26 Fall Recipes Our Food Staff Can’t Wait to Make

There’s no denying the divine pleasures of fall cooking, as those fresh, fast summer dishes give way to warm stews, hearty casseroles and sips of bourbon. Below are more than two dozen recipes that the New York Times Food staff looks forward to making as we transition into the most charming season of the year.

Pressure Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Braising season, which some people call fall, is a major event for me. I’m all about low and slow with plenty of leftovers and a kitchen that smells great all day. I like this dish of chicken with salami and olives, which the chef Donald Link offered up when I was reporting in New Orleans. I want to cook beef into submission, and this season I vow to try this red cooking technique with some short ribs, and chicken and dumplings in the pressure cooker from the ever-reliable Melissa Clark. KIM SEVERSON

Recipes: Pressure Cooker Chicken and Dumplings | Braised Chicken With Salami and Olives | Red-Cooked Beef Short Ribs With Daikon

Sweet Potato Tea Cake With Meringue

I’m ready to start pulling warmly spiced treats out of the oven, so my apartment smells like maximum comfort. For that, there’s this sweet potato tea cake, which Tejal Rao adapted from Elisabeth Prueitt of Tartine Bakery. It not only smells incredible as it bakes, but it also has a showstopping meringue on top that I just know I’ll perfect one day. KRYSTEN CHAMBROT

Recipe: Sweet Potato Tea Cake With Meringue

Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew

I can’t wait to throw open the windows and let the chilly fall air whip through my kitchen as Regina Schrambling’s Dijon and Cognac beef stew simmers on the stove. I’ll be drinking a Nor’easter; it’s like a Dark and Stormy, but made with bourbon and sweetened with a touch of maple syrup — the ideal autumn tipple. MARGAUX LASKEY

Recipes: Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew | Nor’easter

Mississippi Mud Pie

Right before the weather went nuclear this summer, I was planning on making Samantha Seneviratne’s Mississippi mud pie. I wasn’t quick enough. But now that the weather is cooling down, I’m looking forward to this perfect project bake with four gorgeous layers of sugar: a graham cracker base, a scrumptious brownie cake, rich chocolate custard and cold whipped cream. It’s exactly the kind of dessert I want to be making on a crisp Saturday morning before rolling up to the tailgate. NIKITA RICHARDSON

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Pie

Apple Jelly

I can’t wait to go apple picking in Warwick, N.Y., then lug my bounty home to make this stunning apple jelly by Yewande Komolafe. She says it’s “reminiscent of floral honey and tart citrus,” which sounds ambrosial to me. After that, I’d like to incorporate more roughage into my diet (a lifelong mission for this meat and carb lover), so I’ll be tackling proper green salads, like this one from the restaurant Via Carota, and earthy, hearty numbers like Alexa Weibel’s roasted cauliflower salad with halloumi and lemon. Fall has always been an opportunity for a culinary reset, and nothing makes dinner more of a ritual — that is, a regular practice — than washing lettuce for a salad. ERIC KIM

Recipes: Apple Jelly | Via Carota’s Insalata Verde | Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Halloumi and Lemon

Mushroom Bread Pudding

This fall, I’ll be eating baked goods for every meal. I can’t wait to make Susan Spungen’s mushroom bread pudding for a cute weekend brunch as the leaves change, served alongside Genevieve Ko’s pumpkin-ginger scones and her maple pecan monkey bread. VAUGHN VREELAND

Recipes: Mushroom Bread Pudding | Pumpkin-Ginger Oat Scones | Maple Pecan Monkey Bread

Ritzy Cheddar Chicken Breasts

Eric Kim’s Ritzy Cheddar chicken breasts have been on my bucket list. Ritz crackers pull on my heartstrings, and this recipe has easy-to-achieve cozy vibes. Also on my radar is Genevieve Ko’s one-bowl carrot cake, an ideal dessert to bring over for the holidays or to present to guests if you’re hosting. With more entertaining and holidays on the horizon, that can mean a lot of dishes to clean. This one-bowl recipe requires minimal effort and maximizes reward — an ideal fall ratio. ELEANORE PARK

Recipes: Ritzy Cheddar Chicken Breasts | One-Bowl Carrot Cake

Warm Tofu in Salted Butter With Celery-Seed Gastrique

I love a project — confiting duck legs for a cassoulet, stuffing grape leaves with rice for dolmadakia — but I’ve never made my own soft tofu. It’s one of my favorite things when it’s rich and wobbly and just made, and I’m dreaming of this one with a savory, vinegary caramel and soybeans cooked in salty butter. TEJAL RAO

Recipe: Warm Tofu in Salted Butter and Celery-Seed Gastrique

Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta With Spinach

Last year, I turned my overabundance of butternut squash into Yasmin Fahr’s spicy butternut squash pasta with spinach, and I cannot wait to make it again. It is fall comfort without being super heavy, and there is a really sneaky amount of vegetables in here. I made it a few times, substituting jalapeños for serranos, or mozzarella for dollops of ricotta. One time, I had only a tiny amount of pasta in my cupboard so it ended up being pretty much all vegetables. But it was still a winner. PRIYA KRISHNA

Recipe: Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta With Spinach

Herbed White Bean and Sausage Stew

I miss turning on my stove! And I miss cooking beans, and simmering a stew for two hours. I can’t wait to make a full afternoon of this stew from Melissa Clark while I wear a cable-knit sweater and drink a pumpkin spice latte. Just kidding …? BECKY HUGHES

Recipe: Herbed White Bean and Sausage Stew

Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken

I can’t wait for the temperature to drop below 60 degrees so I can justify making my first roast chicken in six months — specifically Samin Nosrat’s foolproof buttermilk-brined roast chicken, ideally for a few friends. I want to host something of a microdinner party, and to pregame that chicken with Tejal Rao’s baked Camembert salad. And I can’t stop thinking about good soup like this mushroom-packed spicy noodle soup. TANYA SICHYNSKY

Recipes: Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken | Baked Camembert Salad | Spicy Noodle Soup With Mushrooms and Herbs

Bavarian-Style Soft Pretzels

I’ll be making these German soft pretzels, like the ones I grew up with in Michigan, along with some liptauer cheese to spread on each bite. SARA BONISTEEL

Recipes: Bavarian-Style Soft Pretzels | Liptauer Cheese

Creole Redfish Gumbo

We’re on the edge of my favorite time of year here in New Orleans: gumbo season. Loosely defined, it’s when the weather isn’t too hot to cook something all day over a low flame. The suffering caused by Hurricane Ida has yet to abate in fishing communities south of here. So I’ve got seafood gumbo on the brain — like this one, from the Creole chef Jordan Ruiz, built from redfish, or this curried shrimp and crab gumbo from Arvinder Vilkhu, the chef and co-owner of Saffron Nola, a local Indian restaurant. Yet my go-to recipe is closer to this duck-andouille gumbo from the Upperline, a classic New Orleans restaurant that has sadly remained closed since the start of the pandemic last year. BRETT ANDERSON

Recipes: Creole Redfish Gumbo | Curried Shrimp and Crab Gumbo | Upperline’s Duck and Andouille Gumbo

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