One-pot autumn recipes
These one-pot fall recipes are slow stews, braises and bean pots for the colder months, each cooked in a single pot. Most take two to four hours, nearly all of it spent simmering gently on the hob or in the oven while beef shin, lamb, cabbage, root vegetables and pulses turn tender.
Gulasch cooks a kilo of onions down into its sauce, stifado braises beef shin with whole baby onions, cinnamon and cloves, and brown stew chicken takes its colour from sugar caramelised in the pot. Chickpea stew and Mediterranean lentil soup are ready in under an hour. Every recipe gives exact amounts, scales to the number of people and sends what you still need to a shared shopping list.
15 recipes
One-Pot Chicken Orzo馃實 Mediterranean recipes 路 Dinner 路 45 min
Beef Stew馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 30 min
Coq au Vin馃嚝馃嚪 French recipes 路 Dinner 路 6 h 10 min
Chickpea Stew馃實 Mediterranean recipes 路 Dinner 路 45 min
Gulasch馃嚛馃嚜 German recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 45 min
Mediterranean Lentil Soup馃實 Mediterranean recipes 路 Lunch 路 50 min
Cozido 脿 Portuguesa馃嚨馃嚬 Portuguese recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 30 min
Stifado馃嚞馃嚪 Greek recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h
Brown Stew Chicken馃寧 Caribbean recipes 路 Dinner 路 2 h 15 min
Irish Stew馃嚞馃嚙 British recipes 路 Dinner 路 2 h 50 min
Lancashire Hotpot馃嚞馃嚙 British recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 30 min
Pot Roast馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 4 h 5 min
Bigos馃實 Eastern European recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 30 min
Pasta e Fagioli馃嚠馃嚬 Italian recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h
Fabada Asturiana馃嚜馃嚫 Spanish recipes 路 Dinner 路 15 h 50 min
Tough cuts, heavy pots and slow heat
Autumn stews are built on tough cuts that need time. Pot roast uses chuck because its connective tissue melts into gelatine over three hours, while a lean joint such as topside just turns dry and stringy. Beef shin in gulasch and stifado, and lamb neck in Irish stew, also need two to two and a half hours before the meat is tender.
Gulasch and pot roast braise in a heavy casserole in a 150掳C oven, where nothing catches on the base. Fabada asturiana simmers at the barest bubble and is never stirred, only shaken by its handles, with a splash of cold water whenever it threatens to boil so the bean skins do not split.
Browning, timing and thickening
Beef stew browns its chuck in three batches, since crowded meat steams and turns grey. Irish stew goes the other way: nothing is browned at all, because its pale, clean flavour is traditional.
Timing keeps vegetables whole. Beef stew adds its potatoes, carrots and celery after an hour and a half, pot roast its carrots and potatoes only for the last 45 minutes, and stifado returns its browned baby onions for a final 45 minutes, so they soften but keep their shape.
Several of them thicken without flour: the floury potatoes in Irish stew melt into the liquid while the waxy ones stay whole, the onions in gulasch dissolve completely, and pasta e fagioli blends a third of its beans back into the broth.
Cooking ahead and reheating
Several of these improve after a night in the fridge. Beef stew keeps up to three days and tastes even better on the second, though the potatoes drink up gravy overnight, so loosen it with a splash of water as it reheats. Coq au vin improves overnight, fabada asturiana reheats better than almost any stew, and bigos is better still on the third day; Polish households freeze it in batches.
Freeze chickpea stew without its spinach. Mediterranean lentil soup and one-pot chicken orzo keep thickening as they stand, so loosen them with hot water or stock as they warm.
Frequently asked questions
- What are good one-pot meals for fall?
- Slow braises and stews that cook in a single heavy pot. Gulasch and stifado braise beef shin for two hours or more, brown stew chicken simmers in a dark gravy with thyme, allspice and a whole scotch bonnet, and cozido 脿 portuguesa feeds eight. For a weeknight, chickpea stew is ready in 45 minutes and Mediterranean lentil soup in 50.
- Why do you add vinegar to stew?
- Usually to balance sweetness. Stifado braises beef with an equal weight of whole baby onions in red wine and vinegar; leave the vinegar out and all that onion turns the dish cloying. Gulasch gets a tablespoon of red wine vinegar stirred in at the end, which stops its kilo of onions and three tablespoons of paprika tasting flat.
- Can you cook a stew in the oven instead of on the hob?
- Yes, and several of these are written for the oven. Gulasch cooks covered at 150掳C for two to two and a half hours, and beef stew can go into a 160掳C oven once it simmers, for the same times as on the hob. The heat comes from all sides, so nothing catches on the base and the pot needs no stirring.
- Which one-pot fall recipes are vegan?
- Chickpea stew, Mediterranean lentil soup and pasta e fagioli. Chickpea stew simmers in a cumin and smoked paprika tomato base, the lentil soup is finished with the juice of two lemons off the heat, and pasta e fagioli cooks small pasta in a broth of borlotti beans. Many cooks add a Parmesan rind or pancetta to that last one; without them it stays vegan.
- What is the difference between Irish stew and Lancashire hotpot?
- Both cook lamb, onions and potatoes slowly in one pot. Irish stew layers lamb neck with potatoes, onions and carrots in water, with no browning and no flour, and its floury potatoes melt to thicken the liquid. Lancashire hotpot browns floured lamb shoulder, adds stock and Worcestershire sauce, and covers it with thin, overlapping potato slices that crisp once the lid comes off.