47 Fall Dinner Ideas You’ll Crave All Season
Maybe you’ve been sipping pumpkin-spiced drinks since July—or you still haven’t taken your coats out of storage. Either way, as temperatures cool, we all need fresh fall dinner ideas. There’s no better way to celebrate the season than by embracing the autumnal bounty rolling into farmers markets and grocery stores near you. From tenderly roasted squash of all varieties and sweet potatoes to vibrant greens and crisp orchard fruits that brighten every bite, fall flavors don’t disappoint.
That’s why we’ve collected some of our favorite fall recipes here. There are easy sheet-pan dinners, luscious soups, spicy curries, dinner-party-worthy salads, one-pot pastas, and so much more. Leaf-peeping season never looked so promising.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson1/47Sheet-Pan Roasted Squash and Feta Salad
Bitter greens, tender squash and croutons, and briny feta are the keys to this fall dinner idea that’s equal parts warm and cold, soft and crunchy, and sweet and savory. Ready in just 40 minutes, it’s equally delicious with radicchio or escarole.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich2/47Sheet-Pan Sticky Apricot Chicken
If you made your own jam with those early spring apricots, grab it. Otherwise, store-bought works for this easy chicken dinner with a built-in side dish.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine3/47One-Pot Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
With a few tips and tweaks, you can make creamy one-pot mac and cheese in under an hour. It’s all in the details: Adding cornstarch to the grated cheese and then stirring it into low-moisture evaporated milk emulsifies the sauce, resulting in a smooth and velvety texture. Cooking the pasta right in the pan speeds things up—and means there’s one less pot to wash.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich4/47Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
The genius of most chili recipes is their seemingly endless adaptability. Add diced jalapeños, chipotles, or green chiles for heat. Substitute pinto beans, stir in handfuls of corn kernels, or add heft with soy curls or crumbled tempeh. The answer to “Will it chili?” is almost always yes.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton5/47Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuit Crust
This recipe first appeared in the February 1985 issue of Gourmet, and it remains a fan favorite. Instead of a traditional pie crust, it gets a crown of easy, cheesy biscuits. Use store-bought rotisserie chicken—or repurpose leftovers from a holiday meal to make a turkey pot pie.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich6/47Wild Mushroom Risotto
Mountains of savory mushrooms star in this autumnal risotto recipe that makes an excellent appetizer or main course. To gild the lily, shower each bowl with a flurry of Parmesan cheese.
Joseph De Leo7/47Miso–Butternut Squash Soup
Puréeing the squash and aromatics up to three days before serving this amped up butternut squash soup makes it easy to assemble on a weeknight. Top each bowl with fresh and crunchy garnishes like chili crisp, cilantro, and/or salted roasted peanuts.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Lillian Chou10/47Easy Vegetarian Enchiladas
Instead of individually dipping each tortilla, this recipe uses a clever shortcut to have comforting enchiladas on the table in under an hour. Try corn or flour tortillas, use pinto or black beans, and top it with cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or a combination.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele11/47Quick Chana Masala
Boiling canned chickpeas with their liquid mimics the texture you’d get from cooking dried beans you soaked overnight. Serve yours with basmati rice or naan or spoon them onto tortilla chips or into tacos and top with grated cheese, cilantro, and scallions.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell12/47Hot Honey Pork Chops With Escarole and White Beans
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce14/47Vegetarian Lasagna With Easy Roasted Tomato Sauce
This smart take on lasagna gets its depth from reducing the sauce in the oven, so you don’t have to stand at the stovetop stirring the day away. Any leafy green veggie will do: Try chopped fresh or frozen spinach, kale, collards, Swiss chard, or leftover cooked broccoli rabe.
