Want dinner ideas that can be made in a half hour or less? Here is a collection of eighteen 30 minute meals that are delicious and filling!
“Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes!”
Wouldn’t you love to be able make that announcement when you and your family get home at 5:00 and everyone is starved and maybe even a little cranky? Thirty minutes. Same amount of time as the nightly news. Or a sitcom. Can you order a pizza and have it arrive in less than 30 minutes? Doesn’t happen in my neck of the woods.
You can have dinner on your own table in less than thirty minutes with these easy and delicious recipes. Cooking is so much more economical, healthy, and satisfying than dining out.
So many of you email me and share with me that it’s difficult to even think about cooking when you get home from a long day at work. You’re tired, hungry, and when you open the refrigerator, you just can’t think of what to make. The thought of spending an hour making dinner just depresses or frustrates you.
That’s why I love this collection of 30 minute dinners! Meals that can be prepared in just a half hour, some even less time than that. Meals that your family will love. Entire dinners, not just one part of a meal. You may add a salad or dessert, or not, whatever you feel like but you don’t have to.
About these 30 minute dinners
You’ll find 30 minute dinner recipes for seafood, chicken, sausage and ground meat, and vegetarian recipes, too. Many of the meals are made in only one pan for quick clean up. Pastas, stir-fry recipes, tacos, wraps, bowls, soups, and skillet meals — they’re all included. I’m sure you’ll find several that you can’t wait to try.
To make this as helpful to as many people as possible, I didn’t include any air fryer recipes or Instant Pot recipes, but many of those are made in 30 minutes or less, so make sure to click through to those links if you have either one of those handy kitchen appliances.
Tips for Success
- Plan: Before you go grocery shopping this week, take a few minutes to choose a few of the 30 minute dinners that you’d like to try. Make a list of the ingredients you need and make sure you pick them up at the store. When it’s time to cook, you’ll have everything you need on hand and you’ll be ready to go!
- Meal Prep: Try some of my make ahead/meal prep ideas to expedite things even more. You can prepare food ahead and have these treasures in the fridge or freezer ready to use. I always have cooked shredded chicken on hand that I make in my Instant Pot or taco chicken I make in the slow cooker. Cooked quinoa is another staple in my freezer. When you make easy oven meatballs, make a double or triple batch and freeze them in serving size portions to use in soups, sandwiches, or pasta. Cut up a bunch of fresh veggies so they are ready to cook when you need them.
Delicious 30-Minute Meals
One of my absolute favorite quick meals, these chicken bites are perfect on burrito bowls, salad, or dipped in your favorite sauce!
A stir-fry is one of the greatest fast meals! Make the recipe as is, or use up what you have in the fridge.
Okay, we love “bites!” These salmon bites are quick and easy and go wonderful with rice or quinoa.
Another one of my favorite quick meals, egg roll in a bowl is quick, satisfying, and healthy!
Another great stir-fry recipe, this shrimp and broccoli stir-fry is a winner every time!
If you’re craving pasta, this gnocchi will do the trick! It’s quickly made in one pan and is total comfort food!
Flavorful and easy to make, this chicken stir fry with ginger and basil can be made so quickly, making it a perfect weeknight meal!
If you’re a garlic fan, you’re going to love this spicy garlic shrimp! It’s ready in 20 minutes and is perfect served with rice.
Fajitas, all on one pan! What could be easier?
The best kind of taco and pasta mash-up! One pan and under 30 minutes!
You might be sensing a trend – shrimp is quick and easy to prepare! This lemon pepper shrimp is delicious on a tossed salad.
One pan, twenty minutes, and tastes like pizza! Pizza pasta is always a winner.
You might notice that we love one pan meals! This one pan sausage dinner with fall vegetables is a quick and easy meal for busy fall nights.
You will love the crunchy topping of this baked cod!
You can make this dill chicken salad even easier by using rotisserie chicken!
This is my family’s favorite salmon recipe! Quick, easy, delicious.
This is the perfect quick meal for vegetarians!
