The best easy weeknight dinners for quick family meals.. Getting a healthy, home-cooked dinner on the table can feel downright impossible on hectic weeknights. The hours between end-of-workday hunger and bedtime meltdowns fly by, leaving anyone tasked with meal planning staring blankly into the pantry wondering, “What should I make for dinner tonight?”
Have no fear; this article is here to help! When you’re desperate for easy, fast recipe ideas that both kids and adults will enjoy, refer to this roundup of over 35 easy weeknight dinners.
These time-saving dishes, spanning flavorful pastas, rice bowls, hearty soups, and family-favorite chicken, seafood, and veggie mains, take under 30 minutes to start to finish. No more dialing for takeout or resigning yourself to boring leftovers on crazy weeknights.
You’ll find plenty of inspiration for fast meals the whole crew will ask for again and again. Easy one-pot pastas, sheet pan chicken dinners, vegetarian stuffed peppers, ooey-gooey mac and cheese, crisp tacos, and more—all made with everyday ingredients you likely have on hand.
These recipes check all the boxes:
✅ Kid-friendly flavors that picky eaters will devour
✅ Healthy ingredients provide balanced nutrition
✅ Fast 30-minute (or less!) prep won’t make you late for soccer practice
✅ Easy cleanup leaves more time for family fun
✅ Affordable components keep grocery budgets in check
✅ Flavors exciting enough for adults but mild enough for kids
With a roster of crowd-pleasing easy dinner recipes at your fingertips, you’ll sail through chaotic weeks feeling like a meal-planning pro. No more angsting over what to make for dinner!
So breathe a sigh of relief and read on for the 35+ fast, family-friendly weeknight dinner ideas that will forever eliminate the “what’s for dinner” question and get tasty meals on the table in a jiffy. Let’s do this!
Best Easy Weeknight Dinners
Pasta makes the ultimate fast, filling, and affordable weeknight dinner. Boil while preparing a simple sauce, add vegetables or protein, and dinner is served! Here are 50 delicious easy pasta dinner ideas perfect for rushed weeknights:
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio: Sauté garlic in olive oil with red pepper flakes, then toss with whole-grain spaghetti. Top with Parmesan for an easy 4-ingredient dish.
- Easy Baked Ziti: Mix ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan with your favorite jarred tomato or meat sauce for a crowd-pleasing baked pasta.
- Fettuccine Alfredo: For a lighter version, blend evaporated milk, Parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, and nutmeg instead of heavy cream.
- Vegan Mac and Cheese: Blended chickpeas, nutritional yeast, and cashew cream create a protein-packed, dairy-free mac worthy of big bowls.
- Pesto Pasta: Blend basil, garlic, Parmesan, pine nuts, and olive oil in a food processor, then mix with hot pasta for a fast, vibrantly green pasta.
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta: While pasta boils, roast sheet pan vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant for an easy veggie sauce.
- Pasta Primavera: Quickly sauté mixed vegetables like zucchini, squash, carrots, broccoli, and bell peppers, then combine with pasta and basil pesto or marinara sauce.
- Cajun Pasta: Sauté Trinity aromatics like bell pepper, onion, and celery with Cajun seasoning, then toss with pasta. Top it with blackened chicken or shrimp.
- Tuna Pasta Salad: Flake canned tuna into leftover pasta with mayonnaise, lemon juice, fresh dill, celery, onion, and sweet pickles for an easy, room-temperature pasta salad.
- Greek Pasta Salad: Toss cooked pasta with diced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, red onion, fresh herbs, lemon juice, and olive oil for a Mediterranean pasta salad.
- Caprese Pasta: Slow roast cherry tomatoes to concentrate flavors, then mix with hot pasta, fresh mozzarella pearls, torn basil, balsamic glaze, and olive oil for the ultimate summer pasta.
Tasty Rice and Noodle Bowls
One-bowl meals easily come together for a fast, filling dinner everyone enjoys. Simmer an easy sauce while the grains prepare, then serve over a base of carbs. Recommended recipes include:
- Thai Peanut Chicken Bowls: shredded chicken, brown rice noodles, edamame, carrots, cucumbers, and crunchy peanuts in a quick Thai peanut sauce.
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowls: Broccoli, bell peppers, shredded carrots, and chicken simmered in a sweet and salty homemade teriyaki sauce, then served over jasmine rice.
- Taco Bowls: Seasoned ground beef or turkey taco meat served over cilantro lime rice with beans, corn, cheese, avocado, salsa, and crunchy tortilla chips.
- Chicken Parmesan Orzo: breaded chicken cutlets baked atop a chunky tomato orzo pasta salad with mixed olives, artichokes, and spinach.
- Buffalo Chicken Bowls: Your favorite hot wing sauce coats bites of chicken, carrots, celery, and blue cheese crumbles served over rice or pasta.
- Beef Stir Fry Bowls: seared steak strips or ground beef stir-fried with seasonal vegetables, then served atop white or brown rice.
- Broccoli Beef Bowls: Broccoli florets and sliced flank steak are wok-fried in a brown garlic sauce ladled over rice. A takeout fakeout.
Soothing Soups for Stress-Free Suppers
When you need dinner ASAP, soup makes the perfect no-fuss weeknight meal. Simmer canned beans or prepped veggies into one of these effortless soups:
- Minestrone: This Italian vegetable soup is infinitely customizable. Load up on greens, beans, pasta, and ground meat for an easy, hearty one-pot.
- Tortilla Soup: diced tomatoes, corn, zucchini, beans, and cumin simmer, then finish with minced avocado, crispy tortilla strips, and a squeeze of lime.
- Potato Leek Soup: Sauté chopped leeks, then simmer with broth, potatoes, and herbs before blending for a velvety, comforting soup.
- Italian Wedding Soup: Quickly sauté ground meatballs, then simmer tiny pasta, spinach, and diced carrots in a herby vegetable broth.
- Lentil Soup: Protein-packed lentils, mixed vegetables, and Mediterranean spices make a budget-friendly, vegetarian soup.
- Ramen Noodle Soup: Transform packaged ramen into a healthier, more substantial soup by adding sautéed vegetables, shredded chicken, soft-boiled eggs, and fresh herbs.
Family Favorite Chicken Dishes
Chicken dinners easily become weekday regulars. These fast and delicious chicken recipes will have the whole family asking for repeats:
- Chicken Fajitas: a classic combo of sautéed bell peppers, onions, and seasoned chicken served with warmed tortillas and favorite fajita add-ons.
- Chicken Parmesan: breaded chicken breast baked atop pasta with tomato sauce, then finished with melted mozzarella. An Italian favorite, simplified.
- Chicken Pot Pie: a comforting mix of chicken, vegetables, and sauce topped with puff pastry or homemade biscuit dough, then baked.
- Greek Chicken Bowls: Lemon chicken, vegetable rice pilaf, tomato cucumber salad, and tangy tzatziki sauce round out these Mediterranean-style chicken bowls.
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos: Fried, grilled, or baked chicken tossed in hot sauce gets wrapped in soft tortillas with shredded lettuce, blue cheese dressing, and crunchy celery for fun game-day tacos.
- Chicken Banh Mi Sandwiches: Quick pickled carrots and cucumbers paired with Sriracha mayo, cilantro, and chicken stuffed into crusty Vietnamese baguettes for an Asian sandwich twist.
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches: Sliced ham, Swiss cheese, and Dijon snuggle breaded chicken cutlets between buttery brioche buns for an updated classic.
Easy Beef Dishes
Hearty beef mains easily become a regular rotation when recipes are this fast and delicious.
- Steak Fajitas: a classic mix of sliced marinated skirt or flank steak, sautéed bell peppers, and onions, served with warm tortillas and fajita fixings.
- Beef Taco Salad: Seasoned ground beef or shredded steak tops a base of shredded lettuce, beans, corn, cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips, then drizzled with Southwest dressing.
- French Dip Sandwiches: thinly sliced roast beef stacked on crusty hoagie rolls, then served alongside hot au jus for dipping.
- Reuben Sandwiches: Warm, layered sandwiches of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing grill up fast on marbled rye.
Meatless Mains for Meatless Meals
With these hearty meat-free meals, it’s easy to go vegetarian on busy weeknights:
- Portobello Mushroom Fajitas: Meaty portobello caps marinated, then griddled with peppers and onions for easy vegetarian fajitas.
- Lentil Tacos: spiced lentils, sautéed peppers, and onions stuffed into tiny street taco tortillas, then topped with avocado, Cotija cheese, and lime crema.
- Falafel Bowls: Crisp pan-fried chickpea fritters served atop rice with fresh vegetables, herbs, tzatziki, and hummus.
- Greek Stuffed Peppers: Spinach, feta, rice, tomatoes, olives, herbs, and lemon stuff vibrant red bell peppers for a vegetarian Greek meal.
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Another creamy, cheesy vegetable soup kids devour with flaky bread for dipping. Add cooked pasta or potatoes, if desired.
Now, It’s Your Turn
With over 100 quick and easy dinner ideas spanning flavorful pastas, rice and noodle bowls, hearty soups, family-favorite chicken, beef and veggie mains, and more, you’ll sail through hectic weeks with no “what’s for dinner” angst. This massive list equips you with fast recipes using common ingredients you likely have on hand.
Next time weeknights have you in desperation mode, come back for healthy, fast recipe ideas the entire family will love. Before you know it, you’ll have a full repertoire of easy favorites in your regular dinner rotation!
