Browse Dinner-Ready Recipes
Fast, highly-rated recipes curated for weeknights. Fresh picks load instantly with server-side rendering for better speed and SEO.
Red Lentil Soup
This is a lentil soup that defies expectations of what lentil soup can be Based on a Turkish lentil soup, mercimek corbasi, it is light, spicy and a bold red color (no murky brown here): a revelatory dish that takes less than an hour to make The cooking is painless
Crisp Gnocchi With Brussels Sprouts and Brown Butter
For a fantastic meal that can be ready in 20 minutes, toss together seared gnocchi and sautéed brussels sprouts with lemon zest, red-pepper flakes and brown butter The key to this recipe is how you cook the store-bought gnocchi: No need to boil Just sear them until they are crisp and golden on the outside, and their insides will stay chewy
Thai-Inspired Chicken Meatball Soup
This stellar soup is reviving and cozy, made in one pot, and ready in 30 minutes It starts with ginger-scented chicken-cilantro meatballs that are browned, then simmered in a fragrant coconut milk broth that’s inspired by tom kha gai, a Thai chicken-coconut soup seasoned with lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves and chile A heap of spinach is added for color and flavor, and a squeeze of lime adds brightness and punch
Shakshuka With Feta
Shakshuka may be at the apex of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it is breakfast food, a bright, spicy start to the day with a pile of pita or challah served on the side (It also makes excellent brunch or lunch food.) It’s a one-skillet recipe of eggs baked in a tomato-red pepper sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne First you make that sauce, which comes together fairly quickly on top of the stove, then you gently crack each of the eggs into the pan, nestling them into the sauce
Lemony Shrimp and Bean Stew
With minimal prep and a quick cook time, this shrimp stew feels elegant for such an easy weeknight meal You can also take the dish in a number of directions: Substitute the shrimp with an equal amount of flaky white fish or even seared scallops, or stretch the dish into a meal for six by stirring in some butter and serving over cooked spaghetti or rigatoni A good glug of your best olive oil would also be welcome.
Shrimp Scampi With Orzo
The universal appeal of shrimp scampi, frankly, isn’t the shrimp but the pan sauce: garlicky butter lightened with white wine and bursts of lemon, parsley and red-pepper flakes Scampi is often tossed with pasta or served with crusty bread, but this version instead uses quick-cooking orzo It simmers directly in the pan sauce, imparting a starchy gloss — and soaking up the garlicky scampi flavors
Lemony White Bean Soup With Turkey and Greens
Bright with lemon and herbs, and packed with hearty greens, this highly adaptable soup can be either light and brothy or thick and stewlike, depending on your preference Smashing some of the beans to release their starch will give you a thicker soup that’s almost worthy of a fork To keep it on the brothy side, add a little more liquid and leave the beans intact
Caramelized Shallot Pasta
This pasta is all about the shallots, cooked down in a bath of olive oil to a jammy, caramelized paste Tomato paste is there for tanginess, and anchovies for saltiness, but they serve more as background flavors to the sweetness of the shallot This recipe makes enough caramelized shallot mixture for a double batch of pasta, or simply keep it refrigerated to spoon over fried eggs, or to serve underneath crispy chicken thighs or over roasted root vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes.
Sheet-Pan Baked Feta With Broccolini, Tomatoes and Lemon
When baked, feta gains an almost creamy texture, similar to goat cheese but with feta’s characteristic tang In this easy vegetarian sheet-pan dinner, broccolini (or broccoli), grape tomatoes and lemon slices roast alongside the feta until the broccolini crisp, the tomatoes burst and the lemon rinds soften (Remember, broccolini has a tender, delicious stalk so only the bottom 1/2-inch needs to be trimmed.) Serve this dish over a pile of orzo for a complete meal
Sheet-Pan Dinners
Sausage and peppers, baked salmon, bibimbap and more, we have the best sheet-pan dinner recipes for an easy weeknight meal with an even easier clean-up. Discover more simple dinner ideas in our easy weeknight recipes super collection.
One-Pan Orzo With Spinach and Feta
Similar to spanakorizo, a Greek spinach and rice dish, this easy, meatless meal features orzo, spinach, peas and scallions It is deeply satisfying but still on the lighter side of pasta recipes, thanks to all those vegetables A little feta gives it creaminess and tang, while some lemon zest brightens everything up
Coconut-Miso Salmon Curry
This light, delicate weeknight curry comes together in less than 30 minutes and is defined by its deep miso flavor Miso is typically whisked into soups toward the end of the recipe, but sweating it directly in the pot with ginger, garlic and a little oil early on helps the paste caramelize, intensifying its earthy sweetness Adding coconut milk creates a rich broth that works with a wide range of seafood
Red Curry Lentils With Sweet Potatoes and Spinach
In this vegetarian main inspired by Indian dal, lentils are cooked with an aromatic blend of Thai spices — fresh ginger, turmeric, red curry paste and chile — then simmered in coconut milk until fall-apart tender Browning the sweet potatoes before cooking them with the lentils brings out their sweetness, balancing the heat from the chile and curry paste, while baby spinach tossed in just before serving adds fresh flavor Serve over steamed white or brown rice, or with toasted flatbread on the side.
Classic Shrimp Scampi
Scampi are tiny, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells (also called langoustines) Italian cooks in the United States swapped shrimp for scampi, but kept both names Thus the dish was born, along with inevitable variations
Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake
For those of you who love lasagna's edges, where sticky tomato meets crisp cheese, this whole dish is for you — even the middle A tube of tomato paste here mimics the deep flavors of sun-dried tomato Frying a few generous squeezes caramelizes the tomato's sugars and saturates the olive oil, making a mixture that's ready to glom onto anything you stir through it
Braised White Beans and Greens With Parmesan
Inspired by the Italian dish of sautéed puntarelle (an Italian variety of chicory) and white beans, this recipe makes a satisfying vegetarian main course or a hearty side dish for roast chicken or sausages It opts for canned white beans, for the sake of weeknight convenience, and Swiss chard, which is much milder than puntarelle and easier to find in the U.S Kale or escarole would also work well, if that’s what you’ve got
Best Gazpacho
More of a drink than a soup, served in frosted glasses or chilled tumblers, gazpacho is perfect when it is too hot to eat but you need cold, salt and lunch all at the same time Gazpacho is everywhere in Seville, Spain, where this recipe comes from, but it's not the watered-down salsa or grainy vegetable purée often served in the United States This version has no bread and is a creamy orange-pink rather than a lipstick red
Coconut Curry Chickpeas With Pumpkin and Lime
Canned pumpkin purée and coconut milk, heavily seasoned with curry spices and lots of fresh lime juice, make a sweet-sharp sauce for chickpeas It’s a rich, creamy curry that you can eat on its own, or serve over rice or couscous If you want to incorporate more vegetables, stir in some spinach, baby kale or sliced green beans during the last few minutes of cooking, letting them soften in the sauce.
Sheet-Pan Chicken With Potatoes, Arugula and Garlic Yogurt
Your typical sheet-pan chicken recipe roasts everything together on a pan at once This version pairs potatoes with the poultry, and tops everything off with fresh herbs and arugula, making it a true one-pan meal, salad included A savory yogurt sauce adds a creamy touch, but it’s optional if you’re not a yogurt sauce fan
White Chicken Chili
This easy chili comes together quickly, thanks to rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken and an ingredient list that leans heavily on pantry staples Made with canned chiles and seeded jalapeños, this chili has a mild heat that can be intensified with the addition of ground cayenne, or by leaving the seeds in the jalapeños While some white chili recipes call for cream cheese or sour cream to thicken the broth, this one achieves a similar texture by mashing some of the white beans
Spaghetti Carbonara
This dish is a deli bacon-egg-and-cheese-on-a-roll that has been pasta-fied, fancified, fetishized and turned into an Italian tradition that, like many inviolate Italian traditions, is actually far less old than the Mayflower Because America may have contributed to its creation, carbonara is Exhibit A in the back-and-forth between Italy and the United States when it comes to food Remember: the main goal is creaminess.
Skillet Chicken With Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
This comforting one-pot dinner is reminiscent of a rich French onion soup, but made in less time and with lighter ingredients Cooking the onions in a hot, dry pan forces them to release their moisture, so that they shrink and become silky and sweet in 30 minutes Serve everything directly from the pan, with some crusty bread to soak up all the juices, or shred the chicken and pile it on top of buttered noodles
Crispy Gnocchi With Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Pan-fried gnocchi is like a faster version of baked pasta Store-bought gnocchi can simply be browned in a pan for an exciting mix of crispy outsides and chewy middles, no boiling required This dish is studded with juicy tomatoes and melty pockets of mozzarella
Chicken Breasts With Lemon
In this recipe, which Pierre Franey brought to The Times in 1992 in one of his 60-Minute Gourmet columns, two teaspoons of lemon zest are added to a simple sauce of lemon juice, thyme, garlic and shallots It is, at once, lively and elegant To round it out, it needs a sturdy accompaniment