36 Easy Winter Dinner Ideas

Are you tired of the same old winter dinner recipes? Discover 36 delicious, easy, and good for you winter dinner ideas that’ll warm up your nights and keep your family and friends coming back for more. From soups and stews to hearty bakes and one-pot dishes, you’ll find all the inspiration you need to stay warm and well-fed this season.

Do you find yourself struggling to come up with new and exciting dinner ideas during the winter months? Look no further! This list of thirty six (yes!) easy and delicious winter dinner ideas are recipes that will warm your belly and satisfy your desire for delicious, good for you food.

From hearty stews to flavorful roasts and everything in between, these recipes will add a cozy, flavorful vibe to your winter meal rotation. So get ready to add a few tried-and-true recipes to your favorites list for your family and friends!

Note: I’ve organized the recipes by method as well as type. Use the table of contents to easily scroll to the winter recipes you want to try.

Skillet Recipes

1. Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale and Beans

Such a simple, protein packed one-dish meal. All I ever add is some good crusty artisan bread, either no-knead yeast or simple sourdough artisan.

2. 30 Minute Chicken Frittata with Spinach and Feta

This is the first of three frittatas you will find on this list because they are pretty perfect weeknight meals – flavorful, adaptable, protein rich, and quick to make.

This chicken and spinach version uses cooked chicken and spinach with feta and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Can you use another protein? Sure. A different cheese? Of course. Top with tomato chutney? Absolutely.

3. Quick Sausage & Kale or Swiss Chard Frittata

This frittata takes advantage of all the wonderful types of precooked sausages we can find now. I love this with a good chicken sausage, but any type of cooked sausage will work. Both kale and swiss chard are great in this and the cheese is variable, too.

4. Easy Potato And Caramelized Onion Frittata

A vegetarian dish that’s hearty enough that you won’t miss the meat. The frittata is a great way to use up leftover roasted potatoes (though you can cook them first if you don’t have leftovers) and you can use any cheese you’d like, though I’m partial to feta. But this recipe is really about the caramelized onions – they are SO good this way!

5. Thai Style Turkey or Chicken Vegetable Curry

This is one of those rare recipes – warm, flavorful, and comforting and ready in about 20 minutes! That’s because it starts with cooked chicken or turkey and uses frozen green beans. All that you need to do is prep carrots, onions, and peppers and put it together while the rice cooks.

6. Quick Cajun Beef on Spiced Potatoes

I have been making this inexpensive, flavorful meal since my kids were little because everyone loved this take on “meat and potatoes.” I loved that I didn’t have to prep the potatoes in advance – they are sliced thin enough to cook in minutes! And the tomatoey beef mixture is so good with the cajun spices. It’s the yogurt topping that makes the dish, though – definitely don’t skip it.

Soup & Stew Recipes

7. The Best Homemade Tomato Soup – You’ll Never Go Back To Canned

This is another many years tried-and-true recipe that my family regularly requests (served with grilled cheese, of course!). You start with basic canned tomatoes and then add flavors that result in anything but a basic soup. Many readers now agree with me – you’ll never want canned soup again!

8. Cajun Chicken Barley Vegetable Soup

Talk about a one meal deal! You’ve got chicken and sausage and lots of veggies all in a flavorful broth. I love this for meal prep, too – I always make a big pot even if it’s just Brian and me so that we can eat it for lunches throughout the week (it may be better the next day…).

9. The Best Easy Chili Recipe (Stovetop, Crockpot OR Instant Pot!)

Meaty, beany, tomatoey, and just the right amount of spices (more than you’d think!) created the best everyday chili I’ve had! Seriously, I could give or take chili in the past, but now I crave this in the winter months! So good on baked potatoes and hot dogs, too.

10. Curried Turkey and Rice Soup (or Chicken)

My absolute favorite way to use up leftover turkey or chicken! The Indian curry flavor and creamy coconut milk make this just so good. I’ve used cauliflower rice when I want less carbs – or you can leave the rice out. Plus, this gets better as it sits, so make the full batch and keep in the fridge or freeze for later.

11. Mexican Chicken Corn Soup

Warm, comforting, flavorful soup in just 30 minutes? You bet! Serve this deliciousness with chips, salsa and a plate of cut veggies.

12. Fast & Easy Curried Red Lentil Soup

Here’s another 30 minute soup – a healthy, hearty one dish soup that only needs some good bread to go with it. I usually serve this with pita bread and hummus to add a bit more protein.

13. Savory Tomato Seafood Stew

Another great all-in-one soup that you can use any type of seafood you have. I usually use white fish and shrimp, but salmon and scallops are great in this, too.

14. Rustic Italian Sausage Soup

Here’s the soup you want when you only have 15 minutes to make dinner – yes, really! Using canned beans and tomatoes, you simply brown the meat, add the other ingredients and let it simmer for a few minutes.

15. The Best Sausage and Lentil Stew

My absolute favorite warm and comforting meal – I wait for cool weather in fall so I can start making this again! If you think you’ve had lentil soup or stew and it’s just ho-hum, think again!

16. Spicy Beef, Tomato and Corn Stew Recipe

The spicy in the title is just to show that it’s southwestern flavors – you can totally adjust the spice level to be less or none at all! This was dubbed Brian’s “favorite new meal” when I created it!

17. Amazing Cauliflower Cheese Soup

The amazing thing isn’t just the quickness of the recipe – all from scratch even – or that no one knows how many vegetables is in it. It’s the FLAVOR. You will dream about this (just like I have for more than 20 years!!).

Slow Cooker Recipes

18. Flavorful Chicken Lentil Curry with Vegetables

Talk about hearty and flavorful! There is so much going on in this warm and wonderful recipe that it’s a full meal deal. The veggies you add are totally adaptable so this is great for using up what you have.

19. Easy Slow Cooker Cassoulet with Chicken and Sausage

This is another family favorite recipe I’ve been making for 20+ years. Full of protein and easy to throw together during the day, this is so good I often make it for company. I add a salad and some French baguettes for a pretty perfect meal.

20. Slow Cooker Chicken Dinner with Vegetables

Here’s a recipe you can use for those days when you’ll be gone and would love to come home to a one pot meal. You can use regular potatoes or sweet potatoes, or change up the veggies. There are also variations to use boneless chicken as well as how to make this in an Instant Pot.

21. Italian Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe (Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Option)

There’s something magical that happens with beef in a slow cooker. Can you tell that I’m partial to one-pot slow cooker meals in the winter? It just makes so much sense and it seems easy to use lots of vegetables and protein in recipes like this.

22. Black Bean and Sausage Soup (Slow Cook or Instant Pot)

I love soups like this that can use my frozen corn, canned tomatoes, and frozen black beans. Or not! If I don’t have those things, it’s just as easy to use store bought because it’s all real food. I like to serve this with warmed tortillas and a salad like cumin lime coleslaw.

23. Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe (with Stovetop Option)

Many chicken chili recipes are creamy, but this one is made with a tomatoey broth that carries the chili seasonings so well! If you’re avoiding dairy, this is the chicken chili for you (omit the grated cheese for serving or use a cheese substitute). I like this with tortilla chips and chunky guacamole.

24. Slow Cooker Pork Stew with Vegetables

This is such a great way to use the small, inexpensive pork sirloin (not tenderloin – that will get overcooked in this recipe) you can get at stores like Costco. You have the option to add potatoes to the stew or do like I do and serve sour cream and garlic mashed potatoes alongside the stew – it is SO good.

25. Slow Cooker Italian Style Pot Roast

Up the flavor of classic pot roast with tomatoes and Italian seasonings and you may be like me and never look back. The roast is so tender cooked in a crockpot, too! This is another recipe where you can decide to add the potatoes or serve mashed potatoes separately.

Sheet Pan Recipes

26. Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables with Lemon & Garlic

Bring vibrant brightness to your roasted chicken and vegetables with lemon and garlic! I always make this classic sheet pan combo this way now – everyone loves it.

27. Roasted Root Vegetables Hash with Eggs and Bacon

Ready to try something new with your sheet pan? You won’t believe how good turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots, onions and potatoes are when roasted together and topped with eggs, bacon, and feta if you’d like. Can you have this for breakfast? Yes – and it also makes a wonderful dinner.

28. Roasted Sausages with Peppers and Onions

This recipe has become a “back-pocket” recipe that I make regularly in the winter for both weeknights and guests. It’s just about perfect paired with a regular or sourdough artisan bread (mmm, I can just taste the caramelized veggies on the toasted bread…) and a green salad. So yummy and e.a.s.y.

29. Chicken Pesto Greek Style Pizza

This is my favorite type of pizza to make using this tasty, cheap crust that’s ready in an hour (no need for hours of rising time!). The base of pesto holds mozzarella and feta cheese along with artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, chicken, and dried tomatoes.

Casseroles & Baked Recipes

30. Simple Baked Pasta with Cheese

Are baked pastas like this the ultimate comfort food? Maybe – all I know is this is a family favorite with cheesy goodness that comes from cream cheese in the sauce to the layers of grated cheese in the bake. You can make this with a meat like sausage or without to keep it meat-free. A green salad is all you need to serve with it.

31. Curried Lentils with Bacon & Browned Cabbage

Here’s a really fun way to combine lentils and cabbage with a delicious curry flavor (can you tell I’m partial to the lentil and curry powder combo?). This is another dish that is great for scooping with bread like pita or naan.

32. Mediterranean Fish Bake

This is such a nice, different way to eat white fish! There’s a base of potatoes and tomatoes with garlic, onion, olives, and feta cheese to add a ton of flavor. Definitely serve bread to soak up the delicious juices.

33. Delicious Maple Mustard Baked Chicken with Sauce

What would a winter dinner ideas list be without a baked chicken recipe? Oh, and what a recipe! The layers of mustard flavor, tempered with just a bit of maple makes this stand out so much it’s a birthday dinner request at our house! Please try it!

34. French Beef Stew Recipe – The Best Stew Ever

Well the title gives it away – this is the ONLY beef stew I make and our family and friends wait impatiently for me to make it! I used to add the potatoes in the stew, but now serve it with mashed potatoes (by now you’re not surprised at this, are you?). So, so good I wish more people would try this!

35. Sausage, Bean and Greens Gratin Recipe (Skillet or Ramekins)

Another hearty way to cook beans and greens – this time with sausage and topped with crispy cheese. Divide the mixture into individual ramekins for easy serving or cook and bake right in a cast iron skillet, it’s up to you.

36. Easy Mini Meatloaf Recipe with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Let’s end this list with the quintessential winter comfort food, meatloaf – but let’s make it quicker and easier by baking it in little loaf pans or muffin tins and slathering it with a homemade honey BBQ sauce with an easy base of tomato paste. Serve it with roasted or mashed potatoes and garlic green beans or longer cooked green beans with onions and bacon.

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