3,986 main dish recipes

Fruit Cornish hens: classic Chicken Marbella scaled up for small birds. Cornish hens marinated with garlic, oregano, prunes, apricots, green olives, and capers, then roasted until golden with brown sugar glaze.

Inside-out burger stuffs ground chuck patties with melty Swiss, smoky bacon, chorizo, and red onion, then sears and oven-finishes for a juicy bite. Served on toasted buns with homemade Worcestershire tomato ketchup.

Pan-seared salmon fillets finished in a silky sherry-Madeira cream sauce with garlic, shallots, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms. Restaurant-plate elegance at home.

Pot roast of your choice is a flexible Dutch oven method for fork-tender chuck roast. Browned hard, braised low with aromatics, and finished with a skimmed pan sauce you can thicken to gravy. Classic Sunday supper.

Lamb rib chops broiled under a rosemary-garlic quince jelly glaze. A 15-minute dinner-party main with a sweet-savory lacquer that caramelizes under the broiler.

Cinnamon chicken breasts simmered in a soy-teriyaki glaze with warm cinnamon and garlic. A four-ingredient pantry dinner with a sweet-savory hit that reads like takeout.

Curried tuna salad with tangy Greek yogurt, mango chutney, and diced Granny Smith apple. Five-ingredient high-protein lunch that turns canned tuna into a flavor-forward, no-mayo sandwich filling.

Welsh lamb loin wrapped in pastry with a laverbread and mushroom stuffing. A traditional Welsh showpiece roast bringing seaweed, herbs, and tender lamb into one golden crust.

Cajun chicken sandwiches with smoky chipotle pepper purée: pan-seared seasoned chicken breast piled into a soft bun with mustard or mayo. Easy weeknight heat in 30 minutes.

Shellfish crepes with shrimp in vermouth, filled and topped with creamy Swiss cheese sauce, baked until bubbling and golden. A classic French bistro appetizer or elegant dinner party main.

Grilled beef tenderloin topped with melted Asadero cheese and a butter-mounted chipotle sauce, finished with crumbled Cotija and fresh cilantro. A Mexican-style steakhouse treatment for special-occasion grilling.

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.

Pan-fried brook trout stuffed with a creamy shrimp and ginger mousseline, finished with lemon brown butter and parsley. An elegant French-style fish course for a special occasion.

Grilled tuna steaks with citrus shallot vinaigrette featuring blanched lemon and lime peel, rice vinegar, shallots, and a touch of red pepper flakes. A quick 30-minute summer seafood dinner with a bright, restaurant-style finish.

Hamburgers au poivre take the French steak au poivre treatment and apply it to ground beef patties: black pepper-crusted burgers seared hard, served on a toasted bun with a red wine, Dijon, green peppercorn, and tarragon cream sauce.

Basic Cincinnati chili simmered, not browned, so the beef stays fine and silky, spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cumin. Ladle it over spaghetti for a 3-way or onto a hot dog for a classic cheese coney.