Lunch
2850 recipes found
Roasted Chicken Thighs With Cauliflower and Herby Yogurt
This weeknight sheet-pan meal of crispy roasted chicken thighs and cauliflower gets a flavor boost from a tangy herbed yogurt sauce. If your cauliflower comes with leaves attached, don’t toss them. Roast them alongside the florets; just toss them with a little bit of olive oil and add them to the sheet pan about halfway through the cooking time. Make sure to scoop up a bit of yogurt with each bite.
Citrus Skillet Shrimp With Shallots and Jalapeños
Inspired by the bright, refreshing flavors of ceviche, this recipe takes advantage of an abundance of winter citrus to season pan-cooked shrimp, cooking it until tender and warm rather than curing it simply using salt and acidity and without the application of heat, as classic ceviches do. Shallots and jalapeños quickly bathe in orange and lime juice to cut the rawness and heat of each. You can substitute chopped scallions for the shallots, and white fish or scallops are easy stand-ins for shrimp. Best enjoyed with rice and a simple lettuce salad with avocado and a mustard vinaigrette, this vibrant, colorful dish can brighten up even the dreariest of cold days.
One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta
This no-colander-necessary, one-pot pasta method isn’t a gimmick: Cooking the noodles in just enough seasoned stock means they’re done in the same amount of time it takes the liquid to reduce into a concentrated, extra flavorful sauce. Mascarpone makes it silky, though crème fraîche or even softened cream cheese would be solid substitutes. While the pasta cooks, make a quick gremolata of chopped parsley, salted almonds and basil, which adds brightness and texture to the finished dish. Though this pasta comes together quickly, it requires more attention than some: Be sure to stir frequently so the noodles cook evenly, and add a splash of water toward the end of cooking, as needed, so they stay saucy.
Chicken Chili
This comforting weeknight chili recipe takes advantage of quick-cooking ground chicken, for speed, and ancho chile powder, which brings deep, smoky flavor. Caramelized tomato paste adds savory depth, plus a touch of acidity to brighten the rich sauce. Meaty kidney beans simmer alongside until they break down a little, thickening the stew. Enjoy the chili on its own, perhaps paired with crusty bread, or turn your meal into a more festive affair with a tasty toppings bar to customize as you like.
Chicken Fried Rice
Fried rice is so perfect for using up whatever you’ve got that the rice sometimes becomes an afterthought. But not here: First, the rice is lightly seasoned with scallions, ginger and garlic, then judiciously studded with chicken, peas and small curds of egg so that you can still taste the rice itself. Ground chicken is used instead of sliced or cubed because it’s easy to infuse with seasonings and can brown without drying out. If you’d like to add additional vegetables, of course you can: Stir-fry them after Step 2, remove them from the pan, then add them back with the chicken in Step 4.
Chicken Parm Burger
When chicken Parmesan is refashioned into a quicker affair as a burger for sunny days and warm nights, it avoids the downfalls of many chicken burgers. This chicken patty is both juicy and flavorful thanks to the addition of Parmesan, herbs, garlic and tomato paste. It cooks over a lower-than-usual temperature, which maintains moisture while still browning, thanks to the sugars in the tomato paste. The burgers are assembled with tomato and arugula for freshness, and they wouldn’t properly nod to chicken Parm without a blanket of gooey, sweet mozzarella.
Honey-and-Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs
In this simple weeknight recipe, chicken thighs are tossed with a sweet-salty glaze made of honey and soy sauce that caramelizes into a sticky coating as it roasts in the oven. Serve the sliced chicken with bibb lettuce cups for wrapping, or over steamed rice to catch all the juices. Leftovers can be chopped and combined with vegetables for a tasty clean-out-the-fridge fried rice.
Air-Fryer Chicken Thighs
Simple and satisfying, chicken thighs brown beautifully in the air fryer, maintaining moisture thanks to their fat content. A quick, vinegar-spiked sour cream marinade adds oomph and helps tenderize the chicken. Despite being tossed and coated in a quick wet marinade (or overnight, if time permits), the skin still comes out deeply golden-brown and shatteringly crisp without leaving the meat lackluster. Because thighs vary in size, and air fryers range in size and power, make sure to take the internal temperature before removing your chicken from the air fryer, or pierce the chicken to check that the juices run clear rather than pink to ensure doneness.
Chicken Salad With Lemon-Sesame Dressing
This main-dish salad is inspired by chicken larb, which is a dance of contrasts: light but rich, with tender meat, crunchy vegetables and seasonings that span sour, sweet, spicy and savory. This recipe dresses lean-but-juicy ground chicken or turkey with sesame oil, fresh lemon, miso, ginger, basil and celery, but there are many ways to adapt it: You could sauté crumbled tofu or cubed salmon instead of the chicken; or add yuzu kosho, wasabi paste or fried garlic. It’s good on its own, or with roasted potatoes, grains, salad greens, soba noodles or wrapped in nori.
Stir-Fried Chicken and Bok Choy
No need for a wok here. You can use a flat-bottomed skillet or sauté pan instead, the bigger the better. You want as much surface area as possible to get as hot as possible, so preheat the pan for at least five minutes before adding the oil. There should be a forbidding amount of smoke when the ingredients hit the pan (open the windows and turn on the fan before you start). That will give you the deepest sear. Stir-fries are infinitely variable, and you can change up this recipe by using beef or pork, and other green vegetables (asparagus, broccoli, mustard greens, cabbage, spinach or thinly sliced green beans) substitute nicely for the bok choy. Make a version of this dish once or twice and you’ll have a reliable and delicious alternative to takeout.
Pernil-Style Roasted Chicken Thighs
Pernil is a Puerto Rican slow-cooked marinated pork shoulder dish in which the pork is roasted for hours until succulent and crispy-skinned. The flavors of pernil become accessible on a weeknight with the use of quicker-cooking chicken thighs. The chicken pieces are coated in a garlicky, oregano-and-citrus rub that combines orange and lime juice for a sweet-sour hit. Serve the juicy chicken with rice or tucked into corn tortillas; a simple green salad or cabbage slaw would also make a nice accompaniment to complete the meal.
Shake and Bake Chicken Thighs With Parmesan Peas
Crushed shredded-wheat cereal perked up with spices creates a super-crunchy coating reminiscent of the "Shake 'n Bake" of countless childhoods. Here, it works so well on boneless, skinless chicken thighs that you won’t even miss the crispy skin. For a twist on the classic beloved side dish, buttered peas are showered with Parmesan cheese.
Kua Kling (Southern Thai-Style Red Curry)
Whereas larb is bright and acidic — light on its feet — this simple adaptation of a traditional Southern Thai dry red curry, is grounding and spicy. It owes much of its flavor to red curry paste, turmeric and fresh chile that have been toasted until they shake awake. For scorching heat (a curry like this is typically brutally hot), add more chile. As the chicken — though it could be ground pork, sliced beef or chicken, or mushrooms — cooks, its fat renders and the fired-up curry paste adheres. Season it with brown sugar and fish sauce, and serve with rice, cabbage, herbs, avocado, cucumber and-or a crisp fried egg.
Tea-Soaked Drunken Chicken With Cilantro-Scallion Oil
Made from fermented glutinous brown rice, Shaoxing wine is what gives this dish its slightly sweet flavor and nutty fragrance. The dish relies heavily on the wine's aroma and flavor, so if you can’t find it, substitute with a good quality dry sherry (a Manzanilla variety will work well). Here, the chicken is poached instead of simmered, guaranteeing a moist bird that soaks in the flavor of its cooking liquid. But if it's a more intense flavor you're looking for, allow the chicken to chill in the poaching liquid overnight.
Chicken Fajitas
You might think fajitas are too fussy for a weeknight, but this easy, foolproof version roasts on a sheet pan and can be ready in an hour. Because the ingredients are thinly sliced, everything cooks in a flash — and with little attention required. Smoked paprika, chipotle chiles and a quick stop under the broiler provide the smoky flavor that would traditionally come from the grill. This recipe is very adaptable: Chicken is called for here, but you could also use shrimp or skirt steak. For a vegetarian version, substitute fresh corn kernels, mushrooms, poblano peppers or zucchini for the meat. Cut the vegetables into sizes you’d want in a taco, coat them in the lime-chipotle marinade, roast until cooked, then broil until charred.
Spicy Sesame Noodles With Chicken and Peanuts
In this quick and spicy weeknight noodle dish, sizzling hot oil is poured over red-pepper flakes, orange peel, crunchy peanuts, soy sauce and sesame oil. While you brown the ground chicken, the mixture sits, and the flavors become more pronounced and fiery. Tossed with soft noodles and browned chicken, the bright chile-peanut oil shines. If you crave something green, throw in a quick-cooking green vegetable when you break up the chicken in Step 3. You can also swap the chicken with ground pork or beef, or crumbled tofu.
Chicken Miso Meatballs
Ground chicken breast meat is fairly lean, so milk is added to this recipe to keep them moist and tender. As the meatballs bake, the miso caramelizes into savory bites of sweet-salty umami. Crumbled Ritz crackers add richness and create a more juicy meatball (but plain, dry bread crumbs will also work). To make the Ritz crumbs, place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag and lightly crush them with the back of a wooden spoon or measuring cup. These also make a tasty hors d’oeuvre: Simply roll the mixture into smaller 1-inch balls. For a quick dipping sauce, combine 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part distilled white vinegar, and add sliced scallions, or red-pepper flakes, if you like heat.
Pasta With Feta and Green Olives
Bold, briny and tangy, this 15-minute pasta is full of personality. Olives are first slightly blistered in oil, drawing out their brininess, then crumbled feta is stirred into the pasta at the end until melty. Keep the feta chunky when breaking it apart so that the squares become soft and creamy, tasting almost baked. Castelvetrano olives are best here for their meaty texture and gentle flavor, but you can also use your preferred olive. Smash them with the flat side of a chef’s knife — or even the heel of your palm in a pinch — then use your fingers to pluck the olive flesh off the pit. Any stubborn meat clinging to the pit is fair game to be eaten then and there.
Spaghetti all'Assassina (Spicy Singed Tomato Pasta)
This spicy one-pot pasta dish is common on menus in Bari, Italy, but can easily be prepared at home. Like many classic dishes, there are a couple versions of its origin story. According to one, a distracted chef accidentally left his pasta cooking until the sauce burned, while another attributes the recipe title to the dish’s killer spiciness. The method involves treating spaghetti as you would risotto: Heat some garlic, red-pepper flakes and tomato paste in oil, then add the pasta and cook it gently, slowly adding tomato broth little by little. Once the pasta soaks up the flavorful liquid, it starts to char. Bari is famous for serving this dish extra “piccante,” but at home, you can make it as mild or spicy as you wish.
Pressure Cooker Chipotle Chicken Pozole
A pressure cooker is the perfect tool for making a quick pozole that tastes like it has simmered for a long time. Traditional red pozole usually requires toasting and puréeing dried chiles for a flavorful broth, but this one relies on canned chipotles for smoky complexity. Chipotles can be fiery, so feel free to use fewer peppers if you’re concerned about the heat, but don’t skimp on the adobo sauce: It’s milder than the peppers and is packed with loads of smoky, garlicky flavor. Serve the soup in bowls with plenty of crumbled cheese, diced avocado and crushed chips, for topping. The slow-cooker version of this dish uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, carrots and celery, is available here.
Spaghetti With Burrata and Garlic-Chile Oil
Burrata — a cousin of mozzarella with a creamy core — is a splurge, but it does all the heavy lifting in this simple dish, adding a rich finish that renders a basic bowl of whole-wheat noodles sophisticated. A spicy-sweet seasoned oil made by sautéing fennel, garlic and red-pepper flakes in good-quality olive oil over low heat is drizzled over the top, complementing the velvety texture of the cheese and the nuttiness of the noodles.
Sausage and Peppers Pasta With Broccoli
The classic Italian combination of sausage and peppers creates a satisfying and easy weeknight meal when combined with pasta. Broccoli is a fantastic nutritious addition that adds texture and cooks up quickly, or you can opt for broccolini or broccoli rabe if you want a more assertive vegetable. Sweet Italian pork sausage is used here, but there's no need to feel tied to the recipe: Substitute with spicy Italian sausage for extra heat, use chicken-apple sausage for a healthier take, or swap in fresh chorizo or breakfast sausage to turn this dinner into brunch.
Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta
The addition of avocado lends a lovely creamy texture to this pesto. The ripe fruit imparts richness to the sauce, while nutty roasted pepitas add a deep toasty flavor. If you can only find raw pepitas, simply toss them with olive oil and salt, then toast in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until they start to pop and turn golden brown. Shower the dressed pasta with more crunchy pepitas for a nice contrast to the velvety sauce. Leftover pesto can be refrigerated for two days; press the surface with plastic wrap to avoid discoloration (any browned areas on top should be scraped off before using). The pesto also makes a tasty avocado toast, sandwich spread or crudité dip.
Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake
For those of you who love lasagna's edges, where sticky tomato meets crisp cheese, this whole dish is for you — even the middle. A tube of tomato paste here mimics the deep flavors of sun-dried tomato. Frying a few generous squeezes caramelizes the tomato's sugars and saturates the olive oil, making a mixture that's ready to glom onto anything you stir through it. Here, it’s white beans, though you could add in kale, noodles, even roasted vegetables. Then, all that’s left to do is dot it with cheese and bake until it’s as molten or singed as you like. Serve with bread and a bitter-green salad.