Main Course
8665 recipes found
Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches
These bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches are the ideal breakfast for your busiest or groggiest mornings. You can make the sandwiches ahead and stash them in the fridge or freezer. Take one to work to heat up in the toaster oven or microwave, or warm up a whole bunch to feed a hungry group before they start their days. Start by roasting bacon in a baking dish; no need to arrange them flat. (For curly bacon, it’s better if you don’t.) Then bake the eggs in the bacon fat. You can also add a cup of chopped vegetables to the egg mixture; just make sure they’re well-cooked and not too watery so the egg keeps well.
Spicy Black Bean Soup
There are a lot of things to love about this soup: It comes together in 20 minutes in just one pot with fewer than 10 ingredients. But most importantly, minimal effort results in a velvety yet bright soup. The cocoa powder accentuates the fudginess of the black beans, while the salsa verde adds surprising tartness. The tomatillos in the salsa also contain pectin which, along with the starchy bean liquid, quickly thickens the soup. While the soup’s cooking, ready your garnishes as you’ll want plenty to top the bowls. Leftover soup keeps for up to three days, but will stiffen as it sits, so thin with water as needed or turn it into refried beans.
Hoisin-Peanut Shrimp and Slaw
Inspired by Vietnamese fresh spring rolls dipped into peanut sauce, this simple-to-prepare meal features sticky glazed shrimp and a lively salad of crunchy vegetables, sprightly herbs, crispy fried onions and a creamy peanut dressing. Hoisin sauce helps streamline the ingredient list; the sweet, salty, umami-filled condiment coats the shrimp before a quick broil and adds depth to the dressing. And by using a coleslaw blend, preferably one with a mix of vegetables, chopping is minimal, too. This recipe quickly feeds a crowd, but it can also be halved to serve four on a weeknight. For a heartier meal, eat with rice noodles or rice.
Spicy Molasses-Stewed Winter Squash
Sweet, starchy slices of roasted kabocha squash are stained in a dark brown gravy in this vegetarian recipe, which can serve as a side but also makes a stunning centerpiece. Onions, bell peppers and soy sauce sing a savory melody, and fruity tamarind balances the dish with welcome acidity. Kabocha squash is a sturdy winter squash that does very well in this preparation, but other winter squash varieties like acorn, butternut or red kuri can be stewed to success. Skip the peeling if you're not fussy, and save the seeds for roasting as you would pumpkin seeds.
Beef Pho Recipe
A soothing, restorative bowl of beef phở, the national dish of Vietnam, is defined by the quality of the broth, according to Thuy Diem Pham, chef and owner of The Little Viet Kitchen in London. Regionality and geography distinguishes various styles of phở. According to Ms. Pham, in the cooler climate of northern Vietnam, phở is saltier, and to keep the broth hot, it is mainly topped with just sliced onion. In the south, “the broth is sweeter and because of the hotter climate, tons of herbs are thrown in to cool down the broth.” This recipe, adapted from Ms. Pham’s cookbook, “The Little Viet Kitchen” (Absolute Press, 2019), is in the southern style which is where her family is from. Ideally, the broth should be light and clear like chicken broth, not murky and dark. To achieve the telltale golden broth, beef bones, oxtail and ribs are first soaked, then parboiled, and finally gently simmered along with brisket, spices and aromatics for many hours. This is a slow, luxurious project, best taken up over a couple of days. Most of the work is hands off, as the broth very slowly simmers away. This recipe makes a big batch which will set you up with bowls of phở at your disposal. You can also use the leftover broth as a base for other soups, and the meat for stir-fries, tacos or over rice. All ingredients can be found at Asian markets.
Easy Baked Mac and Cheese
You don’t have to boil the pasta ahead to make this easy baked macaroni and cheese. The noodles will absorb enough moisture from the milk to cook through while the pan is in the oven. Enriched with cream cheese (or cottage cheese, ricotta or sour cream, depending on what you have), and topped with plenty of Cheddar and a crunchy, Parmesan-spiked bread-crumb topping, it’s a simple, adaptable and crowd-pleasing recipe that you can probably even make from what’s already in your pantry.
Stephen and Evie Colbert’s Beef Wellington
Every year you fret over keeping the turkey juicy. You dry brine; you wet brine; you slather with butter over and under the skin; you baste lovingly. But if you're the one with the anxiety, why does the bird get the spa treatment? With the help of this recipe from our cookbook, “Does This Taste Funny?,” plus store-bought pastry and a good meat thermometer, beef Wellington can be a surprisingly easy and elegant centerpiece to your Thanksgiving table. Wrapped in its bundle of crust, that juicy flavor is all tucked in.
Saag Paneer Lasagna
While writing her cookbook “Amrikan” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024), Khushbu Shah became convinced that a spinach lasagna could be greatly improved by swapping in the flavors of saag paneer for the filling. It’s a dish she jokingly refers to as “lasaagna.” Ms. Shah uses a saag base made with warm spices, spinach, cilantro and dried fenugreek leaves (which are optional but highly encouraged, and add a beautiful earthy note to the sauce), and then adds fistfuls of grated paneer for an extra punch of cheese. Many of the lasagna’s components may be made ahead (see Tips), making assembly a breeze, especially when making this dish for a dinner party or as a vegetarian meal during the holidays.
Ruth Reichl’s Turkey Chili
The year Thanksgiving moved to my house, my father confided that he hated turkey. “But," he added, “Thanksgiving without the national bird just doesn’t feel right.” My solution: turkey disguised as chili — a recipe I shared in “Save Me the Plums.” One bonus: this is a dish that gets better with a little age, so you can make it three days ahead.
Ayesha Curry’s Crab Mac and Cheese
It’s hard to improve upon macaroni and cheese, but adding crabmeat is one good way to do it. This dish, adapted from my cookbook, “The Full Plate” (Voracious, 2020), is so surprisingly satisfying, even though many cooks don’t typically pair seafood and cheese. I like to use small, shell-shaped pasta; the curves in the noodles act as traps for the creamy sauce. Without the crab added, this is still a great version of a classic, but the crab makes it extra special. Lobster would be good, too.
Dry-Brined Thanksgiving Turkey With Chiles
It’s time for Thanksgiving turkey to take center stage again with this hot, blazing sun of a bird, leaning as it does on the savory, sweet and hot complexity of peppers. North and South America’s delicious native crop is used in both fresh and dried forms here. Inspired by a recipe from Niya Bajaj, a home cook who shared her turkey formula through Instagram, this dish takes full advantage of the different peppers’ flavor and heat, and celebrates its journey across the world. Turkey this assertively spiced — with coolness from mint, savoriness from cumin and fire from chiles — tastes excellent with mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and macaroni and cheese. Using a mix of chiles results in the most explosive taste, but be sure to warn your guests before they dive into the plate of turkey fat-confited peppers. Some might be blazing.
Turkey Stuffing Meatballs
The classic combo of turkey and stuffing, all rolled into one. These turkey meatballs use cubed bread as their binder. The bread is joined by olive oil, chicken stock, minced vegetables and seasonings to make them extra moist and flavorful. The meatballs come together much faster and easier than roasting a stuffed turkey, which makes them an easy win for when you have all the Thanksgiving leftovers except for turkey. Perfect for more than just Thanksgiving, these meatballs can be served with gravy and cranberry sauce, stuffed inside of a sandwich, on top of a salad, or as an appetizer. Feel free to swap ground turkey with chicken or pork and the bread cubes with packaged herb or cornbread stuffing or even any leftover stuffing if you have it.
Air-Fryer Turkey Breast
Succulent, flavorful turkey breast that cooks up in less than 45 minutes is possible with an air fryer. And with the air fryer method, no babysitting basting time is required. Starting with a simple dry rub infuses the turkey as it chills overnight, ensuring that every bite is tastier than the last. This super easy recipe is perfect for an oven-free Thanksgiving feast or for creating a week's worth of delicious turkey sandwiches.
Brussels Sprout Salad With Pomegranate and Pistachios
This autumnal side, inspired by tabbouleh, swaps the usual parsley and tomatoes for shaved brussels sprouts, scallions, chopped fresh mint, juicy pomegranate seeds and roasted pistachios, all tossed together in a tangy sumac-lemon dressing. The traditional bulgur remains, ensuring this salad has enough heft to stand out as a great vegan option at the Thanksgiving table and beyond, though the jeweled bowl is sure to attract omnivores, too. Perfect for potlucks, it can be assembled ahead of time, and, since it’s served at room temperature, it can easily be packed up and carried wherever you might be heading.
Cheddar-Smothered Sweet Potatoes
Even before getting cozy under a Cheddar blanket, these sweet potatoes are packed with flavor. They're tossed with butter, coated in spices, then placed in the oven without preheating. This allows them to warm up slowly, maximizing their sweetness and creamy texture. The tender sweet potato halves are then smothered in a thick, garlicky Cheddar sauce before broiling until bubbly and barely blackened. Serve as a side on your holiday table or as a main with a simple salad alongside.
Crispy Sage Fried Chicken
This juicy, crispy, vaguely-tastes-like-Thanksgiving fried chicken makes an exciting stand-in for the usual turkey. The recipe takes every step to maximize moisture and flavor, so no dry poultry arrives at your table, holiday or otherwise: Start with bone-in, skin-on chicken legs, submerge the pieces in a brine for at least 24 hours, fry low and slow to allow all the fat and connective tissue to render and finally, shower over a boxed stuffing-inspired seasoning. As an optional touch, dredge the chicken pieces in Italian 00 flour instead of all-purpose — its ultra-fine texture makes the crust simultaneously extra crispy and less greasy.
Red Cabbage With Walnuts and Feta
Roasting wedges of red cabbage intensifies their sweetness and caramelizes their edges. Here, they’re topped with bits of creamy feta, toasted walnuts for crunch and lemon zest and pomegranate seeds for a juicy tang. Serve these warm or at room temperature for a substantial side dish or light main course. This recipe will also work for a small head of green cabbage, though it may cook a bit faster.
Harissa-Maple Mushrooms
This quick and easy dish transforms humble mushrooms into a flavorful centerpiece. As they roast, the mushrooms develop a rich, concentrated flavor, with the delightful contrast of tender interiors and crispy edges. The heat of the harissa and sweetness of the maple syrup perfectly complement the mushrooms, while the yogurt offers a cooling counterpoint. Serve as a starter with flatbread or as a flavorful accompaniment to beef skewers, or roast chicken or turkey.
Crunchy Brussels Sprouts and Apple Slaw
Finely shaved brussels sprouts provide a robust structure for this crave-worthy salad, their mildly bitter leaves emboldened by a sweet and tart maple-and-mustard dressing. Every element of this salad works hard to make this slaw memorable: Apple provides sweet, fruity bursts; the shallot injects aromatic appeal; the almonds bring much-needed crunch; the mint lends bright herbaceousness; and salty pecorino imparts essential sharpness. Serve with bread, or enjoy as a leafy side accompanying a main. An excellent choice for entertaining, this salad can hang around for a while.
Baked Turkey Wings
If you love chicken wings (or even turkey), then you may very well adore turkey wings. A new way to enjoy a classic, they’re also an easy Thanksgiving option, since you don’t have to cook the entire bird. Covered in a simple smoky, garlicky rub and baked low and slow, they become tender and juicy, with pull-apart meat. A final roast uncovered gives them some much welcome color and flavor, ready to be served at the holiday table – or even as a wintry weekend dinner.
Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast With Gravy
This browned and succulent, slow-cooker roast is largely hands-off and can solve several Thanksgiving conundrums, such as lack of oven space and a majority of white meat lovers at the table. Make it in addition to a whole turkey or as a substitute for it. The herbed dry brine helps to ensure moistness and flavor, but white meat doesn’t cut you much slack, so make sure to check the internal temperature: Pull the turkey out as soon as the thickest part of the breast is 155 degrees, or even a few degrees cooler. (Food safety is achieved by both heat and the amount of time the meat stays at that temperature, so the long cooking time plus carryover heat ensure safety here.) This recipe calls for a whole, skin-on, bone-in turkey breast. Standard slow cookers are between 6 to 8 quarts. If yours is 6 quarts, be sure to look for a breast on the smaller side, as anything more than about 6 1/2 pounds may not fit. If you plan to serve fewer people, see the tip for variations.
Butternut Squash Sambar
Loaded with a rainbow of vegetables and protein-packed toor dal (split pigeon peas), sambar is a comforting South Indian stew that’s tangy with tamarind and typically served for breakfast topped with a spicy, crunchy tadka (spiced ghee or oil). Sambar powder, the namesake of the dish, is a mix of fragrant spices like coriander and cumin, and pulses such as roasted chana dal and urad dal. Toast your spices and grind them for a fragrant and fresh homemade sambar powder. You can also use the jarred spice mix available at Indian markets. In addition to sunny butternut squash and the other suggested vegetables, feel free to swap in or add others like green beans or eggplant. Serve sambar with idli and coconut chutney; dosas; or rice.
Sausage and Peppers Frittata
This is a quick breakfast twist on the classic Italian-American sausage, peppers and onions sandwich. Here, the sausage, peppers and onions are joined by potatoes and sautéed up in a skillet. The sausage is crispy, the peppers and onions are spicy and sweet, and the potatoes are soft and pillowy. Dried fennel seeds join the party, adding depth of flavor as they heat up in the pan. (They are especially important if you leave the sausage out altogether for a vegetarian option). Finally, just the right amount of eggs beaten with Parmesan turn the classic sandwich into a simple yet hearty frittata that is a crowd pleaser for all ages.
Baked Polenta With Roasted Mushrooms
A hearty polenta casserole makes a wonderful meatless centerpiece. Here, it’s layered with mozzarella, Parmesan and Gorgonzola, and baked in a springform pan, then paired with roasted mushrooms brightened with a quick-to-make gremolata. Plan to prepare the polenta well in advance, at least several hours ahead of serving or preferably the day before, to allow it to firm up. And, better yet, to avoid any last-minute stress.