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5 Easy One Pot Recipes

Published by: Chef Amy Hand • Updated: November 3, 2023 • Checked By: Chef Matty Riedel

One-pot meals have been a busy parent staple for decades, and their convenience means they have never gone out of style. Whether you cook it using the traditional means like a saucepan or a Dutch oven or go high tech and use a multi-cooker or a slow cooker, one-pot meals cut down on your dishes and leave you more time to put your feet up. Many one-pot recipes can be adapted to suit what you have to work with so you can tailor your cooking experience to your preferences. A huge bonus of meals like this is that they lend themselves well to cheaper cuts of meat and whole ingredients so that you can cook a delicious and nutritious meal with minimal cleanup. So, if you want to expand your one-pot meal regime, here are 5 scrumptious one-pot meals for you to try.  

5 Easy One-Pot Recipes 

All these recipes are four portions. 

1. Lamb Meatballs With Orzo 

lamb meatballs (one of our 5 one pot recipes)

The lamb can be substituted directly with beef mince. 

Ingredients

  • 500g lamb mince 
  • 1 tsp dried oregano 
  • Salt and pepper 
  • 2 cloves garlic 
  • 1 onion 
  • 1 tbl olive oil 
  • 60ml red wine 
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes 
  • 1L water 
  • 250g orzo 
  • ½ cup crumbled feta

Method

  1. Place the lamb mince in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Shape into balls of approximately 30ml each and set aside. 
  2. Dice the onions and finely mince the garlic. 
  3. In a wide frying pan, heat the oil and fry off the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. 
  4. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook off for 1 minute. 
  5. Add the tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium heat, cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. 
  6. Remove the lid and add the meatballs evenly across the pan. Cover again and cook for 20 minutes. 
  7. Remove the lid, turn up to medium-high heat and add the orzo. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the orzo is al dente stirring occasionally, but carefully so you don’t break up the meatballs. 
  8. Season to taste and sprinkle liberally with feta and serve.. 

2. Mediterranean Baked Eggs 

mediterranean baked eggs (one of our 5 one pot recipes)

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs 
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes 
  • 1 onion 
  • 2 cloves minced garlic 
  • 1 tbl olive oil 
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes 
  • Handful fresh parsley

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil on a medium-high heat and throw the onions in. Cook until translucent. 
  2. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.  
  3. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn down to medium-high and cook until slightly thickened. Season to taste. 
  4. Make 4 depressions in the tomatoes and crack the eggs into them. Cover and cook until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  
  5. Serve with toast. 

3. Chicken And Red Wine Casserole With Dumplings 

chicken casserole (one of our 5 one pot recipes)

Ingredients

  • 500g chicken drumsticks 
  • 125ml flour 
  • 2 tbl olive oil 
  • 1 onion 
  • 2 carrots 
  • 250g diced bacon 
  • 1 tsp dried thyme 
  • 45ml tomato paste 
  • 750ml red wine 
  • 180ml chicken stock 
  • For dumplings: 
  • 150g cold butter 
  • 450ml self-raising flour 
  • 1 tsp dried thyme 
  • 160ml water

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180o C. 
  2. Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe, heavy-based saucepan with a lid. 
  3. Season the flour and toss the drumsticks in it; shake off the flour and set aside. 
  4. Brown the chicken in batches and set aside. 
  5. Add the onions, carrots and bacon to the pot and cook for 5-10 minutes until softened. 
  6. Return the chicken pieces to the pot, sprinkle over the remaining flour and cook for 1 minute. 
  7. Add the tomato paste, red wine and stock and boil. Place on the lid and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. 
  8. While it’s cooking, make the dumplings. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the thyme and season. Add the water and cut into the dough with a knife to form a dough. Be careful not to overwork. Shape into golf ball-sized dumplings. 
  9. Remove the lid from the casserole and pack the dumplings on top. Bake with the lid off for 30 minutes. 

4. Mushroom, Parmesan And Sage Risotto 

mushroom risotto (one of our 5 one pot recipes)

Ingredients

  • 200g mushrooms 
  • 1.5 cups risotto rice 
  • 4 tbl butter, separated 
  • 1 tsp dried sage 
  • 1 onion 
  • 2 cloves garlic 
  • ¾ white wine 
  • 1 tbl olive oil 
  • Salt and pepper 
  • Chicken stock 
  • 80g parmesan

Method

  1. Roughly chop your mushrooms and dice the onions. 
  2. Sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms in 2 tbl butter. 
  3. Add the rice and stir until it is fully coated in butter. 
  4. Deglaze with the white wine and cook off for a minute. 
  5. Add stock ladle by ladle, 2-3 ladles to start, and one at a time after that. 
  6. Cook off the stock until when you scrape the bottom, it leaves a trail, and then add the next ladle. 
  7. This should take between 15 and 20 minutes until the rice is al dente.  
  8. Add the olive oil, remaining butter and sage and season to taste. 

5. Vegetarian Asian Soup With Noodles 

Ingredients

  • 750ml chicken stock 
  • ½ cup soy sauce 
  • ½ tsp red chilli flakes 
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger 
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic 
  • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar 
  • 3 blocks tofu. 
  • 4 heads of pak choi 
  • 4 portions egg noodles 
  • Oil

Method

  1. Roughly chop the pack choi and set aside. Cut the tofu into 1cm thick batons. 
  2. In a pot, heat the oil and fry off the garlic, chilli flakes and ginger for about a minute on medium heat.  
  3. Deglaze with the stock and add the vinegar and soy sauce. 
  4. Bring to the boil and add the pak choi. 
  5. Once the pak choi is wilted, add the tofu. 
  6. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. 
  7. Season to taste with soy and chilli. 

One Pot Recipes: Summing Up 

With these easy yet wholesome meals you can really take advantage of the convenience of a one pot meal without compromising on flavours or nutrition. Say goodbye to endless dishes and say hello to some delicious one pot meals

Chef Amy Hand