Our Best Father's Day Dinners

This summery crunch-tastic slaw is guaranteed to find its way into your recipe rotation for the rest of the season. Using ripe, juicy peaches, it's the perfect sweet-salty side dish for any number of grilled or smoked proteins.

In a pinch and in need of a quick meal that will please everyone? A one-pan, assemble-and-bake Tex-Mex casserole just might be the answer. It takes just 5 ingredients to make a melty, cheesy, smoky green chile chicken dish. Add rice and black beans for a full on fiesta! Use the breast and leg quarters of a rotisserie chicken and store-bough enchilada sauce for convenience. This super-fast dish is even more delicious served with pico de gallo, guacamole, or even leftover tostadas on top for more crunch. If you can't find tostadas, yellow corn tortilla chips will also work. 

A full-plate dinner simmers to saucy, savory perfection in the slow cooker. To end up with super-succulent pork, don't overcook the chops in the pan before adding to the slow cooker. Just a couple of minutes per side will be enough to achieve nice color. Don't be afraid of the time, you will only be actively preparing and cooking for about 20 minutes as the rest cooks away in the slow-cooker for 7 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender. 

Set your slow cooker on low and go on about your day knowing that dinner is gonna be delicious. In this simple set-it-and-forget-it dish, beef chuck roast cooks in a flavor-packed rosemary marinade, full of fresh rosemary leaves and onions for a succulent, highly comforting entree. The habanero pepper delivers a detectable heat, but the spice factor is not overwhelming. However, if you’re sensitive to heat, use a quarter of the pepper instead of half (or omit it altogether). The remaining liquid in the slow cooker can be cooked down on the stovetop into a rich, flavorful gravy to top the beef, along with your favorite starchy side—rice, mashed potatoes, or roasted sweet potatoes would all make great options.

Known among chefs as “the poor man’s ribeye,” chuck-eye steak is a common and incredibly inexpensive (our recipe developer purchased two organic chuck eye steaks for less than $8) cut of beef readily available at most supermarkets. While chuck-eye is often purchased as a roast—destined to cook for hours in a slow cooker in order to become tender enough to enjoy—what many home cooks don’t know is that in steak form, chuck-eye holds the potential to be one of the most succulent cuts you’ll ever cook. In other words, you can serve what tastes like a luxurious steak dinner at a fraction of the cost if you opt for chuck-eye. There are a few details of this recipe that are key to your steak success; for one, salting the beef and letting it rest uncovered in the fridge draws moisture from the surface of the meat, which is what will allow you to achieve an incredible crispy sear. Your next essential step is basting. This technique is one often overlooked by home cooks; however, continually spooning that rich mixture of the steak’s drippings, melted butter, and aromatics over the beef is crucial to yielding a tender, juicy steak. Finally, be sure to allow your steaks a full 5 minutes to rest (yes, this will test the boundaries of your self control) before thinly slicing against the grain.  

Our favorite recipe from the Cooking Light column, this lightened-up lasagna tastes every bit as flavorful as the traditional version.

Refrigerated pasta and links of sweet Italian sausage provide a quick start to Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs. This kid-friendly meal is ready in 20 minutes.

Wondra flour has a fine, powdery consistency that yields smooth sauces and crispy crusts. Sifted cake or rice flour would also work if you can't find Wondra.

Tangy, salty, and sweet, this colorful fennel salad is a natural match for succulent pork. It's also a great side dish for seared fish.

Think of this refreshing salad as a deconstructed spring roll: cool rice noodles, crisp vegetables, and a sweet-and-spicy vinaigrette instead of a dipping sauce. Top it all off with savory stir-fried pork.

This dish is a fresh, tasty twist on shrimp and grits.

Classic burger elements become a fast, fun salad--a deconstructed take on a diner favorite. Instead of four burger patties, we cook just two, then chop and sprinkle them over the top. A handful of crushed potato chips adds crunch. Kick up the dressing with a pinch of ground red pepper.

Adobada is a general term that refers to meat (often pork) that is marinated in a very thick, flavorful, chile-based mixture. When cooked in a hot pan—note, this is key, your pan needs to be hot— the meat will develop a delightfully charred, crisp exterior while maintaining a succulent interior. This flavor-packed pork recipe is an amazing start for tacos; simply spoon the meat into warm corn tortillas and serve with minced onion, cilantro, and lime juice. If you want to prep ahead, the marinade mixture can be made up to 5 days in advance. While set sauce may seem like an out-of-place addition, it delivers just the right hit of salty umami to balance out the bittersweet chiles. Guajillo and

ancho chiles can be found in most groceries stores. Anchos are mild with a slightly bitter, yet sweet flavor. Guajillos offer a

slightly fruity flavor. They also have a thinner flesh and therefore, produce less puree (which is why there are more in the recipe). As far as the cut of meat, we’d definitely recommend sticking with pork shoulder here. Rich and fatty, pork shoulder will not dry out or take on an unpleasant chewy texture after resting in the acidic marinade. 

There truly is nothing better than a crispy, crunchy batch of fried shrimp. This easy, no-fuss recipe is perfect when that salty craving hits. If you like, you can easily dress up the flavors by adding your favorite spices, such as paprika, cumin, or more cayenne. Depending on the size of your shrimp, you may have to adjust your cooking time. Serve these lil' poppers in a po' boy, taco, or just enjoy them straight up.

“Milanesa” refers to a cut of meat that’s pounded very thin, breaded, and fried—in other words, it’s grade-A comfort food. Here, we went with one of the more popular proteins for this traditional dish to make crispy chicken milanesa, and topped it off with a vibrant, crunchy slaw for a pop of freshness and color. 

This savory, spicy dish is essentially a stir-fry made for meat-lovers. A great, hearty meal to serve for a crowd, you’ll definitely want to pull out your largest skillet (or even a large wok would be great) for this recipe; you’ll also want to make sure you have a wooden spoon handy for scraping the bottom of the pan. If you want to tone the heat down a bit, simply omit one of the jalapeños. There will be a decent amount of liquid left in the pan after you’ve cooked the various meats (trust us, don’t skip the hotdogs), but your vegetables will ultimately soak up this flavorful cooking liquid, yielding an incredible filling for tacos. Discada is also excellent served alongside eggs for a seriously hearty breakfast dish.

Tex-Mex meets tater tots in this easy, inexpensive, and all-around comforting one-dish dinner. Our spicy twist on the classic tater tot casserole consists of a succulent ground beef filling—featuring creamy black beans, crisp-sweet corn, cheese, and mild green chiles for a kick—topped with crispy tater tots, and finished with a drizzle of an addictively spicy and tangy sour cream sauce. Top this fiesta of a casserole with fresh garnishes, such as avocado, tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro, and it’s as perfect to serve at your next football feast as it is for a casual weeknight meal. We use 85/15 lean ground beef for this recipe and recommend that you do not go with anything leaner, as the higher fat percentage both contributes to the filling’s rich flavor and keeps it from drying out while baking. 

While cooking a whole fish definitely seems intimidating, this is the recipe to show you just how easy it really is. But don’t worry, no one has to know—because it’s gonna look ridiculously impressive when served, no matter what.

Sea scallops are perfect for speedy (yet totally elegant) weeknight dinners, as they cook to perfection in no time flat. In fact, this ideal dinner for two can be ready on your table in 30 minutes. The capers in this recipe deliver a delicious punch of briny salinity that we absolutely love paired with fresh shellfish. The whole-grain Dijon mustard adds delicate texture to the sauce and the lemon zest delivers an extra touch of brightness. Stirring in the butter at the very end of cooking creates a touch of velvety richness, in that special way only butter can do. Serve this dish over a bed of leafy greens, mashed potatoes, or rice. Feel free to swap basil or cilantro for the chopped fresh parsley we call for here.

This elegant single-skillet meal for two is deceptively easy to make. Ready in under an hour, this skillet chicken dinner includes your protein (perfectly golden-crisp chicken thighs), green veggies (peas and asparagus), a starch (baby Yukon gold potatoes), and a whole lot of vibrant flavor (hello, shallot vinaigrette). A great recipe for anyone cooking for one or two, this easy weeknight chicken dinner is one you’re sure to come back to again and again. 

One pan, a handful of ingredients, and 30 minutes are all you need to put this impressive pork chop skillet dinner on the table. This flavor-packed, single-skillet supper is an easy dinner for two that feels like something special. It’s also an ideal recipe for one, as the leftover chop and veggies reheat well for a next-day lunch worth looking forward to. 

Making the most of supermarket convenience items gets this family favorite on the table in a flash. Precut matchstick carrots are easier to chop into small pieces quickly, and using prepared mashed potatoes for the topping is a good trick for when you don't have leftover mashed potatoes on hand.

This casserole is perfect for a busy week when getting in and out of the kitchen needs to be a snap. The marrying of flavors in one pot from the ground sirloin, fresh vegetables, aromatic seasonings, and rigatoni make for a satisfying pasta dish with an easy cleanup.

Firm white fish like grouper, tilapia, and mahi mahi are perfect for crusty sandwiches because they won't fall apart after cooking.