you figure out what you’re gonna put in your mouth this week. Some of these are recipes we’ve tried, some of these are recipes we’re looking forward to trying, all of them are fucking delicious. Tell us what you want to put in your piehole or suggest your own recipes, and we’ll talk about which things we made, which things we loved, and which things have changed us irreversibly as people. Last week, we used up all the cinnamon.

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Let’s face it: Cleaning up after you cook totally sucks! The process of preparing meals is super cathartic and soothing for me, but scraping pots and pans clean after I’m done is a total bummer. As someone who desires efficiency and also becomes tired very easily, doing less dishes is a long-standing dream. Like, how am I supposed to clean up? I’m in a food coma over here! 

But I digress.

Do yourself a favor and keep your kitchen a little cleaner tonight: Make a meal that asks of you but one simple pot or pan for its creation.


1. One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake

One-Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake


2. One Pan Quinoa with Ground Turkey, Kale, Mushrooms, Tomatoes

One Pan Quinoa with Ground Turkey, Kale, Mushrooms, Tomatoes


3. One Pot Spinach & Feta Macaroni and Cheese

One Pot Spinach _ Feta Macaroni and Cheese


4. One Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Sage, and Root Vegetables

One Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Sage, and Root Vegetables


5. Easy One Pot Lasagna

Easy One Pot Lasagna


6. One Pan Roasted Lemon Pepper Salmon and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus

One Pan Roasted Lemon Pepper Salmon and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus


7. One Pot Wonder Chicken Enchilada Bowls

One Pot Wonder Chicken Enchilada Bowls


8. One Pan Baked Ziti

One Pan Baked Ziti


9. One Pot Vegan Orecchiette

One Pot Vegan Orecchiette


10. Easy One Pan Pad Thai

Easy One Pan Pad Thai


11. One Pot Spicy Chicken Riggies

One Pot Spicy Chicken Riggies


12. One-Pan Baked Champagne Cream Sauce Fettuccine with Truffle Oil

One-Pan Baked Champagne Cream Sauce Fettuccine with Truffle Oil


13. Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot

Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot


14. One Pan English Breakfast

One Pan English Breakfast


15. One Pot Creamy Parmesan Garlic Risotto with Lemon Pepper Chicken

One Pot Creamy Parmesan Garlic Risotto with Lemon Pepper Chicken


16. One Pan Apple Butter Pork Chop

One Pan Apple Butter Pork Chop


17. One Pot Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

One Pot Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta


18. One Sheet Pan Garlic and Citrus Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes

One Sheet Pan Garlic and Citrus Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes


19. One Pot Greek Chicken & Lemon Rice

One Pot Greek Chicken _ Lemon Rice


20. One Pan Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta

One Pan Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta


21. One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles

One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles


22. One Pan Mexican Quinoa Wraps

One Pan Mexican Quinoa Wraps (1)


23. One Pot Spanish Chicken and Potatoes

One Pot Spanish Chicken and Potatoes


24. One-Pan Spring Tuscan Quinoa Bake

One-Pan Spring Tuscan Quinoa Bake


25. 5-Ingredient, One-Pot Asian Noodles

5-Ingredient, One-Pot Asian Noodles


26. One Pan Caprese Pasta

One Pan Caprese Pasta


27. One Pot Lemon Orzo Shrimp

One Pot Lemon Orzo Shrimp


28. One Sheet Pan Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans

One Sheet Pan Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans


29. One Pot Zucchini Pasta

One Pot Zucchini Pasta


30. One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies

One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies


31. One Pot Kielbasa Pasta

One Pot Kielbasa Pasta


32. Hawaiian One Pan Pasta

Hawaiian One Pan Pasta


33. One Pot Tandoori Quinoa

One Pot Tandoori Quinoa


34. One Pan Parmesan Pork Chops and Veggies

One Pan Parmesan Pork Chops and Veggies


35. One Pot Paprika Chicken Thighs

One-Pot Paprika Chicken Thighs


36. One Pan Garlic Ranch Chicken and Veggies

One Pan Garlic Ranch Chicken and Veggies

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

16 Comments

  1. Thanks for these Carmen. I’m looking forward to trying them out once the weather cools down. Still too hot in Sydney for much more than crispy salads.

  2. One pot/ one pan is my favourite / my only way of cooking. All of this looks delicious – thanks for the inspiration!

  3. This is extremely relevant to my interests. My gf and I are moving in together this week, and neither one of us enjoys doing the dishes very much…

  4. All of these recipes look amazing/life changing and I am so BAD at doing dishes the same day I use them so thank you!!!!

  5. I appreciate this list so much. I actually found the One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles on Pinterest a while ago and I’m trying it tonight!

  6. You guys really know me! I am NOT messing up 245 dishes to make anything, and it seems that way when you’re cooking. Thanks for this article!

  7. HELLO! I would like to report that I made #25 and it is SUPER easy and SUPER delicious. Be careful about the kind of peanut sauce you buy though because the one I got from Safeway was EXTREMELY spicy! I enjoyed it despite that but I would have liked it more if the spice had been taken down a notch or two.

Comments are closed.