Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes

When cooking weeknight dinners, there are three things I consider: A weeknight is not the time for finicky ingredients that aren’t readily available in my pantry, fridge or freezer and I’m definitely not standing around prepping for more than 10 minutes. I don’t always mind if a dish takes a little longer to cook if the prep is fast and the oven or the air fryer does all the work for me.

Easy Chicken Dinners

Chicken (and particularly chicken breasts) is my go-to protein when I need dinner on the table fast. Having a pantry stocked with seasonings and spices is crucial to making the most of chicken and I often turn to the air fryer to make sure the chicken is perfectly juicy and tender once cooked.

Easy Pasta Dinners

Easy pasta dinners means the sauce cooks while the pasta water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks. That is my only rule. I don’t want sauces that require long simmering or lots of chopping on weeknights. Quick, easy and delicious is the name of the game. And who can resist a pasta dinner with a side of garlic bread?

Easy and Healthy Weeknight Dinners

These recipes are easy AND healthy. What more could you want? They are packed with vegetables and/or high in protein and most are gluten-free and dairy-free or can very easily be modified to suit your dietary needs.

Low-Carb Weeknight Dinners

These recipes are all suitable for a low-carb or keto diet. Packed with protein and flavor, you’re going to love these easy recipes.

Quick Weeknight Dinner Recipes

These recipes all take less than 20 minutes from prep to plate. As most of them are proteins, I usually just throw together a quick green salad to serve alongside if we’re really low on time.

Sheet Pan Dinners

We love sheet pan dinners because the prep time is minimal and the oven does all of the work. It’s a great way to cook chicken thighs in particular as they are hard to over-cook and take a little longer cooking time in the oven.