Food and Recipes Dinner 40 Winter Dinner Recipes Guaranteed to Keep You Warm By Southern Living Editors Southern Living Editors Since 1966, the editors of Southern Living have been carrying out the mission of the brand: to bring enjoyment, fulfillment, and inspiration to our readers by celebrating life in the South. We inspire creativity in their homes, their kitchens, their gardens, and their personal style. We are a friend they can trust, a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a relentless champion of the Southern way of life. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 11, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Iain Bagwell When the days are shorter, the temperatures are lower, and holiday plans are making things a bit more hectic than usual, we look to our winter dinner staples to keep our families warm and full. The minute our coats come out of the closet, soups, stews, and casseroles are fair game (as if we haven't been making casseroles all summer, anyway!). Even if there's likely to be a heat wave at some point mid-December, we all love to see our most comforting recipes awaken from their summer hiatus. Southerners are ready for winter cooking regardless of the forecast. With our slow cookers working full force and our go-to soup recipes worn out, it's always nice to find a few quick, new recipes to add to the cold-weather rotation. From cheesy pasta bakes, like our Extra-Easy Lasagna or our Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole, to fresh Instant Pot options, like our Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast, we've pulled together some hearty winter dinner ideas the whole family will enjoy. Don't worry, we didn't leave casseroles, soups, or slow cooker recipes off the table either. Browse our list of winter dinner meal ideas for recipes that are simple enough to serve tonight. 01 of 40 Beef Stroganoff Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Beef Stroganoff It may sound like special-occasion food, but our Beef Stroganoff is best paired with a cold weeknight and a glass of wine. 02 of 40 Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheddar Cheese Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheddar Cheese Roasted in all the right ways, this recipe is prime for your favorite grilled cheese. 03 of 40 Old-Fashioned Chicken And Dumplings Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken And Dumplings No matter which dumpling style you prefer–soft drop-biscuit dumplings that float or small strips of pastry dropped into the bubbling pot and cut like noodles–this dish delivers the essential comfort and flavor you expect from chicken and dumplings. 04 of 40 Chicken-and-Wild Rice Skillet Casserole Hector Sanchez Recipe: Chicken-and-Wild Rice Skillet Casserole Flavored with country ham and mushrooms, this winter dish puts a new spin on the classic chicken-and-rice number. 05 of 40 Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie Call us old-fashioned, but we always prefer homemade. One bite of this warm pot pie, and you'll agree. Frozen options just can't keep up. 06 of 40 Sloppy Joe Casserole Southern Living Recipe: Sloppy Joe Casserole We can't guarantee it'll be mess-free, but we can promise this warm winter casserole will be step up from the classic school cafeteria version from yesteryear. 07 of 40 Quick Beef Chili Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: Quick Beef Chili A warm bowl of chili in under an hour? If that's not comforting, we're not sure what is. 08 of 40 King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese Becky Luigart-Stayner Recipe: King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese The South's ultimate staples, king ranch chicken and macaroni-and-cheese, collide in a skillet dinner that's ready in just 45 minutes. 09 of 40 Easy Taco Casserole Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Easy Taco Casserole Bring the warmth of a summer fiesta to the dinner table, regardless of the temperatures outside, with this classic casserole featuring fire-roasted tomatoes. 10 of 40 Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole Southern Living Recipe: Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole An egg noodle base and warm, four-cheese topping sandwich together a hearty ground beef mix in this easy dinner recipe. 11 of 40 Cowboy Casserole Micah A. Leal Recipe: Cowboy Casserole Meet the ultimate dump and bake dinner recipe. Plus, with tots on top, we can guarantee the kids won't put up a fight. 12 of 40 Extra-Easy Lasagna Photo: Lee Harrelson Recipe: Extra-Easy Lasagna We don't call this recipe extra-easy for nothing. Satisfying and speedy, it's sure to land on your go-to winter dinner recipe rotation. 13 of 40 Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast A new spin on the Delta classic, this pot roast is shockingly fast thanks to our favorite multicooker. No Instant Pot? No problem. This roast comes together beautifully in a slow cooker too. 14 of 40 Easy Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Bacon Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Easy Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Bacon Leave your plain-Jane lentil soup recipe in the dust. We've spiced things up with sweet potatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, and bacon. 15 of 40 Classic Patty Melt Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Classic Patty Melt Pair with a side of soup, and these patty melts on sourdough are dinner-ready. 16 of 40 Slow Cooker Goulash Jennifer Causey Recipe: Slow Cooker Goulash Warm up the kitchen with this long-simmered, aromatic dish. Be sure to pick a roast with good marbling to make sure your sauce is just right. 17 of 40 One-Pan Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Mushrooms, and Collards Greg DuPree Recipe: One-Pan Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Mushrooms, and Collards Though this recipe calls for penne, you can dress it up with any shape pasta you'd like, and it will still be ready in under 30 minutes. 18 of 40 Mini Meatloaves with Potatoes, Leeks, and Brussels Sprouts Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Mini Meatloaves with Potatoes, Leeks, and Brussels Sprouts Isn't everything just a little bit cuter when mini? When it comes to these individual mini meatloaves, we sure think so. Not only does everyone get their own meatloaf, but the entire meal comes together on a single sheet-pan for easy clean up. 19 of 40 Green Chile-Chicken Stew Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Green Chile-Chicken Stew Family-friendly and crowd-ready, you can freeze cooled, leftover stew in a jumbo muffin pan to create individual portions you can reheat later. 20 of 40 Quick and Easy Spaghetti Bolognese Greg DuPree Recipe: Quick and Easy Spaghetti Bolognese When we say quick and easy, we mean it. This full-bodied pasta dish will set you up for success in just 25 minutes. 21 of 40 French Onion Soup Casserole Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: French Onion Soup Casserole Who says soup has to be ladled? Complete with layers of baguette slices, this casserole will leave them begging for seconds. 22 of 40 Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Put down the take-out menu This beef and broccoli stir fry is restaurant-quality and ready in a fraction of the time (just 20 minutes!). 23 of 40 Chicken-Mushroom Skillet Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Chicken-Mushroom Skillet As tempting as it might be to mess with the mushrooms, be sure to let them sit in the hot pan so that they brown nicely. 24 of 40 Chicken-and-Brisket Brunswick Stew Iain Bagwell Recipe: Chicken-and-Brisket Brunswick Stew Seasoned Southern cooks have all sorts of secret combinations for Brunswick stew, but we can all agree that corn, butter or lima beans, and tomatoes are essential. 25 of 40 Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Spaghetti This gorgeous Italian dish is more tender than ever in this hearty, slow-cooker take on the classic recipe. 26 of 40 Roasted Beef Tenderloin Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling; Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Roasted Beef Tenderloin This classic dinner party recipe doesn't need a fancy affair. Since it's ready in just 40 minutes, we like serving this main any day of the week. 27 of 40 Beef Stew Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Beef Stew Familiar yet never tiring, this beef stew is prepared in a Dutch oven for the best browned meat base. 28 of 40 Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole Greg DuPree Recipe: Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole This pasta bake is begging you to take the easy route—we won't tell. Rotisserie chicken and store-bought sauces make warm winter casserole nearly too good to be true. 29 of 40 Chicken Bog Greg DuPree Recipe: Chicken Bog The classic combination of chicken and rice is sped up in our 30-minute take on this traditional lowcountry dish. 30 of 40 Winter Vegetables and Gnocchi Greg DuPree Recipe: Winter Vegetables and Gnocchi All of your favorite winter vegetables are the star of the show in this quick recipe that calls for pillowy, store-bought gnocchi. 31 of 40 Chicken-Mushroom-Sage Casserole Iain Bagwell Recipe: Chicken-Mushroom-Sage Casserole Texture and flavor mingle in this elevated, mid-week chicken that brings the warm flavors of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, sage, and sherry together in one dish. 32 of 40 Twice-Baked Potatoes Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Twice-Baked Potatoes Twice-baked spuds are always crowd-pleasers, but serve them on a cold day, and they're somehow twice as tempting. 33 of 40 Beef Stew with Cheddar Biscuits Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Beef Stew with Cheddar Biscuits Everything's better with biscuits. Especially when they're smothered in Cheddar. 34 of 40 Baked Chicken Thighs with Dressing Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Baked Chicken Thighs with Dressing A sheet pan supper fit for any kind of feast, this chicken supper features toasty chunks of cornbread. 35 of 40 Capitol Hill Bean Soup Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Capitol Hill Bean Soup Also known as "Senate Bean Soup," this hearty soup has been on the menu in the Senate's restaurant since 1903. 36 of 40 Hoppin' John Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Mary-Claire Britton Recipe: Classic Hoppin' John Why wait for the New Year to serve a dish that promises prosperity? Bring this blend of rice and black-eyed peas to the table for a flavorful bowl of luck any time. 37 of 40 Shepherd's Pie with Potato Crust Greg Dupree Recipe: Shepherd's Pie with Potato Crust One slice of this two-toned potato crust, and you may never go back to your traditional Sheperd's Pie again. 38 of 40 White Lightning Chicken Chili Becky Luigart Stayner Recipe: White Lightning Chicken Chili This chicken chili is so fast, it just might be ready before you can even get all the kids to the table. 39 of 40 Harvest Salad Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Harvest Salad If you're craving something hearty, healthy, and satisfying, try our Harvest Salad for dinner tonight. You can add in some shredded chicken for extra protein. 40 of 40 Soulful Chicken Soup Iain Bagwell Recipe: Soulful Chicken Soup Cooked low and slow, this slow-cooker chicken soup is the ultimate bowl of comfort. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! 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