How to Plan One‐Dish Meals for a Group

Gathering Your Supplies

Get a large cooking pot. To make a one-dish meal, you will need access to a large cooking pot. The pot may be made of cast iron to ensure even cooking and to allow you to use the pot on the stove and in the oven. Or you may use a large skillet with a handle and a lid that is safe for use on a stove top. Make sure the pot is large enough to fit several ingredients, including vegetables and meat. You may opt for a cooking pot that is deep, rather than wide, especially if you are planning to cook for a large group and require a lot of ingredients. You can also use a casserole dish with a lid as your cooking pot as long as it is oven safe.

Find a large cooking pan. You can prepare one-dish meals by using a large flat cooking pan that can fit in your oven. You may then lay out the ingredients on the pan and cook the meal in one go in the oven. Look for a cooking pan that is one to two inches deep and safe for use in the oven. You should go for a cooking pan that is non-stick so your ingredients do not get stuck on the pan once they are cooked. If the cooking pan is not non-stick, you can always line it with parchment paper to protect the pan and keep the food from sticking. If you are using a non-stick pan with a Teflon coating, you should only cook food at a low to medium temperature. You may only cook food on the stove and avoid using non-stick pans in the oven, as high temperatures can release toxic vapors in the pan.

Use a crock pot. If you do not want to have to worry about keeping an eye on the stove top or the oven, you may use a crock pot to cook your one-dish meal. Crock pots are ideal for cooking one-dish meals over long periods of time, as you do not need to monitor the crock pot or check the dish very often as it cooks. Many crock pots have timers that you can set so the crock pot turns off automatically once it is done cooking. You can buy crock pots online or at any cooking supply store.

Choosing the One-Dish Recipe

Determine how many people you intend to feed. Before you get any ingredients for the dish or choose a specific recipe, you should consider how many people you intend to feed with the meal. Planning a meal for four to six people may mean using a standard one-dish meal. But a meal for six to eight people may mean you prepare more than one-dish meal or double the recipe to ensure everyone gets enough food. When you search for recipes, note the amount of people the recipe will feed, often printed in the top section of the recipe, right before the ingredients list. Make sure you choose a recipe that will feed the amount of people in your group. Double the recipe or use another dish to make a duplicate meal so you are not short on food.

Choose a flavor profile for the recipe. Start by searching for one-dish meals online or in your favorite cookbooks. If you are looking at recipes online, read reviews of the recipe to ensure it is highly rated. Go for a certain flavor profile, such as a Thai curry one-dish meal or a Southern comfort food one-dish meal, based on your tastes. Opt for a vegetarian one-dish meal if you are going for a no-meat meal or choose a meat heavy meal if you are cooking for a carnivorous crowd. For example, you may make a one pot spaghetti if you are going for an Italian flavor profile. You may make a rice, vegetable, and meat one-dish meal or a chicken and rice casserole for a more basic flavor profile.

Select a recipe based on your time frame and your budget. If you have only two hours to prepare the one-dish meal, for example, you may go for a one-dish meal that takes one hour and is not expensive to prepare. You may opt for a recipe that uses only a few basic ingredients so you do not spend too much money on preparing the meal or splurge on one ingredient that may be more expensive, such as a nice cut of meat, and keep the rest of the ingredients cheap. If you have the day to prepare the meal, you may go for a recipe that takes more time or involves the use of a crock pot. You can then prepare the ingredients and let the meal simmer in the crock pot until it is ready at night for dinner. You can find easy, fast one-dish meals for a group online at the FoodNetwork.com and RealSimple.com.

Shop for the ingredients. Once you have chosen the recipe, go shopping for the ingredients. Make a list of ingredients and be sure to check your pantry for ingredients you already have before you go shopping. You may make a rough estimate of how much the ingredients are going to cost and go to multiple stores for the best deal on items so you do not go over budget for the meal. If your chosen one-dish meal requires fresh vegetables, you may try to shop for them the day you are planning to make the meal so the vegetables taste their best in the dish. If the dish requires meat, you may get frozen meat beforehand so you can cook it easily the day of. Or, if you have time, get fresh meat from a butcher the day you are making the meal and keep it refrigerated until you are ready to cook. If the dish includes a starch like rice or potatoes, make sure you have these ingredients on hand. Most one-dish recipes allow you to cook the starch all together with the vegetables and the meat or protein in one pot or on one tray.

Cooking the One-Dish Meal

Prepare the ingredients. Most one-dish meals require you to chop up vegetables before you start cooking. You may also need to cut up raw meat and thaw frozen meat before you cook with it. You should measure out any spices or herbs so they are on hand when you start cooking. For example, if you were making a roasted vegetables and pork chops one-dish meal, you would cut up the vegetables and have the pork chops on hand. You would also prepare the marinade for the pork chops and the vegetables. This will make it easier to put everything together once it comes time to cook the meal.

Follow the recipe. Most one-dish meals take very little time to prepare and cook. Depending on the recipe, you may only have to complete five to six steps, making it easy and fast for you to prepare the dish. Make sure you read over the recipe and allot yourself enough time to prepare and cook the meal based on the planned time of your meal. If the dish has a meat component, for example, you may cook the meat in the pot or skillet first and then add in the vegetables and the rice or potatoes next. Or, if you are using a crock pot to make the one-dish meal, you may put all the ingredients in the crock pot and let them cook for a longer period of time.

Set out the one-dish meal for the group to enjoy. Once the meal is done cooking, you should set it out for the group to enjoy. You may put the dish on the table and have everyone serve themselves or you may serve a portion to each guest on a plate. The beauty of one-dish meals is you do not need to have to worry about any side dishes or appetizers, making them easy to serve and enjoy with a group. Depending on the one-dish meal, you may add toppings to the dish. For example, a soup may be topped with roasted seeds, grated cheese, or bread crumbs. Or you may serve a one-dish curry with lemon wedges and chopped parsley or cilantro on top.