Macro-friendly One Pot Meals

I am always looking for ways to make healthy and delicious meals without having to dirty a ton of dishes. Weeknights are so busy and family time is precious to me. Which is why most of my go-to’s meals are cooked up in one pot. I know I can’t be the only one who feels this way so I am sharing all of my favorite macro-friendly one pot meals. 

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Carnitas

This recipe for slow cooker salsa verde carnitas (adapted from @sjanedevore ) IS MY FAVORITE and one of our staples for sure. If you follow me on Instagram @lillieatsandtells you know. Ha! It’s like the easiest thing, SO GOOD, uses one “pot”, and is the perfect meat to have on hand for tacos, taquitos, salads, rice bowls, tostadas, burritos etc… I’ll even take the leftovers and turn them greek for this pita!

Not only is it a perfect protein to have on hand at all times, there isn’t a huge mess to clean up because everything is made in the slow cooker! I make it at least a couple of times a month and am always sad when it’s gone.  These salsa verde carnitas are so lean and so full of flavor, the perfect thing to stock if you’re sick of grabbing chicken every time you need protein. 

Instant Pot Creamy Buffalo Chicken

This easy, healthy, instant pot creamy buffalo chicken has been exclusive to my first macro-friendly cookbook, Lillie Eats and Tells. But I’ve decided it’s time to let it live here on the blog as well! It’s easily one of the QUICKEST and TASTIEST things to ever come out of my instant pot. In fact, I always double it because we NEVER WANT IT TO END.

Like so many instant pot creations, it’s so easy! All you have to do is spray your instant pot with cooking spray, throw the ingredients in your Instant Pot, shred the chicken once it’s cooked, and add in the creaminess before enjoying. This creamy buffalo chicken is honestly one of the tastiest shredded meat I’ve ever had kicking around my fridge. It makes it SO easy to whip up a delicious snack like jicama tacos or a full fledged meal like stuffed sweet potatoes without having to get that creative!

Easy Dairy-free Cava Bowl

So many foods go down a notch when you cut the gluten and dairy, but this easy dairy-free Cava bowl is LEVEL 10 delicious and satisfying. With the help of some store-bought vegan tzatziki, it’s still creamy and amazing, and I don’t even miss the feta. 

This easy dairy-free Cava bowl may technically be prepared using a few different “pots”, but in the end, you throw it all in a big bowl to enjoy so I’m adding it to this list of one pot meals. Plus, if I’m looking to make my life easier, I will grill chicken and roast sweet potatoes on Sunday so I have them on hand and ready to throw into salad bowls (aka “pots”) all week long.

Because you can throw this dairy-free Cava bowl together quickly together, it makes it perfect for quick lunches or dinner on repeat. It’s also a great way to use up odds and ends of produce and protein that you have on hand. For an extra shortcut, we even keep microwavable brown rice on hand. I get mine from Costco or Trader Joe’s, but you can find it almost anywhere. When you have your main ingredients prepped and ready to go, this bowl takes a handful of minutes. You’re WELCOME.

Don’t miss a recipe! Sign up for my emails!

Sweet Potato Chicken Skillet

This sweet potato chipotle chicken skillet is so cozy, so hearty, but still surprisingly light and veggie-packed!  One dish… macro-balanced, and also… SWEET POTATOES? I have a thing. They can do no wrong. 

You can eat the sweet potato chipotle chicken skillet straight like a casserole, or over greens, with rice, piled into tortillas, or alongside tortilla chips! We also love to add some fresh avocado and either some sour cream or one of my favorite green sauces. (This dairy-free green sauce, this jalepeño avocado dressing, or this green goddess dressing.) So good!

P.S. The key to this recipe is a LARGE, heavy-bottomed skillet. I’m obsessed with mine because it’s HUGE and your whole dinner actually FITS in the “pot”. 

Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet

This cauliflower rice enchilada skillet is light, and tasty, and made in ONE DISH. I mean, who wants to dirty dishes when they don’t have to. Plus, somehow having less dirty dishes when making dinner makes the meal taste EVEN better!

I hate to be a one-trick pony and grab for cauliflower too often. But it is what it is– an excellent way to bulk up a meal while keeping things light and macro-friendly. Healthy food can still be amazing and FILLING! Which is one of the reasons I love this cauliflower rice enchilada skillet. The other reason is very few dirty dishes. But, I’m pretty sure I mentioned that already. 

Mushroom Ricotta Pasta Bake

I can’t imagine a world where I couldn’t enjoy hearty comfort foods while being mindful of my macros. I want to shout from the rooftops that counting macros doesn’t mean you have to give up casseroles and pasta bakes. 

This mushroom ricotta pasta bake is hearty enough to leave you satisfied, but macro-friendly. And obviously– a one “pot” meal. Plus, it’s SUPER easy! You throw everything into your large casserole dish, aka “pot” and bake. It’s pretty much perfect. So do yourself a favor and whip up this mushroom ricotta pasta bake. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by L i l l i e B i e s i n g e r (@lillieeatsandtells)

Macro-friendly One Pot Meals

We have all determined that the fewer dishes we use, magically makes the meal we’ve prepared taste even better. It’s not scientifically proven, but it just happens. This means these macro-friendly one pot meals are some of the tastiest meals you will ever have! If you are looking for other macro-friendly recipes, check out my cookbooks and make sure are following me on Instagram and TikTok. I am always sharing new ways to make macro-friendly food taste delicious. 

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. Read the full privacy policy here.