Our Top 10 Quickest Dinners Ever
Nothing here takes longer than 30 minutes to make and they all taste delicious. No wonder we love them so much.
By Lynn Andriani
A Speedy Riff on Paella
Chorizo is the surprise ingredient that gives this low-effort meal deep, smoky flavor. The recipe has you remove the sausage from the casing and brown it, then cook onion, garlic and red bell pepper in the fat. Add rice, sherry and chicken broth, simmer until cooked and you'll be wowed by how tasty a tricked-out bowl of rice can taste.
Get the recipe: Chorizo Rice
Photo: Megan Von Schnhoff
A Blue-Ribbon Meal in Record Time
Most throwback dishes—think tuna noodle casserole, meatloaf—can take at least an hour to make, but not chicken cordon bleu. The 25-minute ham-and-cheese-stuffed chicken dish is surprisingly uncomplicated, with an indulgent taste that belies its fast cooking time. This recipe breaks it into three steps. First, you top chicken cutlets with a slice each of deli ham and provolone cheese, fold them in half and secure with toothpicks. Next, you dredge the chicken cutlets in flour and brown them in a skillet. Finally, you simmer chicken broth, white wine, lemon juice and mustard for a two-minute pan sauce to pour over the chicken.
Get the recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu
Photo: Donna Turner Ruhlman
A Noodle Dish You Won't Tire Of
Aside from being a seriously delicious way to eat your veggies, this colorful soba bowl is also superquick to make. The only cooking involved is boiling the buckwheat noodles. The rest of the dish is completely raw, including pieces of cucumber, red bell pepper, mango, green onions, carrots and avocado. A sweet and savory maple-ginger dressing pulls everything together.
Get the recipe: Deserted-Island Soba Noodle Bowl
A Mediterranean Reinvention of an American Standard
Here's a brightened up version of good, old-fashioned stick-to-your-ribs biscuits and gravy. It starts with browning breakfast pork sausages; next, add flour, oregano, garlic, cumin and milk to make a gravy. Then come the biscuits, which you brush with melted butter that you've stirred a bit of dried oregano into. Bake until the rounds are fluffy and then scatter halved grape tomatoes and kalamata olives, crumbled feta and chopped fresh mint over the top before digging in.
Get the recipe: One-Pot Greek Biscuits & Gravy Cobbler
The Anytime Egg Dish
As with any classic shakshuka, this recipe has you bake 6 to 8 large eggs in bright red marinara sauce. But it's the addition of jarred artichoke hearts that gives this rendition a dinner-ish feel, making it suitable for supper alongside a salad and a loaf of bread.
Get the recipe: Artichoke Shakshuka
Pasta with a Magic Sauce
This simple pasta is one you'll want to put into heavy rotation. It relies on ripe cherry tomatoes for color, sweetness and liquid; as you cook them in warm olive oil, their skins burst open, the sweet juices simmer and in the brief amount of time it takes to boil pasta and chop a few herbs, you've created a silky, sumptuous sauce. Creamy fresh ricotta and a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano add luxurious touches.
Get the recipe: Spaghettini with Burst Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
The 3-Step Salmon Supper
Seafood is a time-pressed cook's best friend, since most fillets cook in 10 minutes or less. The beauty of this recipe is in its streamlined process: Whisk together a quick vinaigrette, cook the salmon in a skillet for a few minutes on each side and give green beans a five-minute boil. All that's left to do is to put all of these vibrant elements together on the plate, alongside sliced cherry tomatoes and radishes.
Get the recipe: Seared Salmon with Green Bean Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette
A Stir-Fry They Haven't Tried Before
Put a pot of rice on to cook, and by the time it's done you'll have a beautiful stir-fry to go with it, one that brilliantly combines savory and sweet flavors. Blistered green beans are the base; in addition, there's spicy ground pork, and then two totally unexpected ingredients: pieces of fresh, sweet pineapple and citrusy, floral basil leaves.
Get the recipe: Blistered Green Beans with Pork, Pineapple and Basil
A Skillet Dinner with More Oomph Than You'd Expect
This dish is a kind of American take on fried riceor, seen another way, a casserole that requires no oven preheating or half hour of baking time. It consists of rice, bacon, cheddar and the star ingredient: shredded roast chicken (it can be leftover from another meal, or a store-bought rotisserie bird). The meat helps add heft; and, if you shred it using two forks instead of your fingers, it'll stay fluffy (not chunky) and the entire dish will taste light yet still filling.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner with Bacon
A One-Pan Asian Supper
Lettuce wraps are a great shortcut for when you want to eat stir-fry but are so pressed, there's not even time for a separate accompaniment, such as noodles or rice. Just brown the meat with the seasonings and, while it sizzles, wash and dry some Bibb or butter lettuce leaves (their cup-like shape is ideal) and pile spoonfuls of the filling into the edible cups. This particular dish uses a few powerhouses to bump up the flavor, including ginger, garlic, soy and hoisin sauces.
Get the recipe: Gingery Beef Lettuce Wraps
Published 10/09/2018
