Collection
One-Pan Wonders
Twelve recipes we reach for when the brief is “one-pan wonders”.
- Recipes
- 12
- Curated by
- Tomasz
- Updated
- September 2026
About this collection
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Salma, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are one-pan wonders — the kind you clear your evening for.
We tested this 5 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with harissa won every single round. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. A spoonful of harissa does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
1. Sticky Pumpkin Toasties
The trick with pumpkin toasties is patience: let the pumpkin take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
Kenji swears by adding the cherry tomatoes in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the Dijon mustard hydrates as it rests. If you can chop red cabbage and hold a box grater, you can make this. We promise.
No coconut cream? A mix of mustard seeds and a little baking powder gets you most of the way there. Do not skip the lime; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. If you can chop cherry tomatoes and hold a bamboo steamer, you can make this. We promise.
2. Fiery Sweetcorn Dumplings
Kenji, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
Yusuf, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. Salma swears by adding the baby spinach in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.
3. Roasted Prawn Sliders
Mei, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
Yusuf, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”. If you can chop mint and hold a wire rack, you can make this. We promise.
There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are roasted prawn sliders — the kind you clear your evening for. We tested this 10 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with preserved lemon won every single round.
4. Sticky Pork Empanadas
Noor, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. Do not skip the mint; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.
5. Lemony Tofu Bao
We tested this 3 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with black garlic won every single round.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are lemony tofu bao — the kind you clear your evening for. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 220°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.
If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
6. Creamy Potato Flatbreads
Aroha, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. Clara swears by adding the lemon in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the chicken stock hydrates as it rests. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. Do not skip the lime; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. We tested this 4 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with za'atar won every single round.
7. Charred Lentil Pakoras
It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink.
If you can chop garlic and hold a sheet tray lined with parchment, you can make this. We promise. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Tbilisi, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. The trick with charred lentil pakoras is patience: let the ingredients take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
8. Crispy Chicken Noodles
We first ate something like this at a street stall in Mumbai, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.
This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. If you can chop sweetcorn and hold a bamboo steamer, you can make this. We promise.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning.
9. Garlicky Pumpkin Toasties
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the soy sauce hydrates as it rests. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We tested this 7 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with star anise won every single round.
We tested this 11 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with maple syrup won every single round. If you can chop celery and hold a bamboo steamer, you can make this. We promise. A spoonful of pickled jalapeños does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day.
10. Crispy Chickpea Spring Rolls
Kenji, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.
It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. If your ingredients is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.
Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are crispy chickpea spring rolls — the kind you clear your evening for.
11. Brown-Butter Tomato Fritters
The trick with tomato fritters is patience: let the tomato take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.
Do not skip the sweetcorn; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are brown-butter tomato fritters — the kind you clear your evening for.
12. Crispy Sweetcorn Dumplings
The trick with sweetcorn dumplings is patience: let the sweetcorn take on proper colour before you even think about moving it.
A spoonful of brown butter does the heavy lifting here, giving the ingredients a depth that tastes like you cooked all day. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.
The crisp edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. No furikake? A mix of anchovy and a little soy sauce gets you most of the way there. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.
How we choose
What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 200°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. No white pepper? A mix of pomegranate molasses and a little eggs gets you most of the way there.
Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. The fish sauce is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on brown butter for the same savoury backbone. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through.