Skillet one-pot dinners

Why the Skillet earns its space

The skillet is the most-used pan in this library, and probably in your kitchen too. A wide, heavy base for browning, sloped or straight sides for stirring, ideally a tight lid for the moment a dish needs to finish under low steam. In this library the Skillet method covers 276 dinners, averaging about 48 minutes from cold pan to plated meal. 46 of those qualify as weeknight wins at thirty-five minutes or under.

The cuisines that lean hardest on the Skillet in our collection are British and the proteins that suit it best are Vegetarian. If you're shopping for the right recipe to break a new pan in on, those two facts together are a fair starting point.

A few good Skillet dinners

• Callaloo and SaltFish — 45 min, 4 servings, Jamaican · Pork.
• Mince Pies — 53 min, 4 servings, British · Vegetarian.
• Mini bundt cakes — 39 min, 4 servings, Polish · Vegetarian.

What to keep alongside the pan

For everything in the Skillet section, a few small habits make the difference. A wooden spoon long enough to actually scrape the bottom; a pair of tongs for anything that needs turning; a real fitting lid (not a piece of foil and a hope); and a small bowl of kosher salt within reach so you season as you go and not all at the end.

If the Skillet suits your kitchen, the same dinners turn up under different angles in our protein index and cuisine index. Cross-link your way around — most of our cooks find their favorite recipes by accident, two or three clicks away from where they started.