28 Easy Weeknight Dinners You’ll Love

Shrimp fajitas, Greek Chicken, Beef stir fry, and Mushroom Ravioli are just a few of the easy weeknight dinners in this collection.

No one can dispute the convenience and satisfaction that comes with easy weeknight dinners—no matter how much someone may love to cook.

Easy prep, short cook time, and minimal cleanup is the name of the game with the recipes I’ve included in this roundup.

I’ve found these recipes to be useful, approachable, and totally worth repeating.

Tips on How to Make Easy Weeknight Dinners:

1. Meal plan. Not only does meal planning save time, but it cuts back on food waste and saves you money if you stick to only buying what you need. Meal planning also takes away the stress of last-minute decisions and cooking. Figure out what you’re going to make for the week and forget about it!
2. Prep ahead of time. Depending on the recipe, you can prep ahead of time. Chop veggies in advance, get your meat in its marinade in the morning, etc. That way when you get home and have to face the kitchen, most of the grunt work is done.
3. Pre-packaged stuff is OK. Don’t overcomplicate things by thinking you have to make everything from-scratch. You don’t. Even us bloggers don’t do that. Buy the jar of marinara, snag the ready-to-heat pouches of rice, and grab the bagged steamable vegetables. There is no shame in convenience. You’re nourishing yourself and your family and that’s all that matters, my friend. This is truly how easy weeknight dinners are done.
4. Use your gadgets! The idea of dusting off your air fryer or pressure cooker might be daunting, but once you get into the groove of using these helpful appliances, you’ll never look back!
5. Make-ahead meals. If your lifestyle allows for it and you don’t mind eating the same thing a few days in a row, make-ahead meals are awesome. You could also double up on any of these recipes to have leftovers for the week.

Useful Tools for Making Weeknights Easy:

1. Instant Pot
2. Air Fryer
3. Sheet Pans
4. Meal Planner
5. Good quality utensils

Easy Weeknight Dinners

Baked Chicken Tacos

Baked to crispy, cheesy perfection, these chicken tacos have everything going for them. Not only are they easy, but they’re jam-packed with flavor and offer up some veggies, too.

20-Minute Tuna Pasta

I love a quick hodgepodge meal that helps me use up ingredients that have been kicking around for a while. This tuna pasta is great for using up baby spinach, olives, capers, and that tuna that’s been sitting in your pantry.

Soy and Sesame Beef Stir Fry With Noodles

One way to use up your instant Ramen noodles is to pop them into a stir fry. This one brings tender beef together with soy and sesame and it is crave-worthy.

Easy Homemade Ramen Bowls

Or you can use those Ramen noodles as intended and a beautiful bountiful bowl of Ramen—soft-boiled egg and all. This is one of my most popular recipes—make it, and you’ll see why!

Greek-Style Baked Chicken Meatballs

These beauties don’t need to set in the fridge or anything. Just form them, bake them, and you’re good to go.

We love serving them with tzatziki, hummus, pitas, and fresh veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. This makes for a super healthy and satisfying meal!

Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is reminiscent of a Chinese takeout favorite, but healthier, and you can easily make it at home. Your family will be impressed, friends.

Mushroom Ravioli With Brown Butter

I love this recipe: it sounds, looks, and tastes like a complicated high-end meal, but it couldn’t be easier to throw together. The crispy sage really takes it to the next level!

Chili-Seasoned Grilled Mahi Mahi

A simple rub and a simple homespun lime butter are what make this grilled fillet stand out. We love it served with a nice simple salad, but it would also serve well with a side of Mexican rice!

Healthy Cashew Chicken

Another delicious and healthy alternative to Chinese takeout! We love serving this with coconut ginger rice. If you love cashews, you HAVE to give this a go.

Impressively Easy Weeknight Dinners Using the Air Fryer

Crispy Chicken Cutlets

This is a household favorite. They’re so crispy and juicy, it’s amazing to think they aren’t deep-fried. They’re even incredible leftover—cold and straight out of the fridge!

Thai Sweet Chili Salmon Bites

Believe it or not, the air fryer is a fantastic way to cook salmon. It’s so tender, and if you keep the skin on you can get a nice crisp going! This recipe brings sweet and spicy together, and it goes perfectly with this coconut ginger rice.

Chicken Breasts With Mustard Sauce

These chicken breasts are smothered in a lip-smacking sauce made with whole grain mustard, fresh dill, and lemon. Mega bright flavors with this one!

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Keeping a cozy pork tenderloin for Sunday is no longer necessary! This beauty cooks in just 20 minutes. There are steps to brine the meat beforehand, which helps tenderize the pork and add flavor, but that’s optional. You’ll still get a juicy and flavorful tenderloin without it—and that sauce? Incredible.

Lemon Pepper Salmon Caesar Salad

Sometimes I just want a big ass salad for dinner, and this amped up Caesar salad delivers. The salmon is cooked to flaky perfection in the air fryer, and the salad is so refreshing and satisfying. If you’re a fan of salmon, you’ll LOVE this.

 

Easy Weeknight Dinners That Use the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot has been invaluable to me with its ease of use and versatility. I never thought I’d be cooking pork tenderloin on a weeknight, that’s for sure. The things you can do with this appliance are pretty remarkable, so if you’ve been on the fence about getting one, I highly recommend just going for it.

Ground Turkey Tacos

This recipe is perfect for Taco Tuesday—especially if you honor it on a weekly basis! It’s super unfussy yet results in deliciously saucy tacos every time. Bookmark this one, ’cause you’ll have it on repeat.

Rice Pilaf

This is one of those beauties that work as a side or a main. When eaten as a main, we love adding some cooked shredded or chopped chicken to it. To keep things simple, I buy a ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken from the supermarket and use that. Or if you’ve got a leftover protein kicking around in the fridge, that could work too.

Pasta Primavera

Here’s a pasta dish that fits the bill for Meatless Monday. The best part is you can use seasonal veggies! It’s hearty, wholesome, and oh-so-easy.

Sweet + Smoky Pork Tenderloin

Another easy peasy pork tenderloin here, but this time, it’s pressure cooked and served with a sweet and smoky gravy. It’s ready in about 30 minutes. Like my air fryer pork tenderloin, there are steps to brine the pork beforehand to help tenderize the meat and add flavor, but you can totally get away without doing it if you don’t have the time. This is, after all, a compilation for weeknights ;)

Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

I love a hearty soup that eats like a meal, and that’s exactly what this warming coconut curry lentil soup does. Not to mention it’s chock full of healthy goodies like sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, spinach, and protein-rich lentils.

Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes

These offer up the same great taste you remember from your childhood. Just 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cook time, and you’re set! I love serving them on brioche buns with sliced scallions. The bonus is that they reheat well.

Shawarma Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps make for a perfect light dinner, and this shawarma-flavored shredded chicken kicks things up a few notches. Top them off with tzatziki or hummus for the ultimate healthy feast.

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Ground Turkey and Spinach

Everything in one pot and GO. You could go without adding the splash of cream at the end, but I wouldn’t. It definitely adds a smoothness without making the pasta feel heavy.

Mexican Rice

This is another rice dish that offers itself as a side or a main. When served as a main, I like to add chopped rotisserie chicken or chili-seasoned shrimp. But thanks to the hearty beans, it’s still filling if you go meatless!

 

Mess-Free Weeknight Sheet Pan Dinners

Greek Chicken With Baked Feta

If Greek flavors are your jam, you need this sheet pan Greek chicken in your life. It’s chock full of veggies, crumbly baked feta, and it fills you up without weighing you down.

Sausage and Peppers on a Bun

This summertime favorite is brought to the sheet pan for an unfussy weeknight dinner you can enjoy year round. And friends, I recommend NOT skipping out on that sweet and smoky honey mustard sauce. It’s liquid gold.

Shrimp Fajitas

Once in a while, we skip out on Tuesday tacos for Tuesday fajitas. This recipe is so good, so easy, and so quick. Got leftovers? Toss them onto a salad for lunch the next day!

Chicken Philly Cheesesteaks

I get it: these aren’t authentic cheesesteaks. But it’s a play on a chicken cheesesteak I grew up with and let me tell you, they’re tasty. No matter what you want to call them.

Turkey Sausage and Peppers

Sort of like my sheet pan sausage and peppers on a bun, just without the bun. Unless you want to add the bun. We like this particular recipe toppled over rice.

Did you find something you like? Did you give any of these a whirl?

Let us know in the comments!