34 Fall Dinner Recipes I Cook When It Starts Getting Cold

When the weather starts to change and the leaves turn here on the East Coast, my cooking slows down a little and I start craving my favorite fall dinner recipes. I’m in the kitchen more, stirring pots instead of tossing cold salads (though I still make them in the winter), doing more roasting and baking. When it gets cool, I start to crave roasts that fill the house with garlic, onions, and arroz con gandules, served with roasted pernil or a whole chicken seasoned with cumin.

These are the recipes that come back every time sweater weather kicks off. Some are simple dinners with rice, beans, pasta, and chicken, the kind that don’t ask for much but taste like they’ve been cooking all day. Others take hours to bake but make the best leftovers.

Fall Dinner Recipes for the First Cool Weeks

As soon as the weather shifts, I know it’s time for roasted butternut squash pasta and creamy marry me chicken. And we know that baking in the fall after those 100-degree days is finally doable. I love baking this time of year, especially when everything smells like pumpkin, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Fall Dinner Recipes From the Oven

Once it’s cool enough to run the oven again, this is where I live. Something goes in at four. By six the whole house smells like garlic.

Herb Butter Apple Cider Roast Chicken

Roast chicken basted with apple cider and herb butter. The cider does something to the skin. Plain butter simply cannot.

Lemon Herb Butter Roast Chicken

A whole chicken with herb butter tucked under the skin. One bird covers dinner, plus two days after that.

Citrusy Garlicky Cuban Roasted Chicken (Pollo Asado Cubano)

Pollo asado cubano, marinated in sour orange and garlic. Crisp skin, citrus all the way through. My Sunday chicken.

Citrusy and Garlicky Roasted Cuban Mojo Pork (Lechon Asado)

Pork shoulder marinated overnight in citrus and garlic. Roasted slowly until it falls apart under a fork.

Fall Off the Bone Pot Roast Chicken in Tomato Broth

Chicken braised low in a tomato broth in a Dutch oven until it shreds. Serve it in a bowl. The broth is the reason.

No-Marinate Tender and Juicy Costillas (Baked Baby Back Ribs)

Baby back ribs with no marinating required. They go in the oven. You get on with your afternoon.

The Secret To The Best Carnitas Fajitas In The Oven

Carnitas and peppers roasted together instead of standing over a skillet. Almost no attention needed.

Lemon Dill Baked Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

Chicken thighs and potatoes roasted together with lemon and plenty of fresh dill. One dish.

Creamy Fall Dinner Recipes With Pasta

Pasta season starts the minute I stop wanting cold food. These are the rich ones. I save them for when it’s dark by five.

Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Chicken Pasta

Silky butternut squash sauce clinging to rigatoni and garlic chicken. The most fall pasta I make all season.

Creamy Marry Me Chicken Pasta

Tender chicken with sun-dried tomatoes in a rich parmesan sauce. It earned the name.

Ground Beef Orzo with Tomato Cream Sauce and Fresh Basil

Ground beef orzo in a tomato cream sauce. It tastes so much more expensive than it actually is.

This Creamy Chicken Sausage Orzo Is So Simple and Good I Make It Every Month

Chicken sausage and orzo in a creamy broth. One pan. I really do make it every month.

Smoky Shrimp Pasta with Angel Hair and Sweet Onions

Shrimp with smoky paprika over angel hair, with sweet onions cooked down slow.

Extra Cheesy Creamy Lasagna Soup

Everything I love about lasagna without any of the layering. Ricotta and mozzarella over the top.

One Skillet Fall Dinner Recipes

Weeknights in October are loud. These all happen in one pan. None of them take more than half an hour.

Cheesy Taco Rice Skillet Recipe

Seasoned beef and rice under a lot of melted cheese, all in one skillet. Nothing to wash.

Cuban Beef Picadillo That Solves Weeknight Dinner

Ground beef simmered with olives and warm spices over white rice. I make a double batch. It is better the second night.

30-Minute Bistec de Carne

Colombian steak with sweet sauteed onions and tomatoes, done in half an hour. Rice underneath, a fried egg on top.

One-Skillet Onion and Pepper Kielbasa with Rice

Smoked sausage with sweet peppers and onions, all in one skillet. No shopping trip needed.

Healthy Rotisserie Chicken and Rice Skillet

A rotisserie chicken and rice skillet built around leftovers, so half the work is already done.

Southwest Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Skillet

Ground beef with sweet potato and warm spices in one pan. Filling, never heavy.

Quick and Easy Arroz con Carne

Steak and rice cooked in the same pot, so there is nothing to serve alongside.

One-Pan Pork Belly Fried Rice

Crisp pork belly folded through fried rice. Richer than it sounds. Worth every bite.

Fall Dinner Recipes With Chicken Thighs

Chicken carries most of my fall dinners. Mostly thighs, since they stay juicy even when I forget about them.

45-Minute Creamy Coconut Milk Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs simmered in coconut milk until the sauce goes silky. Swap in bone-in legs to make it cheaper still.

Chimichurri Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs marinated in fresh chimichurri, baked until the edges catch.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs

Bright, garlicky chicken thighs with lime and plenty of cilantro. My default when there is no plan.

Super Crispy Pollo Empanizado (Breaded Chicken)

Thin breaded chicken cutlets with parsley and a squeeze of lime over the top. They cook in minutes.

Low-Carb Chicken Parmesan

All the melted mozzarella and marinara of chicken parm, no breading.

Greek-Style Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Tzatziki

Turkey meatballs with cool, garlicky tzatziki. Lighter than beef. They portion well for the week.

Fall Dinner Recipes in One Pot

Some nights the answer is one pot. A few of these take an afternoon and a few are done in thirty minutes, and every one makes enough for tomorrow.

Colombian Chicken Stew (Sudado de Pollo)

Sudado de pollo, chicken stewed with potatoes in tomato and sofrito. The one I grew up eating, always over white rice.

Rabo Encendido (Cuban Oxtail Stew)

Cuban oxtail braised for hours until the meat gives up completely. A whole slow afternoon, and worth it.

Puerto Rican Sancocho

Sancocho, a one-pot stew with root vegetables and plantains. It makes enough for days. That is the point.

Puerto Rican Shrimp Stew (Asopao de Camarones)

Asopao de camarones, somewhere between a soup and a rice dish. Shrimp in a broth I could drink on its own.

Creamy Mexican Street Corn Chicken Soup

Street corn chicken soup in thirty minutes. All the elote flavors, shredded chicken through it.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken enchilada soup with black beans and corn and enough cheese to make it creamy. This saves dinner on the first cold night.

If You Like This You’ll Love These

Here are a few others I’ve made and loved:

17 Fall Soups and Stews You Must Try to Stay Cozy for the ones that simmer the longest.

Latin-Inspired Fall Dinner Ideas for the Latin side of the season.

32 Cheap Family Dinners Your Family Will Love for the weeks that get tight.

Sofrito Recipe because it starts half the pots on this list.

If you make any of these fall dinner recipes, leave a comment. I love reading your comments and will try to get back to every single one.