Our Best Throw-It-Together Recipes

Turkish Skillet Kebab with Charred Peppers and Tomatoes

A Turkish-style skillet of juicy meats, tomatoes, and peppers, sopped up with warm flatbread.

By Diane UngerFebruary 1, 2023

Dutch Oven Beef Birria Tacos

Slow-cooked, succulent meaty stew in a thick, chili-rich sauce.

By Diane UngerAugust 9, 2021

Greek Chicken and Potato Traybake

The Greek dish known as kotopoulo skorthato typically is called “Greek garlic-lemon chicken” in English, but the ensemble also includes potatoes, making it a delicious complete meal. For our take on the classic, we use our trusty traybake technique—we

Roasted Whole Cauliflower with Feta

This whole-roasted cauliflower encapsulates Ikaria’s no-fuss home cooking with minimal manipulation, lots of flavor and brightness.

By Courtney HillJanuary 22, 2024

Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes and Gorgonzola

Cooking polenta in the even heat of the oven instead of on the stovetop means virtually no stirring. And while the polenta cooks gently on the lower rack, cherry (or grape) tomatoes and shallots roast on the upper rack, their textures softening and fl

By Malcolm JacksonOctober 17, 2023

Tuscan Beef and Black Pepper Stew (Peposo alla Fornacina)

The simple, generously peppered beef stew known as peposo is said to have been created by 15th century kiln (fornacina) workers in Tuscany, Italy. Chianti is the best-known wine produced in that region and is the traditional choice for peposo, but any

By Diane UngerAugust 6, 2018

Spicy Red Lentil Stew with Coconut Milk and Spinach

“One of the best lentil soup recipes I’ve ever tried,” a reader writes about this lentil soup that mixes soothing coconut milk, woken up with spices, heat, and cut with lime.

Spicy Curry-Cumin Pork

Portuguese influence in southern India explains the preponderance of pork in many of the region's stews. Mangalorean dukra maas was the inspiration for this spicy pork curry with tangy, fruity notes from tamarind pulp and the brightness of vinegar sti

By Laura RussellOctober 15, 2019

Roasted Agrodolce Onions

Italian cipollini agrodolce are small whole onions with a sweet-and-sour glaze. We riffed on that classic to create a side dish that complements rich meats and poultry—from a standing rib roast to the Thanksgiving turkey. Instead of balsamic or wine v

By Rose HattabaughNovember 6, 2025

Smoky Chicken and Sweet Potato Traybake

A mix of honey, smoked paprika and orange zest deliver high-impact flavor in this ultra-easy chicken traybake. Even the knifework here is minimal—you’ll only need to trim the chicken, quarter an orange and cut the vegetables into wedges. After transfe

By Rose HattabaughOctober 4, 2022

Chicken en Cocotte with Mushrooms, Leeks and Chives

“I don’t really love mushrooms...but the mushroom-leek sauce is just amazing,” one reader wrote in about our toss-in-the pot chicken with mushrooms and leeks.

By Diane UngerOctober 15, 2019

Sichuan Red-Braised Beef

The big flavors of chili-bean sauce, ginger, star anise, Sichuan pepper and black cardamom jump-start this beef stew.

By Chris KimballFebruary 15, 2024

Instant-Pot Ragù Bolognese

Made the classic way, ragù Bolognese requires many hours of gentle simmering. The Instant Pot, however, allows you to pressure cook the ingredients so the rich, meaty sauce is ready in a fraction of the time—about an hour—or you can slow-cook it for a

By Rose HattabaughSeptember 4, 2025

Calabrian-Style Tomato and Sweet Pepper Sauce with Pasta

This recipe was inspired by a stewy mélange of cherry tomatoes, garlic, sweet-spicy peppers and extra-virgin olive oil that was served with flatbread at Ristorante Barbieri in Calabria. To make a sauce for pasta, we combine mini sweet peppers (usually

By Courtney HillApril 21, 2025

Spatchcocked Roasted Chicken with Gochujang Butter

Our Korean-inspired seasoning paste elevates a simple roast chicken with spicy-sweet flavor. The blend includes softened butter, gochujang and honey, plus fresh ginger and garlic, which mellow and sweeten as they cook. We smear the mixture under the b

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 27, 2023

Traybake Tacos al Pastor

We’ve moved tacos al pastor off the spit roast and onto your baking sheet. Well-marbled boneless pork shoulder turns crisp and succulent in a high-heat oven, then gets drenched with a sweet-and-spicy chili blender sauce. To simplify prep, buy fresh pi

By Courtney HillJanuary 31, 2025

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

In Oaxaca, in southeastern Mexico, salsas start with charring chilies, tomatoes, onions and garlic on a steel or clay comal (a flat griddle used to make tortillas) to soften and deepen their flavors. We adapt that concept in this traybake, roasting ch

By Phoebe MaglathlinOctober 12, 2019

Pasta with “Fake” Sauce

In Italy, we learned about Tuscan sugo finto, or “fake sauce,” so called because the vegetables—onion, carrot and celery—are minced, then gently cooked in fat to the point where they resemble, in both appearance and texture, bits of long-simmered meat

By Rose HattabaughOctober 4, 2024