A montage of one-pot recipes

When a one-pot dinner or one-bowl dessert materializes without a hitch, it feels like a miracle: One vessel to clean, mission accomplished, win win.

It’s a wonder we cook anything unless it falls into the one-pan genre?

Below are 18 of my favorite one-pot wonders. These are mostly savory recipes but I’ve included three sweets as well, each of which I rely on heavily for various reasons: one-bowl buttermilk pancakes (weekend breakfasts), one-bowl orange-ricotta pound cake (holidays, gift giving), one-bowl buttermilk birthday cake (every. single. birthday).

Friends, what are your favorite one-pot dishes? Let me know! You can never have too many.

Savory One-Pot Wonders

One-Pot Chicken with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
Sherry vinegar chicken gif of the cooking process.

One-Pot Lentil Soup: (Long-time favorite.)
One-bowl, vegan lentil soup.

One-Pan Baked Ziti
one-pan baked ziti

One-Pan Chicken with Potatoes and Tarragon
One-Pan Chicken and Potatoes

Stewy Chickpeas with Tomatoes & Feta
A bowl of stewy chickpeas and tomatoes.

One-Pan Pasta with Meat Sauce
The Instant Pot miracle: one pot spaghetti and meat sauce

Weeknight Chili
A bowl of weeknight chili.

Slow Cooker Gigante Beans with Tomatoes & Pancetta
baked corona beans in the slow cooker

Sheet Pan Roast Chicken & Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic
One pan chicken and Brussels sprouts.

Curried Lentils with Kale and Coconut
Curried lentils with kale and coconut

Chickpea Taco Bowls
In these chickpea taco bowls, the chickpeas swell with the smoky, spicy, earthy flavors of the chili powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes, and garlic. Sweat the onions, add the seasonings, liquid, and protein, and simmer till flavorful.

One-Pan Bucatini with Leeks and Lemon
One-pot bucatini with leeks and lemon.

Slow-Cooker Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Slow-cooker butternut squash soup in bowls.

Leblebi: Moroccan Chickpea Stew
leblebi: Moroccan chickpea soup in bowls.

Pantry Tomato Soup
Pantry tomato soup in a bowl.

Sweet One-Bowl Wonders

One-Bowl Buttermilk Pancakes
one-bowl buttermilk pancakes

One-Bowl Orange-Ricotta Pound Cake
just-baked orange-ricotta pound cake — this is a one-bowl cake, flavored with orange zest and orange liqueur, made with butter (as opposed to oil). It stays moist for days and makes a wonderful gift.

One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake
One-Bowl Buttermilk Birthday Cake