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.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food styling by Leslie Raney Garetto18/47Smoked Salmon Pasta With Capers and Dill
Photo and Food Styling by Joseph De Leo19/47Braised Chicken Legs With Grapes and Fennel
Calabrian chili paste is a flavor-packed powerhouse that plays beautifully off sweet table grapes in this elegant fall dinner. The fruit transforms as it cooks: Some of the grapes break down in the pan and infuse the sweet-spicy braising liquid, while the others stay intact, emerging from the oven glistening and burnished.
Photo by Susan Brooks-Dammann/Stocksy United20/47Instant-Pot Italian Chickpea Stew With Pesto
The Instant Pot makes quick work of chickpeas and carrots in this hearty soup recipe. Dolloping store-bought or homemade pesto on top of each bowl takes the whole thing over the top.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Mariana Velasquez22/47Stuffed Sweet Potatoes With Beans and Guacamole
In just 35 minutes, you can transform a handful of pantry ingredients (sweet potatoes, canned black beans) into a crowd-pleasing meal. Serve chips on the side to scoop up any extra toppings.
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Claire Saffitz25/47Cast-Iron Pizza With Fennel and Sausage
Cooking sausage in the pan before adding the dough infuses the crust with a porky flavor. Use store-bought or homemade pizza dough and marinara sauce—your pizza will be delicious, however you slice it.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele26/47Air-Fryer Brussels Sprouts Salad With Spiced Maple Vinaigrette
Photo and Food Styling by Joseph De Leo29/47Quick Potato Gnocchi
Using instant rather than mashed potatoes turns what could be an all-day project into a 15-minute weeknight dinner. Serve with a kale salad and extra Parmesan on the side.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog31/47Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
This versatile salad has main character energy. Beef it up with grilled chicken or craggy pieces of oven-roasted tofu. Crumble on feta or goat cheese, substitute the almonds for walnuts or pecans, and toss in whatever extras (golden raisins, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds) you have on hand.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini32/47Cheesy Baked Butternut Squash Polenta
Photo by Christopher Testani33/47Instant Pot Lemon Chicken With Garlic and Olives
Sautéing chicken thighs in the Instant Pot crisps their skin before slow-cooking them with capers, olives, and lemon peel. Out of rosemary? Use thyme sprigs, oregano, or bay leaves instead.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell34/47Spiced Turkey Chili With Spaghetti Squash
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell35/47Double-the-Mustard Chicken With Potatoes and Greens
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Dana Bonagura36/47Sausage and Greens Sheet-Pan Dinner
Photo by Ching Ying Wong37/47Xiang La Fengmi Xia (Spicy Honey Orange Shrimp)
Tossing shrimp in seasoned tapioca starch (which is easy to find in many grocery stores or online) helps it soak up all the sweet, spicy, and tangy sauce. Spoon it over noodles, chow mein, or fluffy white rice.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness38/47Popover-Topped Pot Pie
Swapping out a traditional pot pie crust for a billowing Parmesan-studded popover-like top gives this veggie comfort food a serious upgrade. The squeeze of lemon and dash of Dijon keep it tasting fresh. “Even my fiancé, who never eats vegetables (we’re working on it lol), loved this dish,” writes one Epicurious reader.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton39/47Chicken Meatballs With Molokhieh, Garlic, and Cilantro
Somewhere between a soup and a stew, this cozy fall recipe can be made with fresh or frozen spinach or the leafy Levantine green molokhieh. Prep the meatballs up to a day in advance and use ground turkey or chicken or replace the breadcrumbs with grated zucchini to make them gluten-free.
Photo by Johnny Miller40/47Roasted Acorn and Delicata Squash Salad
Salad for dinner? Yes, yes, a million times yes. Hearty grains and roasted delicata and acorn squash provide heft, while the tangy vinaigrette and fresh greens keep the fall flavors bright and zippy.
Photo by Colin Price41/47Mushroom Stroganoff
This vegetarian riff on classic beef Stroganoff comes together in under 30 minutes. Use any dry white wine you like in the sauce—and maybe keep the bottle handy so you can sip a glass with your supper.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams42/47Creamy Cider-Braised Chicken and Leeks
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Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Frances Boswell44/47Sweet-and-Saucy Pork Chops
Photograph by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Christina Allen45/47Weeknight Harissa Eggplant Parm
Photo by Eric Wolfinger46/47Baked Eggs in Sweet Potato Boats With Herb Relish
No one’s ever disappointed by breakfast for dinner—especially when it involves baked eggs, tangy relish, and tenderly baked sweet potatoes. Swap in golden raisins or leave them out entirely or omit the cilantro and use twice as much parsley.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova47/473-Ingredient Tomato Soup
When you’re fresh out of fall dinner ideas, one of our comforting soup recipes will never let you down. Serving this one with a grilled cheese sandwich is optional but highly recommended.
