The 7 Quickest Dinners Out There
I don’t have a lot of complicated recipes in my repertoire to begin with, but on occasions when even my relatively simple go-to dinners feel out of reach, I turn to the quickest dinners I know how to make. Whether I’m pressed for time, energy, or patience, sometimes I just want to get something on the table as soon as humanly possible.
Ordering food for delivery or takeout can be a handy option in these scenarios, but it can be an expensive option too, and sometimes it isn’t even particularly fast! (I’ve had more 30-minute deliveries end up taking over an hour than I care to count!)
But if you keep a few quick & easy meals up your sleeve, you’ll always be able to get something delicious and affordable on the table in just about 15 minutes! Check out 7 of the quickest dinners you’ll ever make below.
Bonus Tip: Planning a week’s worth of meals and buying all the ingredients you’ll need to make them can take make dinnertime a lot less stressful. Use my free weekly meal plan templates to plan your meals for the week and make weeknights a lot easier!
7 Fast & Easy Meals You Can Always Rely On
1. Ravioli Lasagna
Ingredients:
- Fresh or frozen ravioli
- Pasta sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Sliced veggies (peppers, squash, etc.)
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil
Cooking Instructions:
Boil your favorite frozen or fresh ravioli until just before the “al dente” stage. (It’s going to end up in the oven, so you don’t want to be done quite yet.)
Preheat your broiler, and arrange the drained ravioli in the bottom of a casserole dish. On top of the ravioli, add a layer of pasta sauce, then shredded mozzarella, then an assortment of your favorite sliced vegetables, and top it off with some fresh sliced basil and Parmesan.
Put your ravioli “lasagna” under the broiler for about 5 minutes (or until the cheese is melted), then dig in!
2. Chicken Sausage Hash
Ingredients:
- Chicken apple sausages, fully cooked
- Diced root vegetables (potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, etc.)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Cooking Instructions:
Slice up the sausages and preheat a bit of oil in a frying pan on your stovetop. When the oil is hot, add the sausage slice to the pan and cook until browned.
Remove the browned sausage from the pan and add your diced root vegetables. Let them brown up in the pan for a few minutes, then add 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
Scrape up any stuck-on bits at the bottom of the pan, season the mixture with salt and pepper, then put a lid on the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and keep simmering until the liquid is gone, then put the sausage back in the pan until everything is warmed through. Serve warm, topped with some fresh parsley if desired!
More Ideas You'll Love
3. Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients:
- 1/2 onion, diced
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Canned black beans, rinsed
- 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
- Tortillas
- Taco toppings
Cooking Instructions:
Cook the diced onion in a pan on your stovetop until soft, then season it with a large pinch of chili powder, a dash of cumin, and salt to taste. Add the black beans and 1/4 cup of either water or chicken broth.
Put a lid on the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and use a fork to smash about half of the beans, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Serve the black bean mixture on warmed tortillas with your favorite taco toppings. (We opted for a bag of shredded cabbage and a jar of salsa, but you could add shredded cheese, cilantro, guacamole, or whatever else you like!)
4. Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- Chicken sausages, fully cooked
- Bell pepper
- 1/2 onion
- Whole grain mustard
- Baguettes or hot dog buns
Cooking Instructions:
Slice a chicken sausage in half lengthwise. Slice up the bell pepper and half of an onion, then heat up some oil in a pan on your stovetop.
When the oil is hot, add the sausage, peppers, and onions to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, turning frequently, until everything is browned and warmed through.
Spread mustard over both sides of a baguette or hot dog bun, then pile it up with the sausage, peppers, and onions. Talk about the fastest meals to make, right?
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5. Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese is quick, easy, and guaranteed to please even the pickiest of eaters. And even if you’d prefer to make it from scratch than cook up the boxed stuff, it doesn’t take that much more time or effort!
Interested in spicing up your mac? Check out some of my favorite ways to dress up mac and cheese (and grab my quick and easy recipe for homemade mac and cheese at the bottom of that post!)
6. Shrimp Stir Fry
Ingredients:
- Rice or lo mein noodles
- Stir fry veggies (chopped/sliced broccoli, onions, mushrooms, carrots, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Frozen shrimp
- 1/2 cup water
- Soy sauce
Cooking Instructions:
Start by cooking up some rice or lo mein noodles according to the package directions.
Heat some oil in a wok or sauté pan until hot, then add your stir fry veggies of choice. (Add hardier produce like broccoli and carrots a few minutes before softer, quicker-cooking foods like snow peas or mushrooms.)
When the veggies have softened up, add the minced garlic and ginger and a handful of frozen shrimp. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of water and a few dashes of soy sauce.
When your stir fry is hot, bubbling, and seasoned to taste, serve it over the cooked rice or lo mein noodles.
7. Omelets
Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Milk
- Butter
- Fresh spinach
- Shredded cheese
- Omelet add-ins (chopped lunch meat, sliced peppers, sliced mushrooms, etc.)
Cooking Instructions:
Whisk two eggs with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt and pepper, then set aside.
Melt a pat of butter in a nonstick pan on your stovetop over medium-low heat, then add a handful of spinach leaves and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Pour the egg mixture into the pan so that it coats the bottom.
Use a heat-resistant spatula to lift the edges of the eggs, and tilt the pan gently to allow the uncooked eggs to run under the cooked parts. Continue cooking until the edges are set and the center is wet, but no longer runny, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, sprinkle some shredded cheese (and any omelet add-ins you want to include) over half of the eggs, then use a spatula to fold the finished omelet in half.
Slide the omelet onto a plate and serve immediately.
Related: The Secret Behind Those Extra Fluffy Omelets At IHOP
What are some of your favorite easy to cook meals?
Pasta Carbonara – boil a box of spaghetti. Beat 4 eggs with 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Drain the pasta, immediately toss with egg mix – keep mixing vigorously to keep eggs from scrambling. Toss in some cooked chopped bacon (store bought real bacon bits in a pinch), grind some pepper on top, add a bagged salad for a side and you’re done.
Teriyaki Chicken Bowls – Slice cooked chicken and toss with teriyaki sauce. Serve over rice (LOVE TJ’s frozen brown rice!) with some steamed fresh or frozen broccoli and carrots.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One of my most stressful things in my life is to decide what to cook. I feed my parents 2-3 times per week (my mom has dementia so she doesn’t cook unless my dad wants to burn the house down). And I work until 3:30, but thankfully I work from home so I am able to start something in the crockpot if necessary.
But for me, coming up with ideas is what is the worst. I have no creativity. I stress out so much about this. So these are helpful, although many of the ideas have MSG which instantly gives me a headache… I can take these ideas and run with them. THANK YOU!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Rebecca…..that is what this website is all about! Taking ideas…giving them my own spin and then letting the rest of you run wild with them! :-)
Look at the list we are creating with everyone contributing! I love it! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Homemade pizzas are our “hurry” staple dinner. The “crust” is whole wheat pita bread, some pizza sauce (or, in our case leftover spaghetti sauce in the frig from a previous night), cheese, and whatever toppings we desire. Our toaster oven can cook 2 at a time (if we don’t want to turn on the oven) in less than 5 minutes. Best of all, the kids BEG to make their mini-pizzas themselves. And…they’re big enough to be filling for my 16 y/o son, too!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hash is something I make when in a hurry. It can be made of anything left over in the fridge. Last night I had left over roast beef and potatoes, so I first sauteed some onions and peppers in olive oil in the skillet and added the beef and potatoes, salt & pepper and any seasonings. Add a good salad on the side and you have supper in a pinch. You can also do the same thing with other meats or rice.
I also like to make homemade soups that are quick and easy — Saute meats (or left over meats or no meat at all) along with onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, etc., add a can of white beans and some chicken or beef broth along with your seasonings.
Rachael Rae has lots of 30 minute meals that are terrific and really do only take about 30 minutes. Great post for busy days.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Although your recipes are fast and easy they are loaded with sodium, sugar and fat. If you don’t have to worry about that then you are lucky. Love your website BTW!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.And some of them are with MSG…. however, for me, I don’t mind sodium (real salt) and fat, I am just trying to avoid MSG and sugar.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The recipes are full of the things listed, but it is easy to make some from scratch and use less. My go to Betty Crocker mac & cheese recipe is easy to double and freeze, and the most time is boiling the noodles. Once it is put together, you bake for 1/2 hr. I make a double batch on the weekend and freeze half.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Using the weekend to make double batches of things makes it easier, then you just freeze them for later in the week.
Double a recipe, label and freeze half.
Taco Seasonings with less sodium: 4 Tbsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp dry oregano, 2 tsp ground roasted cumin, sea salt. Combine all ingredients, for into airtight container and store in cupboard for up to 6 months.
should have read “pour” not for. Auto correct is annoying.
I LOVE your blog–I saw the first three fast dinner ideas and thought, “Oh, that’s nice…” But then I realized that there were like a MILLION suggestions and I with a glow, I thought, “Oh, I love Jillee,” haha. Easy food at our house? What about pancakes for dinner? They’re always a hit and so fast. I don’t even use a mix… but I guess for your gluten-free group, you might need one. ;) I have a great go-to recipe that has SIX eggs, which makes me feel like for every pancake it makes, my kids are getting an egg in that portion… Protein, SCORE! And doesn’t syrup count as a vegetable? :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Add some pumpkin puree for a serving of veggies. :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Libby’s canned pumpkin would work.
Have you seen the movie “Elf”? Syrup is a whole food group in and of itself. Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup…
And now you know. =-}
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can do tuna helper from scratch with mac and cheese, peas and tuna.
hotdogs/fries (or sausages)
What i call taco burger helper, take mac and cheese, hamburger (or other choice of ground meat) and a package of taco seasoning. Make the mac , fry up the meat, then mix it all together.
Quick stew, cream of mushroom soup, mixed veggies and fry stew meat (longest part is frying the meat) mix together, spice if ya want, and heat till warmed through
Black beans and rice. Take can of black beans and cook, take package of yellow rice and cook, mix together or top the rice with the beans.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.TACO SEASONINGS (with less sodium): 4 Tbsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp dry oregano, 2 tsp ground roasted cumin, sea salt. Combine all ingredients, pour into airtight container and store in cupboard for up to 6 months.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Pasta with creamed spinach and parmesan.
Might sound weird, but the creamy spinach makes a nice sauce! I like mine very green, so I use about half to 3/4 lb of pasta per package. (for a family, I would do a pound of pasta and two packages of creamed spinach). My favorite is Birds Eye, but my store doesn’t carry it anymore. Green Giant isn’t bad. Cook pasta- any shape. Heat creamed spinach in microwave. Drain pasta and toss with warmed spinach. You might have to add a splash of half and half or milk if it looks a little dry. Top with grated parmesan.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh, that sounds yummy! I always have cream spinach in the freezer. What a great idea! Thanks, Georgann
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Since we have fresh eggs all year, my go-to recipe is almost always fried egg sandwiches/cheese. Yummy, gooey and satisfying!! Although, I have been known to open up a can of pot roast (or roast beef) and pour over instant potatoes or serve with those new Steamers that have rice or potatoes in them. I’m blessed with a non-picky hubby!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Another way to top the baked/nuked potato is with chili beans from a can and your favorite chunky salsa. It’s tasty and really filling.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We grow our own potatoes and we had a good crop this year. Whenever I boil or steam some for other dishes, I will cook extras. When time is scarce, I just slap some butter in a skillet, add the potatoes and crack open a couple or three eggs right in with the potatoes, season with Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend and you have a delicious meal in minutes. Served with fresh fruit or a lettuce salad…..delish!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s why I like — no canned stuff involved.
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