Need to find dinner recipes…fast? Try these easy dinner ideas! They’re healthy and all made in under 30 minutes.

Easy dinner ideas

The question we get asked most often is, “What are your favorite fast and easy dinner ideas?” We get it. Life is busy. There are 101 things to do, and adding cooking to that list can be stressful.  But making delicious and healthy recipes doesn’t have to take all day! The best easy dinner ideas balance big flavor and quick cooking methods. Here we’re sharing fast dinner ideas you can make in 30 minutes or less. In many cases, making one of these easy dinner ideas is even faster than takeout!

And now…our top fast & easy dinner recipes!

What people are saying…

Does this sound too good to be true: recipes that are easy AND taste good? Well let us assure you, it’s absolutely possible! Here are a few recent testimonials from readers who have emailed us about the easy dinner recipes they’ve been trying:

  • “My husband has a heart condition and I have borderline high cholesterol. My son bought me your cookbook and I am continuing to try new recipes from your book and website. While we still eat meat, we have cut back considerably. I have managed to lose about twenty pounds and my cholesterol has improved. This week I made your teriyaki stir fry and mushroom and goat cheese pasta. Both were TERRIFIC!” –Debbie
  • “My husband and I decided to take our family down the vegetarian road about 9 months ago.  I used to LOVE cooking, but have been in a slump since we went vegetarian.  Often I find vegetarian/vegan recipes try to do too much with too many ingredients. Well, tonight, the tides have turned! I made FOUR of the five sandwich recipes I got from your blog and every single one was a winner!  I have not felt this satisfied in the kitchen in such a long time! ” –Terra-Leigh

Top concepts for easy dinners

Turns out, you can find dinner recipes made in less than 30 minutes with big flavor. These are recipes with fresh, high quality flavor that’s achieved without using cheap shortcuts. Outside of the easy dinners above, here are some of our favorite concepts for fast and easy dinner ideas for you to riff on: 

More easy dinner ideas

Want more? Pick from these easy dinner recipes:

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Cheese tortellini

35 Fast & Easy Dinner Ideas!


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

Cheese tortellini makes the best easy dinner idea! Serve it up in a creamy marinara sauce flavored with goat cheese and basil. 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 to 16 ounces frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini
  • 28 ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes (or best quality crushed tomatoes)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups baby spinach leaves, tightly packed (or chopped spinach)
  • 8 fresh basil leaves
  • 4 ounce goat cheese log

Instructions

  1. Boil the tortellini according to the package instructions (fresh usually takes 2 to 3 minutes and frozen takes 2 to 5 minutes to boil). Then drain it. 
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, place the crushed tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, oregano, kosher salt, spinach, and whole basil leaves. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer while the pasta cooks or at least 10 minutes.
  3. When the pasta is done and drained, add it to the skillet. Crumble in the goat cheese into the sauce and stir until a creamy sauce forms (if you’d like, save out a few crumbles for topping). Serve immediately.
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Easy Dinner Ideas, Fast Dinner Ideas, Easy Recipes, Quick Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Find dinner recipes

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

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6 Comments

  1. That’s an amazing information list. I have to save it in my wall to make dinner for our family. Thanks for sharing and love your site. Waiting for a new recipe.

  2. This is Nina Borum, I enjoyed your Butter Garlic Sprimp recipe it is nicely made. It was nice , fast and easy to make. Is there any way you can send recipes to my website. Loved watching your video! I just looked back on my comment and I made a lot of mistakes. What I want to say is I love and enjoyed seeing your recipes! How much is your Cook book?

  3. Thank you so much for the good ideas. It’s always a problem to decide what to cook for dinner. But with your list, I will get rid of this problem, well, at least for the next month :)