Quick One-Pan Meals with Tomatoes and Olive Oil

One pan, canned tomatoes, olive oil and whatever vegetable or protein you have on hand — dinner with almost no cleanup.

The one-pan formula

Canned tomatoes and olive oil make a sauce that can cook almost anything right in it — eggs, fish, chicken, beans or vegetables. Everything happens in a single pan, which means big flavour and almost no cleanup.

What each one brings

• Tomatoes — the sauce that cooks everything else
• Olive oil — the base you start in and the richness at the end
• Vegetable or protein — chicken, fish, beans, eggs or whatever is in the fridge

How to build it

Warm olive oil, soften an onion and some garlic, then pour in the tomatoes. Let the sauce come together for a few minutes, nestle in your protein or vegetables, cover, and simmer until everything is cooked through. Serve straight from the pan.

One-pan ideas

• Eggs poached in spiced tomato sauce (shakshuka-style)
• White fish simmered in tomato and olives
• Chicken cacciatore with peppers
• A quick bean-and-vegetable stew
• Sausage braised in tomato with greens

Why one pan works

• Fewer dishes — everything cooks in one place
• Forgiving — the sauce keeps things from drying out
• Scalable — cook for one or for a crowd in the same pan
• Flexible — swap the protein or vegetable to whatever needs using up

Dinner in one pan

With a can of tomatoes and a good glug of olive oil, a one-pan dinner is the answer to a busy night — and there's barely anything to wash.