Weeknight
3433 recipes found
Chili Mac
“Nothing induces a feeling of security and comfort better than the come-hither aroma of an honest pot of chili mac keeping warm on the stove.” Many would agree with what Jane and Michael Stern wrote in “The Lexicon of Real American Food” (Lyons Press, 2011), whether they’ve had the thrifty, hearty combination of macaroni and chili at a family dinner table, around a campfire, bellied up to a bar somewhere near Lake Michigan or even in an M.R.E. in a military dining room. This supersavory version is a cinch, requiring just one pot and minimal chopping. (For another common chili pasta, see this Cincinnati chili con carne.)
Maple-Soy Pork Chops With Shichimi Togarashi
Shichimi togarashi is a citrusy, savory Japanese seven-spice blend featuring ground red chiles, roasted orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, sansho pepper, seaweed and often ginger. You can extend those sharp, multilayered flavors with lime juice, maple syrup and a touch of soy reduced to a sticky pan sauce that slicks quick-cooking pork chops in this easy recipe. Try to find bone-in loin chops with nice fat caps around the curved outer edges for richness and succulence. Serve with white rice and green beans, or alongside a big crunchy salad.
Marry Me Chicken
This cozy dish, which went viral on TikTok with claims that if you prepare it for someone, you will end up getting married, features boneless chicken breasts nestled in a creamy, tomato-y sauce. With wedding bells in mind or not, this dish comes together fairly quickly and is just as great for entertaining as it is for a family meal. In this version, the addition of tomato paste adds a bright acidity to the rich cream sauce and complements the sun-dried tomatoes. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the juices as well as tangy green salad to balance out the sauce’s richness. Or, try it over pasta, rice or polenta.
Air-Fryer Steak with Garlic-Herb Butter
A classic cast-iron steak recipe is hard to beat, but cooking steak in the air fryer is a reliable way to nail the perfect internal temperature in a fraction of the time thanks to the machine’s circulating high heat. Both the steak seasoning and herb butter work well for other occasions and can be easily scaled up, stored and saved for future use. The small amount of brown sugar doesn’t add much sweetness, instead, it helps encourage caramelization. Fast and dependable, this may become your new go-to way to cook steak on a weeknight. Why You Should Trust This Recipe In creating this recipe, Eleanore Park tried cooking more than five different cuts of steak in the air fryer to reach the ideal result. The recipe tester then tried another cut and also helped adjust the timing to make sure the steak comes out perfectly medium-rare every time.
Baasto iyo Suugo Tuuna (Pasta and Spiced Tuna Sauce)
Thanks to Somalia’s exposure to the ocean — it has the longest coastline in mainland Africa — seafood is an abundant resource. Topped with a rich, spiced tuna suugo (tomato sauce), this pasta dish is a staple in many Somali households, and comes together easily thanks to canned tuna and store-bought marinara sauce. Pasta is a culinary relic of Italian colonialism in Somalia that Somalis have long reimagined into their own new thing. This dish also has different spellings throughout Somalia, including “tuuna” after the English word or “toonno” following the Italian word “tonno.” This pasta sauce gets its unique taste from the addition of fresh cilantro and warm spices, including xawaash, a seven-spice mix that incorporates bold flavors like turmeric, cardamom and cumin. Serve with a salad or enjoy the baasto on its own.
Shrimp Saganaki
Built for a weeknight but worthy of company, this Greek dish coddles shrimp in a delicate tomato sauce that gains depth from olives, ouzo and feta. Its name is derived from sagani, a two-handled pan in which the dish is traditionally cooked and served. Garides saganaki can be an appetizer, mopped up with bread, or it can anchor a meal. Some versions might be flambéed, but this recipe, from “Salt of the Earth: Secrets and Stories from a Greek Kitchen” by Carolina Doriti (Quadrille Publishing, 2023), is sautéed, then baked, which is an easy way to ensure plump, pillowy pieces of shrimp. If you don’t have licorice-scented ouzo, Ms. Doriti suggests brandy or white wine as potential substitutes.
Sheet-Pan Zucchini, Tomatoes and Feta
The star of this speedy supper is the golden-topped, lightly scorched feta that remains irresistibly spreadable and melty when sliced. Thanks to the direct heat of the broiler, charred and burst tomatoes add juiciness to the sheet pan, along with tender zucchini spears. You could also scatter some arugula or baby spinach over the ingredients, gently tossing to wilt, and eat this dish right out of the pan with some bread for a warm, late-summer salad. During other times of year, you could swap the zucchini for asparagus or broccolini.
Baked Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs have all the makings of a weeknight staple: they’re inexpensive, they cook quickly and they are dependably moist and flavorful with the simplest of seasonings. In this hands-off recipe, the thighs are baked at a high temperature until the skin is crisp and the meat is tender. If you have time to marinate the thighs for a few hours, the chicken will be even more flavorful, but even 30 minutes will do the trick. Consider the herbs and seasonings in the marinade a starting point, but feel free to use what you have on hand. If you want to brown the chicken skin further, place the pan under the broiler for a minute or two at the end of cooking.
Cumin and Cashew Yogurt Rice
Yogurt rice is a nostalgic dish for many South Asians, and especially South Indians. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and a no-fuss dinner that’s easy to put together. Cool, creamy yogurt and crunchy, warm spices create a dreamy contrast that makes this dish feel more whole meal-worthy than snack-friendly (though it’ll serve you well for both). Traditional versions include mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal, but this variation includes a different set of pantry staples: cumin seeds, cashews and red chile powder. The trio, plus fresh green chiles, gets sizzled in ghee, enhancing all the rich, smoky, spicy flavors, then gets poured directly over the yogurt rice. Add grated carrots and zucchini to give the rice more heft, or try it with a different combination of spices.
Pasta With Corn, Mint and Red Onions
Practically a no-cook recipe, this celebration of corn, tomatoes and plenty of herbs is about as easy as summer pasta gets. A dollop or two of ricotta adds milky softness, enriching the tangy, garlicky tomatoes and plump kernels of corn, but you can leave it out if you prefer. Although this dish is best with seasonal tomatoes and freshly shucked corn, it’s also excellent made with frozen corn and year-round grape tomatoes, cut into cubes. You can serve this versatile salad warm, at room temperature or even cold as a pasta salad. And leftovers make a terrific lunch the next day.
Za’atar and Labneh Spaghetti
Creamy labneh produces a pasta dish with the texture of an Alfredo, but with a bright tang that brings levity. A Middle Eastern yogurt that is strained or hung until the texture of soft cheese, labneh provides a rich, luscious texture, but strained yogurts, like Greek yogurt or skyr, are suitable substitutes. Be sure to add the dairy at the end, and don’t let it come to a boil while you stir. Boiling will cause the yogurt to break, leaving you with a sauce that isn’t creamy or rich. If the pasta sauce tightens up and breaks from sitting for too long, there’s a simple solution: Add some reserved pasta water and stir vigorously over medium-low heat until the sauce comes back together, lusciously smooth, saucy and glossy.
Pizza Salad
For pizza in salad form, this recipe tosses a crisp and briny mix of romaine lettuce, pepperoncini, black olives and red onion in a fresh, grated tomato vinaigrette. Spicy pepperoni strips are sizzled until crisp; their zesty fat gets sopped up by toasty bread crumbs that are spiked with the classic New York slice flavors (oregano, garlic and red-pepper flakes). (You can make a big batch of these crumbs, store them in the fridge and use them to top pasta, eggs, roasted veggies and anything else you want to take to pizza town.) This salad is showered with the salty pepperoni crumbs, offset by mozzarella morsels running throughout.
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.
Grilled Harissa Shrimp
Harissa paste is a spicy North African condiment that is typically made from some combination of red chiles or peppers, garlic and a slew of fragrant spices, often including coriander and cumin. Here the paste is used alongside a bit of honey and lemon as a quick marinade for grilled shrimp. Prepared harissa varies quite a bit from brand to brand in its heat level, but this dish is meant to be punchy and spicy. Serve the grilled shrimp with rice or flatbread, or on top of a crunchy salad, and you’ll have an easy dinner sorted. Make sure that your grilling area is very well ventilated, as the paste will get quite smoky once it hits the hot grates.
Zaalouk (Eggplant and Tomato Salad)
Zaalouk is a Moroccan cooked salad, similar to baba ghanouj and moutabal, that highlights eggplant in all its glory. Just a few ingredients come together to create a lightly aromatic, herby and melt-in-your mouth dip. There are many ways to prepare zaalouk; what varies is the way in which the eggplant is cooked. It can be steamed, boiled, chargrilled, baked or, as in this recipe, simply cooked on the stovetop with the rest of the ingredients. Zaalouk is commonly served as a starter, however, feel free to enjoy it as a side or as a spread in a tasty sandwich with grilled meat or vegetables.
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.
Baked Fish With Pomegranate Sauce
Assembled over a bed of caramelized onions, brushed with a tangy pomegranate sauce and baked until flaky, this stunning Iraqi fish recipe comes from the artist Oded Halahmy, who was born in Baghdad and has explored pomegranates in his artwork and at his Pomegranate Gallery, which has locations in New York City and Israel. The dish is fit for company but can be enjoyed any time. Amba, a pickled mango condiment, can be used, or substitute Dijon mustard if you can’t find amba. You can also swap in tart tamarind sauce or sweet date jam for the pomegranate molasses. You can even grill a whole fish rather than buying fillets, brushing the pomegranate sauce on the skin before and after cooking. The dish is then finished with pomegranate seeds, scattered, alongside parsley, over the fish. Serve with rice, bulgur or any cooked grain.
Vegan Green Goddess Dressing
Green goddess dressing was served for the first time, in the 1920s, at the Palace Hotel, in San Francisco, at a banquet in honor of George Arliss, who starred in the play “The Green Goddess.” Herbaceous, creamy and tangy, the original recipe used mayonnaise, scallions, chives, tarragon, parsley, anchovies and vinegar. This vegan rendition mostly sticks to tradition, but employs tahini for body, basil for sweetness and soy sauce for a flavor that’s similar to anchovy. Keep the dressing thick for a dip, or thin it to coat sturdy salad leaves like romaine, iceberg, escarole or radicchio.
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.
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.
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.
Rosé Shrimp
This zippy, pink shrimp dish captures the crisp and flowery flavors of rosé wine in just 20 minutes. A dusting of herbes de Provence, bloomed in hot, shrimpy olive oil, amplifies the savoriness that crustaceans cooked in butter and wine tend to provide, like that of shrimp scampi. Piment d’Espelette — the fruity, moderately spiced pepper named after a commune in France and prevalent in Basque cooking — turbocharges the color and flavor of the shrimp. This chile can be swapped in a pinch (see Tip), but don’t skip the orange zest; it brings out the wine’s inherent fruitiness. Serve this dish as an appetizer with crusty bread, or as an entrée with pasta or white rice, whatever can sop up the rosy pan juices.
Goulash
Hungarian goulash, a stew of paprika-spiced braised meat and vegetables, likely arrived in the United States with a wave of immigrants in the late 1800s. The dish began a game of telephone, slowly evolving into something new entirely. While American-style goulash may not bear much resemblance to its Hungarian namesake, the hearty one-pot dish has endured as an easy and comforting family weeknight dinner. Made with ground beef, bell peppers, diced tomatoes and macaroni, it falls somewhere between a beef chili and a meaty pasta. A sprinkle of Cheddar, stirred in just before serving, thickens the sauce and adds richness. Serve the goulash on its own or with a green vegetable and cornbread on the side.
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.