Lunch
2848 recipes found
Sheet-Pan Chopped Salad With Chicken
A vibrant mix of vegetables roast alongside chicken in this recipe, transforming into a warm chopped salad. Quickly marinated chicken breast pieces stay juicy and moist during cooking, emerging with the texture of chicken that has been gently poached. Zucchini and bell peppers release flavorful juices as they cook; the resulting liquid gets transformed into a tangy vinaigrette that comes together in the pan. Leftovers are great the next day, tucked into a baguette. You could also chop the chicken and veggies, then simmer them in marinara sauce for a heartier pasta meal.
Green Salad With Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette
This ebullient green salad is dressed with ripe, sweet tomatoes marinated in sherry vinegar and fresh basil. The garlicky croutons add loads of crunchy texture, giving this a bit more staying power. Serve this as is for a substantial salad course or side dish, or bulk it up with the likes of cubed tofu or shredded chicken, avocado, jammy eggs, tuna, chickpeas, cheese or nuts and seeds.
Grilled Steak With Tomatoes, Basil and Cheddar
This sunny dinner for two forms a happy union between charred steak and salty, umami-rich aged white Cheddar, rounded out with sweet, juicy tomatoes and fresh basil. Somewhat like a salad, the steak is dressed with a punchy shallot vinaigrette that ties everything together. If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the steak in a grill pan or a skillet: Cut the steak into two or three portions and cook in batches to avoid overcrowding, which will help you get a deeper sear on the steak. To round this meal out, try it with grilled garlic bread or even salt and vinegar roasted potatoes.
Salmon and Corn Cakes With Jalapeño Mayonnaise
Made with fresh corn, cilantro and lime juice, these summery salmon cakes are a great way to use leftover salmon. Canned pickled jalapeños are the magic ingredient here by adding heat and vinegary tang to both the cakes and the accompanying mayonnaise. (Any leftover sauce would be delicious as a dip for shrimp or with any simply cooked fish.) Canned salmon works well here, too, just be sure to buy the boneless, skinless variety. Finally, when you’re cooking the cakes, keep an eye on the heat level, hovering between medium and medium-low once the oil heats up. If the oil gets scorching hot, kernels of corn may start to pop and splatter. A quick dip in seasoned flour also helps prevent this, providing a barrier between the cakes and the oil and ensuring the cakes come out nice and crispy.
Bánh Mì
Bánh mì are, frankly, perfect sandwiches. From the baguettes (“bánh mì” literally translates to bread) to the fillings, they leave room for endless variation while remaining entirely distinct as a complete, complex Vietnamese dish. For this recipe, pork is the star: Following a brief marinade, the meat is broiled, then stuffed in a warm baguette alongside pickles, mayo, butter and a sprinkling of herbs. Ideally, it’s worth picking up the baguettes and butter from your local Vietnamese bakery or bánh mì shop (just ask; they’ll likely sell some to you). Both the pork and the pickles can be made ahead of time. Any extra cooked pork shoulder would serve as delicious leftovers when reheated alongside rice and eggs, or tossed between noodles, or folded into yet another bánh mì. Any extra pickles will hold in the fridge for several weeks — and are endlessly adaptable for later meals.
Creamy One-Pot Orzo With Corn and Bacon
In “Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook,” Joe Yonan suggests grating corn to take the kernels off and extract the delicious milky pulp from the cob. This method maximizes the amount of pure corn flavor that you can add to any dish. Here, most of the corn is grated to create a super creamy, one-pot pasta that tastes sweet and summery. Calabrian chile paste, which is usually made of chiles from the Calabria region of Italy, oil and vinegar add heat, acidity and a bit of smokiness to this dish. If you can’t find it, swap in some homemade red chile sauce or harissa.
Pa Muchim (Scallion Salad)
A bright tangle of greens that is sour, salty, spicy and sweet, this traditional Korean scallion salad pairs well with meat but is suitable for any banchan spread. This recipe comes from David Shim, the executive chef at Cote in New York City, who noted its versatility and its ability to team up with beef, pork, chicken or just about anything off the grill — including Mr. Shim’s galbi skewers. Though all you need to cut the scallions into thin slivers is a sharp knife and a little patience (you’ll need to position your knife at a sharp angle on the scallion to shave it into long strands), cheap bladed scallion cutters make fast work of the task. Plunging your sliced scallions into a bowl of ice water helps them curl while taming their bite. Dress the scallion curls just before serving, so you can pile them high. Frilly and fragrant, a little bite of this salad goes a long way.
Grilled Broccoli and Halloumi Salad
This recipe steers the broccoli, cheese and raisins from Southern broccoli salad to the grill, with a few updates. Cooked over fire, slender spears of broccoli get sweet and smoky, and the cheese (a sturdy, grillable one like halloumi) gets crispy and chewy. Raisins are replaced with fresh grapes, which skip the grill and get tossed with lime zest to become extra-sour bursts. Shower this dish with lime juice, olive oil and mint for a classic combination made anew. For a heartier meal, serve over quinoa, salad greens or grilled bread.
Green Salad With Warm Goat Cheese (Salade de Chèvre Chaud)
Some dishes are showstoppers, while others are ordinary, unfussy and exactly what you want on a slow evening when nothing need be achieved or sought after. This is a simple salad, with the smallest exalting touch: rounds of goat cheese coated in beaten egg and the sheerest veil of bread crumbs, then gently pressed in a hot pan until dark gold. They come served over a careless toss of greens — you can add fresh herbs like dill or parsley for featheriness and a bright lift — in a dressing that requires no more than oil, vinegar, mustard and a single shallot. Eat immediately, when the greens are fresh and cool, and the cheese is still warm, faintly crackly on the outside and oozy within.
Refried Beans
Refried beans, a staple of Mexican cuisine, is a flavorful side dish that’s surprisingly easy to make at home. (They’re not really fried twice — “refried beans” is derived from their Spanish name, frjoles refritos, which means “well-fried beans.”) Throughout Mexico, the beans are cooked in freshly rendered lard, which adds a deep, caramelized pork flavor. In this quick recipe, smoked bacon stands in for the lard while chipotle pepper in adobo adds heat, sweetness and a long-simmered flavor that makes canned beans taste homemade. For a meatless version, replace the bacon with half a bell or poblano pepper, and swap the vegetable oil with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. You can easily make a double batch and freeze the leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Lemon Pesto Pasta
While not as well known as pesto alla Genovese, lemon pesto is a delicious variation that adds a jolt of brightness. Used in Italy as both a pasta sauce or spread for crostini, its preparation is similar to classic pesto by combining basil with cheese, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil, but the addition of the lemon zest and juice gives it a unique flavor and color. This simple weeknight pasta sauce comes together quickly in the food processor and can be made ahead, as it keeps in the refrigerator for up to one week. You can also drizzle the pesto over a Caprese salad or grilled zucchini, or smear it over crusty, toasted bread as a topping, as they do in Italy.
Sheet-Pan Garlicky Chicken With Blistered Tomatoes
Drawing on some of the sunny flavors of the Mediterranean, this recipe coats boneless chicken thighs in yogurt, lemon juice, oregano and garlic, then cooks them with some lemon slices to infuse them with bright flavor. Paired with juicy, charred tomatoes, silky red onion and an array of toppings, this sheet-pan feast is perfect for piling into a pita pocket. Adding some of the feta to the reserved yogurt dip is encouraged, as is serving this with thinly sliced cucumbers for a cooling, refreshing bite.
Cold Sesame Noodles With Cucumber, Corn and Basil
For a summertime update on a beloved Chinese dish, cold sesame noodles are freshened up with crisp cucumbers, raw corn and aromatic basil. The minimalism of the three-ingredient sesame dressing belies its complex flavor. It brings together three flavor-dense condiments: chile crisp, sesame oil and sesame paste. Available from Asian grocery stores (or online), Chinese or Japanese sesame paste is similar to tahini. It is made from toasted sesame seeds, so the finish is darker, nuttier and stronger. If you can’t get a hold of sesame paste, substitute with smooth peanut butter or tahini. The noodle choice here is flexible to make space for those with dietary restrictions; use any type of thick rice or wheat noodle.
Kimchi Chicken Lettuce Wraps
For the fastest path to deliciousness, select ingredients that punch above their weight. This weeknight recipe leans on just five primary ingredients — ground chicken, lettuce and rice form the foundation; kimchi adds depth and hoisin lends sweetness — for a fresh spread that cooks in just 15 minutes. Bracing and assertive, kimchi doesn’t slip into this dish; it dominates. Though each jar of kimchi is unique, its salty, spicy and tangy notes reign. You’ll cook off a portion of the chopped fermented cabbage with the chicken, taming its taste and texture, then use the remainder as a garnish. To offset kimchi’s assertiveness, the chicken is glazed with hoisin sauce, which adds sweetness, color and glossiness. Set the chicken mixture, kimchi, lettuce and rice in separate bowls for tableside assembly — less work for the cook, more fun for the guests.
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Yellow Squash Casserole
Packed full of sweet yellow squash and topped with buttery crackers, this Southern staple is worth turning on the oven, even during the hottest summer days.
Sanshoku-don (Three-Color Rice Bowls)
Sanshoku-don is a classic Japanese comfort food that is equally delicious served hot and fresh or at room temperature, making it a hugely popular choice for bento-style school lunches. The base recipe combines ground chicken (other meats or vegetarian alternatives like ground tofu or plant-based ground meat work just fine) seasoned with the classic Japanese savory-sweet combination of soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, and vigorously scrambled eggs served on top of Japanese short-grain rice. Add a simple green vegetable – frozen peas, steamed slivered snap peas or green beans, or simply sautéed spinach or kale – and you’ve got a full meal in a bowl.
Spicy Tomato and Nectarine Salad
When it comes to savory tomato salads, the iconic Caprese salad feels unsurpassable because its formula is simple but sublime: sliced fruit, bright herbs (basil) and rich cheese. This salad started out basic as well, initially combining tomato with stone fruit and a spicy honey-jalapeño vinaigrette, but surrendered to Caprese’s gravitational pull to eventually include fistfuls of fresh herbs (basil, mint or cilantro) and cheese for richness. (Salty ricotta salata shavings stand up to the zippy vinaigrette without overpowering it.) Seasoning your individual elements to taste might seem excessive, but it builds better flavor. Some salads are built to tower, but this salad feels fancy, fresh and less fussy when layered directly on the platter, served flat.
Old Bay Grilled Shrimp
The appeal of this grilled shrimp recipe lies in the combination of sweet shrimp, savory Old Bay and the singe of the grill, but the secret ingredient may be the baking soda, which keeps the shrimp snappy and tender. Old Bay seasoning is a beloved blend of sweet paprika, celery seed, dried mustard and other secret spices; it’s often used on Maryland blue crabs, but once you try it on shrimp, you’ll pine to use it elsewhere, too. (Try popcorn, corn or a Bloody Mary.) This recipe is brightened with lemon, garlic and parsley, but hot sauce, mayonnaise or drawn butter wouldn’t be out of place.
Singapore Mei Fun (Curried Rice Noodles With Pork)
Singapore rice noodles are a classic stir-fried rice vermicelli dish, traditionally including some combination of veggies, shrimp, pork and scrambled egg, and seasoned with curry powder. Despite the name, the dish is thought to have originated in Hong Kong’s hawker food stalls, known for their quick and affordable meal options. The classic version contains Chinese roasted pork, also known as char siu, which you can find at many Chinese restaurants, but this dish is highly customizable. It also works well with all sorts of different vegetables (like scallions, Napa cabbage and snow peas). Be sure to rinse the noodles in cold water to halt the cooking and loosen the noodles, preventing clumping and ensuring a light, loose tangle of noodles on your plate.
Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini With Salsa Verde
A punchy salsa verde can instantly elevate any simply grilled vegetable, but in this recipe, it does double duty, serving as a garlicky, herby marinade and a finishing sauce for chunks of halloumi and zucchini. Firm, salty halloumi, which originated on the island of Cyprus, is a rare cheese that grills well, because of its high melting point. The key to getting a nice char on the halloumi and zucchini is to cut both into pieces of similar sizes, so they make good contact with the grill, and to be gentle when threading the pieces of halloumi so they don’t tear. These would make a nice meat-free main course, or an unexpected grilled side as part of a larger cookout spread.
Crispy Zucchini Hero
Massive and tasty, this vegetarian sandwich celebrates sweet zucchini, pan-fried until golden and crispy. The veggies are tucked into one long soft roll for easy assembly, and drizzled with an oregano-spiked oil-and-vinegar dressing that seasons the sandwich with tangy zest. The zucchini can be fried up to 30 minutes ahead of time; be sure to hold the pieces on a rack set over a sheet tray to prevent steaming and to keep them crisp. For best results, build the sandwiches right before serving.
Egg Foo Young
These puffy fried egg omelets, which were created in the 1900s by Cantonese immigrant restaurateurs for American palates, are stuffed with meat and vegetables and smothered in a savory gravy. Typically deep-fried in woks to create the fluffy texture, shallow frying at home in a cast-iron skillet produces similar results; the high heat expands the eggs with steam, creating air pockets and crispy nooks during frying. A terrific way to use up leftovers, typical fillings include shrimp, ground pork or diced cooked ham and veggies such as mung bean sprouts, onions, carrots or scallions. Serve with cooked rice and steamed broccoli or green beans.
Chicken Noodle Soup
With carrots, celery, egg noodles and specks of green herbs, this homemade chicken noodle soup is classic and comforting, but instead of boiling a whole bird for hours, this quick and easy recipe calls for stock and cooked chicken, so it’s doable on a weeknight. Because the majority of the soup is the chicken stock, use one that’s sippable on its own, whether store-bought or homemade. Without noodles, the soup can be made and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months; add the noodles when reheating the soup. For chicken noodle soup using raw, bone-in chicken, try this recipe.
Smashed Cucumber, Avocado and Shrimp Salad
Smashed, salted cucumbers form the base of cooling summer salads in many parts of Asia, whether dressed with rice vinegar and soy sauce or spicy Sichuan peppercorns, chiles and peanuts. This version pairs smashed cucumbers with avocados for creaminess, along with briny shrimp steamed with sesame oil. Served with rice or flatbread, it makes a light summer meal, but you can serve it on its own as an appetizer, to open for grilled or roasted meat or fish.