Braise & Roast Your Way Through Fall With These Cozy Recipes

As we exhale and enter fall, we become reacquainted with cooking again. Sturdy fruit and veg return on the scene, asking us to ply them with high-heat roasting and low-and-slow braising, showered with every aromatic to entice us back to our kitchens. Here is a collection of fall favorites for when you’re on the lookout for a quick lunch, dreaming up your holiday menu, and everything in-between, all guaranteed to elicit wows and bring comfort for colder days.

1. Honeynut Squash Frittata With Red Onion & Sage

This frittata is amazing. Make it as written with creamy honeynut squash for creamy, fluffy, golden bliss, or swap for other favorite fall-inspired ingredients (mushrooms, smoked fish, dark leafy greens—all tested by community members and work great). This one-pan wonder is equally terrific for your next brunch, or as the perfect breakfast-for-dinner.

2. Brown Butter Apple Pie Cookies

Use your haul from apple-picking this fall and make these adorable hand-pie cookies. The spice imparts unexpected nuance as it melds with the brown butter apples, and the glittery sugared surface makes a crunchy foil to tender pastry crumb. I’ve shared these with Catbird Cottage guests, and everyone—in unison no less—goes “ooooh”!

3. Cider-Braised Chicken With Apples, Onions & Thyme

If you love apples, don’t skip this Food52 crowd-pleaser. Everyone who makes this dish loves the sweet-savory effect the cider and apples impart, and braising the apples with the chicken delivers a tenderness to both that is hands-down irresistible.

4. Buttermilk Biscuits With Pumpkin Chile Butter

It’s always a good time to begin crafting your Thanksgiving menu. These golden, laminated biscuits are made even better with a generous slather of savory pumpkin-gochujang butter. So addictive, you’ll be adding a dollop to everything, from soups to eggs to pasta. Pssst: These biscuits are perfect for those leftover turkey sandwiches.

5. Roasted Potatoes With Anchovy-Dijon Aioli

Who doesn’t love potatoes? Brought to crispy, golden depth in the oven—healthier and more hands-off than frying—these roasted spuds make fast friends with a “Caesar salad” dip. Just as with the dressing, it is creamy, punchy, umami-packed, and can be made in advance. Perfect for easy entertaining.

6. Rainbow Noodle Bowl With Garlicky-Gingery Broth

This noodle bowl is like a big hug. The bright colors bring with them layers of flavor, from candy-like roasted sweet potatoes and punchy harissa, to silky leafy greens and the crunchy sesame seed topping. Whether you make your broth or doctor up store-bought, the toppings work their magic in infinite combinations.

7. Pumpkin-Gochujang Pasta With Crispy Garlic Chips

Save your Halloween pumpkin and make this deceptively simple dish. With just six ingredients, this is unbelievably easy to pull off and is guaranteed to become a new household favorite.

8. Tuna-Stuffed Shells

This grown-up version of tuna noodle casserole brings nostalgia forward with exciting additions such as delicata squash, dijon mustard, capers, and fresh dill. Very much weeknight-worthy, this quintessential comfort food sets a new bar for every casserole to follow.

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What cozy-weather favorites will you be cooking this fall? Tell us in the comments!