Quick Dinner Recipes
Looking for quick dinner ideas for when life gets busy? I’ve gathered up a bunch of easy dinners for you to try! All of these recipes are ready in 20ish minutes or less – perfect for those nights when there’s barely time to cook.
Quick Dinner Recipes
Chicken Recipes
Chicken & Black Bean Spinach Salad
The chicken and black bean spinach salad is packed with veggies and tossed with a simple garlic-lime dressing.
Easy Chicken Gyros
A rotisserie chicken makes these chicken gyros a simple assembly operation instead of a cooking project. The soft pitas are filled with tender chicken, fresh tomatoes, cucumber and creamy cool tzatziki.
Ground Chicken Taco Bowls
Quick and easy chicken taco bowls are ready in about 20 minutes! Top the chicken and black bean filling with all of your favorite taco toppings for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner.
BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza
This French Bread pizza is loaded with shortcuts for an easy. BBQ chicken combined with cheese, rotisserie chicken, and BBQ sauce makes a hot and toasty pizza for those nights when only something quick and easy will do.
Summer Crunch Chopped Salad
This chopped salad is loaded with veggies, tender rotisserie chicken, and all the crunchy add-ins like crispy bacon and sunflower seeds. All of it is tossed in a simple homemade honey-mustard dressing.
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Balsamic Glazed Chicken is a simple way to make chicken for salads, pasta, or as a main dish all on its own! All you need is a few pantry ingredients, and you can cook the chicken on the stove or on the grill for an easy dinner.
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Quick and easy buffalo chicken lettuce wraps made with chicken, a spicy buffalo sauce, and crisp lettuce leaves. This is an easy dinner that’s ready in 20 minutes!
Santa Fe Salad
This easy salad is loaded with flavor and so easy to make! If you love Southwest flavors like avocado, black beans, and pico de gallo with chicken and a zesty dressing, you will love this recipe.
Sandwiches and Wraps
Turkey Avocado Burgers
Turkey burgers topped with avocado, creamy herb burger sauce, and fresh greens. This is a great way to switch up burger night and an easy dinner recipe.
Chicken Club Sandwich
This layered chicken sandwich has shredded chicken, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and ham sandwiched between toasted bread slathered with mayo. Club sandwiches are a restaurant classic, and you’ll love how easy they are to make at home.
Italian Sandwich Sliders
These Italian slider sandwiches are a great combination of salty/sweet with a tangy kick from banana peppers. They’re easy to prep and are a fun easy dinner idea.
Caprese Roast Beef Sandwich
This big sandwich combines a fresh caprese sandwich with deli-sliced roast beef. It’s great for picnics or quick dinners.
Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
These hot roast beef sandwiches are quick and easy thanks to a simple cheddar cheese sauce that’s made in the microwave.
Loaded Pizza Sandwiches
Loaded pizza sandwiches with salami, pepperoni, provolone and mozzarella cheese, olives, green peppers, and fresh herbs. Or add your favorite pizza toppings!
Cucumber Avocado Wraps
These fresh and crisp cucumber avocado wraps with fresh greens are sort of like those little cucumber sandwiches served at tea parties, but a lot less fussy and more amped up thanks to a pesto-spiked cream cheese spread. Pair them with soup or salad for a light meal.
Fish and Shrimp Recipes
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.
Chickpea Tuna Salad
Chickpea Tuna Salad is a fresh and flavorful salad with a tangy Dijon dressing and crisp veggies. It’s great as a side dish just as it is, add lettuce to make it a main dish salad, or use it as a filling for sandwiches and wraps.
Avocado Shrimp Salad
Quick and easy avocado shrimp salad with a zingy cilantro-lime dressing, bell pepper, corn and lots of creamy avocado. It’s a no-cook, 20-minute recipe you can make on repeat all summer long.
Easy Teriyaki Shrimp
This Easy Teriyaki Shrimp recipe is a quick 30-minute dinner that’s light and loaded with
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.
Pasta Recipes
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.
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 are a delicious combination. In the time it takes to cook the pasta, the sauce is ready to go.
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
This is a quick and easy pasta dish for two with simple ingredients and a little kick of heat from some crushed red pepper flakes. Bring the pasta water to a boil while you prep the ingredients for the sauce and, once you add the pasta to cook, the sauce comes together by the time the pasta is tender.
Quick Cajun Pasta
This Cajun pasta is a quick 20-minute dinner that’s great for weeknights. I like to make it with shrimp, but it’s great with leftover chicken, too.
Spinach Parsley Pesto
This Parsley Pesto is a quick and easy sauce that is full of fresh flavors. Spinach adds a healthy kick, and pine nuts and Asiago cheese add delicious flavor and texture. Toss it with hot pasta for an easy meal, or use it as a spread for sandwiches, toast, or bagels. It’s also delicious with grilled meat or as a sauce for vegetables.
Easy Pasta with Olive Oil & Garlic
This olive oil and garlic pasta (or aglio e olio as it’s known in Italy) is my go-to dinner when I’m on my own. All it takes is a few simple ingredients and about 15 minutes to pull it together! This recipe serves one, but you can easily scale it up if you want a few more servings.
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Gnocchi alla sorrentina is a simple dish made with potato gnocchi, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. It’s hearty and fresh at the same time and very easy to make. With a few shortcuts, this version is on the table in 20-minutes.
15-Minute Mediterranean Pasta
It doesn’t get any easier than this Mediterranean-inspired pasta. With just a few simple pantry ingredients, a couple of fresh ingredients, and 15 minutes this easy dinner is ready to serve.
Ravioli with Asparagus and Mushrooms
Cheese ravioli, asparagus, and mushrooms tossed together in a lightly buttery lemon sauce. Thanks to store-bought ravioli, It takes only 20 minutes to make, which is perfect for those busy weeknights.
Zucchini Orzo with Chickpeas
This zucchini orzo is a quick 20-minute pasta recipe! It’s loaded with fresh herbs, zucchini, and a short-cut sauce. It’s perfect for those nights when you want something fast and easy.
Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Lemon Ricotta Pasta is a quick 20-minute pasta recipe! Creamy ricotta combined with Parmesan, herbs, and lemon makes a really delicious sauce.
Creamy Pesto Pasta
You only need a handful of simple ingredients for this creamy pesto sauce, and it’s ready in about 20 minutes. It’s perfect for a quick dinner when you’re craving pasta.
I hope you’ve found some new quick dinner recipes to try!
Happy Easy Cooking!
More Dinner Ideas
Post updated from the archives. First published in March 2018.
What a great round-up, April! I cannot wait to try the creamy gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes. And that garlic butter shrimp pasta does look like a giant hug! Thank you for including the mustard salmon and creamy Tuscan chicken, as well — they are definitely two of my personal favorites. Cheers!
You’re welcome!