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When the weather turns cold and the evenings draw in, it’s only natural to crave food that’s hearty, comforting and sticks to your ribs – which can spell disaster if you’re trying to be good.
But the truth is, winter warmers don’t have to be heavy on the calories to feel indulgent. Slimming World’s One-Pot Magic shows exactly how to have it both ways, with dishes that deliver all the satisfaction of a slow-cooked stew or creamy pasta without the post-dinner guilt.
These recipes prove you don’t need mountains of butter, cream or cheese to create comfort on a plate. Think richly spiced beef pot roast that melts in the mouth after hours in the oven, or a fragrant squash and chickpea tagine that tastes like it’s been simmering all day.
For those who prefer something lighter but just as comforting, salmon with smashed potatoes and a zingy green sauce keeps things fresh, while a one-tray Sunday roast turns the nation’s favourite meal into a midweek possibility. Even the puttanesca pasta – a notorious “naughty” dish – gets a wholesome, one-pan makeover, packed with punchy flavours rather than extra fat.
Squash and chickpea tagine
Serves: 4
Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, halved and sliced
500ml boiling vegetable stock, suitable for vegans
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
500g prepared butternut squash, cut into bite-size chunks
2 large carrots, cut into chunks
2 large waxy potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
For the spice paste:
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
½ small pack fresh mint
Method:
1. Put the onions and 4 tablespoons of stock in a large non-stick saucepan or casserole pan. Cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until soft.
2. Meanwhile, make the spice paste. Put the garlic, cumin, ground coriander, paprika, chilli powder, turmeric, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, fresh coriander, most of the mint and 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small food processor and blend into a paste (or finely chop the garlic and herbs and mix with the other ingredients). Set aside.
3. Uncover the pan and stir in the remaining stock, chopped tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon stick and lemon zest. Season lightly and bring to the boil over a medium-high heat. Stir the squash, carrots and potatoes into the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
4. Discard the cinnamon stick, then stir the chickpeas into the veg, cover again and simmer for 3 minutes or until they’re heated through. Stir in the spice paste and adjust the seasoning to taste. Roughly chop the remaining mint, keeping a few leaves whole, and scatter it over the tagine to serve.
Spiced beef pot roast
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A slow-cooked classic that fills the kitchen with rich, warming aromas while keeping things lean (Slimming World)
Serves: 4
Time: 3½ hours
Ingredients:
Low-calorie cooking spray
750g lean casserole/braising steak, all visible fat removed, cut into large chunks
2 medium red onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp dried rosemary
250g passata
300ml boiling beef stock
4 bay leaves
Pared zest of ½ small orange
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
200g runner beans, de-stringed and each cut into 3-4 pieces
2 medium courgettes, thickly sliced
2 tomatoes, halved and sliced
Chopped fresh parsley, to serve
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2.
2. Spray a large non-stick casserole pan with low-calorie cooking spray and put it over a high heat. Add half the beef and brown all over, then spoon on to a plate and repeat with the rest of the beef.
3. Add the onions, garlic and 3 tablespoons of water to the pan, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes or until soft.
4. Stir in the tomato purée, paprika, chilli flakes, rosemary, passata, stock, bay leaves, strips of orange zest, ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Bring to the boil over a high heat, stirring, then stir in the beef, cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and stir in all the vegetables. Cover again and return to the oven for 1 hour or until everything is tender.
6. Discard the bay leaves, check the seasoning and scatter with parsley to serve.
Salmon with smashed potatoes
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Zesty, green and full of flavour – a lighter way to do comfort food without missing the cream (Slimming World)
Serves: 4
Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
500g baby new potatoes
Low-calorie cooking spray
2 large skinless and boneless salmon fillets
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
200g fine green beans, trimmed
For the green sauce:
40g watercress
40g baby spinach
4 level tbsp fat-free crème fraîche
Grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
Method:
1. Get your oven warmed up to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
2. Put the potatoes in a deep, non-stick roasting tin (about 30cm x 20cm). Season lightly, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and roast for 20-25 minutes – or longer if your spuds are on the large side.
3. With the back of a fork (or the bottom of a glass), press the potatoes lightly but firmly so they start to break down but don’t collapse completely. Add the salmon, tomatoes and green beans, spritz with more low-calorie cooking spray and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the salmon and green beans are done.
4. At the same time, put the sauce ingredients in a jug, blitz with a stick blender and season to taste. You could do this in a food processor too.
5. Divide the vegetables and salmon between plates and drizzle over the green sauce to serve – you can enjoy this hot or cold.
Puttanesca pasta
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All the punch of the Italian classic, minus the guilt – dinner in one pan, done right (Slimming World)
Serves: 4
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
400g dried spaghetti
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
8 anchovy fillets in oil, rinsed, drained and chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 x 400g cans cherry tomatoes in juice
1 litre boiling vegetable stock
300g cherry tomatoes, halved
28 pitted black olives in brine, drained and halved
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp small capers, drained and rinsed
Method:
1. Put the spaghetti, garlic, rosemary, anchovies, chilli, canned cherry tomatoes and the juice from the cans plus the stock in a really large saucepan or casserole pan.
2. Season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to the boil over a high heat, pushing the pasta down into the stock as soon as you can.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer for 6-7 minutes, stirring regularly at the beginning to separate the spaghetti strands. Add the fresh cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes or until the pasta is cooked and the sauce is thick. If the sauce seems a bit too thick, just add a splash of water before serving.
4. Stir in the olives, oregano and capers to serve.
One-tray Sunday roast
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Your favourite roast, reimagined for weeknights – all the flavour, half the washing up (Slimming World)
Serves: 4
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients:
Low-calorie cooking spray
8 skinless chicken thighs, all visible fat removed (or 4 chicken breasts, halved)
500g new or Charlotte potatoes, halved lengthways
500g Chantenay carrots (or regular carrots, cut into thick batons)
½ swede, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
250g Brussels sprouts, trimmed 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus extra to serve
6 Slimming World Pork Sausages (see tip)
4 back bacon rashers, all visible fat removed, halved or roughly chopped
25g dried chicken gravy granules
275ml boiling chicken stock
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
2. Spray a very large, non-stick deep-sided baking tray or roasting tin (about 40cm x 30cm) with low-calorie cooking spray. Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots, swede, onions, sprouts, thyme, a pinch of salt and some black pepper, and toss well.
3. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 45 minutes, adding the sausages for the last 20 minutes. (If you’re using chicken breasts, add them with the sausages.)
4. Turn the vegetables and scatter the bacon on top of the chicken, then return to the oven and roast for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken, sausages and bacon are cooked and the vegetables are tender.
5. Shortly before your roast is ready, put the gravy granules in a heatproof jug, add the stock and whisk well.
6. Halve the sausages, divide everything between plates, scatter over the extra thyme and serve with the gravy.
Chicken enchiladas
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A cheesy, crowd-pleasing bake that proves healthy food can still bring the heat (Slimming World)
Serves: 4
Time: 1½ hours
Ingredients:
3 large peppers (any colours), deseeded and cut into small chunks
2 large red onions, roughly chopped
1-2 tsp dried chipotle chilli flakes (or regular chilli flakes)
Low-calorie cooking spray
325g can sweetcorn kernels, drained
400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
500g passata
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 large garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
80g reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
Plain quark, to serve
Mixed salad, to serve
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
2. Put the peppers, onions, a pinch of the chilli flakes and a little salt and pepper in a large, non-stick roasting tin or ovenproof dish (about 36cm x 26cm). Spray with low-calorie cooking spray, toss well and roast for 25 minutes, turning everything halfway.
3. Stir in the sweetcorn and black beans. Lightly season the chicken breasts and arrange on top of the vegetables. Mix the passata with the tomato purée, garlic, cumin and the remaining chilli flakes. Pour the mixture over everything, cover with foil and roast for another 30 minutes.
4. Uncover, return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken has cooked through.
5. Sprinkle over the cheese and spring onions and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has just melted. Serve with the quark and salad.
Recipes from ‘One-Pot Magic’ by Slimming World.
