This year, we’re saying peace out to boring weeknight dinners. With pastas, seafood dishes, vegetarian options, chicken dinners, and more, these recipes will guarantee you never have to suffer through a basic meal ever again. Best part? While we all want to have that picturesque dinner, nobody wants to work for hours at it after a long hectic day. These 75 easy weeknight dinners will have you sitting down to eat in no time flat.
Did you know you can shop for all the ingredients for these recipes with the click of a button? Look for the Shop With Instacart button and simply click, shop, and wait for your delivery to arrive. Dinner truly made easier.
If you’re more of a takeout or delivery person, no worries! Check out some of our best cooking tips, but really all you need to know is that a little salt (usually more than you think!) and a sharp kitchen knife (keep your wrist steady for even cuts!) go a long way. Get all your ingredients prepped before you begin (think meal delivery-style, but on your own), and everything will come together that much faster.
The whole “I’ll cook if you clean” thing doesn’t really work when everyone’s exhausted, so make it easy on yourselves—as you’re browsing this list, take note of all the one-pot recipes. They start and end cooking in one dish (sometimes all on the stovetop!), meaning less for you to juggle in the kitchen and less cleanup. And if you want to leave your plates and silverware soaking in that pot overnight, no judgment here.
Don’t stress out over dinner, you’ve got this. For more perfect meal inspo, check out our best bite-size appetizers, our top side dishes, and our favorite easy desserts too.
Orange Chicken
If you just can't get enough of the classic Panda Express dish, this copycat recipe will be a game-changer. Ready in under an hour with all of the same sweet and savory flavors you love, staying in for weeknight dinner has never been easier.
Get the Orange Chicken recipe.
Classic Stuffed Peppers
The bell pepper is an excellent vessel for stuffing meat, rice, and, of course, cheese. It's strong enough to hold its shape in the oven, and the flavor is subtle enough to go well with just about anything. This is our favorite recipe, but the customization options are endless.
Get the Classic Stuffed Peppers recipe.
One-Pan Creamy Chicken & Gnocchi
When everything cooks together, everyone wins. The chicken here finishes cooking in the sauce, making it the easiest comfort food meal ever. It's what weeknight dinner dreams are made of!
Chicken Nugget Parm Casserole
Craving chicken Parm but not in the mood for all the time it requires to prepare this labor of love dish? Opt for our chicken nugget Parmesan casserole instead. This comforting dish has all the cheesy flavor you know and crave, but with simple shortcuts to cut down on all that hands-on cooking time (and effort).
Get the Chicken Nugget Parm Casserole recipe.
Everything Bagel Crusted Salmon
It’s time to bring the brunch vibes to dinnertime with everything bagel seasoning crusted salmon and a refreshing salad that’s reminiscent of the toppings on your favorite loaded bagel & lox. If you’ve never turned cream cheese into a salad dressing, you're in for a treat.
One-Pan Lemon Chicken & Orzo
Having easy, one-pan dinners in your back pocket is the key to looking like a hero come mealtime, especially on busy days. This dish is the perfect example: Chicken, orzo, spinach, and feta come together into a complete meal that’s quick enough for a weeknight, but beautiful enough to serve to friends at a dinner party.
Get the One-Pan Lemon Chicken & Orzo recipe.
Baked Feta Pasta
Obviously roasting a block of feta with bursting tomatoes is going to be amazing. But is it good enough to break TikTok like this one did? Our answer, begrudgingly, is yes. It's genius—super-easy, but fancy enough for date night. 😍
Get the Baked Feta Pasta recipe.
Perfect Fish Tacos
The fish—we use cod, but any flaky variety, like tilapia, works—marinates in a mixture of lime juice, chili powder, and cumin that will become your standard. But the real gem of this recipe is the cabbage slaw—it takes just a few minutes to toss together and its brightness is the perfect condiment to the spiced cod.
Get the Perfect Fish Tacos recipe.
One-Pan Salsa Verde Shrimp & Rice
Use your favorite jarred salsa verde to make this extremely easy and flavorful shrimp dish that's sure to impress. Want to take it over the top? Use homemade salsa verde instead!
Tricolore Skillet Lasagna
We love a classic lasagna, but it can be a lot of work. This easy skillet version has everything we love about the original—including the frilly-edged long noodles—but without the confusing layering steps. Instead, you'll toss the cooked noodles in an oniony marinara sauce, dollop with pesto, and top with ample slices of fresh mozzarella and a shower of grated Parmesan.
Get the Tricolore Skillet Lasagna recipe.
One-Pot Chicken Alfredo
Oh, chicken Alfredo: It's the classic pasta we just can't seem to get enough of. Of course, there are tons of jarred pasta sauces you can buy, but making Alfredo sauce from scratch is actually so easy.
Get the One-Pot Chicken Alfredo recipe.
Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps
In our attempt to copy the fan favorite from P.F. Chang's, we flavored ground chicken with hoisin sauce (a fermented bean paste that gives the chicken the quintessential Chinese-American flavor), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, and sesame oil. Water chestnuts add a nice crunch here too, but feel free to skip (or swap for celery) if you can't find them.
Get the Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
This one-pot wonder packs all the great flavor of stuffed peppers, with a fraction of the effort. It begins with the ingredients you love—ground beef, large chunks of peppers and onion, a deep bench of seasonings, and a tomato-heavy broth. Then a cup of rice dives into that pool of liquid gold, the whole thing slides in the oven, and within minutes, you have a warm and hearty meal ready to feed a crowd.
Get the Stuffed Pepper Casserole recipe.
Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches
Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.
Creamy Sausage & Peppers Shells
The trifecta of sausage, onion, and colorful bell peppers is an Italian classic, often eaten on its own, tucked into a bun or hoagie. We made it extra weeknight-friendly by turning it into a pasta dish using just two of our favorite creamy ingredients—cream cheese and heavy cream—to create a silky sauce. We know you’ll love this fun and simple comfort food twist on the classic combination.
Creamy Tuscan Chicken
When it comes to chicken breast recipes, it's hard to beat this one. The sauce is simple but so flavorful thanks to garlic, tomatoes, and most importantly, cream. It's bright and easy and just as good in the summer as it is in the winter, whether you're craving comfort food or a dinner fancy enough for guests.
Get the Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe.
French Bread Pizza
We've all been there: You're craving homemade pizza, but you want it fast—no time to deal with rolling out finicky pizza dough. The solution? Grab a loaf of French bread, and get ready for the pizza hack of a lifetime.
Get the French Bread Pizza recipe.
Sheet Pan Sausage & Vegetables
Whenever we need an easy dinner that doesn't require much, this is what we make. It works with whatever veggies you already have and requires basically zero effort. Most of the time spent is waiting while the sheet pan is in the oven, and there are minimal dishes to clean when it's all said and done. What more could you need?
Goulash
We love that everything in this goulash cooks together in one pot–even the pasta! Cooking the macaroni directly in the goulash means the pasta gets to soak up all that beef and tomato flavor while simultaneously releasing some of its starch into the pan, thickening to create a hearty, comforting stew.
Get the Goulash recipe.
Chicken Quesadilla
You don't really need a recipe to make this insanely popular Mexican dish. But if you're looking for some guidance, especially in cooking up some quick and easy chicken to stuff inside, this recipe won't let you down.
Get the Chicken Quesadilla recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
