With busy schedules, rising stress levels and little energy left at the end of the day, many UK households are rethinking how they cook. The answer for a growing number of families is one-pot meals.
Simple dinners that use a single pan, tray or slow cooker are quickly becoming the weeknight norm, offering a way to eat well without the stress, long prep times or piles of washing up.
Experts say the trend reflects a wider shift in how people approach food at home. Cooking is no longer about elaborate recipes. It is about practicality, consistency and meals that fit around real life.
Research backs this up. A 2024 YouGov survey found that nearly half of UK adults say lack of time stops them cooking more often, while more than a third blame exhaustion. At the same time, Nielsen data shows steady growth in sales of slow cookers and other convenience cooking products, suggesting households want quicker, easier ways to prepare meals without relying on takeaways.
According to cooking experts at The Cooking Duo, one-pot meals remove the biggest barriers to home cooking by cutting down on both effort and mental load.
Chef Ryan Allen from The Cooking Duo says many people still want to cook from scratch but feel overwhelmed by the process.
“When cooking feels like a chore, it is easy to default to takeaways or ready meals,” he says. “One-pot cooking removes that barrier. There are fewer decisions to make, fewer dishes to wash and you still end up with a proper home-cooked meal.”
The appeal is not just convenience. One-pot meals also make it easier to cook balanced dinners, combining protein, vegetables and carbohydrates in a single dish. Popular options include chicken and rice, lentil curries, tray-bake salmon with vegetables and slow-cooker stews.
Family favourites like one-pot spaghetti bolognese, chilli and sausage tray bakes are also proving popular, especially for households juggling work, school and after-school activities. Many of these meals can be doubled up and frozen, helping families stay organised during busy weeks.
Health experts continue to encourage home cooking as part of a balanced lifestyle, and one-pot meals fit easily into that guidance. Cooking at home allows people to control ingredients, reduce salt and sugar, and include more vegetables, without adding pressure to already full days.
Chef Allen believes confidence is key.
“Once people realise they can cook a full meal in one pot, they start doing it more often,” he says. “The trick is to treat one-pot cooking as a system, not a single recipe. Keep a shortlist of reliable meals, stock up on basics and make cooking feel manageable again.”
As households continue to look for ways to save time, money and energy, one-pot meals are fast becoming the unsung hero of the modern dinner table.
