Weeknight
3490 recipes found
Herby Skillet Chicken With Greens
In this easy skillet meal, seared boneless chicken thighs are nestled on a bed of herbs, browned whole garlic cloves and greens before the pan is popped into the oven to roast until golden. Just before serving, butter, lemon zest and (optional) olives or capers are tossed into the pan drippings, adding creaminess and a tangy, salty spark to the sauce. Serve this over rice or with roasted or mashed potatoes, or with bread for soaking up the drippings.
Chopped Wedge Salad
About three-quarters of the way through eating a wedge salad, the toppings are gone and you’re often left with unseasoned, watery lettuce that you have little interest in finishing. If this sounds familiar, consider messing with tradition by skipping the wedge and chopping all of the ingredients. When the salad’s elements are the same size and tossed together in a bowl, the lettuce is thoroughly dressed, and every bite is an ideal one with a perfect mix of juicy tomatoes, smoky bacon, crunchy lettuce and creamy blue cheese. A chopped wedge salad can be a meal unto itself, or serve it alongside burgers, steak or garlic bread.
Baked Tomato Pasta With Harissa and Halloumi
Keeping a jar of store-bought pasta sauce in your pantry pays high dividends in this five-ingredient recipe. Jarred pasta sauce is ripe for enhancement; here, a confident amount of harissa injects not only spice, but also a deep smoky, savory tang. This is a versatile and adaptable weeknight baked pasta: You can experiment with different flavors of sauce to achieve a different finish; try vodka sauce for a creamier finish or arrabbiata for something spicier. Grating the halloumi allows the firm, salty cheese to melt evenly through the pasta. A hefty amount of dill brings much needed lightness to this dish, but you could substitute parsley or chives.
Easy Boneless Chicken Thighs
For boneless, skinless chicken as crisp and juicy as its bone-in, skin-on counterparts, start with chicken thighs, pat them dry and sear them in a hot skillet. Thighs have enough fat that in a very dry, hot environment, they can develop a bronze crust without getting tough. Compare them to seared breasts or rotisserie chicken and you’ll notice a considerable improvement in succulence and richness of flavor. Serve these thighs with a side dish or two — say Southern fried corn, mixed sabzi or refried beans — or use them anywhere you’d use cooked chicken, like in salads, soups and enchiladas.
Adas Polo ba Khorma (Persian Lentil Rice With Dates)
Lentils and rice scented with warm spices and strewn with fried onions is a classic Persian dish with infinite variations. This minimalist take, from Nasim Alikhani, the owner of Sofreh restaurant in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, keeps things quick and simple, and uses just a few pantry-friendly ingredients. The lentils and rice are cooked together in the same pot, then layered with a mixture of caramelized onions and plump, sweet dates, as well as chopped fresh herbs for brightness. A dollop of yogurt on top adds a tart and creamy touch. Feel free to riff on this basic recipe, adding nuts for crunch, stirring in other spices like cardamom, ginger and saffron, and substituting the likes of raisins, dried apricots or dried cranberries for the dates. At Sofreh, the dish is finished with a dash of rosewater and melted butter for extra richness and perfume.
Miso Leeks With White Beans
In this reinterpretation of the classic French dish leeks vinaigrette, tender braised leeks are bathed in a punchy miso vinaigrette, tossed with creamy white beans then served with an oozy soft egg for an easy, comforting midweek meal. Steady, gentle heat is the key to achieving the rich, jamlike leeks, coaxing out their sweetness while ensuring that they stay silky. The miso leeks can also be eaten in other ways — on a slice of toast, stirred through warm potatoes or pasta, or tossed with French lentils and peppery arugula for a simple salad. Make sure you use the whole leek. Many recipes recommend the white part only, but the green parts, while slightly tougher with a stronger flavor, can also be cooked and tenderized, especially in recipes where they are braised. The miso leeks improve over time and can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
Skillet Pasta With Bacon and Eggs
Emulsifying creamy carbonara sauce can feel trickier than treading a tightrope, but this skillet pasta recipe fulfills those cravings with ease, and all in one pan. Start by searing some sliced bacon until crisp, toasting orzo in the rendered bacon fat, then simmering with stock until pasta is al dente. Next, you’ll stir in a few handfuls of Parmesan, then crack eggs right into the nearly cooked pasta. The whites will cook until creamy, but the yolks should remain runny, so that as you eat, the yolk mingles with the pasta for silky spoonfuls.
Kielbasa-Barley Soup
When the beef in beef and barley soup gets replaced with kielbasa, the soup becomes speedy enough for a weeknight. Full of smoke and spice, kielbasa sausage is wonderful in stews (just look at bigos, a national dish of Poland) and its bounciness is especially fun when contrasting with chewy barley. The barley thickens the broth into something velvety, while a substantial amount of dill brightens the cozy mix. If you’d like to incorporate a green vegetable, add thinly sliced collard greens or cabbage along with the broth in Step 2.
Herb-Marinated Pork Chops
Perfect for low-fuss weeknight meals, thin, boneless pork chops cook up in no time. To infuse these chops with the maximum amount of flavor, marinate them after cooking rather than before. A short, 15-minute soak in the zesty garlic-and-herb vinaigrette allows them to absorb all of the bright, herbaceous notes — and helps ensure that the meat stays juicy. Serve the versatile chops and sauce with roasted veggies, alongside a simple green salad (no need for a separate dressing), or tucked into rolls for sandwiches.
Orange-Glazed Baked Salmon
Baking salmon gently at a low temperature is a low-effort approach that results in a flaky, moist piece of fish. This simple preparation utilizes oranges, but lemons would work nicely, too. You’ll reduce some fresh orange juice in a skillet to concentrate its flavor, then whisk in some honey to sweeten. The glaze gets drizzled over the salmon before baking, but also doubles as a dressing for salad greens. Keep this dish simple, with just its side of greens, or pair this easy weeknight meal with cilantro rice or olive oil mashed potatoes.
Sticky Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry
If teriyaki chicken and balsamic brussels sprouts met up in the skillet, you’d get this quick weeknight stir-fry. Cubes of boneless chicken breasts and seared brussels sprouts are glazed in a sweet, savory, sticky mixture of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and maple syrup. The recipe is adaptable, too: Instead of brussels sprouts, any other vegetable you like in your stir-fries can be seared until crisp-tender, like broccoli florets, green beans or snow peas. For spice, add crushed red pepper or chopped garlic or ginger to the sauce. You can also make this vegan by using pressed, cubed tofu instead of chicken. Serve over steamed rice or sweet potatoes.
Crispy Smashed Sweet Potatoes
With charred skin and crispy bits, this irresistible side dish embodies the beloved dichotomy of smashed potatoes or tostones — soft inside and crunchy outside — but with the natural sweetness of the sweet potato. The key is to cut the sweet potatoes at just the right thickness — about ½ inch — so they can spread out when smashed. The optional step of sprinkling a thin layer of cheese on top before the final broil gives each piece a slight salty finish, with additional texture: Any bits that fall onto the pan become crisp and frico-like. A tangy, lime-mustard-yogurt dip or drizzle would also be welcomed.
Roasted Kale and Sweet Potatoes With Eggs
This sheet-pan meal of buttery sweet potatoes, kale chips, jammy eggs and toasted coconut feels like it comes together by magic simply by staggering the times the ingredients are layered onto the pan. Because thick slices of sweet potato take longer to cook through, they roast first, before the more delicate kale, eggs and coconut are added. The eggs cook in a nest of curly kale leaves that hold them in place. Drizzle everything with a creamy, punchy sauce like the one here, made from just peanut butter and harissa — or, use mint chutney, green goddess dressing or miso-sesame vinaigrette. Serve over grains, quinoa or couscous for a complete, satisfying meal.
Cheddar-Roasted Broccoli
With frizzled florets and crisp-tender stems, roasted broccoli is pretty delicious on its own. Follow Step 1 if you need a go-to basic method, or keep going for broccoli all dressed up in lacy skirts of Cheddar. Store-bought grated cheese will work, but freshly grated cheese will have an easier time surrendering to the heat of the oven. Let the cheese go past melted to just golden brown, at which point it will crisp into chips on your florets. Serve the broccoli alongside chicken cutlets, sausage or refried beans — or eat it straight from the sheet pan with your fingers.
Roasted Root Vegetables With Hot Honey
In this one-method-fits-all recipe, turn any combination of sturdy root vegetables into caramelized morsels. Whether you have carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes or sweet potatoes, rutabagas or any other root vegetables hibernating in your kitchen, cut them into pieces roughly the same size and cook them together on a sheet pan. Roasting on the oven’s bottom rack without stirring ensures one side will be golden brown without the interior drying out. You could stop after Step 1 and enjoy the vegetables’ inherent sweetness, or go on to Step 2 to toss them in a combination of butter, honey, lemon and crushed red pepper. The heat from the sheet pan will meld the ingredients into a spicy, tangy glaze for the vegetables. Enjoy with roast chicken, pork tenderloin, a hearty salad or a fried egg.
Breaded Halloumi With Cabbage Slaw
Watch out, chicken and pork; there is a new cutlet in town. Halloumi is more than a meat-free cutlet alternative; its signature salty, tangy chew is enhanced when encased in a layer of extracrispy bread crumbs. This recipe follows standard breading procedure (dredging the halloumi first in a flour mixture, then beaten eggs, then bread crumbs), with some tweaks: Adding a touch of cornstarch to the flour ensures maximum crunch. Whisking a dash of oil into the egg thins the liquid coating, encouraging the flour and bread crumbs to adhere to the halloumi while also promoting even browning. The quick cabbage slaw is purposefully tart to cut through the richness of the fried halloumi. This cutlet could also be served on a burger bun or with tonkatsu sauce.
Bacon, Egg and Brussels Sprouts Salad
Brussels sprouts star in this hearty riff on a wilted salad, giving it more structure and crunch than one with the usual floppy lettuce or spinach, and an egg on top adds heft, turning a side dish into a light main course. There’s tangy whole-grain mustard in the vinaigrette, too, which contrasts with the richness of the bacon. Serve this with crusty bread for scooping up the savory bacon fat and egg yolk inevitably left on the bottom of the plate.
Ricotta Toast With Roasted Grapes
In this sophisticated take on ricotta toast, Raquel Villanueva Dang, the chef of Baby’s Kusina and Market in Philadelphia, roasts grapes with fresh thyme and salt until the skins pucker and the flesh grows slouchy, verging on collapse. Taste and texture become almost one: jammy and louche, with a tinge of dark wine. She tumbles the grapes over velvety whipped ricotta, with hunks of sourdough on the side. Deepening the contrast of flavors is a salty-sweet glaze of balsamic vinegar cooked down with honey and fish sauce, a nod to her Filipino heritage. If you like, add 1/4 teaspoon mushroom seasoning (an umami-rich blend of pulverized dried mushrooms and salt) to the grapes before roasting, to lend earthiness, and finish the ricotta with a flourish of flaky sea salt and scattered torn mint for a touch of freshness and color.
Red Lentil Barley Stew
Warm spices, fennel and leeks give this rib-sticking stew a deep, complex character. Feel free to adjust the liquid to taste. Adding a little more makes it brothier and more souplike, suitable for eating with a spoon. Or let it rest a bit. As it sits, the barley will absorb all of the liquid, making it easily forkable. Be sure to serve this with lemon wedges on the side, since the lentils and barley benefit greatly from a bright jolt right at the end.
Spicy Tomato White Bean Stew
Made in about half an hour from pantry ingredients, this simple, flexible stew has a velvety texture from canned white beans rounded out by plenty of garlic, olive oil and canned plum tomatoes. The optional bacon adds a brawny heft here, but the stew will be just as hardy without it. Or lighten things up by stirring a few handfuls of quick-cooking greens directly into the pot, which also eliminates any need for a salad on the side.
Lemony Pearl Barley Soup
High in comfort, low in fuss, this pearl barley soup answers the question of what to cook when one doesn’t feel like cooking. Made with pantry staples, this simple soup beams with vibrancy. Lemon transforms this hearty soup into a dish that also feels light and restorative, while dill, used generously, reinforces the citrus flavor while bringing an assertive herbaceous edge. Other herbs could step in for dill; consider parsley, cilantro or chives. Spinach is added right at the end, after the heat is turned off, which ensures that the greens maintain a little bite and stay bright. The soup will thicken over time, so if you are making it ahead or have leftovers, simply loosen it up with more stock or water when reheating.
Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup
This three-ingredient vegan soup isn’t a trick: It’s as velvety and rich as its creamy, dairy-full counterparts, with a sweetness that lingers and warms. Coax deep, nutty flavors from cauliflower and a whole head of garlic by roasting them until caramelized; next you’ll simmer them until nearly falling apart, then blend the mixture until silky-smooth. Gentle and comforting on its own, the soup can also serve as the start to your own creation: You could roast sliced onions or leeks instead of the garlic; stir in Cheddar, Gruyère or Parmesan; or top with fried sage or capers. Accompany with grilled cheese or pumpernickel bread, or a hearty salad with grains or lentils.
Macaroni and Peas
This recipe starts with a love of store-bought mac and cheese, amplified with frozen peas and diced ham. But then, it adds a few layers of flavor, increasing the peas, sautéing the cured pork and using a from-scratch garlicky Parmesan sauce inspired by classic pasta paglia e fieno (“straw and hay pasta,” so named because it’s typically made with a combination of plain and green fettuccine pastas that resembles fresh and dried grass). While pasta paglia e fieno typically uses reduced heavy cream as its sauce, this recipe keeps it a little lighter by decreasing the amount of cream and instead relying on eggs to give the sauce its clingy, glossy texture, like in a good carbonara. A finish of parsley and mint further lightens it.
Peanut Butter Noodles
This nutty midnight pasta is a dream to cook, as it requires just a handful of pantry staples and one pot. Peanut butter (the less fancy, the better) anchors a creamy sauce swathed in umami. Accentuated by a good, salty Parmesan, these noodles recall those cheesy peanut butter sandwich crackers. They make an ideal dinner for one, but the amounts can easily be doubled or quadrupled as needed. For an equally gripping vegan alternative, try swapping out the butter for olive oil and the cheese for nutritional yeast.