As I know, weeknights can be quite busy. Between work, running errands, and keeping up with your family, it can be hard to find the time to make dinner. Sometimes, it feels like you are choosing between healthy and convenient. In this section, we are going to look at some quick and easy ways to get dinner on the table on a weeknight.
Being Efficient
You won’t get a quick weeknight dinner on the table without some planning. Figure out roughly what you want to eat, prep ingredients, and get your kitchen in order to make the whole process faster and less stressful. Store grains, beans, vegetables, lean proteins, and other essentials; do some prep work like washing and chopping veggies or cooking large batches of grains. With good planning, you can still get a meal on the table quickly and still have it taste fresh.
One-Pan and Sheet-Pan Meals
Whether you call it a sheet pan dinner or a one-pan wonder, these recipes are perfect for a weeknight when you don’t have a lot of time to fuss around with dishes and whatnot. A sheet pan dinner means you throw your protein, veggies, and seasonings on a pan and let them roast together. It’s a perfect way to cook, and easy recipes for beginners might include chicken and root vegetables, fish and asparagus, or tofu and a mix of every color of veggie you can imagine.
Quick-Cooking Skillet and Stir-Fry Recipes
Stir-fries and other skillet-based dishes make great weeknight meals that are quick, flexible and easy to clean up. All you need is a hot pan, a bit of oil, and a protein or two paired with some vegetables. Bell peppers, snap peas, and thinly sliced meats all cook in minutes, meaning your meal will be on the table in under 30 minutes. Plus, stir-fries help new cooks practice a ton of fundamental skills — from controlling heat to timing and even slicing and dicing — while yielding super fresh, tasty, and healthy food.
Nourishing grain bowls and pasta dishes:
One of the most basic things you can make and customize to your liking is a pasta or grain bowl. Choose a whole grain pasta, quinoa, brown rice, or farro and add in sautéed vegetables, beans, or lean protein. Add a simple sauce like a canned tomato sauce, pesto, or a Greek yogurt dill sauce, and you have a filling and relatively healthy meal without a lot of added oils or calories. As a novice chef, you can combine any of these ingredients to create bowls to your liking.
Fast Soups and Stews
Soups and stews are easy, comforting and great for a weeknight dinner. Pre-chopped veggies, canned beans, and/or pre-cooked grains can cut down on prep time, and once you put everything together, you can just let it cook and do something else. Great ones to start with are a vegetable minestrone soup, chicken and vegetable soup or a lentil stew. They’re all nutritious, filling and delicious.
Protein Salads
Salads: a quick and easy weeknight dinner. You can start with a base of greens or other vegetables and top with your protein of choice (chicken, fish, tofu, beans, etc.). Then add a grain or seed. Top it off with a light vinaigrette, olive oil, lemon juice, or yogurt based dressing. Salads are a great way for a beginner to learn how to combine ingredients and flavors, and it’s fast!
Life Hacks to Save You Time
Take advantage of pre-washed, pre-chopped veggies, to cut down on prep time.
Cook grains and proteins in bulk and portion them out throughout the week.
Have some all-purpose sauces or dressings on hand to add flavor in a flash.
Less mess: Clean up is a breeze with just one pan or baking sheet.
For more uniform cooking, select recipes whose ingredients have comparable cooking times.
Incorporating fun into your weeknight dinner routine
Don’t worry, I can still make healthy and tasty meals on weeknights despite the time pressure. I prioritize quickness, ease, and nutrition, and I can still manage to cook something decent even though I’m a beginner. With practice, I can explore more fast recipes, new tastes, and ways to meal-prep.
Creating a Sustainable Habit
For many novices, these quick, healthy weeknight dinner ideas are the perfect way to kick-start a great habit of cooking at home. Once you learn to plan, prepare, and cook these basic meals, you’ll feel more comfortable moving on to new recipes, improvising ingredients, and eating healthily on a regular basis. So, remember: consistency, creativity, and simplicity are key to a delicious and healthy weeknight dinner.