The Best Dinner Recipe of 2024 Is a "Crowd-Pleasing" Favorite

Best Recipes 2024: We’re back for our 2nd annual Best Recipes showdown! For 2024 we combed through our more than 55,000 recipes to find a winner in each of the following five categories of Party Food: Champion Mains, Top-Notch Apps, Winning Brunch Bites, Gold Medal Sweets, and Prize-Worthy Sides.

It’s 5pm: Do you know what you’re making for dinner? Our community of home cooks always has an answer to that age old-dilemma, but we had one additional question: What about when company’s coming? With parties on our mind for this year’s Best Recipes of 2024, we wanted to uncover the all-time Champion Main dish of 2024.

To crown a winner, our editors first sifted through hundreds of main dish recipes on Allrecipes, looking for standouts that could feed a crowd, be reasonably easy to pull together (you want to have fun at your party!), and have that special something that guests don’t forget. They arrived at a short list of 10 that the community voted on, and the top two dishes went on to the finals! And what a final it was: Staff in our Birmingham test kitchen whipped up both recipes for two special judges to taste, rate, and name the Champion Main.

Meet the Judges

Whom did we recruit to be our expert judges? Meet them here!

Nicole McLaughlin: McLaughlin is a senior producer and on-camera talent for Allrecipes. With more than 20 years of experience in the culinary world, she has a bachelor's in restaurant and hospitality management from the University of Alabama and a culinary arts degree from Johnson and Wales University.

Roscoe Hall: Best known for competing in season 18 of Top Chef, Allrecipes contributor Hall began his culinary journey at Chez Panisse, where he trained under the legendary Alice Waters for two years. His cooking chops have taken him all over the country where he’s worked in kitchens from Portland, Oregon to New York City

Meet the Two Contenders

A note: These two main dishes were both developed by none other than judge Nicole McLaughlin! Given that both of these recipes were among Allrecipes’ most popular of the past year, and they were the top two recipes voted upon by our readers, we felt it was okay for McLaughlin to judge them. (It’s not like she could pick hers over someone else’s!) 

Crunchwrap Casserole: With a 4.8 out 5-star rating, this reworking of a Taco Bell classic gets high marks for its layers upon layers of flavor. Think perfectly seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese, sour cream, fresh tomatoes, and crunchy tostadas all folded up in beautifully crisp flour tortillas. One Allrecipes member shared their love for the recipe: “The casserole was a hit at the dinner table! Despite its generous portion, it vanished in no time. Each bite delivered a perfect blend of crunch, cheese, and flavor—a true crowd pleaser!”

Chicken Cobbler: This spin on a comfort food classic debuted last September, right in time for Game Day celebrations. Inspired by a viral TikTok recipe last fall, McLaughlin took her own stab at the fan favorite. And for good reason! The recipe features three genius shortcuts: store-bought rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables, and a ‘cobbler’ topping made from a box of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit mix. In other words, this recipe is special enough for effortless entertaining, but also for regular weeknights.

What the Judges Had to Say

Crunchwrap Casserole: “There’s just so much flavor in here. I love the crunchy edge. To me, that's what it's all about,” says McLaughlin. Hall agreed by noting it was “Delicious, creamy, and  tastes like a good taco.” 

Chicken Cobbler: Hall noted that it took him back to his childhood with the creamy, comforting flavor: “It brings you back to after basketball practice in 1989 with its classic American flavor profile.” Hall also noted that while he felt the casserole was well balanced–not too salty and not too peppery–he would have liked the cobbler topping to have “more Red Lobster flavor.” McLaughlin also enjoyed the creamy and comforting aspect of the casserole, but wished it was a little more assertively seasoned with salt and pepper.

And the Winner Is….

Crunchwrap Casserole!

After thoroughly enjoying their meals, and discussing the pros and cons of each casserole, Hall and McLaughlin named the Crunchwrap Casserole as the Champion Main for 2024. Allrecipes member Brad Voyles said it best when he reviewed the dish. He said, “3rd time making this. WAY GOOD! Easy, didn't need to change a thing, crowd-pleasing!”