185 main course recipes

Grilled swordfish steaks marinated in lemon zest, fresh rosemary, and crushed garlic with extra-virgin olive oil. Finished with briny capers and lemon wedges for a bright Mediterranean main course.

Pheasant Veronique is a classic French preparation with butter-roasted pheasant in a silky cream sauce finished with green grapes, lemon juice, and arrowroot. An elegant dinner party main course.

Pan-roasted whole quail stuffed with pancetta, sage, and juniper berries, finished with a gin and white wine pan sauce. A masterchef-level wild game main course in 30 minutes.

Grilled portobello mushroom salad with baby greens, bacon, Roquefort, and a honey-balsamic vinaigrette. A steakhouse-style main-course salad that leans on marinated mushroom caps as a meat substitute.

Roast loin of venison served over sun-dried cherry sauce and topped with crisp parsnip chips. A restaurant-style wild game main course with a marinated, seared, and oven-roasted loin sliced into medallions.

Turkey tenderloins broiled and basted with melted herb butter spiked with thyme, rosemary, paprika, and garlic. Six ingredients, 35 minutes, and you've got a juicy, golden main course with zero fuss.

Idaho potato salad with julienned ham, Swiss cheese, toasted walnuts, and a Dijon-shallot vinaigrette. A hearty, warm potato salad that doubles as a main course on a bed of lettuce.

Hidatsa stuffed sugar pumpkin: a Plains Native American dish with ground bison or venison, wild rice, and sage filling baked inside a whole sugar pumpkin until tender. Harvest feast main course.

Roasted duck with a green peppercorn and star anise sauce made from homemade duck giblet broth. The duck is salt-poached first, then roasted until crispy. A refined French-inspired main course.

Asian-style chicken salad with ginger-poached whole chicken, rice noodles, blanched celery and carrots, and a soy-lime dressing. Cold-platter main-course salad that makes the most of a tender poached bird.

Whole red snapper stuffed with herbed breadcrumbs, Italian cheese, and fresh mint, then baked under a blanket of tomatoes and lemon slices. A rustic Italian seafood main course ready in about an hour.

Thick, hearty lentil soup with chunks of smoked sausage, potatoes, carrots and a surprising strip of orange zest that brightens the whole pot. A filling main-course bowl ready in about 80 minutes.

Silky smooth cream soup with tender chicken in a buttery roux base. Ready in 25 minutes and rich enough to serve as a main course. Bonus: swap chicken for cheese to make it vegetarian.

Papaya lamb salad pairs stir-fried lamb chops with sweet ripe papaya, roma tomatoes, bean sprouts, and warm rice for a tropical-meets-Asian main-course salad. Served with lemon wedges and crusty bread.

Lemon chicken in puff pastry shells with chicken gravy, thyme, and mixed vegetables. A retro comfort-food main course that turns pantry staples into a dressed-up chicken pot pie in under 40 minutes.

Chinese-style char siu pork strips marinated in soy sauce, hoisin, five spice, rice wine, and red bean curd, then oven-roasted and glazed with honey. Serve as a main course or slice thin for appetizers.