Fall is the season for pumpkin-picking, cider-sipping and apple-pie baking, but this year, as food prices continue to rise, it’s also the season for inflation-friendly cooking. Here are 19 recipes that will get you excited for seasonal produce and chilly weather, but won’t break the bank.
Colu Henry combines bone-in chicken thighs, apple, fennel and onion for a complete one-pan meal that’ll give you all of the autumnal feels. Use a tart apple, as it will sweeten naturally in the heat of the oven.
Silky and lightly spiced, Yewande Komolafe’s golden soup comes together with butternut squash, onion, garlic and a little ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. A splash of rice wine vinegar adds a “tangy sparkle,” which sounds downright magical to us.
Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup
Like a cross between shepherd’s pie and potato gratin, Melissa Clark’s meat and potato skillet is a real stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal. A crisp layer of root vegetables (or potatoes if you prefer) tops a base of ground beef that’s been browned with onions, sage and spinach. To make it even more economical, substitute white Cheddar for the Gruyère, dried herbs for fresh, and do as one reader did: Substitute some (or all) of the meat with chopped button mushrooms.
Recipe: Meat and Potato Skillet
In this vegan stir-fry from Hetty McKinnon, scallions are added to very hot oil to let them “bao” (to crack, explode or burst), which softens and sweetens their otherwise pungent edges. They’re tossed with stir-fried green beans and ramen noodles for a quick 30-minute meal.
With over 12,000 five-star ratings, Ali Slagle’s 20-minute, one-pan gnocchi dinner is sure to be a big hit. If you have a choice, use shelf-stable gnocchi instead of refrigerated; they crisp up a bit better.
Recipe: Crisp Gnocchi With Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter
Typically, dal takes about an hour to cook, but this version from Zainab Shah speeds things up by using high heat, removing extra water and cooking the masala at the same time. Serve with rice, roti or by itself.
Kale and brussels sprouts, arguably the season’s most loved greens, star in this hearty salad from Yossy Arefi. Tossed with pear slices and seared halloumi, it makes for a lovely vegetarian meal. (As one reader pointed out: If you can’t get your hands on halloumi, feta will work. Just dredge it in cornstarch before frying.)
Recipe: Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad With Pear and Halloumi
What is fall without pot roast? Sarah DiGregorio makes this one in a slow cooker, which means you can be gone all day and still come home to a warm meal. Beef is not particularly cheap these days, but chuck is one of the more affordable cuts, and you can stretch it by adding more vegetables to the mix.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast
These vegetarian “meatballs” from Anna Francese Gass are made with ricotta, bread crumbs, eggs and Pecorino Romano cheese, and poached in tomato sauce until just firm but tender. Serve with bread or, predictably, pasta.
Recipe: Ricotta Polpette in Tomato Sauce
This spicy and soul-warming chicken dish from Millie Peartree will delight you from top to toe. One reader made a vegan(!) version by substituting extra-firm tofu for the chicken and searing it until crisp.
Sara Bonisteel unearthed this gem from a pamphlet called “Soups” that was distributed by the Food News Department of The New York Times in 1954. It still holds up, although we added a touch of sherry and wine for more complex flavor.
Every stew wishes it could be this good. Melissa Clark combines white beans with browned sweet Italian sausage, rosemary, thyme, cumin, tomato paste and garlic for a rich and comforting dish that is, at once, complex and comforting.
In this casserole from Alison Roman, the cauliflower cooks in heavy cream — no blanching! no béchamel! — making this a low-effort vegetarian main or side dish. White Cheddar is called for here, but really, use whatever tasty cheese you have on hand.
In this one-pan dish from Eric Kim, a whole chicken roasts and releases its juices into the cabbage and onions surrounding it, which caramelize, soften and sweeten. Save the bones to make stock later.
If autumn were a baked pasta, it would be this one from Sarah Jampel. The sauce is made by simply blending canned pumpkin, cream and vegetable stock. Toss with cooked pasta, kale and grated cheese, then dot with ricotta and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Feel free to use puréed butternut squash in place of the pumpkin, or broccoli florets instead of kale.
Recipe: Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta With Kale
16. Sesame-Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup
Ramen again! Sue Li riffs on Taiwanese instant ramen here to evoke memories of warming, late-night noodles. Bone-in chicken breasts (or thighs) provide rich flavor to the broth, and sesame oil, fresh scallions and ginger brighten things up.
Melissa Clark combines cabbage with leeks, potatoes and plenty of black pepper for this hearty, economical soup. The potatoes “melt” slightly in the broth, which means the finished dish tastes rich, filling and not at all frugal.
Recipe: Cabbage, Potato and Leek Soup
Mark Bittman created this simple dish for one of his daughters when she was young, and “her main passion in life was potatoes, especially crispy ones.” For this recipe, peel and thinly slice potatoes, toss with butter, then roast for about 40 minutes. Ratchet the oven up to broil, lay the cod on top of the potatoes, then cook for 6 to 10 minutes until it’s done. Serve with a nice green salad.
Everyone seems to love a roast sweet potato, but steaming them, as Samin Nosrat does in this recipe from Carla Lalli Music, a food writer and editor, transforms them into “absorbent clouds.” She then drenches it with a simple sauce made of tahini and soy sauce, a shower of sesame seeds and a generous squeeze of lime.
