23 One-Pot Meal Recipes for Minimal Kitchen Cleanup

No-hassle comfort food is what you deserve

By SAVEUR Editors
Updated: May 18, 2018

If you despise doing dishes but love big hearty meals, these stew and braise recipes are for you. Not only will you get a huge and delicious meal, but there's only one pot to wash (and it can probably just soak until tomorrow right?) so you don't have to worry about dishes piling up. Anything is possible if you throw it in a big pot, from cajun chicken and sausage gumbo to the meatless yet still hearty cauliflower stew. There's really nothing better than boiling a big pot on the stove after a long day's work, so kick back because you don't have to worry about the dishes with our favorite one-pot meals.

Veal and Kidney Bean Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi)

Veal and Kidney Bean Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi)
Fenugreek, an aromatic dried herb, lends a distinctly floral flavor to hearty veal stew. Get the recipe for Veal and Kidney Bean Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi) »Joseph De Leo

Braised Beef Stew with Garlic Cream

Braised Beef Stew with Garlic Cream
The silky garlic cream sauce at Las Cabras, Juan Pablo Mellado Arana's restaurant in Santiago, Chile, adds a welcome zing to this rich stew, but is also a great condiment in its own right—served with fries, slathered on sandwich bread, or spooned over meats. Get the recipe for Braised Beef Stew with Garlic Cream »Justin Walker

Doenjang Jjigae (Fermented Soybean Stew)

Doenjang Jjigae Korean Soybean Stew
It took chef Hooni Kim one year to perfect his recipe for dashi, which he uses as the base of this everyday Korean stew. Gochujang adds a subtle layer of heat to the broth, and doenjang boosts its richness and silkiness. Get the recipe for Doenjang Jjigae (Fermented Soybean Stew) »Jason Lang

Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs

Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs
Two types of soy sauce and a touch of sugar give this dish—beloved throughout China—its signature glossiness and a deep red-brown tint. Serve the tender pork belly morsels and boiled eggs with a light vegetable, like bok choy. Get the recipe for Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs »Yuki Sugiura

The Ultimate Pot Roast

braised beef shank with radishes and flaxseed relish
A low and slow braise is the best way to transform tough cuts of meat into fork-tender morsels. This version, made with a crosscut whole beef shank, is cooked in white wine and rich homemade beef bouillon layered with vegetables and aromatics for added complexity. Crunchy roasted radishes and a funky flaxseed, herb, and vinegar relish balance the pot roast's richness with acidity and texture. Get the recipe for The Ultimate Pot Roast »Heami Lee

Basque Seafood Stew

Basque Seafood Stew
Hearty "bouillabasque"—Darroze's tongue-in-cheek name for a Basque-style bouillabaisse, in which the fish is cooked separately and then added to a rich, reduced seafood-and-tomato stock—perfectly marries the culinary cornerstones of southwest France: duck fat, seafood, and armagnac. You can grill the fish on grates or a plancha, in the Spanish style, but a stovetop solution works just as well. Serve with aïoli, rouille, or any garlicky mayonnaise, along with some crusty bread. Get the recipe for Basque Seafood Stew »Michelle Heimerman

Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Neck and Potato Stew)

Gamjatang
A classic hearty Korean stew made with meaty pork neck, potatoes, and nutty perilla seeds. Sesame seeds cannot be substituted for the perilla in this recipe; seek perilla seed, also called wild sesame seed, out at Asian markets. Optional but recommended: Serve this dish with its accompanying dipping sauce. Get the recipe for Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Neck and Potato Stew) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Chicken Gumbo
During cooking, okra exudes a thick liquid that gives this hearty Cajun stew a sumptuous, silky texture; a little filé powder, made from dried sassafras leaves, further thickens and enriches it. But the backbone of this gumbo, and the source of its smoky flavor, is the roux made by toasting flour in hot oil until it is a deep red-brown. Get the recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo »Maxime Iattoni

Mexican Braised Spare Ribs with Squash and Corn

Mexican Braised Spare Ribs with Squash and Corn
Braise pork ribs with a homey, vegetable-rich sauce with a touch of heat, and use the leftovers for tacos. This is a classic recipe from Mexican cooking sage Josefina Velázquez de León. Get the recipe for Mexican Braised Spare Ribs with Squash and Corn »Matt Taylor-Gross

Hungarian Braised Beef with Paprika (Pörkölt)

Hungarian Braised Beef with Paprika (Pörkölt)
Known everywhere—except in Hungary—as goulash, this stew is made with a generous amount of paprika and cook down until the meat is fork-tender. Get the recipe for Hungarian Braised Beef with Paprika »Matt Taylor-Gross

Spicy Sichuan "Water Boiled" Fish and Celery

Water boiled fish
Give mild fish a serious lick of heat with homemade chile oil and fermented black soy beans. You can serve the fish and vegetables with just a little broth, as shown here, or as a soup. Get the recipe for Spicy Sichuan "Water Boiled" Fish and Celery »Matt Taylor-Gross

Celery Root, Carrot, and Potato Gratin

Celery Root, Carrot, and Potato Gratin
This simple, comforting root vegetable gratin is perfumed with fragrant thyme and bay leaves before being baked with a bubbly Gruyère crust. Get the recipe for Celery Root, Carrot, and Potato Gratin »Anders Schonnemann

Cauliflower with Tomato Sauce (Gulpea)

Cauliflower with Tomato Sauce (Gulpea)
Florets of cauliflower are stewed in a fragrant garlic-laced tomato sauce of fried onion, spices, and jalapeño in this Afghan dish from Nawida Saidhosin, a home cook and teacher from New York's League of Kitchens. Get the recipe for Cauliflower with Tomato Sauce (Gulpea) »Ingalls Photography

Bigos (Polish Pork and Sauerkraut Stew)

Bigos (Polish Pork and Sauerkraut Stew)
Bigos—a Polish stew of pork shoulder, bacon, kielbasa, and sauerkraut—is perfect for every celebration. Get the recipe for Bigos (Polish Pork and Sauerkraut Stew) »Todd Coleman

Honey-Braised Lamb Shanks (Mrouzia)

Honey-Braised Lamb Shanks (Mrouzia)
Lamb shanks are braised for hours in a sumptuous sauce of honey, almonds, and raisins in this centuries-old Moroccan dish served at the restaurant Mansouria. Get the recipe for Honey-Braised Lamb Shanks »Landon Nordeman

Chicken and Onion Tagine (Djej Besla)

Chicken and Onion Tagine (Djej Besla)
Onions stew until soft and sweet in this satisfying one-pot chicken dish flavored with saffron, turmeric, lemon, and olives. Get the recipe for Chicken and Onion Tagine (Djej Besla) »Todd Coleman

Chicken and Potato Stew (Guisada al Pollo)

Chicken and Potato Stew (Guisada al Pollo)
Hearty and filling, this easy chicken stew gets its signature smoky flavor from chipotles in adobo. Get the recipe for Chicken and Potato Stew (Guisada al Pollo) »Todd Coleman

Pepper Pot

Pepper Pot
Colonial Philadelphia, with its busy waterfront, was well influenced by trade from points south. Among the most famous Caribbean culinary imports was pepper pot. The rich, spicy stew of beef, pork, root vegetables, and greens became a staple in Philly, where West Indian hawkers advertised it with cries of "pepper pot, smoking hot!" Today, at City Tavern, a colonial-style saloon, this version is served. Get the recipe for Pepper Pot »Todd Coleman

Okra and Seafood Stew (Soupoukandia)

Okra and Seafood Stew (Soupoukandia)
Fish sauce and nutty palm oil flavor this luscious stew, undoubtedly a predecessor of Louisiana-style gumbo. Get the recipe for Okra and Seafood Stew (Soupoukandia) »Penny De Los Santos

Brazilian Fish Stew

Brazilian Fish Stew
This hearty stew can be made with any firm-fleshed white fish, such as catfish or halibut.Get the recipe for Brazilian Fish Stew »James Oseland

Chicken Arrabiata

Chicken Arrabiata
This classic chicken arrabbiata embraces summer's bounty in a simple, one-skillet main. Get the recipe for Chicken Arrabiata »Farideh Sadeghin

Jalisco-Style Goat Stew (Goat Birria)

Jalisco-Style Goat Stew (Goat Birria)
A low-and-slow cooking technique used for this birria, which colloquially means "a mess," ensures that the meat is fork-tender and the tomatillo broth infused with a rich, meaty flavor. Swap pork for goat, if you prefer. Get the recipe for Jalisco-Style Goat Stew (Goat Birria) »Dylan + Jeni

Irish Stew

Irish Stew
In this traditional warming stew from the Emerald Isle, lamb shoulder is rendered spoon-tender by a simmer and then a long, slow bake with plenty of filling potatoes and aromatic carrots and onions. For bright color and a bit of verdant sweetness, green peas are tossed in toward the end of the cooking. Get the recipe for Irish Stew »Andre Baranowski

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