20 Fall Dump Dinners That Will Feed a Crowd
Crisp leaves and cooler weather; casual dinner parties and no-fuss recipes that feed a big group of friends…these are a few of our favorite things. It only makes sense, then, to combine them all together. Big-batch recipes for fall? Genius. Big-batch fall recipes that are also made in one pot, one pan or one trusty slow-cooker? Even better. Presenting 20 fall dump dinners that will feed a crowd.
RELATED: 15 Low-Maintenance Dump Dinners That Basically Make Themselves
1. Pomegranate-Sumac Chicken with Roasted Carrots (8 servings)
Now that it’s cool enough to return to your oven, it’s time to embrace the sheet-pan meal. This one’s packed with warm Middle Eastern spices and will have your crowd begging for the recipe.
2. Cheater’s Slow-Cooker Beef Bourguignon (6 servings)
Don’t tell Julia Child, but we’re taking some major shortcuts with this classic French dish. Namely, we’re throwing everything into our slow-cooker and never looking back.
3. Cheater’s Italian Wedding Soup (8 servings)
Parmesan, pasta, beans, kale and juicy meatballs…all in one bite? Say no more, we’re already on our way to your place.
4. Slow-Cooker Chicken Potpie Soup (8 servings)
The secret to making this as low effort as possible is in the store-bought biscuit dough. No one will know you didn’t make it yourself (but they’ll gobble it up).
5. Slow-Cooker Pasta e Fagioli (6 servings)
This hearty, make-ahead soup calls for a crackling fire, a candlelit table and many, many cocktails.
6. Creamy Vegan Lentil Roasted Vegetable Bake (8 servings)
Hello, ultimate cold weather comfort food. The caramelized roast vegetables are reason enough to make this on repeat…but the cashew cream puts it over the top.
7. Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup (6 servings)
No need to toil over a hot stove when you could press a button on your Crock-Pot and get back to that Netflix queue of scary movies waiting for you.
8. Cheater’s White Wine Coq au Vin (6 servings)
This elegant meal has “impromptu dinner party” written all over it. Your guests will be so impressed with the flavorful, white wine-infused sauce that they won’t even suspect it took you less than an hour to make.
9. Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (6 servings)
No need to bundle up when you’ve got this creamy beauty—she’s kind of like a blanket in a bowl.
10. 30-Minute, One-Pot Cheater’s Bouillabaisse (6 servings)
We shaved 90 minutes off the cooking time of this rustic French soup. Serve it with a bottle of wine and wait for the compliments.
11. White Turkey Chili with Avocado (8 servings)
If you’re not serving a big batch of chili at your game-watch party, is it even fall?
12. Skillet Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe (6 servings)
You had us at gnocchi, and again at one-skillet dinner. Thanks to a few smart shortcuts (store-bought pasta, for one), this meal takes a mere 30 minutes to make.
13. Autumn Braised Chicken Escabèche with Roasted Apples and Grapes (6 servings)
Escabèche is just a fancy way of saying “pickled,” but don’t let that raise your eyebrows. This chicken skillet is packed with fall fruits and a sweet-and-sour sauce that’s obsession-worthy.
14. One-Pot Creamy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese (6 servings)
’Tis the season for all things pumpkin (and we admit we’re not mad about it at all). The squash adds a certain je ne sais quoi that we can’t resist to this crowd-pleaser.
15. Curried Kale, Potato and Lentil Soup (8 servings)
Comforting yet healthy is our M.O. when it comes to cool-weather cooking. This one-pot lentil soup is just the ticket.
16. Baked Chicken and Mushroom Risotto (6 servings)
Earthy mushrooms just scream “autumn,” so why not add them to this hands-off risotto? Oh, we almost forgot to mention: You hardly have to stir anything.
17. Healthy Instant-Pot Turkey Chili (8 servings)
Throw everything in your Instant Pot and, in record timing, you can marvel at the tasty results. (Just don’t skip the sour cream and cheese.)
18. Freekeh Vegetable Soup (8 servings)
Thanks to the addition of hearty, smoky freekeh (it’s an heirloom grain), this veggie soup rivals even the heartiest of meat-based stews.
19. Split Pea Soup with Ham
Raise your hand if your mom used to feed you this classic every week from September to November. Yep, that’s what we thought. (We bet hers wasn’t this effortless to make, though.)
20. Super-Easy One-Pot Lasagna (6 servings)
Behold, the dump dinner to end all others. If we had known you could whip up a big batch of lasagna in a single pan, we would’ve been doing this years ago.
