Easy

The award for best supporting actor goes to this bright, tart root vegetable salad. Slice the daikon and carrots as thinly as possible so there’s tons of surface area to absorb the coconut garlic glaze. 

Tinned sardines add briney flavor (and protein!)—leave them whole or break them up and fold them into the soup.

This satisfying vegetarian stew is recipe developer Rachel Gurjar’s riff on North Indian-style lobia masala. Black-eyed peas soak up the flavors of an onion- and tomato-based gravy along with kale or any greens you’d like.

This classic tuna salad has all the essentials for turning canned tuna into something truly compelling. 

The beloved Korean stir-fried chicken dish dakgalbi is spicy, sweet, aromatic, and comforting—and it comes together in a few easy steps and one pan.

Absinthe—which is higher proof and packed with warm flavors—makes any glass of bubbly feel even more special.

A toasty amaro cocktail with homemade pecan syrup that will warm you up faster than a fireplace. (Well, maybe just as fast.)

The roasted, earthy notes of the hōjicha (roasted green tea) carry the warming toasted baking spices for a comforting low-caffeine wintertime brew.

A warm ruby red mulled wine packed with enough cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to make the whole house smell like the holidays.

The holiday cocktail that takes you straight to the beach (and isn’t that where you want to be anyway?).

Any crunchy vegetable or fruit can live in this colorful slaw—try fennel, small turnips, or Asian pear.

Crispy roasted sweet potato wedges get tossed in a sweet and nutty tahini dressing in this quick vegetarian weeknight dinner.

Pretend you’re on the coast—and not your house in the dead of winter—with this bright and spicy aguachile.

A steamed-then-mashed sweet potato adds creamy sweetness and extra nutrients to this cozy oatmeal that can be easily customized to fit dietary preferences. 

Cabbage has emerged as the hero of weeknight pantry cooking. Inexpensive and infinitely versatile, with an impressively long shelf life, one head of cabbage goes a long way. In this recipe, half of a cabbage is bathed in a turmeric-accented coconut milk until it’s meltingly tender and sweet. 

Don’t be surprised if this creamy, coconutty vegan gratin outperforms some of the heavier traditional Thanksgiving sides. 

This one-pot recipe, which makes a holiday table centerpiece with leftovers you’ll be thankful for, is adapted from Sabrina Ghayour’s book Simply. Cooking a lean cut of meat like brisket for an extended period of time in a moist environment yields meat that is, in Sabrina’s words, “ridiculously juicy [and] tender, [with] plenty of flavor.”

Lara Lee’s meat-free version of the Laotian and Thai dish combines smoked tofu with pops of crunchy sesame seeds and a kick of lime dressing.

This is a “necessity is the mother of invention” kind of recipe, born from isolation, scant ingredients, an oversupply of kimchi, and sheer hunger. Yet this unconventional one-pot approach also happens to be one of the simplest ways to prepare mac and cheese. 

The ideal weeknight meal from Maneet Chauhan’s new cookbook Chaat. 

This weeknight pizza introduces the topping you didn’t know you were missing: creamed corn. Blitzing raw corn kernels with ricotta, Parmesan, heavy cream, and olive oil creates a quick and lush creamed-corn sauce. Spicy, salty, and smoky pepperoni complements the creamy sauce, while smoked mozzarella brings an even deeper dimension to the pizza (but regular mozzarella also works). Be sure to top the finished pizza with plenty of bright basil for a super-fresh hit. Although this recipe works best with fresh corn, thawed frozen corn is a fine substitute.

This sour-salty soup was made for using up sweet, late-season tomatoes.

Christina Chaey’s mushroom dashi can go with whatever vegetables and proteins you have in the fridge. It’s her favorite cold-weather meal.