Get dinner on the table in no time with these delicious recipes. Each dish takes no more than 20 minutes to make, so they are perfect for busier nights when you need a quick meal. They’re also made with tasty fall produce like sweet potatoes and cabbage, so you can take advantage of the season’s freshest ingredients. Add options like our 20-Minute Chickpea Soup or Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes to your menu for a nourishing dinner to end your day.
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20-Minute Chickpea Soup
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Craig Huff, Prop Stylist: Abby Armstrong.
When dinner needs to happen fast, turn to this creamy chickpea soup that’s pulled together in just 20 minutes. Cream cheese melts right into this zesty soup for a velvety texture that feels cozy and comforting. Garnished with cilantro and crunchy tortilla strips, it’s a one-pot meal that’s weeknight-friendly and crowd-pleasing.
Grilled Cheese with Spinach & Tomato
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen.
This grilled cheese with spinach and tomato is a flavorful twist on the classic sandwich, cooked to golden perfection on the stovetop. Wilted spinach is infused with plenty of garlic. Juicy tomato slices add color and a fresh bite to the melty mozzarella filling. This sandwich makes for an easy lunch or dinner and pairs well with tomato soup or a simple green salad.
Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Take taco night to a new level with sweet potato taco “shells.” Tender sweet potatoes pair perfectly with spicy taco meat, creamy cheese and crisp lettuce. Let everyone customize their taco potato with their favorite toppings.
Cherry Tomato Pasta
Jen Causey
This cherry tomato pasta is the quick summer dinner you’ve been waiting for. Chickpea pasta adds fiber, while cherry tomatoes and basil cook down to create a flavorful sauce. Tossing the hot pasta with some of the cheese before topping it with the sauce is the key to ensuring all the noodles get coated with cheesy goodness.
Creamy Garlic Skillet Chicken with Spinach
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
Quick-cooking chicken cutlets are coated in a garlic cream sauce, while spinach adds a boost of color and nutrition to this easy one-skillet recipe.
Sick Day Chicken Noodle Soup
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
This sick-day chicken noodle soup, packed with tender chicken, warm broth and soft noodles, is designed to soothe and nourish when you’re feeling under the weather. The combination of tender chicken breast, ginger and garlic boosts flavor, while the warm broth helps clear congestion and keep you hydrated. Ready in just 20 minutes, this soup is the perfect remedy for a cold, offering comfort and relief with minimal effort.
Broccoli-Pesto Pasta
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman
This broccoli pesto pasta is a delicious fiber-rich dinner that can help maintain a healthy gut. Seek out artichoke hearts packed in water or use thawed frozen artichokes in their place. Serve this plant-based meal with a green salad and a hunk of whole-grain bread on the side to sop up the leftovers.
High-Protein Tuna & White Bean Melt
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This ultra-quick tuna melt with white beans is a protein-packed sandwich that’s perfect for a fast and satisfying lunch or dinner. The beans add creaminess and fiber, while the tuna provides lean protein and omega-3s, making this dish as nutritious as it is flavorful. Plus, it comes together in minutes—ideal for days when time is in short supply.
Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breast Sandwiches
Matthew Francis
This caprese stuffed chicken breast features the classic ingredients of a caprese salad—juicy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and balsamic vinegar—nestled into a seasoned and cooked chicken breast that can be picked up and eaten like a sandwich. The perfect chicken breast for this recipe is small, but avoid thin-cut breasts so you can slice them open easily. You can trim a regular chicken breast down to the right size, or cut a large 8-ounce breast in half crosswise to get two smaller pieces.
Chickpeas alla Vodka
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser
This Chickpeas alla Vodka is the ultra-quick, fiber-packed dinner you’ve been waiting for! Chickpeas are swimming in a creamy vodka sauce that gets enhancements from sautéed garlic, onion and vibrant green baby kale. Crispy, toasted whole-wheat bread is perfect for dipping. You can customize this dish easily by using chard or spinach in place of kale.
Skillet Bruschetta Chicken
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This flavorful skillet chicken bruschetta puts a tasty spin on a traditional dish. Drawing inspiration from the Italian appetizer, we replace the usual toasted bread with protein-packed chicken cutlets. The vibrant and juicy chopped tomato topping remains a constant, complemented by a drizzle of sweet and tangy balsamic glaze. For an added layer of flavor, serve topped with shaved Parmesan cheese or add some chopped olives to the tomato mixture for a briny kick.
Creamy Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi & Peas
Photographer: Greg DuPree, Prop stylist: Shell Royster, Food stylist: Emily Hall
This speedy dinner recipe combines shrimp with pillowy gnocchi, pesto and peas in a creamy sauce. Feel free to substitute the peas with other veggies, such as broccoli or asparagus. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper for a bit of heat, or garnish with grated Parmesan cheese to enhance the savory flavor.
Sheet-Pan Beef & Cabbage Noodles
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
Forget the wok and all that stirring! This stir-fry recipe comes together in only 20 minutes on one baking sheet under the broiler. The trick to a perfect sheet-pan stir-fry is making sure your ingredients are spread out well on the pan so everything cooks evenly.
Easy Chicken Tenders with Lemon & Garlic
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
The secret to this easy chicken tenders recipe lies in the tangy lemon-and-garlic drizzle that picks up the savory flavors left in the pan from pan-searing. Pan-searing chicken tenders locks in moisture while crisping up the outside. If you’ve got extra time, let the chicken marinate in the dry rub for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. Feel free to experiment with other citrus flavors like oranges, mandarins or limes by swapping out the lemon zest and juice.
Chicken & Spinach Salad with Creamy Feta Dressing
Photographer: Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
The creamy feta dressing steals the show in this protein-rich salad, which makes a perfect lunch or quick and easy dinner. While you can buy feta cheese already crumbled, we like crumbling our own fresh from the block for this salad. We prefer the slightly sharper flavor of sheep’s-milk feta, but cow’s-milk feta works just as well.
Chicken Carbonara
Photographer: Jacob Fox, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Joseph Wanek
This chicken carbonara has the classic all-yolk sauce, which yields a rich and creamy texture. For some carbonara recipes the residual heat and starch from the pasta are enough to thicken the yolks, but we prefer the double-boiler method to gently cook the egg yolks to a custard-like texture without the risk of overcooking them to a scramble.
Easy Green Tortellini Soup
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
The base of this green tortellini soup is prepared in advance and stored in separate containers for an easy grab-and-go lunch. Layer the spinach on top of the pesto to create a barrier that will keep the tortellini from getting soggy. When you’re ready to enjoy it, simply add the broth and heat it in the microwave. This recipe is low in saturated fat, a type of fat folks with certain health conditions, like diabetes, need to be aware of, and has a healthy amount of carbs to support stable blood sugar levels, which translates to stable energy levels.
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Soup with Ravioli
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall , Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This soup is delightfully creamy and flavored with sweet sun-dried tomatoes and cheesy ravioli. We use oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to keep prep simple and enhance the flavor of this quick soup. If your sun-dried tomatoes are not oil-packed, soak them in hot water for a few minutes and then proceed with the recipe, using extra-virgin olive oil in place of the oil from the jar.
