These 35 tasty, healthy, and easy weeknight dinners will help get you through the week. These recipes are family-approved, and ready in no time so you don't have to worry or stress!
I get it: Dinner is hard on those busy weeknights.
Between work, soccer practice, homework, driving home, unpacking, bath time, and prepping for the next day, life totally gets in the way of a well-planned, time-consuming dinner.
Breathe.
But, we still need to eat...
So, what normally happens?
We go for the easy way out -- I know we're guilty of it in our house, too. We grab the pre-packaged foods from the grocery store. We eat cereal. PB&Js. Protein shakes. Anything that fills you and the kids up and is easy. It happens to all of us sometimes.
But, what if your weeknight dinner was...easy?
Wouldn't that be amazing? You'd like win an award every weeknight or something. Or feel like a rockstar, at least.
Fortunately, we can rely on easy weeknight dinners to get us through. You just need to know where to look and what to cook.
What Makes An Easy Weeknight Dinner?
The way I see it, an easy weeknight dinner basically means you don't want to run away and cry in the corner on those busy weeknights when it's time to make dinner. Easy weeknight dinners are all of the following:
- Easy To Make -- whether that means few ingredient or simple directions
- Quick -- no one has time for waiting hours for your dinner to cook
- Satisfying -- we want the family to be happy with the meal and enjoy dinner, after-all
- Healthy -- I mean, that's why we're avoiding the pre-packaged foods and convenience items
- Reliable -- the last thing you want is to follow a recipe only to not enjoy the food
- Easy To Prep -- no crazy prepping required
35 Quick, Healthy & Easy Weeknight Dinners
Below, I've shared 35 amazingly delicious, easy, and simple recipes to make your busy weeknights less stressful. These recipes are dependable, family-approved, hard to mess-up, and come out delicious every time. When you come home from work and are hungry, these recipes will be reliable, yummy, and on the table in no time.
1. Healthy Beef With Broccoli
Easy, fresh, and better than take-out. Ready in just 20 minutes. [Healthy Beef With Broccoli]
2. Chicken Tacos
These flavorful chicken tacos are delicious, easy, and ready in just 20 minutes. [Chicken Tacos]
3. Stuffed Bell Peppers
These stuffed peppers are simple to assemble and easy to prep ahead. [Stuffed Bell Peppers]
4. Steak Cobb Salad with Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing
Delicious, easy, and healthy steak cobb salad with homemade avocado cilantro lime salad dressing. So fresh and so easy! [Steak Cobb Salad]
5. Baked Sea Bass And Zucchini Sheet Pan Dinner
Ready in just 25 minutes, this sheet pan meal is as easy as it gets. [Baked Sea Bass]
6. 25 Minute Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice
Skip the greasy take-out and still get your chicken fried rice fix with this 25 minute chicken cauliflower fried rice recipe. [Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice]
7. One Pan Chicken Bruschetta
This one pan chicken bruschetta is fresh, flavorful, healthy, and ready in less than 25 minutes! [One Pan Chicken Bruschetta]
8. Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
This is an easy Flank Steak With Chimichurri Sauce that is healthy, fast, and super tasty. This flank steak goes great with these Roasted Sweet Potatoes. [Flank Steak With Chimichurri]
9. Easy Chicken Picatta
Easy Chicken Picatta, one of the best comfort foods ever, made HEALTHIER so it can be enjoyed any day of the week! Plus, it's so easy to make and is ready to devour in just 25 minutes! [Easy Chicken Picatta]
10. Low Carb Turkey Burger Bowl with Sriracha Mayo
This bowl is great because it changes up your typical dinner AND makes great left-overs – you just need to store the pieces separately and assemble when you’re ready to eat. Then, all ya gotta do is fry the egg and slice the avocado and your dinner prep just took you 8 minutes. [Low Carb Turkey Burger Bowl]
11. Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl
These flavorful chicken tacos are delicious, easy, and ready in just 20 minutes. [Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl]
12. Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole
This Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole is a healthy take on an old favorite and takes just 45 minutes to make. Makes great left-overs, too! [Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole]
13. Chicken and Hummus Greek Wrap
This Greek wrap is super duper yummy. It’s shocking how just a few simple ingredients can create such intense flavors and textures all wrapped up in a neat, handheld wrap. Just 25 minutes and it's ready! [Chicken Hummus Greek Wrap]
14. Cilantro Lime Chicken
Assuming you're into the whole amazingly flavored chicken thing, you're gonna love this cilantro lime chicken recipe. Just prep the night before so it's grab and cook when you're ready. This chicken goes great with this Cilantro Lime Rice. [Cilantro Lime Chicken]
15. Dijon-Roasted Chicken And Carrots
I promise you will not believe how much flavor comes out of this incredibly easy dinner. Prepare yourself for some magic. [Dijon Roasted Chicken And Carrots]
16. Make-Ahead Greek Quinoa Stacks
Take just 30 minutes of prepping ahead and you can have these delicious dinners all week! Perfect for the hot summer months! [Make-Ahead Greek Quinoa Stacks]
17. Almond Crusted Baked Chicken Strips
Replace your typical heavy batter with this almond coating into your finger foods. It’s a win-win for the whole family. [Almond Crusted Baked Chicken Strips]
18. Spinach And Feta Burgers with Garlic Aioli
These burgers are the solution to being tired of the same ol' burger recipe. Prepare your mouth for a flavor overload that's ready in 30 minutes. [Spinach And Feta Burgers With Garlic Aioli]
19. Healthy Baked Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles
Yes, my friends, it is possible to enjoy chicken parmesan and still eat healthy. And, believe it or not…it’s actually pretty darn easy to make, too (and ready in just 35 minutes!) [Healthy Baked Chicken Parmesan]
20. Brown Rice Pilaf with Flank Steak
Try this amazingly savory, healthy and mediterranean-inspired Brown Rice Pilaf With Flank Steak. Ready in just 35 minutes! [Brown Rice Pilaf]
21. Chicken Tortilla Soup (Slow Cooker)
Just 10 minutes of prep work and you'll come home to this amazingly zesty and fresh chicken tortilla soup [Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup]
22. Easy Minestrone
This easy vegetarian dinner makes tons of left-overs and easily reheats for a quick weeknight dinner. [Easy Minestrone]
23. Garlic-Roasted Pork Chops
This garlic-roasted pork chops recipe comes together in less than 25 minutes and is FULL of flavor. Plus, it only needs 5 ingredients. That’s right: five. Goes great with these Parmesan Roasted Green Beans. [Garlic Roasted Pork Chops]
24. Quinoa and Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
This salad is crunchy, chewy, and tender, all at the same time. The kick of the lemon vinaigrette is amazing and really makes everything pop. It is everything you're wanting. [Quinoa And Lentil Salad]
25. Instant Pot Quinoa Chicken Bowl
In just 30 minutes, you could be holding this amazing Instant Pot Quinoa Chicken Bowl in your hand. And yes, delicious clementine basil dressing prep time included. [Instant Pot Quinoa Chicken Bowl]
26. Easy Cream of Broccoli Soup
If easy, simple, and quick soups are your thing and you want them to be healthy, too, then this is the soup for you. Takes just 25 minutes until gloriousness. [Easy Cream Of Broccoli Soup]
27. Chicken Cobb Mason Jar Salad with Homemade Ranch
This salad will stay crisp, fresh, and tasty for you all week for an easy grab and enjoy weeknight dinner. [Chicken Cobb Mason Jar Salad]
28. Steak Fajita Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice
These steak fajita bowls are great for busy weeknights because they can be prepped ahead and then re-assembled wen you need it. So good! [Steak Fajita Bowl]
29. Green Chile Pork Tacos (Slow Cooker)
Make these slow cooker green chile pork tacos any night of the week and enjoy all the flavor of your favorite restaurant tacos without the guilt! [Green Chile Pork Tacos]
30. Baked Chicken Meatballs with Sauteed Zucchini
If you've never jumped for joy over meatballs before, you've never tried these baked chicken meatballs. [Baked Chicken Meatballs]
31. Easy Chicken Marsala
This easy chicken marsala is wonderfully simple and tasty. It gets a subtle sweetness from the Marsala wine, but it’s still quite savory and delicious. I’m always amazed at just how flavorful the simple ingredients are and how quickly this meal comes together. [Easy Chicken Marsala]
32. Sweet Potato and Quinoa Hash with Garlic Sauteed Kale
This high flavor sweet potato and lentil hash will fill you up and make you feel great! [Sweet Potato And Quinoa Hash]
33. Quinoa Taco Stackers
These Quinoa Taco Stackers have all the goodness of tacos stacked up neatly in a grab and go mason jar. Ready in just 35 minutes. [Quiona Taco Stackers]
34. Healthy Quinoa Make-Ahead Casserole
Healthy and Easy come together in this delicious make ahead casserole using quinoa penne noodles. [Healthy Make-Ahead Quinoa Casserole]
35. Cashew Chicken (Slow Cooker)
This is one of those amazingly simple recipes that get you all excited about when it's in the slow cooker because you know the delicious smell it’s giving off isn’t even a tenth of how delicious your meal will be in just a few short hours. Super simple. Super easy. Flavorful. Yep: amazeballs. [Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken]
I hope you've found these easy weeknight dinners helpful ad full of healthy weeknight inspiration.
Annette R. Smith
Excellent post! I like to cook at my home when I get enough time. Thanks for sharing these delicious recipes with us!
Gail F.
Thanks for the recipes, Lacy! As a working mom, I always try to spend less time in the kitchen and more with my family:) So, these will really come in handy!
Lacey Baier
Awesome! I'm so glad these recipes will help give you more time with the family! xoxo