The Best One-Pot Meals

I love cooking but like so many of us I hate the mess it produces and I never want to stand over the oven cooking for ages after a long day at work. Creating healthy and nutrituion meals is something I strive to do and over the past few years I have certainly become much better at it, but really my requirements haven’t changed. I want something that’s high in veggies, ideally meat-free (I’m not veggie but do try to limit my meat intake), quick and that I can re-heat as leftovers in the next couple of days.

Since I started cooking more frequently I have tried out many, many, different recipes but there are a few “one-pot’ dishes that I always go back to. These are the meals that involve little or no prep, they don’t contain lots of fancy or hard to source ingredients, they’re packed full of vegetables and they taste bloody good. As we get further into winter it can be so tempting to get into the habit of fully hibernating as soon as you get in, filling up on leftover Christmas snacks or relying on beans on toast as your main source of nutrients. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love beans on toast, but it isn’t really a substantial meal so if you’re looking to kick off those “get healthy” new years resolutions or just want some quick and easy recipes to add to your repertoire then here are some of my favourites .

BBC Good Food's Spinach, Lenti & Sweet Potato Dahl: This is super simple to make, really tasty and if you fancy treating yourself to a little something more then pair it with a naan. It’s literally a case of frying off some essentials, whacking in some spices and then leaving everything to simmer for half an hour or so. Don’t skimp on the basil, it’s the best part.

The Food Medic’s 5 Minute Veggie Chilli: You really can cook, serve and be enjoying this in under 15 minutes. Again, its packed full of veggies so you’re getting at least 2-3 of your 5-a-day and you can tweak it to be as spicy as you like. I also like to cook this and leave it for half an hour or more to bring out the flavours if I’m not in a rush. It also works really well with rice or re-heated the next day for lunch.

Deliciously Ella’s Warming Winter Curry: Ok so technically this is 2 pots as you need to boil the potatoes first but it’s so easy to prep and leave to simmer away that I couldn’t not include it. I like to add in a little more spice as I find sometimes the recipe can be a little bland otherwise and halving the quantities is normally enough for 4 servings so that’s just something to bear in mind. This has become a total staple for me recently, particuarly when I have people over so I’m not spending all my time in the kitchen.

Madeline Shaw’s Tomato and Chickpea Curry: Chickpeas are one of my favoruite ingredients as they’re so versatile, filling and afforable. This is one of my favoruites when I haven’t done a food shop yet and I’m relying on my cupboard staples, it’s so quick but tastes so good. I also like to throw in some garden peas (fresh or frozen) and/or some spinach to add in a few more veggies and a bit more flavour.