Looking for one dish dinners to change up your dinner plans? Think golden chicken over rice, cheesy pasta bakes and a tray full of sausage and vegetables.
These ideas give you plenty to choose from, whether you’re in the mood for a casserole or something without all that cheese.
You can keep things simple or go for a whole roast chicken. Start with whichever picture makes you hungry!
These are dinner ideas rather than full recipes, so follow a matching recipe for quantities and cooking directions.
Dinner ideas worth saving
golden chicken and rice
We’re starting off strong with this gorgeous chicken and rice casserole. I love the deeply browned chicken on top of the pale rice. Those orange carrot slices and green herb sprigs make it look even more inviting.
Save this one if you like your chicken served right over the rest of your dinner.
cheesy baked ziti
How good does that cheese pull look?! The lifted serving shows off short pasta tubes, red meat sauce and thick pockets of white cheese beneath the golden top.
If you’re choosing a pasta bake for dinner, this is a lovely place to start. I’d keep the little scattering of chopped herbs on top.
sausage and colorful vegetables
If you’re looking for something without a blanket of melted cheese, this one is for you. Browned sausage rounds sit among Brussels sprouts, orange vegetable cubes and curved slices of red onion.
The pictured maple Dijon sauce gives you another idea to try with a matching sheet-pan recipe. Serve it alongside if you’d rather add your own drizzle.
golden-topped shepherd’s pie
I love the browned ridges on this shepherd’s pie. The spoonful underneath shows ground meat, peas, carrots and corn in a brown sauce.
That thick potato topping is my favorite part of the picture. If you’re making your own version, try a ridged finish rather than a completely smooth top.
a golden cheese topping
Don’t want lots of garnish on your casserole? No problem!
This one lets the golden melted topping do all the work. The filling is mostly hidden here, so I’d save this picture for the browned cheese finish rather than guess what’s underneath.
whole chicken with orzo
This may just be one of my favorite dinner presentations here. A whole golden chicken sits in the middle of orzo, chunky vegetables and chopped greens.
If you want something a little different from chicken pieces over rice, look for a whole-chicken-and-orzo recipe. The oval dish keeps everything gathered around the chicken so nicely.
tater tot cowboy casserole
The tater tot fans are going to love this! Neat rows of golden tots cover a filling with ground meat and corn.
There’s melted orange cheese across the top too.
I especially love how the rows are still visible under the cheese. Keep that arrangement if you want your casserole to look like this one.
salmon and asparagus
Want a break from casseroles? This salmon and asparagus pairing is a pretty alternative.
The fish is flaked open at one end, with chopped herbs over the top and a lemon wedge alongside.
For a one-pan version, choose a recipe that accounts for the different cooking times of the salmon and asparagus. The plate alone doesn’t show how they were cooked.
chicken and broccoli alfredo bake
I am obsessed with those golden chicken pieces against the green broccoli. Wide pasta ribbons peek through the pale sauce, with a little chopped herb garnish scattered over everything.
Read also: 20 Healthy Family Dinner Ideas With Colorful Veggies and Plenty of Variety
Save this chicken and broccoli Alfredo bake if you’d rather have a creamy pasta dinner than a red-sauce one.
cheesy squares with a golden crust
If you love the corner piece, take a look at this one. A raised golden crust surrounds the meat-and-cheese topping, with the bake already divided into squares.
I’d choose an edge serving for that extra bit of browned crust. You don’t need a fancy garnish to make this look inviting.
pork chops over sliced potatoes
Here’s a dinner idea shown before cooking rather than after. Raw bone-in pork chops are being placed over overlapping potato rounds, with seasoning visible across both.
If this combination catches your eye, use a tested pork chop and potato bake recipe. The thickness of both matters, so the photo isn’t a cooking guide.
stuffed pepper skillet
Love stuffed peppers but want a casserole version? This skillet has red and green pepper pieces mixed through the filling instead of standing up as whole peppers.
Read also: 20 Vegetarian Meal Prep Ideas With Colorful Bowls, Pasta and More
The melted cheese and scattered herbs make the top look so good. I especially like that you can still see those big colorful pepper pieces.
cabbage roll casserole
This is another dinner that takes a filled dish in a different direction. Pieces of cabbage sit among rice, ground meat and red sauce instead of being wrapped into individual rolls.
If you enjoy cabbage rolls, save this casserole idea for a change. That lifted spoonful shows off all the different layers.
dumplings and sausage rounds
How inviting is this combination? Half-moon dumplings and thick sausage rounds sit in a pale sauce, with shredded orange cheese scattered across the dish.
The cheese hasn’t melted in this picture. Look for a pierogi-and-sausage casserole recipe if you want to take this idea from the assembled dish to dinner.
chicken pot pie casserole
Those little golden biscuit tops are my favorite part of this chicken pot pie casserole. The lifted serving shows shredded chicken, peas, corn and green vegetable pieces in a pale sauce.
If you like a bumpy biscuit topping more than a smooth pastry lid, this is one to save.
skillet lasagna
I love this lasagna with its curled pasta edges and browned cheese. Red meat sauce shows around the sides of the skillet, while chopped herbs and finely grated cheese cover the middle.
The uneven pasta folds are worth keeping. There’s no need to aim for perfectly straight layers when you’re choosing this style.
cheesy baked ravioli
If the ziti caught your eye, here’s another cheesy pasta idea to consider. Square ravioli sit under chunky red meat sauce and melted cheese, with browned patches across the top.
I’d keep the small scattering of herbs just like this. The ravioli already give you plenty to look forward to underneath.
greek chicken with tomatoes
This chicken bake is so colorful! Red and yellow tomatoes, dark olives and crumbled white cheese sit over the chicken, with chopped green herbs throughout.
If you want a chicken dinner without rice or pasta pictured underneath, this is a lovely option to explore. I especially love those wrinkled tomato skins beside the olives.
rice bake with avocado
There’s so much to love about this casserole, from the black beans and colorful peppers to the melted orange cheese. But the avocado fans will probably notice those slices first!
Try finishing your own rice bake with avocado, jalapeño rounds and cilantro like the ones here. You can leave the jalapeños on the side if you prefer.
mexican-style rice and corn
Last but definitely not least, we have this colorful rice casserole. The spoonful shows rice, ground meat, yellow corn and red tomato pieces all mixed together.
Don’t want a thick cheese topping? This picture gives you another direction to try.
I love the bright corn and little green herb pieces scattered over the rice.