What should I make for dinner tonight that's EASY? What are some good, healthy dinners? Could I just pay someone to come up with an easy dinner idea for me? We’re food bloggers—we literally cook dinner for a living—and these questions still haunt us sometimes. Standing there, staring into the fridge, wondering what you can whip up tonight that everyone will gladly eat and that won’t take a zillion hours—yeah, we’ve been there! For you (and for ourselves!) we’ve put together this list of the 60 BEST, easy dinner recipes we’ve got. They’re all over the map—some are healthy recipes, some are a little more indulgent, some are vegetarian recipes, some are all about a big slab of protein—but they’re unified by their simplicity. So here you have it! Our absolute best, easy dinners—all in one place
Our Best Easy Healthy Dinner Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Marinara With Polenta. Our simple equation for this easy, satisfying dinner goes something like this: chicken thighs + a jar of marinara sauce = dinner’s done. (COVER PHOTO)
- Broccoli Pesto Pasta. To make broccoli pesto, broccoli florets are whizzed right into the pesto sauce itself, adding an even more vibrant punch of emerald green to the sauce as well as a seriously healthy boost.
- Lemon Chicken. This easy recipe shines with a sunny, lemony zing. Garlic and herbs—plus a glug of white wine—mean that juicy, tender chicken breasts are as delicious as they are healthy.
- Ratatouille Sheet Pan Dinner With Sausage. While ratatouille is delicious served all on its own, we’ve added sausage to the mix to take this healthy sheet pan dinner to new heights.
- Salmon en Papillote. Who knew that such an elegant meal could be so very easy.
- Baked Salmon with Grapefruit Salad. Moist, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth salmon perfection. This is the easy salmon recipe you’ve been waiting for. Oh, and did we mention it cooks in just 15 minutes?
Best, Easy Dinner Recipes For A Family
- Sheet Pan Olive Bar Chicken. Full of rich flavors, almost NO prep, and using only one pan, this dish is destined to become a new favorite.
- Five Spice Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner. Chicken thighs and cabbage get a little dose of flavor from Chinese five spice, and a little oven time on a sheet pan and boom! Dinner’s done.
- Sheet Pan Quesadilla with Jalapeño Ranch. Stuffed with cheese and avocado, this giant, melty, upgraded cheese sheet pan quesadilla is good on its own, but we take it over the top with a side of homemade jalapeño ranch for dipping.
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. What’s easier—and way better—than instant mac and cheese? Rich, creamy, homemade Instant Pot mac and cheese! Why? Because it takes about 5 minutes start-to-finish.
- Crock-Pot Chicken Taco Meat. Wait wait wait—taco night can be even easier? Yep! Meet our 3-ingredient Crock-Pot chicken taco meat recipe!
- Mango Chutney Chicken Sheet Pan. A jar of store-bought mango chutney is the secret to this ultra easy dinner.
- Old Bay Shrimp and Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner. Need we say more? Old Bay makes everything taste good—not that shrimp and sausage need any help.
- Za'atar Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner. We dressed up basic cauliflower and chicken with our latest favorite spice blend, za’atar.
Pork & Sausage Make Everything Taste AMAZING.
- Sausage, Kale and Potato Skillet Dinner. An easy one-pan sausage, kale and potato skillet that pleases everyone, from cook to clean-up crew.
- Hoisin Glazed Pork Chops. Having a few punchy ingredients on-hand is a great way to make a simple dinner out of just a few ingredients. Hoisin sauce is one of our go-to super-ingredients for easy dinners—just slather it on some pork chops, and you’re well on your way to dinnertime bliss.
- Pork Chops with Mushroom Cream Sauce. Speaking of pork chops, this version—with a super creamy mushroom sauce—is ready in just 30 minutes.
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri. Grilling always makes for an easy dinner, right? It’s so fast, and the clean up is minimal. Sliced up this pork tenderloin and serve it with a bowl of chimichurri—you’ll be hearing raves for days.
- Cauliflower Gnocchi with Bruschetta Sauce and Sausage. This hearty, low-carb supper that bursts with bright, bold flavors and comes together in under ten minutes. It just doesn’t get easier or healthier than that!
- Sheet Pan Italian Sausage Heros with Honey Mustard. The brilliant thing about breaking out your sheet pan to make italian sausage sandwiches with peppers is that it makes it so easy to make Italian hoagies for a crowd! Gather the hungry masses and let the feeding begin.
The Best Dinner Recipes of All Time Involve Steak—We Can All Agree on That, Right?
- Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Italian Salsa Verde. Easy? Check. Fast? Yup. Almost-no clean up? Uh, yeah, this recipe is perfect.
- Carne Asada. This easy carne asada recipe is as simple as can be—fire up the grill and you’ll be feasting on juicy carne asada tacos in no time.
- Chimichurri Steak. For some reason, a perfectly grilled steak never fails to impress people. And it's really easy to do. Grab yourself about ten minutes, fire up the grill, and let’s make a great steak!
- Grilled Five Spice Flank Steak. A Chinese five spice-hoisin marinade sinks into scored flank steak like nobody's business, and turns a simply grilled flank steak into a total flavor bomb.
Our Go-To Easy Dinner Idea? Soup!
- 5-Ingredient Chicken Tortilla Soup. As simple and easy as it sounds. No, actually, it’s even easier than that.
- Taco Soup. Like tacos, but soup! Seriously!
- Tikka Masala Soup. Your favorite Indian chicken recipe, soup-ified.
- Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage and Kale. Can we just call this “The Soup”? A creamy tomato base is loaded with cheese tortellini and hearty sausage and basically this soup is just the greatest dinner ever.
- Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup. Just what it sounds like! Comfort in a pot.
- Coconut Curry Ramen. This restaurant-worthy creamy ramen is ready in about 15 minutes and is loaded with healthy veggies—in other words, it’s a weeknight dream.
- White Bean Soup with Bacon. Creamy and deeply savory, it’s hard to believe that this rich and hearty white bean soup with bacon is made from just five simple ingredients.
Oodles of Easy Noodle Recipes
- Three-Ingredient Tomato Sauce. Olive oil, salt, fresh tomatoes, and a little time are all it takes to create the most vibrant, fresh pasta sauce ever. Basic, easy, dinner perfection.
- Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta. dinner doesn’t get easier or more delicious than this creamy roasted red pepper rigatoni pasta. If you’ve got ten minutes and can open a jar, you can make this tonight.
- 4-Ingredient Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese. Easy homemade mac and cheese is just ten minutes (and four ingredients!) away. So what are you waiting for?
- Baked Gnocchi. A skillet full of melty, bubbly, carb-y comfort is just what the dreary, drizzly weeknights ahead need to perk them up.
- Baked Gnocchi with Broccoli. A slightly healthier version, but just as cheesy, and just as easy.
- Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles. Instant ramen noodles make this super simple dinner even faster.
- Brown Butter Sage Cauliflower Gnocchi. TJ’s cauliflower gnocchi have literally never tasted so good.
- Easy Bolognese. Hearty and comforting, this meaty, easy bolognese sauce recipe takes less time to make than it does to disappear into hungry tummies.
- Shrimp Scampi. Buttery, garlicky, shrimp-y, and pasta-y (if you want it to be). Got 15 minutes? Great. Let’s make shrimp scampi!
Chicken Dinner Ideas? Ooooohhhh Have We Ever Got Chicken Dinner Ideas!
- Easy Harissa Chicken. Easy, quick harissa chicken—made with a jar of roasted red peppers, plenty of garlic, and smoked paprika—is a lot more exciting than any chicken recipe has any right to be.
- Cilantro-Lime Chicken Thighs. A quick marinade of lime, garlic, bright cilantro, and a touch of honey transforms boneless, skinless chicken thighs into just the juicy, tender surge of sunshine that you crave.
- Skillet Roasted Chicken with Cabbage. Easy delicious dinners win every time in our book. This one-pan whole roasted chicken falls into that easy category.
- Green Chicken Enchiladas. Our easy green chicken enchilada recipe is weeknight ready and all but guaranteed to please everyone from starving spouses to picky toddlers.
- Perfect Roast Chicken with Lemon Herb Pan Sauce. The original easy dinner—roast chicken. No sweat, no stress and GREAT leftovers. What’s not to love?
- Whole Roast Chicken with Carrots. Same as above but with carrots! Um, yum.
- Greek Chicken Freezer Meal. Freezer meals are *future* easy meals, and this one is a real winner of a chicken dinner.
- Freezer Chicken Fajitas. Fajitas are easy anytime, but especially if you did most of the work a few months ago. Freezer meals FTW!
- Chicken Piccata. We just love recipes like this—not shortcuts required, because the classic recipe happens to be naturally fast and easy.
Stir-Fries: The OG Quick, Easy Dinner
- Easy Orange Chicken. Our easy orange chicken recipe puts a healthy spin on the sweet-savory favorite.
- Kung Pao Chicken. Step away from the takeout menu. Step towards the stove and make this easy chicken instead!
- Thai Basil Beef. A speedy, savory Thai beef basil stir fry that’s just a bit spicy and really hits the spot.
- Crispy Chicken Stir Fry. Cornstarch and high heat mean super-crispy chicken every time. Toss in some green beans, and you’ve got an easy, healthy dinner in about 10 minutes.
- Gingery Ground Beef (Soboro Donburi). Five ingredients, a few minutes and a hot skillet, and you’ll be digging into a delicious soboro donburi.
Easy, Fast Vegetarian Dinner Ideas
- Salsa Verde Baked Eggs. A jar of salsa verde makes this elegant egg dish incredibly speedy. Yeah, it sounds brunchy, but trust us—try it for dinner!
- Braised Chickpeas with Chard. Rich, filling and healthy, this dinner is as fast and delicious as any we could imagine. Easy on the budget, too!
- Portobello Mushroom Fajitas. Just as good as their chicken or steak-filled counterparts, and just as fast, too.
- Huevos Rancheros. Runny, fried eggs over a bed of seasoned beans, atop a layer of warm corn tortillas, add a few condiments and voila—breakfast for dinner takes on a whole new meaning.
- Soft-Scrambled Eggs. Don’t knock it—scrambled eggs make a perfect dinner in our book. Add a little salad if you want to round it out, and dinner will still be ready in about 10 minutes.
If you make ANY of these 60 BEST Easy Dinners, we want to hear about it! Be sure to tag us on instagram using @themodernproper or #themodernproper if you do!
