When the weather turns, everyone wants the same few dishes: a big pot of chili, a bubbling pot pie, a pot roast that cooks itself while you're at work. These are the fall recipes we make again and again, and the ones our family asks for first.
Every recipe here uses ingredients you can find at any grocery store, and none of them needs special equipment. Each one links to the full recipe, with ingredients, step-by-step directions, storage notes and an estimated grocery cost.
What each recipe costs
We price every recipe on the site at U.S. average grocery prices, so you can see what a dish costs before you shop. Here's how the seven compare:
| Recipe | Serves | Total | Per serving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Beef Chili | 8 | $22.59 | $2.82 |
| Easy Chicken Pot Pie | 6 | $11.97 | $2.00 |
| Slow Cooker Pot Roast | 6 | $38.31 | $6.39 |
| Butternut Squash Soup | 6 | $9.96 | $1.66 |
| Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup | 8 | $18.27 | $2.28 |
| Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Balsamic | 6 | $9.36 | $1.56 |
| One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread | 10 | $4.21 | $0.42 |
1. Classic Beef Chili
Chili is the dish that tells you fall is here. This one is thick and hearty, made in one pot with ground beef, two kinds of canned tomatoes and kidney or pinto beans.
The trick is to toast the spices for one minute in the pot before the tomatoes go in. It wakes up the chili powder and cumin, so an hour of simmering tastes like it took all day. Prefer to set it and forget it? Brown the beef and spices on the stove, then move everything to a slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours on low.
Chili tastes even better the next day, and it freezes for up to 3 months.
2. Easy Chicken Pot Pie
A creamy, homestyle filling under a flaky golden crust, made easy with three shortcuts: rotisserie chicken, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a store-bought pie crust.
It's a top-crust-only pie, so there's no soggy bottom and no fiddling with two crusts. Everything cooks in one oven-safe skillet, and the crust goes right on top. Let it rest 10 minutes after baking so the filling can thicken.
Making this after Thanksgiving? Leftover turkey works just as well as the chicken.
3. Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Fall-apart tender beef with potatoes, carrots and a rich gravy, from about 15 minutes of hands-on work. A packet of dry onion soup mix does all the seasoning.
Choose a chuck roast. Its marbling melts during the long cook and keeps the meat juicy, while leaner cuts turn out dry. Searing the roast before it goes in the slow cooker is optional, but it makes the beef and gravy taste noticeably richer. If the roast is still tough at the end, it needs more time, not less.
Leftovers make great shredded beef sandwiches.
4. Butternut Squash Soup
Silky, slightly sweet and done in 45 minutes in one pot. Buying pre-cut squash skips the hardest part, and an apple plus a little maple syrup give the soup a cozy, rounded flavor.
For deeper flavor, roast the squash cubes at 425°F before they go in the pot. And if the soup tastes flat, it almost always needs a little more salt, not more sugar. It's easy to make vegan, too: use olive oil, vegetable broth and canned coconut milk.
Top it with a swirl of sour cream, pumpkin seeds or crumbled bacon.
5. Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
A cozy, creamy one-pot soup made with rotisserie chicken and a box of long grain and wild rice mix. The rice's seasoning packet does double duty and flavors the whole pot.
The soup keeps thickening as it sits, because the rice soaks up the broth. Thin leftovers with a splash of broth or milk when you reheat them. And taste before you add salt, since the broth and seasoning packet are already salty.
6. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Balsamic
Every fall dinner needs a side, and this is the one even Brussels sprouts skeptics go back for. The sprouts and bacon roast together on one sheet pan until crispy and caramelized, then get a drizzle of sweet balsamic glaze.
The secret to crispy sprouts is keeping them dry and giving them room. Pat them dry after rinsing, set them cut side down in a single layer and don't stir them while they roast. If they overlap, split them between two pans, or they'll steam instead of browning. No balsamic glaze? Simmer balsamic vinegar with a little honey until it's thick and syrupy.
Finish with grated Parmesan or dried cranberries, and keep this one in mind for Thanksgiving.
7. One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread
No list of fall favorites is complete without pumpkin bread. This one is moist and full of warm spice, and you mix it in a single bowl with a whisk and a spatula. Oil keeps it soft for days, and brown sugar adds a hint of caramel.
Use canned pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling, and stir in the flour just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts if you like, or bake the batter as 12 muffins in 20 to 25 minutes.
A crack down the middle of the loaf is normal. It means the bread rose well.
Before you start: three kitchen notes
These apply to every recipe above:
- Salt: Amounts are for regular table salt. If you use kosher salt, add a little more.
- Flour: Spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and can make baked goods dry.
- Taste at the end: Broth and canned goods vary in saltiness, so taste before serving and add more salt if needed.
Plan a week of fall dinners with less shopping
These recipes share a lot of ingredients, which makes them easy to plan together and keeps waste down:
- Rotisserie chicken goes into both the pot pie and the wild rice soup. Each needs about 3 cups of shredded meat, and one chicken gives you 3 to 4 cups, so buy two and you're set for both.
- Beef broth and Worcestershire sauce season both the chili and the pot roast.
- Chicken broth goes into the pot pie, the wild rice soup and the butternut squash soup.
- Onions, garlic, butter and dried thyme show up again and again.
- The Brussels sprouts roast in 25 minutes while dinner finishes, and they go with almost anything here. Try them next to the pot roast or the pot pie.
Cook the chili or pot roast on Sunday and you'll have lunches for days. Put the pot pie on a weeknight with a pan of Brussels sprouts on the side, and finish the week with soup. For more ideas, see our weekly meal plan for a family of four under $100, or browse every recipe on our family recipes page.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular fall recipes?
Comfort food leads the list every fall: beef chili, chicken pot pie, pot roast, butternut squash soup and pumpkin bread are classics, and roasted Brussels sprouts are the side everyone wants. They're warm and filling, they use in-season ingredients like squash, pumpkin and Brussels sprouts, and most of them make enough for leftovers.
Which fall recipes can I make ahead and freeze?
Five of these seven freeze well for up to 3 months: the chili, butternut squash soup, chicken and wild rice soup, pot roast (freeze the beef and gravy, but not the potatoes) and pumpkin bread. The chicken pot pie and the Brussels sprouts are best fresh. Leftovers of both keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the sprouts re-crisp in a 400°F oven or air fryer in 5 to 8 minutes.
What is an easy fall dinner for a busy weeknight?
Butternut squash soup is ready in 45 minutes, and creamy chicken and wild rice soup takes about 55. Or let the slow cooker do the work: the pot roast takes about 15 minutes of prep in the morning and is ready by dinnertime.
Can I make chili in a slow cooker?
Yes. Brown the beef, cook the vegetables and toast the spices on the stove first, then move everything to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4.
How do you keep roasted Brussels sprouts from getting soggy?
Dry them well after rinsing, spread them in a single layer cut side down and roast at 425°F without stirring. Don't crowd the pan. If the sprouts overlap, use two pans, because crowded or wet sprouts steam instead of getting crispy.
