30-Minute Recipes: Easy Meals for Busy Nights

Because we can never have too many easy dinner recipes, here’s a collection of 30-minute recipes that will make weeknights so much easier. You’ll find some easy pasta recipes, soups, salads, burgers, taco bowls and other deliciously easy ideas to shake-up your weekday dinner rotation. I hope you find some new recipes to try!

recipes photo collage.
Oven roasted pork chops with a creamy mustard sauce | girlgonegourmet.com

Oven Roasted Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce

Juicy pork chops with a tangy mustard sauce that take just 20 minutes start to finish!

close-up photo of a pan of beef penne

30 Minute One Pan Beef Penne

This is a hearty beef and pasta dinner that is ready in about 30 minutes and uses just one pan for easy clean-up!

a bowl of enchilada soup

Easy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Quick and easy chicken enchilada soup! It’s so easy to make and has the best creamy texture. Serve it with crunchy tortilla chips and cheese on top for an easy weeknight dinner.

shrimp, rice, and coleslaw in a bowl.

Shrimp Taco Bowls

These shrimp taco bowls have everything you love about tacos, without the tortillas. The shrimp are cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce and piled on rice and a creamy slaw. It’s an easy 30 minute dinner!

steak salad with mushrooms

Steak Salad with Mushrooms

Sauteed mushrooms and warm steak served on a bed of fresh spinach and parsley. It’s a salad that’s both hearty and fresh and takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

blue cheese burgers

Blue Cheese Burgers

Easy blue cheese burgers with bacon are a restaurant-inspired burger recipe that’s easy to make at home.

photo of a taco salad

Taco Salad with Chili-Spiced Catalina Dressing

This ground beef taco salad is tossed in a simple homemade Catalina dressing with a chili twist. The flavors are bright and fresh and it takes all of 30 minutes to pull it all together.

baked tortellini

One-Pan Baked Tortellini

This baked tortellini makes good use of simple pantry ingredients for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

chicken and peppers sandwiches.

Chicken and Peppers

Boneless skinless chicken breasts and colorful bell peppers cook up in no time with a few pantry ingredients to give them lots of flavor. Pile it all in buns for an easy dinner.

photo of two bowls of soup

Short-Cut Italian Meatball Soup

This Italian meatball soup is cozy, comforting and ridiculously easy to make. You only need six ingredients and 15 minutes to make it.

cooked salmon on a grey plate with broccoli florets.

Panko Crusted Salmon

This easy Panko Crusted Salmon recipe is ready in 20 minutes! Delicious salmon with mayo sauce and panko is a simple and healthy-ish dinner when you’re craving something light.

Beef Burrito Bowls

Easy beef burrito bowls with all the toppings including a creamy burrito sauce and super simple cilantro-lime rice. It’s full of fresh flavors, can be prepped ahead and is ready in 30 minutes!

salmon burgers

Cilantro-Lime Salmon Burgers

Fresh salmon burgers topped with a creamy-cool avocado mayo. The burgers have some zing thanks to some fresh lime zest and chopped cilantro and they take about 30 minutes start to finish. These are a great way to switch up burger night!

chicken broccoli alfredo.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

This chicken broccoli Alfredo is a 30-minute dinner that you only need a handful of ingredients to make. Finely chopped broccoli is cooked in the Alfredo sauce so the whole dish is infused with broccoli flavor. It’s a creamy and comforting pasta dinner.

a bowl of poblano black bean rice and chicken

Poblano Black Bean Rice and Chicken Bowl

Like a burrito without the tortilla, this dish features rice loaded with spices, fresh poblano peppers, black beans, and a simple pan-cooked chicken breast. Serve it as is or dress it up with your favorite burrito toppings like sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

overhead shot of the rice in a bowl.

Honey Garlic Shrimp

Easy skillet Honey Garlic Shrimp is a quick 30-minute dinner recipe. The shrimp are coated in a honey garlic sauce and topped with sesame seeds. Serve it with veggies on the side along with brown or white rice for an easy meal.

15-Minute Tomato Pasta

This no-cook tomato sauce takes just minutes to make. Almonds give it a creamy texture (with no cream added!) and the tomatoes, herbs, and cheese is a delicious combination. In the time it takes to cook the pasta the sauce is ready to go.

honey mustard salmon in foil on a sheet pan.

Honey Mustard Salmon

This baked salmon dish takes about five minutes to prep and less than 15 minutes to cook. The salmon bakes in a flavorful honey mustard sauce made with simple pantry ingredients and some fresh dill. This recipe serves three, but can easily be stretched to serve four if you have a side dish or bread.

sausage and peppers pasta.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta

This is my take on traditional sausage and peppers that includes pasta and a few simple ingredients to make a sauce. It’s a 30-minute dinner full of fresh flavors.

turkey burger.

Turkey Avocado Burgers

Turkey burgers topped with creamy basil sauce, fresh greens, and avocado.  

photo of the finished dish

30-Minute Ginger Beef Noodles

This recipe for ginger beef noodles is quick and easy. Tender beef simmered in a savory ginger-garlic sauce tossed with broccoli and noodles – it’s an easy way to satisfy a take-out craving.

Easy ground turkey taco bowls with rice and beans

Easy Ground Turkey Taco Bowls

Don’t be tricked by the long ingredient list because these taco bowls take just 30-minutes start to finish and require very little prep work.

overhead photo of pesto chicken pasta in a skillet

Pesto Chicken Pasta

This pesto chicken pasta is a fresh summer dinner made with cherry tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella and tender chicken. It’s an easy 30-minute dinner.

photo of lemon garlic chicken rice bowl

Lemon-Garlic Chicken

This lemon-garlic chicken is a light and fresh 30-minute dinner. 

beef and broccoli

30-Minute Beef and Broccoli

30-minute beef and broccoli! Serve it with rice, noodles, or all on its own. No take-out menu required.

Steak carbonara in a bowl with a fork

30-Minute Steak Carbonara for Two

A basic carbonara gets an upgrade with sliced sirloin steak and fresh basil. This dinner for two is so easy to make an takes less than 30 minutes.

sesame beef with vegetables

30-Minute Sesame Beef Bowls

Easy 30-minute sesame beef is an easy recipe inspired by take-out. The beef is cooked in a savory sauce and served with crisp-tender vegetables and rice. This recipe is a great dinner for two or double it to serve more!

I hope you’ve found some new 30 minute recipes to try!

Happy cooking,

April

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