easy crowd pleasers

The Hairy Bikers’ take on sausage casserole makes a wonderfully warming and filling dish, and it freezes brilliantly. 

Each serving provides 423 kcal, 23.5g protein, 16g carbohydrates (of which 9.5g sugars), 28.5g fat (of which 10g saturates), 4.5g fibre and 2g salt.



Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

1–2 tbsp sunflower oil

pork sausages

rashers rindless streaky bacon,

onions, thinly sliced

garlic cloves, crushed

½–1 tsp hot chilli powder or smoked paprika

tin chopped tomatoes

300 milliliters/10fl oz chicken stock

tomato purée

Worcestershire sauce

dark brown muscovado sugar

herbs

bay leaves

thyme

milliliters/3½fl oz red or white wine (optional)

tin butter beans

salt and black pepper

rice bread

Mary Berry’s mother Marjorie cooked this every year on Christmas Eve. Mary still does it today with happy memories of childhood. Make it up to 36 hours ahead before cooking and keep in the fridge. 

Mary Berry's fish pie

75 grams/3 ounces butter, plus extra for greasing

onion,

flour

570 milliliters/1 pint milk

lemon juice

haddock,

/12 ounces smoked undyed haddock, cut into 1cm/½in pieces

hard-boiled free-range eggs, roughly chopped

900 grams/2lb potatoes,

milk

butter

Easy as (chicken and leek) pie. The sauce is made with a soft cream cheese with wholegrain mustard. Serve with frozen peas and carrots for a simple family supper.


Chicken and leek pie

olive oil

chicken breasts, roughly chopped

leek,

garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed

250 grams/9 ounces cream cheese

mustard

vegetable stock cube

ready-rolled puff pastry (320 grams/11½ oz)

brush the top

How to make an easy chicken and leek pie

Vegetable kormas can be quick, easy, cheap to make. Kerry makes easy naans with her children to go with the lovely, mild veggie curry.

Each serving provides 479 kcal, 17g protein, 82g carbohydrates (of which 12g sugars), 7g fat (of which 4g saturates), 8g fibre and 2g salt.




Veggie korma with naan

190 grams/6½oz rice

coconut oil

onion, finely chopped

garlic cloves, finely chopped

thumb ginger, grated

broccoli, chopped into florets

green beans

carrot,

baby corn

250 grams/9 ounces natural yoghurt

tsp cumin

tsp garam masala

tsp turmeric

tsp mild curry powder

150 grams/ 5½oz plain flour,

75 grams/2¾oz Greek-style yoghurt

tsp baking powder

salt

Kerry Whelpdale makes a vegetable korma with flatbreads

How to eat more veg: korma with Kerry Whelpdale

It’s worth getting good-quality, well-marbled meat from the butcher’s shop for this beef bourguignon recipe. The supermarket meat is often too lean and will become dry rather than succulent during the long cooking. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and some green vegetables, or even a crisp side salad with a mustardy dressing.

Each serving provides 669 kcal, 59g protein, 16g carbohydrates (of which 9g sugars), 30g fat (of which 11g saturates), 3.5g fibre and 2.4g salt.

Boeuf bourguignon

4–5 tbsp sunflower oil

bacon

red wine

beef stock cube

bushy thyme

450 grams/1lb pearl onions, or 24 baby onions

300 grams/10½oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped

water

sea salt and black pepper

parsley,

It's worth getting good-quality, well-marbled meat from the butcher's shop for this dish. Supermarket beef is often too lean and will become dry rather than succulent during the long cooking.

A gnocchi bake is a super comforting and easy one-pan family dinner. A bit like a pasta bake just using a bag of gnocchi and some veggies straight out of the freezer.

The great thing about only using one pan is you hardly have to wash up!

Each serving provides 405 kcal, 19g protein, 22g carbohydrates (of which 9g sugars), 26g fat (of which 14.5g saturates), 5g fibre and 1.1g salt.


One-pan gnocchi bake

onion, finely sliced

tbsp plain flour

400 milliliters/14fl oz milk, full-fat

Dijon

150 grams/5½oz mature cheddar,

500 grams/1lb 2 ounces shop-bought gnocchi

broccoli florets

100 grams/3½ oz frozen peas

cherry tomatoes, halved

Miguel Barclay makes an easy, creamy gnocchi bake with frozen veg. Perfect family fare.

One-pot gnocchi bake

Chicken jalfrezi is up there as a curry house favourite and this version by Simon Rimmer shows it’s as easy as anything to make at home.

Each serving provides 230 kcal, 31g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates (of which 4g sugars), 9.5g fat (of which 3.5g saturates), 1.5g fibre and 0.6g salt.

Chicken jalfrezi

vegetable oil

garlic,

tsp chilli powder

grams/1lb 10 ounces skinless chicken breast, cut into large chunks

can chopped tomatoes

ginger

tsp coriander

tbsp butter

lemon, juice only

basmati rice, cooked according to packet instructions

ready-made chapatis or naan breads

limes,

coriander leaves

1–2 red chillies, sliced

You've got to love a warming toad-in-the-hole recipe when there's a nip in the air. Skip the garlic cabbage if you like and serve with another green vegetable of your choice. This is designed to be a low cost recipe.


Toad in the hole

free-range eggs

300 milliliters/10fl oz milk

sausages

onions, finely sliced

½ tsp English mustard

500 milliliters/18fl oz stock

Savoy cabbage, shredded, core discarded

garlic cloves,

Packed with goodness, tasty vegetables and layered slices of potato, this hotpot is easy on the wallet too. This is designed to be a low cost recipe.

Vegetarian Lancashire hotpot

onions, finely chopped

carrots,

½ swede (about 350 grams/12 ounces), peeled and chopped

milliliters/1⅓ pint–1 litre/1¾ pints vegetable stock,

pearl barley

thyme, leaves only

tbsp dark muscovado sugar

Someone I met in Palermo once told me that the secret of good Italian dishes is ‘esagera’ – put more of everything in – and so it is with this mac & cheese recipe. There’s masses of cheese and plenty of smoked bacon.

Equipment: you will need a 35x20cm/14x8in ovenproof dish.

Mac & cheese

grams/3½oz butter,

grams/3½oz plain flour

Dijon mustard

1.2 litres/2 pints full-fat milk

75 milliliters/2½fl oz double cream

bay leaf

cheddar,

nutmeg

macaroni

100 grams/3½oz smoked bacon lardons or smoked pancetta cubes

60 grams/2¼oz white breadcrumbs

grams/1¾oz Parmesan, grated

This is a really easy chilli con carne recipe. It has loads of flavour even though it uses mostly store cupboard ingredients.You can experiment with how hot it is by leaving the seeds in the fresh chillies or adding a pinch of dried chilli flakes. 

Each serving provides  420 kcal, 43g protein, 22g carbohydrates (of which 9.5g sugars), 12g fat (of which 4g saturates), 9.5g fibre and 1g salt.

Easy chilli con carne

onions, chopped

lean beef mince

250 milliliters/9fl oz red wine (optional)

x 400 grams tins chopped tomatoes

red chillies, thinly sliced,

cinnamon cinnamon

coriander

lime wedges, rice, guacamole, soured cream

A vegetarian mushroom stroganoff that's as rich and delicious as its meaty cousin. You can use any mix of mushrooms you like in this stroganoff recipe. This is designed to be a low cost recipe.

Each serving provides 352 kcal, 9.8g protein, 44.4g carbohydrate (of which 5g sugars), 14.4g fat (of which 7g saturates), 2.5g fibre and 1.07g salt.

Easy mushroom stroganoff

onion, finely diced

mushrooms

paprika

250 milliliters/9fl oz vegetable stock,

rice

200 milliliters/7fl oz soured cream

lemon,

Mary Berry's sticky honey garlic chicken recipe is an old family favourite that's quick, easy and delicious. You can also use separate thighs and drumsticks. 


Sticky honey garlic chicken

chicken legs

tbsp tomato ketchup

tbsp grainy mustard

tbsp runny honey

garlic clove, crushed

You can make the sauce ahead of time for these chicken enchiladas, served with coriander, avocado and soured cream.


Top 15 easy crowd pleasers recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy crowd pleasers recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Mary Berry's fish pie

Chicken and leek pie

Veggie korma with naan

Boeuf bourguignon

One-pan gnocchi bake

Chicken jalfrezi

Toad in the hole

Vegetarian Lancashire hotpot

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Mac & cheese

Easy chilli con carne

Easy mushroom stroganoff

Sticky honey garlic chicken

Chicken enchiladas

Top 15 easy crowd pleasers recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy crowd pleasers recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Mary Berry's fish pie

Chicken and leek pie

Veggie korma with naan

Boeuf bourguignon

One-pan gnocchi bake

Chicken jalfrezi

Toad in the hole

Vegetarian Lancashire hotpot

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Mac & cheese

Easy chilli con carne

Easy mushroom stroganoff

Sticky honey garlic chicken

Chicken enchiladas

The most viewed easy crowd pleasers recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine