5 Easy Recipes for Quick Dinners

Whip up white bean burgers, cod and orzo, and scallion beef stir-fry in 35 minutes or less

Jennifer Bradley Franklin,

AARP

Comments

Published May 29, 2024

Ching Ying Wong

Who doesn’t love an uncomplicated, delicious meal? We rounded up a selection of flavorful recipes that require 35 minutes or less of active prep or cooking time. “Easy” doesn’t have to mean ho-hum — these dishes are short on time but long on flavor. Don’t be surprised if you find some new tricks and shortcuts you’ll want to apply to other recipes.

Haley Hunt Davis

Cod and Orzo Arrabbiata

Chef and culinary instructor Phoebe Lapine, author of the popular Feed Me Phoebe blog, specializes in healthy, gluten-free and elimination diet recipes, and she’s committed to making them as tasty as dishes laden with less healthy ingredients. Her latest book, Carbivore: 130 Healthy Recipes to Stop Fearing Carbs and Embrace the Comfort Foods You Love, endorsed by Ina Garten, offers recipes that promote balance, so you never sacrifice flavor. In her recipe for Cod and Orzo Arrabbiata, she uses flaky fillets of cod, known for being low-fat and packed with protein and vitamin B12, and layers in extra flavor with juicy tomatoes, fiery chile flakes and vitamin A- and K-packed Swiss chard.

Get recipe: Cod and Orzo Arrabbiata

Doaa Elkady

Herby White Bean Burgers

Lebanese by heritage, Africa-born Yumna Jawad has found her sweet spot at the intersection of healthy and delicious, evidenced by the more than 8.5 million followers across her social media platforms. For her first cookbook, The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced With Mediterranean Flavors, she leans into the unfussy recipes of her family, leveraging heart-healthy, flavor-packed Mediterranean ingredients. Whether you’re a vegetarian or simply want to add a plant-based meal to your easy dinner rotation, her Herby White Bean Burgers get protein and fiber from the beans and vibrant flavors from labneh (creamy strained yogurt) and herbs.

Get recipe: Herby White Bean Burgers

Catrine Kelty

Scallion Noodles With Ground Pork

In Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year, Christopher Kimball aims to teach smart techniques that spark creativity and greater confidence in the kitchen. It’s the same ethos he employs at Milk Street, a Boston-based organization that includes a cooking school, magazine and TV and radio show. Rather than simply encouraging home cooks to follow a recipe, the author adds tools and approaches that will elevate everyone’s kitchen game. Try your hand at Kimball’s easy recipe for Scallion Noodles With Ground Pork (add a side of veggies for extra fiber and balance). You can have a satisfying meal on the table in 35 minutes from start to finish — including the time it takes to boil the water.

Get recipe: Scallion Noodles With Ground Pork

Matt Russell

Braised Chicken Thighs With Coconut Milk, Chile + Pineapple

Food writer Yasmin Fahr named her book Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Recipes for Every Mood, and she means it. We’re not always in the mood for the same kind of meal, so she breaks the book into three sections based on how much time you want to spend and where you want to eat. You’ll find Lap Dinners (which take 15 to 20 minutes to prepare), Coffee Table Dinners (30 to 45 minutes) and At the Dinner Table (30 to 90 minutes). The book is so colorful and beautifully photographed, just flipping through it might be a mood-booster. On a night when you want something easy and flavorful, make her Braised Chicken Thighs With Coconut Milk, Chile + Pineapple. Coconut milk provides healthy fats, the combo of turmeric and black pepper may reduce inflammation, and pineapple may boost digestion.

Get recipe: Braised Chicken Thighs With Coconut Milk, Chile + Pineapple

Ching Ying Wong

Scallion Beef Stir-Fry

In her debut cookbook, Tiffy Cooks: 88 Easy Asian Recipes From My Family to Yours, Taiwan-born Tiffy Chen demystifies the process behind some of her favorite recipes from home. Asian dishes tend to have tremendous depth of flavor, making them potentially intimidating. Living in Canada, Chen has gone out of her way to make her beloved family recipes approachable, so they’re accessible for home cooks — one of the reasons she’s grown more than 5 million followers on social media. For a satisfying meal that will have you reaching for the simple ingredients rather than a takeout menu, whip up her Scallion Beef Stir-Fry. Pair it with a side of steamed vegetables to boost the meal’s nutritional value and fiber content.

Get recipe: Scallion Beef Stir-Fry

%{postComment}%

Jennifer Bradley Franklin is an Atlanta-based journalist, editor and author who has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, People magazine, USA Today and others. She's an avid traveler, ballroom dancer and is more than a little coffee obsessed. Read more of her work at jenniferbradleyfranklin.com.

More Members Only Access