We Asked 5 Chefs Their Favorite One-Pan Meals—and They're Anything but Basic

One-pan meals have become the unofficial heroes of weeknight cooking. They save time, keep the sink from overflowing with dishes and somehow make the idea of cooking dinner feel just a little less daunting after a long day. And if you think the phrase “one-pan meal” means bland meat and uninspired vegetables, the five chefs we spoke to are about to change your mind.

The real beauty of cooking everything in one pan isn’t just the easy cleanup—it’s the way the flavors build as everything cooks together. Those caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet? That’s pure flavor. Potatoes nestled beneath a roasting chicken don’t simply cook alongside it—they soak up the savory drippings that would otherwise be lost. Even yesterday’s stale bread can become the foundation of a deeply comforting meal when it’s given a second life in a flavorful broth.

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Professional chefs know these little tricks, and while they may spend their days cooking elaborate dishes in restaurants or for their clients, many turn to surprisingly simple one-pan meals when they’re feeding themselves, their families or friends at home. They’re comforting without being heavy, impressive without feeling fussy and practical enough for a Tuesday night without tasting like you phoned it in.

We asked five chefs to share the one-pan meal they come back to again and again. Their answers span everything from a fragrant South Indian chicken biryani passed down through family to rustic Tuscan bread soup that gives stale bread a delicious second life. Along the way, they also shared the smart techniques that make these dishes taste like they took far more effort than they actually do. Different cuisines, different techniques and different ingredients—but every one proves that cooking dinner in a single pan doesn’t mean settling for ordinary.

Our Panel of Chefs

These are the five chefs we spoke to that shared their best one-pan meals.

• Erin O’Brien is the New York Times bestselling cookbook author of Dig In! O’Brien grew up in the restaurant business helping at her grandmother’s Mexican restaurant in La Jolla, California.
• Aarthi Sampath is a Michelin star chef and founder of Drāvida, a New York-based restaurant celebrating South Asian diaspora cuisine. She has appeared on Food Network’s Last Bite Hotel, and has been crowned champion on both Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay.
• Whitney Otawka is a chef and cookbook author of the highly acclaimed The Saltwater Table. Chef Otawka is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, the former culinary director at The Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island and currently an education ambassador at Corto Olive in Lodi, California.
• Meg Walker is a Michelin star recipient and Le Cordon Bleu graduate and the chef behind the esteemed Made by Meg catering in Los Angeles.
• Brooke Bedell is a personal chef and the founder of Red Fennel Kitchen in Boston. She cooks for busy families, athletes and new parents, creating practical meals that fit real life.

The Best One-Pan Meals, According to 5 Chefs

Here are the one-pan meals these chefs swear by to help you lighten your cooking load.

1. One-Pan Chicken Marsala and Orzo

Some one-pan dinners are all about convenience. Chef Erin O’Brien’s favorite—chicken Marsala and orzo—is all about proving convenience and great flavor can go hand in hand.

The bestselling cookbook author says one-pan meals sometimes get an unfair reputation for being “kind of blah—like you’re trading flavor for fewer dishes to wash,” but Chef O’Brien’s chicken Marsala and orzo was created to challenge that idea by building every layer of flavor in the same skillet. Chicken thighs crisp first, mushrooms soak up the rendered fat and Marsala wine reduces into a rich sauce that then gets absorbed by the orzo so that none of those savory flavors are wasted.

Her favorite technique starts before the pan is even hot. Rather than dropping the chicken into a preheated skillet, O’Brien places the thighs skin-side down in a cold pan and slowly raises the heat. According to the chef, “it renders the fat gently, so you get really crispy skin” before the remaining ingredients even touch the skillet.

It’s the kind of small detail that makes the finished meal taste like something you’d order at a restaurant, even though it all comes together in a single pan in your kitchen. This one-pan chicken Marsala and orzo proves that fewer dishes doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor.

2. South Indian Chicken Biryani

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Some one-pot meals fill your stomach. Others take you home again.

For Chef Aarthi Sampath, her mother’s South Indian chicken biryani does both. Every Sunday, her family gathered on the floor to eat the Chettinad-style biryani while watching Mahabharat, one of India’s most beloved television series. “The aroma of the caramelized onions, the spices and the fresh mint instantly takes me back to those afternoons,” Sampath says. Today, it’s still the dish she turns to whenever she wants to recreate a little piece of home.

The Chettinad style, which originated in the Chettinad region of Southern India, is known for its bold spices and deeply layered flavors.

At the heart of Sampath’s family recipe is what she calls the real secret: a mountain of sliced red onions. More than two pounds of onions slowly cook down until they’re deeply caramelized, creating a rich, sweet foundation for the biryani. Yogurt-marinated chicken joins green chilies, tomatoes, cilantro stems, fresh mint, and warming spices like cinnamon, cloves and green cardamom before fragrant rice is added. Everything steams together in a single pot, allowing the rice to absorb every layer of flavor.

The result is a meal that’s deeply aromatic, comforting and surprisingly straightforward despite its complexity of flavor. “It’s the dish I make whenever I want to feed family, friends or simply make myself feel at home,” Sampath says. It’s a one-pot dish that’s equal parts comfort food and family tradition.

Related: I Asked 3 Chefs Their Favorite Way to Make Eggs, and They All Said the Same Thing

3. Ribollita

Sometimes the best one-pan meal starts with leftovers.

Chef Whitney Otawka’s favorite one-pan meal is ribollita, a traditional Tuscan soup whose name literally translates to “reboiled.” Originally created as a way to repurpose leftover vegetables, bean stews and stale bread, the humble dish has become one of Italy’s most beloved comfort foods. White beans, carrots, lacinato kale, tomatoes, garlic, broth, Parmesan rind and torn pieces of rustic day-old bread slowly cook together until the bread practically melts into the soup, creating a rich, satisfying texture that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.

For Otawka, ribollita is proof that simple ingredients often make the most memorable meals. “There is something luxurious about eating bread that has been bathing in an aromatic broth, olive oil and cheese for hours,” she says. It’s also a reminder that one-pan cooking isn’t always about speed. Sometimes, it’s about giving everyday ingredients enough time to transform into something special.

While Otawka’s bread soup leans vegetarian apart from the chicken broth, other versions, like the one from Instagrammer Julius Roberts, add a heaping dose of pancetta for an additional dose of savory richness. No matter how you dress it up, this rustic comfort meal turns leftover soup and day-old bread into something rich, hearty and incredibly satisfying.

4. Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken

Few meals make a house feel like home quite the way a roasting chicken does, and Chef Meg Walker’s version turns the roasting pan into part of the recipe.

Instead of cooking vegetables separately, Chef Walker surrounds the chicken with Yukon Gold or Red Bliss potatoes, halved shallots, and an entire head of garlic, all tossed with butter and fresh herbs. Before it goes in the oven, the chef bastes the bird outside and under the skin with unsalted butter and fresh-cut herbs.

As the chicken roasts, those vegetables slowly absorb the flavorful juices dripping from above, creating a complete meal without needing extra pots or pans. Fresh oranges tucked inside the bird add brightness while filling the kitchen with an aroma that’s every bit as inviting as the finished dinner.

This is a one-pan meal perfect for entertaining. Chef Walker says it’s one of her favorite meals because “it’s perfect any time of year, especially when you have company over because it fills the house with warmth and a yummy scent.”

Her biggest tip is simple: don’t rush it. Giving the chicken enough time in the oven allows the meat to stay juicy while the skin becomes beautifully crisp.

5. Red Pepper Shakshuka

Chef Brooke Bedell’s favorite one-pan meal proves that eggs can be every bit as satisfying for dinner as they are for breakfast.

Her shakshuka begins with onions, peppers, zucchini, garlic, warm spices, tomatoes and spinach before eggs are cracked directly into the simmering sauce to gently poach. The result is colorful, hearty and flexible enough to work for breakfast, brunch or a quick weeknight dinner. Chef Bedell even suggests adding meatballs if you’re looking for an extra boost of protein.

As a personal chef, Bedell appreciates meals that adapt to the people she’s cooking for. She says that her reason for loving this dish is that “it’s forgiving, it’s loaded with vegetables without anyone feeling lectured and it tastes like you fussed when you didn’t.”

Her favorite tip is to create small wells in the sauce before adding the eggs, then keep an eye on the egg whites—not the clock. Removing the pan from the heat as soon as the whites set keeps the yolks perfectly runny.

3 Genius, Chef-Approved Ways to Simplify Meals

Although their favorite dishes couldn’t be more different, these chefs shared three ways to make cooking one-pot meals even easier.

1. Layer Up

First, don’t be afraid to build flavors in layers. Browning meat before adding vegetables or grains creates a flavorful base that carries through the entire meal.

2. Bring Everything Together

Second, let your ingredients work together. Instead of cooking vegetables separately, allow them to roast beneath proteins or simmer in sauces where they’ll naturally absorb extra flavor. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a meal taste more complex without adding extra effort.

3. Follow Your Senses

Finally, trust your senses more than the timer. Whether it’s waiting for chicken skin to crisp naturally or watching egg whites instead of counting minutes, paying attention to what’s happening in the pan often produces better results than following the clock alone. As Chef O’Brien points out, “even though it all happens in a single skillet, it’s built on technique, not shortcuts.”

Perhaps that’s why one-pan meals continue to stand the test of time. They’re easy enough for busy weeknights, satisfying enough for weekend dinners and, as these five chefs prove, anything but basic.

Related: We Asked 3 Chefs the Best Thing To Make With Canned Chicken, and They All Said the Same Thing