When You Have: Popcorn
Popcorn and Cornflake-Crusted Chicken
When one way isnt enough, have fun with this recipe that plays to a spicier or more mellow taste depending on your craving. It also uses up another common pantry item: cornflake cereal. Thats right, transforming your favorite snack with your favorite breakfast can turn into a one-pan meal with minimal cleanup required if you manage not to spill the cereal all over the floor like I did.
Tequila Caramel Corn
Get boozy with it. Heres a great way to upgrade your popcorn with a little leftover Jose Cuervo. Now theres a new way to go for something sweet, salty and sophisticated at snack time. But, theres more. You can also turn this snack into a meal by crushing the corn and crusting a less flavorful white fish before baking.
Healthy Chicken Dinner Recipes:
Check out these Healthy Chicken Breast Recipes for 50+ healthy chicken dinner ideas! We love cooking with chicken during the week! Its one of our favorite proteins. These healthy chicken dinner ideas are all easy to make and taste amazing! We get all of our chicken from ButcherBox. Its so tender and has a minimal amount of fat on it!
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe is the perfect light dinner. Learn how to make chicken pot pie in under an hour for a delicious meal!
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken gets grilled to perfection for a healthy, easy dinner! Perfectly sweet and tangy!
Lemon Chicken Soup is a delicious dinner idea. An easy dinner that can be made in the instant pot, crockpot or on the stove. Lemony and healthy!
Healthy Orange Chicken is the most popular recipe on our site. Have you tried it?
Baked Chicken Tenders are a favorite in our house. You cant go wrong with pairing them with our Healthy Baked French Fries!
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup is SO cozy and delicious.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas take only 10 minutes of prep and 8 ingredients for a protein and veggie packed dinner that your family will love!
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice is the perfect quick, one pot dinner. Its done in under 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Baked Boneless Chicken Breasts that are so juicy and delicious and the perfect protein for dinner or meal prep!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are the best meal or snack! They are perfect for an appetizer or meal prep. Healthy & delicious!
Slow Cooker French Dip Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
This recipe goes a looong way and is sooo good. While you can make the meat ahead of time, the sandwiches will need to be eaten soon after they are assembled. Keep that in mind as you plan! If you want to use it as a lunch for groups, just make the meat the day before and rewarm it before assembling the sandwiches the next day.
Read Also: Healthy Berry Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss
Have All The Ingredients On The Counter Ready To Go
I still remember that time I cooked the driest muffins on earth. I was supposed to add oil halfway through, but I simply forgot to add it because I didnt have it in front of me.
Since that time, I have learned to set out all the ingredients I need in front of me on the kitchen counter before I start cooking.
Having everything ready staring at you will not only speed up your cooking, but it will help you to avoid forgetting a vital ingredient.
Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe
Cacio e Pepe is a beloved Roman dish made with things you can easily find in your pantry, but there are as many ways to make it as there are cooks in Italy. In this version, olive oil adds a little grassiness and Parmigiano-Reggiano, in addition to the classic Pecorino-Romano, is used to round out the flavors and add an umami richness. If you don’t have Parmigiano in the house, simply make the dish with all Pecorino and lower the salt in your pasta water by a tablespoon.
Get the Recipe: Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe
Recommended Reading: Healthy Food Recipes Meal Prep
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
This perfect summer pasta salad features canned corn and black beans, plus whatever fresh veggies you have on hand. Toss in scallion or red onion, jalapeño for some spice, creamy avocado, and add either Cotija cheese or grated Parmesan. If you don’t have the ingredients for the dressing, just use some combination of vinegar, mayo, and lime juice. Get the recipe for Mexican street corn pasta salad here.
What To Cook For Dinner When You Have No Ideas
There are plenty of healthy dinners you can make in less than 30 minutes!
From sheet pan dinners to instant pot recipes, from filling pasta to fun and satisfying tacos
There are plenty of quick recipes you can put together in no time. So theres no reason to cook the usual boring recipes all the time!
These 50+ quick and easy dinner recipes will help you survive in the kitchen!
Whether you are preparing easy dinner recipes for two or you are after easy dinner ideas for the whole family, here you will find the perfect dinner recipes for everyone.
Don’t Miss: Tater Tot Recipes With Ground Beef
Tools For Getting Healthy Dinners On The Table Quickly:
These are my favorite kitchen tools. We use them almost every day!
- A crockpot is great because you can set it + forget it. We have tons of healthy crockpot recipes on our site.
- Instant Pot I dont love my instant pot as much as my crockpot, but it is great for making soups, or cooking grains like rice or farro
- Food processor You can get a food processor for under $15 on Amazon. It makes chopping veggies SO QUICK. Heres the one I have I swear I couldnt live without it!
- Mixer We love our mixer for making meatball batter, or for shredding chicken. Its one of our favorite kitchen tools
- Knife Having a good, sharp knife can make all the difference in the kitchen. If youre cutting with dull knives, its going to take longer to cut all those veggies! This is the knife I use every day. Its easy to control and works beautifully! You can read all the 5 star reviews here.
Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Teriyaki With Rice And Broccoli
You really can cook a whole frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot® without thawing it first! This is a one-pot meal that comes together with little preparation. Be sure to rinse the rice until the water runs clear to ensure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot while it cooks.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Broccoli
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Baked Potato Soup With Bacon & Cheddar
If fresh scallions aren’t going to happen, try roasting a head of garlic while you bake the potatoes, then mash up the cloves and add them to into the soup. Losing the sour cream here isn’t a dealbreaker you can swap in Greek yogurt if you’ve got it.
Get the recipe at The Kitchn.
Smoked Salmon & Philadephia Sandwich
“Definitely not a boring, same old sandwich. This was awesome! I made this on toasted bread, but next time I’m making this on an everything bagel. The apple slices in this really made it special. I think cucumber slices would work well, too. This works for breakfast, lunch, snack or whenever.
-Parsley
Recommended Reading: No Salt Recipes For Heart Patients
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Soup
The best part about this soup recipe is you can use literally anything in your kitchen. Start with vegetable or chicken broth, add some grains or pasta, throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand, and finish things off with your protein of choice like bacon, ham, turkey, or chicken. Get the recipe.
Better Than Takeout Dinner Ideas
- Healthy Lemon Chicken. Better than takeout, healthy lemon chicken is a delicious, sticky chicken stir fry coated in a flavourful, sweet and tangy sauce. The best weeknight dinner.
- 15-Minute Lo Mein. Say goodbye to takeout and make easy 15-minute lo mein at home using fresh and healthy ingredients.
- Vegetarian Chow Mein. Better than takeout, quick easy stir-fried vegetarian chow mein is packed with vegetables and coated in a delicious savoury sauce. Make it in 15 minutes.
- Teriyaki Chicken. Teriyaki chicken is a quick easy chicken stir fry that is delicious, flavorful, healthy, and better and faster than takeout. Perfect for busy weeknights. One of my favorite stir-fries that can also be made in the instant pot!
- Kung Pao Chicken. Kung Pao chicken is a Chinese chicken dish that is stir-fried with crisp vegetables and tossed in a delicious Asian sauce packed with flavour.
- Vegetarian Fried Rice. Make flavourful, Chinese restaurant-style vegetarian fried rice at home in 10 minutes, with fully customizable ingredients, and say good-bye to take-out!
- General Tso’s Chicken. Baked General Tso’s Chicken is a saucy, savoury, sweet, spicy Chinese-American takeout favourite made healthier with baked chicken, not fried.
Also Check: Campbell’s Creamy Chicken Enchilada Recipe
When You Have: Oatmeal
Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Meatballs in Sweet Basil Marinara
The names a mouthful, we know, but the recipe couldnt be simpler. All you have to do is mash the ingredients with your hands and toss the balls into a pot of marinara. They cook fully right in the sauce for a sweet basil-infused flavor that requires just one pot. And substituting chicken for pork and oatmeal for breadcrumbs is an easy and tasty way to make the dish lighter and healthier than regular old Italian pork meatballs.
#SpoonTip: You can also try cooking the chicken balls in buffalo sauce for a zingy twist on buffalo chicken wings.
Black Bean Burgers
Heres another recipe that you can substitute in oatmeal for breadcrumbs. Simply throw a comparable amount of oats into a blender and mix as usual. Its that easy. And this recipe boasts bold flavor spicing that will make a burger even meat lovers can enjoy.
Linguine With Spicy Red Clam Sauce
Pantry Ingredients: olive oil, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, herbs.
This recipe is quick, easy, and filling with a side salad and garlic breaddefinitely a keeper. If you like spicy, try adding a little extra cayenne, but use a light hand it’s powerful stuff.
Also Check: Four Roses Old Fashioned Recipe
House Full Of Guests Don’t Sweat It From French Toast Casserole To Sloppy Joe’s Here Are 13 Ideas For Breakfast And Dinner To Keep Your Crew Fed And Happy
The holidays are approaching and youre the host this year. Eek! While you have the holiday menu planned to every last detail, maybe you arent quite sure what to feed everyone before and after Christmas?
When it comes to feeding a house full of guests, my motto is Keep It Simple. Ill pull out all the stops for Christmas Day, but Im Team Simple Dinner for everything else!
When we think of having meals for guests, our minds typically start thinking of dinner, but when people are staying with you 24/7, you also need to think of breakfast and snacks. Ive covered all these meals in this round-up plenty of recipes that your guests will surely love!
Healthy Pork Dinner Recipes
Pork is another super lean, high protein meat. Pork tenderloins cook relatively quickly, making them perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner!
Citrus Grilled Pork Tenderloin is great for summer months on the grill. You can also bake it.
Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork is always a crowd pleaser. Who doesnt love pulled pork!? This version is lower in fat and whole30 friendly if you use a compliant BBQ sauce.
Crockpot Baby Back Ribs are SO easy to make! Delicious and fall off the bone tender!
Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Shoulder is easy and delicious! Only 5 minutes of prep and 10 ingredients.
Apple Pork Tenderloin Sheet Pan Dinner is the perfect combo of sweet and savory. The apples pair so well with the pork tenderloin! Sheet pan dinners also mean less clean up!
Also Check: Gallbladder Diet Recipes Before Surgery
When You Have: Tortilla Chips
Brunch Chilaquiles
Happiness is tossing several ingredients into one pot and making a delicious meal with minimal effort. Thats this dish. Salsa provides the base for leftover tortilla chips and a slew of fresh ingredients like cilantro, avocado and lime. You can also make it using leftover tacos or burrito filling for a hearty breakfast-for-dinner dish.
Crunchy Beer-Battered Avocado Fries With Salsa
Whats better than raw avocado? Try cooked avocado, crusted with crushed tortilla chips and battered in beer. Yes, I said beer. This recipe is a unique combination of flavors that plays on all of your favorite snacks to make one cohesive meal or side dish. Just try to share the love with your roommates. Sharing is caring, people.
What Is A Healthy Dinner Recipe
In our opinion, a healthy dinner recipe is:
- a balanced meal of protein, vegetables + fats.
- made of real food (minimally processed/packaged foods
Your definition might be a little bit different from ours but we think this is a great base, and its how we cook our meals. Many of these recipes are also paleo, whole30, gluten and dairy free in case you follow those diets!
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+ Quick And Easy Dinner Recipes
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Dont know what to make for dinner tonight? Dont worry! I know what you are looking for! Delicious, quick and easy dinner recipes that are tasty but super-fast and simple to make.
Yes, I blog about food, but both you and I have busy lives.
This means that, as much as we love eating healthy meals, we cant spend an hour cooking dinner every night.
This is why I put together this list of quick dinner ideas that will help you to get dinner ready in no time.
These easy dinner ideas are full of whole foods, grains, veggies, and proteins. Perfect for getting the right balance of all the essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.
Plus, they use simple ingredients that are easy to find. I dont know about you, but when I am busy, I much rather make a simple dinner with a handful of ingredients.
Savory Pesto Mushroom Oatmeal
Savory oatmeal is appreciated as much as sweet oatmeal but, its often just as good, if not better.
This pesto mushroom oatmeal combines a classic oatmeal with a creamy pesto sauce that will have you wanting more.
This dish is made from rolled oats, onion, garlic, and mixed herbs but feel free to use whatever spices you have on hand for the best flavor.
Read Also: Gluten Free Wheat Free Dairy Free Recipes
Sweet Potato And Black Bean Burrito Bowls
Got rice and black beans sitting in your pantry? Turn them into a hearty burrito bowl featuring your favorite Tex-Mex vegetables and your favorite protein. Don’t worry about making a fancy dressing from scratch a store bought version or even a generous squeeze or lime will do the trick. Get the recipe.
Best Quick And Easy Dinner Ideas
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp. Creamy garlic shrimp is a delicious, quick and easy 15-minute meal that you need to include in your weeknight dinner meal plan.
- Pesto Penne Pasta. Quick and easy pesto penne pasta with fresh tomatoes is a simple and light Italian pasta dish made with just five ingredients in under 15 minutes. The easiest dinner using pasta from your pantry.
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata. Quick and easy, creamy lemon chicken piccata is a simple and delicious 30-minute meal made with tender chicken breast in a light lemon sauce with capers.
- Homemade Hamburger Helper. Homemade hamburger helper is a family favorite but you can make a cheaper, healthier, and way tastier version at home, ready in just 30 minutes.
- Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon. Sticky and sweet, easy honey garlic glazed salmon is one of the best salmon recipes to add to your weeknight dinner rotation. Ready in under 25 minutes.
- One Pan Garlic Roasted Chicken and Baby Potatoes. One pan garlic roasted chicken and baby potatoes is an easy to make, delicious, and wholesome meal for the entire family. Prep this sheet pan in 10 minutes.
- Glazed Honey Balsamic Pork Chops. Quick and easy, glazed honey balsamic pork chops are tender and juicy, seared in thyme and coated with a honey balsamic sauce. Make it in under 30 minutes.
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken. Creamy Tuscan chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach is a quick and easy 30 minute Italian chicken dinner that is delicious, flavorful, and comforting.
Don’t Miss: High Protein Low Carb Soup Recipes
When You Have: Nuts
Healthy Pesto Garlic Pasta
Make it with walnuts and less cheese for this healthier version of classic pesto. Dont worry, the flavor holds its garlic-y punch just the same as regular pine nut pesto. You can also serve this pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes when you have them on hand or add in protein like chicken to the mix for a heartier meal.
Spinach, Feta and Almond Orzo
Orzo may look like rice, but it is actually a type of pasta. You can still substitute rice in this dish in place of orzo or mix the two. Put down the boxed rice and noodle sides to make this simple, customizable meal featuring a hidden crunch of mixed nuts. You can also toast your favorite nuts in the oven with a little olive oil on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet at 350°F for about 5-10 minutes.