40 Easy Weeknight Dinners

This zesty, 8-ingredient pasta is ready in just 20 minutes. I love it with a green salad or roasted broccoli for an easy weeknight meal.

No boiling required! In this one-pan recipe, store-bought gnocchi roasts on a baking sheet alongside juicy tomatoes, tender broccolini, and big crumbles of feta cheese.

A frittata is the ultimate clean-out-the-fridge dinner. I list five variations in my recipe, but really, you can make one with whatever fresh veggies or cheeses you have on hand. The whole thing will be ready in under 30 minutes!

This creamy, cheesy soup is a huge reader favorite—it has over 800 5-star reviews! I make it often because my husband Jack (the world’s biggest cheese lover) can’t get enough of it. Serve with homemade croutons on top!

Everyone needs a back-pocket stir fry for busy weeknights, and this one’s mine. Feel free to add your favorite protein—baked tofu is my go-to.

I call for peas in this creamy one-pot orzo recipe, but consider it a blank canvas for whatever veggies you have on hand! Fresh spinach and asparagus are both great. I also like to add chickpeas for protein.

Make this 10-ingredient recipe in 20 minutes flat! Top it off with a shower of Parmesan cheese, or, for a vegan version, finish it with vegan Parm instead.

When I’m in the mood for lasagna but not in the mood for making lasagna, I turn to this baked ziti. It’s comforting, but still fresh, thanks to lots of sautéed spinach and lemony ricotta cheese.

This luxe pasta tastes like something from a gourmet restaurant, but don’t let it fool you. It calls for 8 basic ingredients and comes together in 30 minutes or less.

Kids love it, adults love it, and no one suspects that it’s vegan. But if cheese is what you have on hand, you can’t go wrong with regular mac and cheese on a weeknight either.

This colorful pasta is one of my go-to weeknight dinners throughout the spring and summer. It’s fresh, satisfying, and quick—all the veggies cook together in a single skillet.

Tip: Freeze homemade pesto so that you’ll have it on hand for whenever a weeknight pasta craving strikes.

Got leftover rice on hand? This fried rice recipe is a quick and easy way to turn it into dinner!

This recipe is one of my all-time favorites. Creamy avocado contrasts with crisp veggies and gooey soba noodles, and a nutty sesame dressing ties it all together.

In this protein-rich vegetarian main dish, sesame seeds create a crisp crust for slabs of marinated tofu. Round out the meal with steamed snap peas and a side of cilantro lime rice.

I developed this recipe with weeknights in mind. Cook the noodles, prep the veggies, and stir together the creamy peanut sauce. Dinner will be ready in no time!

Ok, ok. There’s no actual rice in this grain-free recipe. Instead, it has a base of cauliflower rice that’s bulked up with kimchi, mushrooms, edamame, and scrambled eggs.

Shakshuka is a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast, but I often make it for an easy weeknight dinner. In my recipe, poached eggs nestle into a red pepper and tomato sauce that’s spiced with cumin and paprika. Scoop it all up with pita bread!

These frittata-like Japanese pancakes are made with cabbage and a light egg batter. Before you eat, load them up with toppings like pickled ginger, nori, mayo, and a drizzle of vegan Worcestershire sauce.

You don’t need pickled red onions to make these tacos (they get plenty of flavor from the zesty avocado lime sauce and chili-spiced sweet potatoes!), but I encourage you to add them. Sweet and tangy, they take this recipe to a whole new level.

A quesadilla is one of the quickest dinner ideas out there. In this recipe, I make a yummy veggie filling with black beans, sweet corn, peppers, and green onions. Melty cheese seals it together.

Enchiladas on a weeknight? Yes you can! With a simple cheese, spinach, and black bean filling, these come together quickly. Make the enchilada sauce ahead (or sub store-bought sauce) to make them even quicker.

Out of all the easy recipes in this post, this coconut curry might be the one I make most often. I love throwing it together on busy weeknights, using whatever veggies I have in the fridge. For a heartier variation, stir in chickpeas, tofu, or another protein of your choice.

Store-bought green curry paste makes this fragrant coconut curry quick and easy to assemble. I love it over rice with a pile of fresh herbs on top.

Last winter, I made this hearty chickpea curry almost every week. Richly spiced with curry powder and ginger, it’s so comforting for cold nights, yet so easy to put together.

Store-bought frozen dumplings are the not-so-secret ingredient in this takeout-inspired soup. I keep a bag in my freezer at all times so I can whip it up on weeknights!

Serve it with tortilla chips or homemade cornbread for a pitch-perfect weeknight dinner.

This tortellini soup is what weeknight dreams are made of. Chewy, cheesy tortellini and tender vegetables fill an aromatic broth. Add a scoop of kale pesto to take the whole thing over the top.

This comforting recipe calls for a handful of simple pantry ingredients. Serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich for an easy weeknight meal.

This lentil soup is one of our favorites, and it’s a reader favorite, too! Curry spices, ginger, and fire-roasted tomatoes fill it with bold flavor.

Full disclosure: a perfect baked potato takes an hour to cook. However, I still count it as weeknight-friendly. The process is entirely hands-off, so you can pop it in the oven, sit back, and relax! When your potato is tender, load it up with whatever fixings you like.

Make this recipe when your garden is overflowing with zucchini, or whenever you’re craving something light, fresh, and bright. It’s surprisingly quick to make—you can have it on the table in under 30 minutes.

A spiced-up mix of rice, corn, and black beans fills these easy vegetarian stuffed peppers. Bake them with cheese on top, or, for a vegan variation, top them with a scoop of guacamole.

A homemade veggie burger that comes together in under 30 minutes?! I kid you not. This black bean burger is smoky, savory, and SO darn easy to make.

The combination of juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and creamy mozzarella simply can’t be beat. Sandwich them between slices of chewy focaccia with a handful of arugula for extra green.

This bright and briny sandwich is perfect for nights when you don’t feel like cooking. Just whizz together the chickpea salad filling, then pile it onto bread with olives, crisp veggies, and fresh basil.

This simple grain bowl is so much more than the sum of its parts. Spiced-up roasted chickpeas, pickled onions, and an easy garlic yogurt sauce pack it with bold, bright flavor.

Cumin seeds add surprising, aromatic flavor to this comforting mix of chickpeas, marinara sauce, and melty feta cheese.

If I could get away with it, I’d eat a Niçoise salad for dinner every night! To make this recipe especially quick to assemble, cook the hard-boiled eggs in advance. Unpeeled, they’ll keep in the fridge for several days.

If you use store-bought pizza dough (or keep a stash of homemade pizza dough in the freezer!), pizza is an unbeatable kid-friendly weeknight dinner. My family loves this combination of veggie toppings, but feel free to swap in your favorites.