Easy dinners ready in 20 minutes or less
Speedy and delicious
Three-cup chicken
This is a classic Taiwanese recipe that's brilliant for a quick and speedy supper when you'd rather spend time on things other than cooking. Spicy, sweet and sharp, it has bags of flavour. Serve with steamed rice.
Steak with garlic butter
While steak might seem like a daunting dish to cook, it's actually extremely easy and only takes a matter of minutes. There are just a few things to remember – buy a decent quality cut, take it out of the refrigerator at least half an hour before cooking and season generously. This basic recipe is perfect to get started and all you need are some potato wedges on the side. You can also make a whole batch of the garlic butter as it'll keep in the fridge for a week.
Spinach orecchiette
Pesto pasta is obviously a quick-dinner go-to, but why not give an old favourite a fresh update? This quick pasta dish uses frozen spinach instead of fresh and combines it with cream, garlic and Parmesan into a satisfying sauce spooned over the pasta. The recipe uses orecchiette pasta, but you could use any shape you've got at home that's good for carrying sauce.
Prawn and cabbage fried rice
To take fried rice to the next level and jazz up yesterday's leftover rice for today's dinner – just add prawns and cabbage. The leafy greens impart a sweet crunchiness and the meaty shellfish absorbs the soy and oyster sauce base. Move fast when you're making this stir-fry otherwise the prawns can become rubbery.
Miso ramen
Very few things come close to a comforting bowl of ramen and it's super easy to make one with a packet of instant ramen noodles. Use this recipe as a blueprint and play around with the toppings. Try sriracha or kimchi, experiment with mushrooms and any leftover cooked meat, and even coconut milk or peanut butter to find your ideal homemade bowl of ramen.
Spicy pork belly stir-fry
This quick and easy stir-fry is so incredibly tasty it will become one of your go-to dishes. You can use any cut of pork, but the combination of shoulder and belly provides a nice mix of meaty and fatty flavour. And while it might look like a lot of ingredients, you're very likely to have many of them in the fridge already.
Egg and lettuce salad
There's a reason why eggs are much loved around the world, from their nutritional value to the variety of dishes that can be cooked with them. A seemingly simple salad, this egg and lettuce combo is uplifted with a lip-smacking dressing of peanut butter, fish sauce and lime juice. A sprinkling of fried onions to finish and this will become your favourite go-to salad in an instant.
Pasta with pancetta and peas
Farfalle or bow-tie pasta shapes are always a hit with kids so this recipe is perfect for a speedy family dinner. Cook them with frozen veggies and, depending on what you have to hand, bacon, pancetta or even diced up sausages. If you'd prefer to omit meat, add a spoonful of pesto instead.
Satay noodle stir-fry
This is just the recipe you need for an easy one-pan meal. The satay element comes from peanut butter which is mixed with soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil to give the dish a wonderfully nutty flavour. Simple to make, but big on taste and, most importantly, little on washing up.
Grilled cheese and chutney sandwich
It's perfectly fine to crave a hug on a plate after a long day and nothing says comfort more than hot, gooey melted cheese. But upgrade your regular grilled cheese sandwich with a spicy chilli twist and serve with homemade coriander chutney, and thank us later.
One-pan chicken Parmesan
A speedy recipe and a twist on an Italian classic, this can also be eaten with pasta instead of the courgetti, if you're after a more carb-rich meal. For an even more intense flavour, you can use passata with onions, garlic or basil. This is great with a light green salad on the side or a slice of bread to mop up the sauce.
Mushroom chow mein
This Sichuan mushroom chow mein is simple and packs a flavour punch. Better (and quicker) than any chow mein you could get delivered, this veggie version is ready in less than 15 minutes. If you want to make it meaty, add cooked chicken strips.
Corn fritters
Another quick way to a satisfying dinner is fritters. A sort of a pancake but made with corn, these fritters can be eaten on their own, with a chutney or served as a savoury base to a variety of toppings, including bacon, poached eggs or smoked salmon. You could also substitute the corn for grated courgette, just make sure you squeeze out all the excess liquid as much as possible.
Pasta with leeks, chilli and prawns
If you always have a bag of prawns in the freezer, this speedy meal will be on the table in just a few minutes. Cook down some leeks, then add tomatoes, garlic, the prawns and a pinch of chilli. Throw in your cooked pasta – you can even use a shop-bought fresh pouch – and dinner is ready.
Crab spaghetti
For a taste of luxury make crab spaghetti. It's simple as garlic, chilli, parsley, crab meat and a squeeze of lemon, but tastes like restaurant quality. If you can't find fresh crab meat, tinned does work as an alternative, but you'll need to add more seasoning to bring out the flavours. We love it with spaghetti but use what you have available.
Sweet and sour tofu
Hot, sweet and fragrant, this sweet and sour curry is literally comfort in a bowl. Ready in around 15 minutes, it's brilliant for when you need a satisfying meal ready quickly. If you've never cooked tofu before, don't worry – this is a great recipe to start with. It'll taste delicious served with a steaming bowl of fluffy rice too.
Crab cakes with lemongrass
Let's face it – crab from a can can't replace the fresh version, but in some recipes, such as these quick crab cakes, you can get away with it. The addition of lemongrass, chillies and mango really helps to bring out the sweet flavour of crab and have a meal ready in under 20 minutes.
Jalapeño, Cheddar and Parmesan cheese toasties
Grilled cheese sandwiches are an undisputed American classic, while in Britain a cheese toastie is the ultimate go-to for a quick snack and there's nothing that says you can't have one (or two) for dinner. This recipe with salty Parmesan, sharp Cheddar and spicy jalapeños is full of punchy flavours you'll love.
Get the recipe for jalapeño, Cheddar and Parmesan cheese toasties here
Chunky fish soup
A simple take on classic French fish soup bouillabaisse, this dish combines seafood and fish with a heady saffron-infused broth. Best of all, it's ready in just 15 minutes, but will transport you to the French Riviera instantly.
Nasi goreng
Inspired by a traditional nasi goreng – Indonesian fried rice – this dish is a great way to use leftovers. Rice is stir-fried in a chilli-based paste alongside spring onions and, in this version, shredded chicken. It's transformed into a full meal with cucumbers and peanuts scattered on top. And don't forget to top it with an egg too.
Cheat's dan dan noodles
A fiery and aromatic dish, dan dan noodles don't tend to take long as it is, but this recipe manages to pack that epic flavour punch within a fraction of the time and ingredients. Frying the sausage and five-spice until crisp is a cheat’s way of emulating the traditional Sichuan peppercorn-spiced pork.
Green baked eggs with asparagus
A twist on a traditional tomato shakshuka, these baked eggs are freshened up with green spring vegetables. Brilliant for a healthier dinner at home, this one-pan dish will feel like you're eating out. Add some toasted bread on the side for an even more filling meal.
Char siu pork with pak choy
Char siu pork doesn't have to take hours to make. This shortcut stir-fry version of the popular Chinese dish is ready in 20 minutes and is still just as delicious. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Pad Thai carbonara
Mix it up with this unusual but tasty combination of a classic pasta and a traditional noodle dish. Eggs, bacon and spaghetti make the recipe a whole lot like a carbonara, but Thai flavours turn it into a delicious hybrid dish perfect for chowing down on the sofa in front of the TV.
Classic salade Niçoise
A classic Niçoise is filling enough to serve as a main meal. Just a mix of canned tuna, boiled eggs, tomatoes and olives with a bit of seasoning and olive oil is all it takes. Often chefs use fresh tuna instead of canned, but canned is perfect as long as it's in good quality olive oil rather than brine.
Marmite mac 'n' cheese
One for when there is absolutely no food at home and you need a comforting and satisfying dish. While Marmite might not be everyone's cup of tea, it's absolutely perfect in this recipe when stirred through macaroni pasta with butter and hard cheese. (In the USA, Marmite's available from bigger supermarkets and Amazon.) Best of all, you can make this recipe in a mug in a microwave. You could also jazz it up a bit with some chives or other finely chopped herbs and toasted breadcrumbs.
Baked fish parcel
Baked fish with veg is a firm favourite for healthy dinners. The parchment cooking technique – known in Italian as al cartoccio or en papillote in French – encourages the fish to steam and retain lots of moisture. This recipe uses tomatoes and olives, but you could also play around with thinly sliced courgettes, asparagus spears, Tenderstem broccoli and capers.
Masala omelette
For a spicier twist, this masala omelette is simply divine in a sandwich that practically makes itself. For the omelette you'll only need green chillies, spring onions and tomatoes apart from eggs, butter and seasoning. You can also add coriander or any other herb you've got to hand if you wish. Make a couple of these omelettes (to save one for lunch the next day) and eat with white bread, generous amounts of salted butter and tomato ketchup.
Roast cod with a coriander crust
A 20-minute meal to make, beginning to end, this is a winning dinner dish. The combination of fish and tahini is one we find hard to resist, but this works just as well without the tahini sauce if you’re looking for a shortcut or want to keep the focus on the herby crust. You can then serve the fish with roasted vegetables or steamed rice.
Bulgogi
A Korean favourite, this combination of marinated beef, shredded vegetables, green veg and brown rice is perfection in a bowl. Spicy and savoury yet fresh, bulgogi is full of goodness and makes a great protein-packed dinner.
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