This Cozy Sheet Pan Dinner Is the Epitome of Fall, and I Plan on Making It Nonstop

I live for the change of seasons, especially the one between summer and fall when the humidity gives out and the mornings start to feel cool again, and I can finally enjoy the experience of turning on my oven. I also love the way the produce changes this time of year—the tomatoes and stone fruit and corn slowly give way to winter squash and leafy greens. It’s a cliche that I’ll stand by: fall is the best season. More specifically: fall is the best season for cooking.

By the end of the summer, I always feel kind of… burnt out. The heat is totally oppressive and wrings any will to cook right out of me. So those first cool breezes always leave me feeling inspired and excited to cook again. At the same time, fall is often a busy season. With routines getting busy and days getting shorter, it feels good to have some ideas about how to get dinner on the table fast.

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GET THE RECIPE: Sheet Pan Patatas Bravas Dinner

This recipe is inspired by patatas bravas, a classic Spanish bar snack of super-crispy fried pieces of potato, drizzled with a tangy, slightly spicy sauce. In college, when my roommate and I needed a comforting snack, we would roast potato chunks until they were super-crispy, and dunk them in a mixture of mayo and sriracha, which was just filling enough that we would sometimes (okay, often) call it dinner.

Now that I’m an adult, I need more protein and vegetables with my dinner. That’s where this sheet pan dinner comes in. The crispy potatoes remain, but they’re joined by lots of kale and some links of chorizo. The flavorful oil from the potatoes and chorizo is used to dress the kale, and the heat from the sheet pan wilts it just slightly enough that it gets tender and delicious. Topped with a super-fast, two-ingredient sauce, this dinner hits all the notes an autumn meal should: comforting, warm and delicious, all while still giving you plenty of hearty greens. As a bonus, it comes together in under an hour, using only one pan. How’s that for convenient cooking?