Hate doing the dishes? 8 one-dish recipes you can make tonight

Oct. 16, 2015 8:30 AM PT

Sometimes you need to keep it simple. Especially on a weeknight. These recipes are one-dish meals, minimizing the time, equipment and stress you need to put dinner on the table, be it a rich stew, casserole, hash or even paella. We like the idea of keeping the dishes to a minimum too. Just click on the photographs for the full recipes.

Smoked salmon hash

Combine cold-smoked salmon with butter-crisped Yukon Gold potatoes, red onion, capers, fresh herbs and hints of horseradish and mustard. Recipe: Smoked salmon hash

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Combine cold-smoked salmon with butter-crisped Yukon Gold potatoes, red onion, capers, fresh herbs and hints of horseradish and mustard, and serve alongside tangy creme fraiche.

Rice salad, paella-style

Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

Cook rice as you would pasta to bring out the perfect texture in the grains, then drain, adding saffron and red onion to gently infuse flavor before cooling the rice. Before serving, add red pepper strips, chorizo, calamari and mussels, flavoring the salad with vibrant red pepper strips, fresh lemon juice and parsley. It's a dramatic presentation, and no one has to know how easy it was to put together.

Old Venice's Greek lemon chicken

Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

It only takes a handful of ingredients to make this tempting dish, roasted chicken and potatoes flavored simply with fresh lemon, oregano and rich olive oil. Serve the chicken and potatoes with a little of the flavored oil spooned over the top.

Autumn vegetable hash

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

This dish combines parsnips, sweet potato, turnips, Brussels sprouts and more for a colorful hash rich with flavor. The recipe also includes mushrooms, which may not be suitable for individuals particularly sensitive to gluten; the mushrooms can be omitted if desired.

Beer-baked mac 'n' cheese

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

There's something wonderfully simple about ooey-gooey cheese baked with pasta. Adding a little beer just takes that magic to a whole new level. This recipe, from the Rackhouse Pub in Denver, is one of our mac 'n' cheese favorites. The recipe combines five kinds of cheese in a rich base lightened with a cup of amber ale and then baked under a crust of panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese to rich, crisp, golden perfection.

Tuscan chicken stew

Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times

Chicken thighs are braised with white beans in a light tomato sauce, and the stew is finished with fresh spinach and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Braised chicken with capers

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

It's dinner in a skillet: Pan-braised chicken and new potatoes, flavored with tart capers and shallot and brightened with hints of sherry vinegar and lemon.

Arroz con chorizo y camarones

Los Angeles Times

According to creator Mayi Brady, "This rice with chorizo dish -- think of it as a simple paella -- calls for Spanish chorizo, an aged sausage which is firmer than Mexican chorizo and less spicy. It's available at Spanish and some Latino markets. If you can't find it, substitute Portuguese linguica sausage, often available in supermarkets."

Love cooking as much as I do? Follow me on Twitter: @noellecarter.

ALSO:

6 ideas for the ultimate breakfast

From one rotisserie chicken, 25 ideas for dinner
Check out the thousands of recipes on our Recipe Database