10 Easy Dinners You Can Make From Scratch
Cooking during the week is not easy. It requires a bit of preparation and organization to be successful. Most of us would fail to get a scratch made dinner on the table without the ingredients in hand and a recipe in mind. The last thing you want to do after a long day is think about what you should cook and discover that you don’t have the ingredients you need to make it. I’m sharing 10 great recipes that won’t take you hours to get on the table.
The REcipe List
- Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce + Rice
This traditional appetizer becomes a meal when served with rice and garnished with sauce and herbs. It’s high-protein and very satisfying full of Thai flavor.
Get the full recipe here: Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
How To Make It Extra Easy:
- Buy chicken tenderloins to eliminate prepping (slicing) chicken breasts
- Use a rice cooker or Instant Pot for cooking the rice
2. The Best Pancake: Banana Oat Pancakes
Don’t underutilize breakfast for dinner. When you need something easy and you want it to be simple on your stomach or even comforting, breakfast is a great tool. These pancakes are gluten free and they’re delicious. They taste like a banana muffin in pancake form.
Get the full recipe here: The Best Pancake: Banana Oat Pancakes (Gluten Free)
3. Korean BBQ Chicken & Rice Bowl
Rice bowls are a great way to get a satisfying, easy meal on the table quick. And the leftovers are great for lunch the next day. This rice bowl is unctuous with the Gochujang, comforting with scrambled eggs, and crunchy with roasted vegetables. Use the rice bowl as a generic framework to iterate off of with what you already have.
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Use a rice cooker or Instant Pot for cooking the rice
Get the full recipe here: Korean BBQ Chicken & Rice Bowl
4. Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken & French Vinaigrette
This spring salad is healthy and brings together the classic combination of spinach, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and French dressing with the welcomed additions of grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. The flavors are all part of a great symphony delivering a satisfying entree salad.
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Buy hard-boiled eggs
- Buy pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits
- Buy French dressing
Get the full recipe here: Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken & French Vinaigrette
5. Takeout Style Chicken Teriyaki
Chicken teriyaki is what everyone wants in the middle of the week. Like the rice bowl, it covers protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables leaving you feeling satisfied and yet healthy-ish. This teriyaki recipe has no added sugar and has a depth and complexity that will make it your go-to.
Get the full recipe here: The Best Chicken Teriyaki Recipe – Easy, Saucy, and Takeout-style
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Make the sauce in advance. It’ll keep for weeks in the fridge and allow you to marinade the chicken without any extra effort.
- Buy pre-chopped garlic and ginger
- Use a rice cooker or Instant Pot for cooking the rice
6. Roasted Chicken with Charred Scallion Vinaigrette
This pan-roasted, whole chicken recipe will make you feel like a pro in your kitchen without much technique required or fuss. The roasted red onions, roasted lemons, and vinaigrette pack a major flavor punch. Serve with rice or roasted potatoes.
Get the full recipe here: The Pan-Roasted Chicken Recipe I Make On Repeat
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Break down a whole chicken in advance
- Make the marinade in advance
7. Breakfast Skillet
Again, breakfast should be on your radar for easy weeknight dinners. This skillet is a copycat of one we love from our local breakfast diner. Scrambled eggs, sauteed onions and peppers, crumbled sausage and cheese all on a bed of crispy hashbrowns.
Get the full recipe here: Our Favorite Diner-Style Breakfast Skillet
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Use packaged shredded hashbrowns
- Use shredded cheese
- Make the sausage in advance
- Make the sauteed vegetables in advance
8. Meatballs & Roasted Vegetables
I lean on sheet pan meatballs with roasted vegetables at least monthly in my weeknight meals. They’re satisfying, easy to make quickly and deliver on lots of good protein.
Get the full recipe here: How To Make the Best Meatballs At Home (Technique, Flavor + Versatility)
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Omit the food processor, including the carrot, celery and raisins. For the onions and garlic, dice by hand.
- Keeping the ingredients simple will make the prep easier and still deliver a great tasting meatball.
9. Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Burger + Fries
Burgers should be on your quick list for easy weeknight meals. Iterate on the cheese, toppings, and bun style’s you like. They’re easy and so satisfying. This is a classic combination of roasted red pepper and goat cheese.
Get the full recipe(s) here: Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Burger Recipe + Oven-Roasted Fries
How To Make It Extra Easy
- Buy frozen burger patties
- Buy frozen French fries
10. Pad Thai with Chicken
Think of things you crave after a long day of work. Across your home, I’d bet that burgers, chicken teriyaki, pad Thai and breakfasts will consistently be hits on your table. This pad Thai recipe tastes authentic and is easy to pull together.
Get the full recipe here: Skip Takeout – This Pad Thai is Faster, Better + Healthier
More Easy Dinner IDeas
What Cooking From Scratch Actually Means (And Where To Start)
How To Stock A Whole-Ingredient Pantry (Beginner Friendly Guide)
FAQs
- What’s the easiest dinner to cook after work?
The easiest dinners that we actually want to eat during the week include burgers + fries, meatballs + roasted vegetables, and breakfast for dinner.
- What are good meals when you’re too tired to cook?
Breakfast is easy and so are burgers and fries. Plan on at least one of these in your weekly menu. It’ll give you an easy button on a busy night while still achieving a homemade meal.
- How do I cook dinner faster on weeknights?
Leverage the “How To Make It Extra Easy” ideas above. No shade on buying prepped or prepared ingredients if every moment counts for you in the evening.
- What’s the best tool to set myself up for cooking during the week?
Hands down, meal planning paired with grocery shopping. Come up with realistic meals you want to cook for the week ahead and create a grocery list with all of those ingredients on it. Go shopping and come Monday, rest assured you have a plan and what you need to execute that plan!
- What should I keep in my pantry for quick dinners?
Check out his post on “How To Stock a Whole-Ingredient Pantry.”
You Can Do This!
With a few simple ingredients and reliable recipes, weeknight dinners don’t have to be stressful. Start with one of these easy meals and build a routine that makes cooking at home easier during the week.