Quick Dinner Ideas

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This roundup of 30 quick dinner ideas will help you to put a healthy meal on the table even on those nights when you’re very busy.
This is a fantastic meal planning resource! 30 quick dinner recipes that take 30 minutes or less to make. Sounds perfect to me!

Everyone needs a good supply of quick dinner ideas for busy nights. If you’re in a hurry, it can be tempting to grab takeout or depend on processed, packaged meals to feed your family. We’ve all been there. But with a little planning, convenience food can be the exception and quick, healthy, homemade dinners can be the norm.

I’ve gathered 30 quick dinner ideas that you can use in your meal plan for busy evenings. As long as you have the ingredients on hand, you can put each of these dinners together in 30 minutes or less.

For recipes with beans, I recommend making your own beans from dried beans and storing them in the freezer after they’re cooked. By cooking the beans ahead of time with kombu, you add minerals and nullify the gassy effects. Canned beans don’t have either of these benefits, and they cost about four times as much as the homemade version.

The first section of this recipe roundup includes recipes that you can start making when you come home at 5:30 and you’ll be eating by 6:00. The second section covers slow-cooker dishes that can be prepared the night before you eat them or in the morning. When you walk through the door at the end of the day, dinner will be waiting for you.

30 Minutes Meals

One Pot Ground Beef and Cabbage Skillet

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Asian Noodle Bowl

Bacon, Egg, & Chive Puffs

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Build Your Own Taco

Taco Salad

Lentil Farm Share Skillet

Vegetarian Nachos from Food Done Light

Roasted Pepper, Goat Cheese, and Basil Pasta from Eat Good 4 Life

Two Bean Soup with Kale from Cooking Light

Heirloom Tomato and Avocado Sandwich with Creamy Herb Dressing from Naturally Mindful

Chipotle Bean Burritos from Cooking Light

Fall Vegetable Curry from Cooking Light

Cabbage Peanut Stir Fry from My Whole Food Life

Cornbread Waffles with Chili from Plain Chicken (you could use my whole grain cornbread recipe)

Quick Dinner Ideas for the Slow Cooker

Easy Beef Stew

Black Bean Soup

Corn Chowder

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Lentil Stew from the Shiksa in the Kitchen

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken from Miso Ginger

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup from Eat Live Travel Write

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna from Eating Well

Slow Cooker Chickpea and Lentil Stew from Whole Foods Market

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup from All Recipes (use homemade taco seasoning)

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken from Skinny Taste

Curried Chicken with Ginger and Yogurt from Real Simple

Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes from Real Simple

Barley Vegetable Soup from Better Homes and Gardens

Pulled Pork in a Crock Pot from 100 Days of Real Food

What are your go-to quick dinner ideas that you use when you’re pressed for time? Please share them in the comments.

5 Comments

  1. Thanks for including my vegetarian nachos. We love, love, love nacho night. Can’t wait to try some of your other fabulous quick ideas.

    1. Thanks, Christie. We actually had vegetarian nachos for dinner the night I wrote this post (inspired by your recipe). Great idea! We loved them.

  2. Thanks for the great dinner round up! We often struggle with fast and healthy meals, so it’s nice to have this as a reference.
    -Dana

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