Five Sharp

Pan-seared Sunday dinners

Searing is a hot, dry pan and a surface that has been dried properly first. Everything that makes it worth doing — the browning, the fond, the pan sauce built from it — depends on driving moisture off before the protein goes in. It is the fastest route to a serious-looking plate on a weeknight, and the least forgiving of a crowded pan.

83 plans in the Sunday Gallery.

What pan-seared plans look like

Most common mains

  • fish26
  • beef12
  • shellfish11
  • chicken9
  • duck7

How they're cooked

  • Pan-seared83

Cuisines

  • American8
  • Mediterranean7
  • Italian6
  • British / Irish5
  • French5

Diets they fit

  • Nut-free43
  • Pescatarian19
  • Gluten-free13
  • Dairy-free10
  • Vegetarian5

The plans

Want a plan like these for your Sunday?

Five Sharp builds the whole dinner — recipes, timeline and shopping list — around what your household actually eats.