5 Easy Fall Dinners to Save Your Weeknights (Dietitian Approved!)

Think sheet pan, skillet meals, and soups for the win

By
Sara Haas, RDN, LDN
Sara Haas
Sara Haas, RDN, LDN
Sara Haas, RDN, LDN, is a food and nutrition expert with formal culinary training. She works as a writer, recipe developer, food photographer, media authority, public speaker, and consultant dietitian/chef. Former culinary and nutrition instructor and National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Spokesperson. 
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Published October 08, 2025
Sara Haas
Easy Lentil Soup in a bowl with a spoon.

Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

Let me begin by explaining that I’m a registered dietitian, chef, and mom. That means I have a pretty good understanding of strategies, tips, and techniques for making food that's exciting, delicious, and nourishing. One that I use frequently is the “complete meal” strategy. It’s an idea that many of my nutrition-expert colleagues and chef friends (who also happen to be moms) share. Simply, for a meal to be considered complete, it should have the following things—a plant or meat-based protein, two or more vegetables, and one whole grain (or starchy equivalent). 

It’s an easy formula that works for two reasons. First, serving several types of foods at a meal means you’ll be enjoying a variety of flavors and textures. That keeps things fun for both your palate and your brain. It also ensures that you’re getting a variety of nutrients.

Luckily, it’s also a fun process, especially in the fall when sheet pan and skillet meals, hearty soups, and stews enter the menu. There’s no right or wrong way to go about it, but one of my favorite ways is by starting with any of the three components and building from there. For example, if you have broccoli on hand, start with that and think how you can fill in the meal with a protein—maybe grilled chicken or pork chops. Then consider a whole grain—how about whole wheat pasta—and finally another vegetable—perhaps some canned tomatoes? Treat it like a game and you might discover that making dinner is more fun than you thought. 

When I asked my registered dietitian colleagues for their thoughts on this complete meal strategy and for examples of their favorite fall dishes, they couldn’t wait to share.

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  • Chicken Sausage and Pasta Skillet

    Skillet containing pasta with melted cheese and tomato sauce garnished with herbs and a serving spoon

    Simply Recipes / Lisa Lin

    My friend Julie Andrews, M.S., RDN, the chef behind The Healthy Epicurian, told me that her favorite easy complete meal involves turkey sausage, veggies, and pasta with a quick sauce. This skillet recipe embraces those ideas with chicken sausage for the protein, penne pasta (I recommend whole wheat) for the grain, and tomatoes and spinach for the two vegetables!

  • Easy Pumpkin Chili

    Bowl of easy pumpkin chili topped with a dollop of sour cream and pumpkin seeds at a table setting with another bowl of chili, a lime wedge on the counter, and white table napkins

    Simply Recipes / Laurel Randolph

    For Joy Bauer, M.S., RD, Nutrition & Health Expert on NBC’s TODAY Show, it’s Pumpkin Turkey Chili that she “can eat all day, every day!” Thanks to all of the vegetables and beans, it’s fiber-packed and full of protein, which makes it nourishing and satisfying. There are plenty of spices and textures that keep it interesting, too. The recipe makes a batch large enough to feed a crowd, but also keeps well, which means you can easily enjoy it throughout the week. For some extra staying power, consider adding a few cups of cubed squash in addition to the canned pumpkin right before the soup simmers and cooks.

  • Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

    Sheet pan with cooked chicken strips and assorted vegetables surrounded by small bowls of guacamole pico de gallo and condiments

    Simply Recipes / Frank Tiu

    Similar to Andrews, my colleague and friend Qula Madkin, M.S., RDN, loves a good one-vessel meal like sheet pan chicken fajitas. For her, this meal checks the boxes for being not just complete, but also fun, filling, and budget-friendly. There’s the bonus that later in the week, you can turn any leftovers into fajita bowls with rice and beans.

  • Lentil Soup

    Easy Lentil Soup in a bowl with a spoon.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    Soup-lovers rejoice! Hearty vegetable-based soups are perfect fall fare, says Manju Karkare, M.S., RDN. Her go-to is lentil soup with kale. She loves that it’s plant-based, nutritionally complete, and uses in-season, budget-friendly ingredients. Serve it with crusty whole grain bread and a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

    Continue to 5 of 5 below

  • Sheet Pan Salmon and Broccoli with Miso Butter

    Sheet Pan Salmon with Broccoli - After baking

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    As for me, I’m a big fan of the sheet pan meal. I love the simplicity and easy clean-up, and also that I can cook the meal on one pan. To make space for extra veggies, I often opt for the biggest sheet pan in my arsenal, which is a beast at 18x26 inches. (The standard half-sheet pan that most home cooks use is 13x18 inches.)

    To bulk up this miso salmon and broccoli recipe, for example, I start my big sheet pan in the oven to get it nice and hot and then add some potato chunks tossed with oil, salt, and pepper. After that gets a head start, I’ll proceed with the rest of the recipe, maybe adding some snow peas and sliced bok choy towards the last few minutes of cooking. Another option would be to go with a regular sheet pan for the salmon and broccoli and add a second sheet pan for the potatoes and any additional vegetables. With this simple formula, I create a variety of nutritious, complete meals out of my favorite foods.

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