Carbonaraaa!
And more easy dinners to get excited about.
Five Weeknight Dishes
December 30, 2025

Ring in the new year with carbonara

Luxury and simplicity aren’t mutually exclusive. Take, for example, spaghetti carbonara, which requires no fancy ingredients but is salty, silky and abundantly satisfying. There’s an outrageousness to how delicious it is and a disheveled quality that only makes the dish taste better. It’s a meal to get excited about. (Picture yourself bellowing the word, Oprah-style: Carbonaraaa!) And it may be the ideal recipe for a New Year’s Eve dinner.

Still in need of options? We have New Year’s recipes galore, including Champagne cocktails, a miso-marinated pork roast and a sexy bowl of chocolate mousse for the evening. For Jan. 1, consider a German pancake, a quick smoked salmon tart or a pot of black-eyed peas. Plus, of course, the four other excellent recipes below.

Reach out to me anytime at dearemily@nytimes.com. Wishing you an excellent 2026, rich with carbonara or whatever generosity and happiness taste like to you.

A bowl of spaghetti carbonara on a white plate sits on a grey-and-white marble countertop.
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sarah Jampel.

1. Spaghetti Carbonara

Ian Fisher’s recipe comes with a how-to video, so you won’t miss an eggy, peppery beat. (Should you need it, Kay Chun’s vegetarian version uses smoked cheese in place of the guanciale.)

View this recipe.

A cast-iron skillet filled with chicken, mushrooms and caramelized onions. A spoon is in the skillet, and some of the chicken is being served on top of noodles in a separate plate.
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

2. Skillet Chicken With Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions

In this recipe, Yasmin Fahr takes the golden-allium pleasures of French onion soup and funnels them into a skillet dinner. I’d serve it over egg noodles.

View this recipe.

An overhead shot of a white bowl of shrimp and sweet potato curry on rice.
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

3. Curry Shrimp and Sweet Potato

Finely tuned and nicely spiced, this recipe from Ashley Lonsdale is great for something easy that tastes anything but.

View this recipe.

An overhead shot of a skillet filled with white bean shakshuka.
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

4. White Bean Shakshuka

If you want to make a dish heartier, add a can of beans. Ifrah F. Ahmed does that here for a saucy, satisfying meal that is just as good for a quiet dinner as it is for a New Year’s Day brunch.

View this recipe.

An overhead image of sliced steak on a plate next to greens.
Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times

5. Pan-Seared Steak With Red Wine Sauce

Casually chic in the manner of so many bistro classics, Melissa Clark’s pan-seared steak may just be the simple and celebratory recipe you’re looking for.

View this recipe.

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