Sometimes, you just need dinner fast. Bookmark these 15-minute meals for those nights when time is extra tight, and everyone is hungry. Keep your freezer stocked with frozen shrimp and peas—and make sure you have some fresh vegetables in your crisper drawer. Eggs and jarred salsa should be on hand in the refrigerator; of course, you'll have pasta and rice in your kitchen cupboard. If there's leftover cooked rice in the fridge or freezer, all the better.
These ingredients will help you make dinner quickly, whether it's an easy pasta, main dish salad, quick chicken entrée, or dinner-party-worthy fish dish.
20 Budget-Friendly Meals You'll Want to Add to Your Regular Dinner Rotation
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Sunny-Side-Up Egg and Baby-Spinach Flatbread
A quick route to a delicious, healthy dinner is to top store-bought, whole-wheat flatbread with baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, and fried eggs.
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15-Minute Lentil Soup
This hearty soup is made with canned lentils and store-bought vegetable or chicken broth—that's why it's so fast. There are also onions, carrots, and celery in the soup. All you need for serving is some crusty bread.
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Broccoli Rabe Pesto With Whole-Wheat Pasta and Turkey Sausage
Lean, spicy turkey sausage adds heat and might to this simple pasta dish. The recipe calls for whole-wheat linguine, but use any long noodles you have to make this quick dinner.
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Chicken, Red Cabbage, and Carrot Salad With Soy-Lime Dressing
Use rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, or extra chicken thighs you grilled on the weekend to top this colorful salad of shredded red cabbage and carrots, fresh cilantro, and mint leaves. Everything is tossed with a lively dressing made with soy sauce, lime juice, and minced jalapeño.
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Tuna-Salad Hand Rolls
Our easy homemade sushi hand rolls are a fabulous way to use good-quality canned tuna in something other than a sandwich. Toss the tuna with a little mayonnaise, lemon juice, and cilantro, then arrange the mixture on toasted nori sheets along with rice, sliced vegetables, and avocado. Roll up and enjoy!
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Avocado, Salsa, and Cilantro Omelet
Breakfast for dinner is a fast and satisfying way to get a meal on the table stat. Our avocado-and-salsa stuffed omelet gives the concept a fresh flavor and takes less than 15 minutes to make. Pair with toast or tortillas—or chips.
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Easy Chicken Posole
Using store-bought ingredients like chicken stock, guajillo chile salsa, and shredded cooked chicken in this simple soup means dinner comes together in 10 minutes.
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Breakfast Bowl With Fried Eggs, Yogurt, and Vegetables
Another breakfast for dinner option? Yes, please! Start by cooking fried eggs in heart-healthy olive oil, then serve over plain Greek yogurt alongside leftover roasted vegetables, sliced chiles, and plenty of fresh herbs.
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Crispy Panko Shrimp Salad
We give shrimp an extra dose of flavor by coating them in Dijonaise (a genius combination of Dijon mustard and mayonnaise) and crispy panko breadcrumbs. Serve them over spring-mix greens for a hearty dinner salad.
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Broken Noodles With Tomato Sauce and Ricotta
All you need is four ingredients for this 15-minute meal—jarred marinara sauce, pappardelle pasta, ricotta cheese, and fresh basil. It's creamy, comforting, and guaranteed to please your family.
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Pasta With Preserved Lemon and Anchovies
Dress your choice of noodles—think spaghetti or linguine—with minced garlic, oil-packed anchovies, chopped preserved lemon, flat-leaf parsley, and plenty of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Seared Halibut Tacos With Grapefruit-Avocado Salsa
When Taco Tuesday rolls around, make these refreshing bites. Serve pan-seared halibut filets with segmented ruby red grapefruit, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and shredded Napa cabbage.
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Soy-Honey-Glazed Arctic Char
Arctic char is the start of this 15-minute dinner for two. It's similar to salmon and just as delicious and nutritious. The fish is glazed with soy sauce, lime juice, and honey, and served with sautéed baby bok choy.
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Tofu With Ginger-Cilantro Sauce
Extra-firm tofu is brushed with olive oil, then grilled and served with a flavor-packed sauce made from fresh cilantro, chopped jalapeño, fresh ginger, lime juice, and scallions in this vegan main. Serve over spring greens or noodles or sandwich in a fluffy bun for dinner.
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Spaghetti With Collard Greens and Lemon
In just 15 minutes, you can make this nutritious and satisfying meal. We used farro or whole-wheat spaghetti, but whatever you have on hand works here. Toss the cooked pasta with toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, collard greens, and plenty of freshly grated Pecorino Romano.
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Easy Tuna Rice Bowl
Layer canned tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and edamame over cooked rice for this easy bowl. Dress everything with a mixture of soy sauce, fresh lime juice, and olive oil.
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Fried Omelet With Shrimp and Snap Peas
Save time on dinner prep by using pre-cooked shrimp and blanched sugar snap peas in this easy eggs-for-dinner recipe. Serve the omelet over cooked rice with spicy chili sauce for a complete meal.
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