Easy Sunday Dinner Ideas

By Samantha ErbPublished Oct 06, 2026

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Sunday dinner was a big deal in my house growing up. Between sports and practices, we couldn’t always sit down together during the week, but Sundays were pretty much required.

My mom always made something special, and her pork roast is still the one I think of first. Now it’s my turn to make Sunday dinner for my own family, and I want it to feel special without spending all day in the kitchen.

These are my favorite Sunday dinner ideas, the ones I make on repeat when everyone’s home and hungry. There’s tender pot roast, a crispy roast chicken, glazed ham, and a few casseroles big enough for a crowd. Most of them cook in the crock pot or oven while you do something else. Pick whatever sounds good and start there.

Mississippi pot roast Sunday dinner in a crock pot.

The trick to Sunday dinner that doesn’t take all day

Sunday dinner sounds like hours of chopping and a sink full of dishes, but mine usually isn’t. I pick one big main that cooks on its own and keep the sides simple.

I lean on my crock pot a lot. I can prep a roast in the morning, go do our thing, and come home to a dinner that’s ready. The oven works the same way with a roast chicken or a ham.

Every recipe here works that way and was tested in my own kitchen. My favorite set it and forget it dinners are up top, and the rest are grouped by what you’re craving. If you want beef, start with the pot roasts. If you’re feeding a crowd, head to the comfort food classics.

Reader favorites

This post has a lot of recipes. Here’s where I’d start, depending on how much time you’ve got.

Want the crock pot to do the work?

These are my go-to Sunday dinners when we have plans all day. I do a few minutes of prep in the morning, and dinner is waiting when we walk in the door.

Mississippi Pot Roast with Vegetables on a dinner plate.

Mississippi Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

4.60 from 10 votes

This is the pot roast I make when I want Sunday dinner to basically make itself. The potatoes and carrots go in the bottom, the chuck roast goes on top, and a packet of ranch and au jus does all the seasoning. Add a few pepperoncini and some butter, and that's it! It takes about 5 minutes to prep. Eight hours later, the beef is fall apart tender and tangy with a little kick.

Get the 5-Minute Prep Recipe

A wooden spoon lifting a cooked pork chop out of the crock pot.

Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops with Mushroom Soup

5 from 3 votes

My crock pot pork chops are one of my favorite easy Sunday dinners. They only need 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes of prep! The chops cook low in cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, and sliced mushrooms until they're fork tender. My son Connor loves anything with cream of mushroom soup, so these never last long at our house. I like to serve them over mashed potatoes to soak up all that gravy.

Make this 5 ingredient dinner

Close up of the sirloin tip roast in the crock pot being picked up with a spoon with carrots and baby potatoes.

Easy Sirloin Tip Roast in the Crock Pot

5 from 3 votes

This roast saved me the day Ben's family was coming for Sunday dinner and the kids had soccer games all afternoon. I put potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic in the crock pot, set the sirloin tip roast on top with onion soup mix and Worcestershire, and left. We got home to a fork tender roast, and the veggies were done too. My mother-in-law couldn't believe I pulled it off!

Make this Roast

White dinner plate with mashed potatoes and three slices of pork roast on top.

Easy Pork Roast in the Crock Pot

5 from 1 vote

This is my version of the roast my mom made for our Sunday suppers growing up. I rub a pork shoulder with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little brown sugar, pour some chicken stock around it, and let the crock pot take over. Prep is about 10 minutes. It comes out juicy and easy to slice, and Ben and the kids love it just as much as I did as a kid.

Get the 10-Minute Prep Roast

Completed spiral ham on a white serving platter, garnished with a mix of greens.

Easy Spiral Ham in the Crock Pot

5 from 1 vote

Spiral ham in the crock pot is my favorite trick for freeing up the oven. The glaze is just pineapple juice, brown sugar, honey, and Dijon, and it soaks right into every slice while the ham warms. When I made it for Ben's family at Thanksgiving, the whole ham was gone by the end of the night. His aunt even asked me for the recipe!

Make this 5-Ingredient Ham

More slow cooker recipes

The trick to Sunday dinner that doesn’t take all day
Reader favorites
Want the crock pot to do the work?
Comfort food classics
Pork and ham
Pot roast and beef recipes
Roast chicken
Air fryer Sunday dinners
Sides to round out dinner

Comfort food classics

Some Sundays I just want meatloaf or a big pan of lasagna. These feed a crowd, and the leftovers are almost better than the first night.

Easy Meatloaf Recipe with Few Ingredients

Traditional Lasagna Recipe

Pork Chop Casserole

Beef Stuffed Shells

Ritz Chicken Casserole

Chicken Meatloaf

Pork and ham

Pork is one of my favorite Sunday mains. It feels a little fancy but doesn’t cost a lot, and these plates always get cleaned off fast.

Fully cooked pork chops and gravy in a cast iron skillet.

Easy Smothered Pork Chops

5 from 7 votes

Smothered pork chops remind me of Sunday dinners at home when I was growing up. I brown bone-in chops in my cast iron skillet, then let them simmer in a creamy onion and mushroom gravy until they're tender. Your kitchen is going to smell so good! I always serve them with mashed potatoes or rice because my family wants every bit of that gravy.

Try this easy Sunday dinner

Pork Tenderloin in the Oven

Stuffed Pork Chops in the Air Fryer

Pineapple Glazed Ham

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Pot roast and beef recipes

A big roast in the middle of the table just feels like Sunday to me. These all come out tender, and the leftovers turn into Monday’s sandwiches.

Bottom Round Roast

Round Steak

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Tri Tip In The Oven

Boneless Prime Rib Recipe

Pot Roast Crock Pot Recipe

Roast chicken

A whole roast chicken looks impressive, but it’s honestly one of the easiest dinners I make. These are my favorite ways to do it.

oven roasted chicken in a white cast iron skillet

Oven Roasted Whole Chicken

5 from 1 vote

My oven roasted chicken gets its crispy skin from one easy trick. I heat a skillet in the oven first, then set the chicken right in it. A lemon and shallot go inside, olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper go on top, and the oven does the rest. It only takes 10 minutes to prep, so I get to hang out with my kids while it roasts.

Roast it in a skillet