40 Quick Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights

This stir-fry involves no prep, takes just over 10 minutes to come together, and tastes totally delicious. It’s made with your ground meat of choice (either pork or chicken), coleslaw mix, and some store-bought sweet Thai chili sauce.

This one-pan dinner cooks in less than 30 minutes — and packs in a ton of flavor.

You only need 10 minutes to prep these saucy noodles! Plus, it tastes just like stir-fried beef and broccoli.

Thanks to an ingredient shortcut and a package of ground beef, this dish comes together in just about 30 minutes and has a complexity of flavors that is just as satisfying as something that’s been simmering all day.

Everything you love about chicken piccata in one pot, with no chicken dredging required.

This comforting soup is the ultimate low-effort, high-reward dinner.

Seared chunks of buttery seared salmon sit on top of spaghetti tossed in a simple yet fragrant sauce made with butter, olive oil, lemon juice, lots of garlic, and fresh herbs. Serve it alongside a simple green salad for an easy weeknight dinner.

All the delicious filling in Chinese egg rolls can easily be turned into a weeknight dinner all on its own or with some steamed rice.

The creamy sun-dried tomato sauce is everything.

Heavily inspired by classic Thai basil beef (though it takes some liberties to make it faster and even more weeknight friendly), it has a simple four-ingredient sauce that’s just the right balance of savory, salty, and sweet.

One pan, four ingredients, cooks in 20 minutes — it checks all the boxes for an easy weeknight dinner!

This recipe for saucy noodles with ground beef comes together largely with pantry ingredients, and you only need 20 minutes from start to finish.

You’re going to want to bookmark this recipe as it gets cooler outside, because this might be the coziest pasta ever made. Think of the creamiest, dreamiest stovetop mac and cheese, and then stir in saucy, extra-flavorful taco-spiced ground beef. It’s exactly as comforting as it sounds, and it all comes together in one pot with almost no chopping.

Don't bother boiling a separate pot of water! This easy weeknight pasta with a creamy lemon sauce comes together in one pan from start to finish.

With just 5 ingredients and 30 minutes, dinner is served. We love serving it with a bowl of rice pilaf, but it’s equally delicious with warm rolls or crusty bread.

The salmon for these easy customizable bowls cooks in less than 10 minutes. Pile them into a bowl with fluffy rice, a mix of toppings, and a drizzle of Sriracha yogurt sauce.

With just eight ingredients, it’s great for weeknights when you want to do minimal cooking and use up things in the pantry.

In this recipe, creamy ricotta serves as a blank canvas; it melts into an extra-smooth sauce that’s perfect for hugging spaghetti. Toss in some lemon and garlic, and the result is rich and hearty — while still feeling light and refreshing, thanks to a citrus-kissed sauce.

The sticky honey sauce ties it all together. Serve with fluffy white rice.

You only need 10 minutes to prep these saucy noodles. A wide variety of dried noodles work here, including udon noodles, ramen noodles, soba noodles, lo mein noodles, and even spaghetti.

This flavorful sausage and veggie sheet pan dinner makes getting dinner on the table ridiculously simple.

The lemon really brightens up the sauce! For this recipe, we turn to the broiler to perfectly cook and brown salmon fillets, which frees you up to make the creamy pasta to go with it.

Simply toss steak (flank or skirt — your choice!) with softened onions and crisp-tender peppers. It all gets coated in a savory, flavorful sauce made with pantry staples like oyster sauce and soy sauce.

Everything you love about spaghetti and meatballs made so much easier in this one-pot, no-chop dinner.

This one-pan dinner cooks in less than 30 minutes — and packs in a ton of flavor.

Tossed with Cajun seasoning, shrimp, and andouille sausage, this creamy pasta is irresistible.

This one-pan dinner comes together in just 30 minutes — and packs in a ton of flavor.

Tender pieces of chicken are tossed with charred sweet corn and tender summer zucchini.

The real beauty of sausage and peppers is that it’s an incredibly simple and straightforward one-pan meal that packs in seriously big flavor, with the savory sausage mingling with soft, sweet peppers.

The orzo and shrimp cook right in the creamy sun-dried tomato and Parmesan sauce for a comforting and quick one-pot meal.

This Philly cheesesteak skillet is a dinner that’s ideal for weeknights! You’ll use a cast iron skillet to make a cheesesteak with all of the tasty hallmarks of the classic sandwich, but you aren’t confined to just sub rolls. This tastes equally delicious served with a salad, atop al dente noodles, or with steamed rice.

This super summery meal mashes up juicy bruschetta with a weeknight-friendly chicken dinner.

Even though this dish tastes fancy, it’s quite simple and quick to put together, making it the perfect dinner party trick. If you can find them, little orange sungold tomatoes will give the pasta a gorgeous, light orange-y hue.

Tangy pepperoncini peppers add bright flavor to this creamy skillet chicken dinner.

Juicy chicken, tomato, basil, and pasta come together in this super-fresh, one-pot meal.

This one-pan dinner with sausage, corn, and fresh zucchini packs in a ton of flavor.

This veggie-packed weeknight pasta is a mix of asparagus, tomatoes, and peas (reminiscent of pasta primavera) that feels light, fresh, and perfect for spring and summer.

The versatile, oil-packed canned tuna makes the weeknight stir-fry extra delicious.

You only need four ingredients and 20 minutes to cook this easy one-skillet dinner.

You only need 10 minutes to cook this saucy one-skillet dinner.