Super-fast dinners to get you through the week
Speedy suppers

Steak with garlic butter

It's pretty simple to cook a perfect steak if you follow our tips. And what could be better than serving a juicy sirloin with homemade garlic butter? Just serve with oven chips and a crunchy green salad. Dinner will be ready in under 30 minutes – couldn't be easier.
Get the recipe for steak with garlic butter here
Cheese, ham and fig crêpes

Thin French pancakes with a savoury filling are a perfect midweek meal solution. These are filled with soft, salty goats' cheese, smoky ham, pickle and Comté cheese (although any hard, strong-flavoured cheese will do), with a spread of fig jam to add a little sweetness to the mix. Try these, then play around with your own filling combinations.
Get the recipe for cheese, ham and fig crêpes here
Prawn, chorizo and basil linguine

No need to buy a jar of pasta sauce when this homemade, rich tomato one is super quick to whip up. Combined with succulent prawns, crispy chorizo, a pinch of chilli flakes, fresh basil and your best olive oil, this will be a new favourite pasta supper.
Get the recipe for prawn, chorizo and basil linguine here
Satay noodles

The star of this simple recipe is the irresistible four-ingredient satay dressing. If you've never tried straight-to-wok noodles, give them a go – they're a massive time-saver in the kitchen and they cut down on the washing up.
Char siu pork with pak choy

A classic char siu pork is a labour of love and takes time to prepare. Here's a cheat's version made with tender pork fillet, lots of ginger and garlic in a soy-based sauce. Throw in the pak choy at the end or add some fresh spinach. Either way, it's really quick to make and great over rice.
Get the recipe for char siu pork here
Vietnamese steak salad

You can make this steak salad, full of Vietnamese flavours, at home in under 30 minutes. The hot, marinated beef is piled on the onion, herb and tomato salad, then it's tossed at the table.
Get the recipe for Vietnamese steak salad here
Mushroom chow mein

This Sichuan-inspired recipe packs a punch with a healthy amount of chilli. It's a great veggie dish but you could always add some strips of cooked chicken too, to bulk it out for the meat-eaters.
Get the recipe for mushroom chow mein here
Rigatoni amatriciana

Amatriciana sauce is an Italian classic and hails from the region around Rome. It has a rich, tomato base with pancetta or bacon, garlic and onion, with the slightest hint of chilli. Grated Parmesan is added to serve but if you want to be more Roman about it, try pecorino cheese which although similar to Parmesan in texture, is made from sheep's milk instead of cow's.
Get the recipe for rigatoni amatriciana here
Traybake spaghetti

If you're after a quick pasta dish, look no further than this easy traybake spaghetti. Everything just goes in the tray, even the uncooked spaghetti, and transforms in the oven into a tasty, comforting meal. Plus, there's very minimal washing up to do after.
Kale and cannellini soup

A meal in a bowl, this soup is made super satisfying with greens, beans, a poached egg and a slice (or two) of toasted ciabatta. A hearty and nutritious meal, ready in just half an hour.
Pad Thai carbonara

Eggs, bacon and spaghetti make the recipe a whole lot like a carbonara, but Thai elements like fish sauce and chilli turn it into a tasty hybrid dish. We guarantee everyone will be coming back for seconds.
Sticky soy and honey-roasted salmon

You can't beat a soy and honey glaze for roasted salmon. This recipe incorporates the crowd-pleasing fish plus greens and a ginger, lime and peanut dressing.
Beef noodle soup

Ready in 30 minutes, this warming, spicy and fragrant broth is combined with rice noodles, thinly sliced beef and finished with the sour tang of lime to cut through the richness of the soup. It's a quick winner dinner.
Spiced beef skewers

You could serve these fragrant beef kebabs in a wrap with pickles or on a generous helping of creamy hummus with a zesty mix of red onion, sumac and parsley. Either way they make a brilliant speedy supper.
One-pan spinach lasagne

There's no doubt lasagne is one of the most comforting foods out there, but it also takes time and effort to make. Luckily, this vegetarian version with spinach and courgettes is a speedy affair that's cooked in one pan and takes just over 30 minutes from fridge to table.
Get the recipe for one-pan spinach lasagne here
Singapore fried noodles

This dish packs flavour, fast. Cooked in under 30 minutes, the soy and oyster sauce work wonderfully with the curry powder, and bird’s-eye chilli gives a needed kick of heat. Use seasonal greens and a mix of prawns and barbecued pork to fill out the dish and finish it off with a very tasty omelette.
Chicken and prawn stir-fry

Stir-fries are a clear winner for a quick and healthy midweek dinner, you can get a lot of veggies and flavour into a dish with little fuss. This recipe also combines chicken and prawns to get a good hit of protein, and with the salty, savoury flavours of black bean sauce, zing of ginger and the aromatics of Chinese 5-spice it is bursting with flavour.
Harissa spaghetti

This recipe is a great use of your dried herbs and when combined with harissa – a Tunisian spice paste that is smoky and rich – they give a depth of flavour to a quick pasta dish. This recipe suggests a chickpea pasta, to make it gluten free, but it works perfectly with regular spaghetti too.
Salmon ramen

Cooking fish can be a great quick meal option. The richness of the salmon and the umami of miso is a lovely combination. This dish is incredibly comforting, with fresh ginger to enliven the flavours and leafy greens to give a good nutritious boost.
Pork medallions with crème fraîche and mustard sauce

Hearty, comforting and filling – what more could you want? This dish is served with a sauce that gets its full flavours by cooking apple and leek in the juices from the pork, and then adding a healthy dollop of wholegrain mustard to the mix, creating sweet, sharp and rich flavours. Crème fraiche brings all the flavours together in 30 minutes.
Get the pork medallions with crème fraîche and mustard sauce recipe here
Ginger salmon with oyster sauce and broccoli

Poaching salmon is a healthy midweek meal and this recipe shows you how to do it in the oven along with broccoli. With the simple combination of oyster sauce, ginger and a splash of rice wine this dish hits all the satisfying flavour notes of being savoury, fresh and sharp with the richness of the salmon.
Get the ginger salmon with oyster sauce and broccoli recipe here
Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a Korean dish and refers to cooking thin slices of marinated meat, fast. This recipe marinates the beef in another Korean favourite, gochujang, which is chilli paste, along with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. The dish is deeply savoury with a good amount of heat so serve it with sliced cucumber, shredded carrots, rice and a fried egg.
Three-cup chicken

This dish derives from a Taiwanese famous traditional recipe of using equal measures of just three ingredients. It is still equal measures of the three key ingredients – rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil – but here there are some additions. Fresh ginger brings this dish to life, a chilli adds some heat and then Thai basil is tossed through at the end to give a lovely aromatic finish to the dish.
Prawn laksa with rice noodles

Laksa is a hot and spicy noodle soup from Malaysia – each region has its own version so there are a lot of different ways to cook it. This is a laksa-inspired recipe that uses Thai red curry paste to help deepen the flavours so that you can get those rich, spicy notes fast. Adding fish sauce gives a slightly sour flavour that is often seen in laksa, and coconut milk helps temper the heat.
Satay chicken udon noodles

This recipe combines excellent textures with comforting flavours in under 20 minutes. Udon noodles have a great chewy bite to them and when cooked with chicken and sprinkled with crunchy onions, it’s a satisfying dish. The satay sauce is salty and nutty, bringing all the elements together in a big bowl of deliciousness.
Cacio e pepe

This dish is the definition of quick and tasty. The key is using the pasta cooking water, which is full of starch, and generous amounts of Parmesan cheese. This creates a very silky sauce and for all its simplicity, is incredibly full of flavour.
Shiitake mushrooms and fresh noodles

Mushrooms are a great way to add umami (that deep savoury flavour) to a dish, and shiitake mushrooms have this in spades. Fresh noodles cook really fast and have a lovely chewy texture to them so are the perfect choice for this recipe. This dish doesn’t need much as you want the mushrooms to be the star, but including some vegetables such as green beans is always a good idea.
Ham and egg linguine

This dish isn't traditionally Italian but we're not being purists here. This recipe calls for leftover gammon but you can also just slice up some ham, and crispy bacon wouldn't go amiss either. Add a little indulgence when it's ready to serve by adding a handful of freshly grated Parmesan.
Get the recipe for ham and egg linguine here
One-pan chicken Parmesan

A speedy twist on an Italian classic, this chicken Parmesan recipe is a perfect combination of chicken, a rich, herby tomato sauce and melting mozzarella, topped with Parmesan and crunchy breadcrumbs.
Get the recipe for one-pan chicken Parmesan here
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