Weeknight
3429 recipes found
Creamy Artichoke and Charred Scallion Pasta
For a comforting, veg-forward meal, this one-pot recipe transforms dozens and dozens of charred scallions into a cheesy pasta dish. Through charring, fresh scallions transition from sharp and savory to smoky, mild and sweet, creating the perfect flavor foundation for a pasta sauce. To speed up the charring process, start with a smoking-hot pan, oil-coated scallions and a grill press or skillet to weigh down the scallions and increase surface contact. For additional body and texture, meaty canned artichokes are stirred with the pasta, along with fresh lemon zest and juice to brighten. A shower of Parmesan at the end will lead to an irresistibly silky, creamy sauce.
Creamy Tomato Spaghetti With Preserved Lemon
Something magical happens when preserved lemon and tomato are cooked together. In this quick and simple pasta, fragrant lemon permeates the tomato paste, creating a beautifully aromatic (and pantry-friendly) sauce with the addition of heavy cream. Spaghetti is tossed with the sauce, which ends up subtly sweet and yet bright and tangy — a comforting weeknight twist on the always beloved tomato pasta.
Sizzled Scallion Rice With Sardines
This sardine rice recipe unites some likely kitchen inhabitants, such as onions, garlic and leftover rice, to make a quick, allium-perfumed weeknight dinner. Since fat is an excellent courier for flavor, giving the olive oil time with the aromatics and sardines ensures a satisfying amount of each ingredient's fragrance and flavor throughout the rice. Is it fried rice? Technically, yes, but the taste drifts toward the Caribbean. The dish stands alone, as any seafood fried rice can, but would also welcome a soft-boiled egg on top, if you’re up for getting another pot involved.
White Bean, Feta and Quick-Pickled Celery Salad
Pickling celery for just fifteen minutes is a game changer: The acid tames its grassy notes, brings out savoriness and transforms its texture from simply crunchy to crisp-tender. Here, celery is quickly pickled with red onion to create a sweet-and-sour foundation for this hearty cannellini bean salad. The cumin seeds are optional, but they add a deeply earthy and aromatic edge to the pickles; feel free to substitute or experiment with other whole spices such as caraway, coriander, fennel or star anise. Creamy and salty feta balances the sharpness of the pickles. This is a great no-cook dish for easy weeknight eating, but it also improves with age, so can be made ahead for potlucks, picnics or other gatherings.
Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup With Zucchini
A simple base of aromatic garlic, ginger, bay leaf and turmeric flavors this cozy and nourishing chicken soup. Tender chicken, zucchini and chewy brown rice provide bite and substance, and simmer together at the same pace. The rice will swell and soften in the broth as the soup sits, and you can cook it longer than called for to give this soup more of a stewy or even porridge-like texture, depending on your preference. Add more water or stock to thin the broth as needed if reheating. Serve with a drizzle of chile crisp or a squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Curried Red Bean Soup With Kale
This riff on classic Italian minestrone draws inspiration from rajma and maharage nu shaak, two red kidney bean curries with spiced, aromatic gravies, typically made with tomatoes (rajma is Hindi for kidney beans, and maharage is Swahili for beans). This version offers a perfect use case for black mustard seeds, which bloom in the oil to add a sharp, earthy flavor before the onions and garlic are added. This, along with a few other warming spices, helps create an aromatic tomato base for the kidney beans, pasta and greens. Using whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) is key to achieving a brothy soup that still has body, but crushed tomatoes will work in a pinch.
Pork Laab
The magic of pork laab (also known as moo larb or laap) lies in the simple yet strikingly effective combo of fresh herbs and toasted rice to season this ground meat salad. Cilantro, scallions and mint balance the richness of the meat, while the nutty flavor of the ground rice — an essential component of laab — complements the zingy lime juice. Many Thai recipes call for ingredients that can be tough to find in the U.S., but this northern Thai salad is an outlier. You can opt for dried Thai chiles, if you’ve got them, or you can achieve your desired heat level by grinding up crushed red pepper.
Crispy Tofu Tacos
There are plenty of crispy tofu recipes, but few truly deliver on the promise, since tofu has a tendency to steam because of its high moisture content. But time can do the trick in the oven, creating brittle edges and a chewy texture with little effort. Squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can from your block of tofu, grate it coarsely, season it fearlessly, then roast it until sizzling. The key step is to drizzle the tofu with a combination of olive oil and tomato paste toward the end of cooking, which crisps the edges and lends a deep umami flavor, so much so that this tofu could almost be mistaken for seasoned ground beef. A swipe of avocado mayo, loosened with lime juice and electrified with zest, adds richness and tang, and quite literally holds the tacos together. Choose your mayonnaise and tortillas wisely and the whole dish is vegan.
Crispy Potato Quesadillas
Despite what many people think, quesadillas don’t always have cheese. In Mexico City, you can order a “quesadilla sin queso” with a variety of fillings, highlighting the regional debate around what constitutes a true quesadilla. This version embraces both worlds: It contains cheese, but it’s melted into a hearty potato and pea filling that makes these quesadillas more satisfying as a complete meal. The quick slaw on top, inspired by curtido (a vinegary cabbage salad popular throughout Central America), balances the richness of the quesadillas and provides a nice spicy crunch. If you have any slaw left over, it keeps for up to four days in the refrigerator and is versatile enough to serve with plain rice or grilled meat or fish throughout the week.
Pad Prik King (Red Curry Chicken and Green Beans)
There are very few ingredients that can electrify a dish the way a spoonful of curry paste can. In this recipe, which is adapted from “Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand” (Penguin Canada, 2020) by Nuit Regular, store-bought red curry paste and lime leaves season sliced chicken and long beans in a salty-sweet dry curry. At her Toronto restaurant, Ms. Regular makes the curry paste from scratch, and in Thailand, you can purchase fresh curry paste by weight, but stateside, you’re more likely to find it in shelf-stable cans or jars. Salt and heat levels vary widely, so start with a little, then add more gradually, as desired. Citrusy, herbal Makrut lime leaves are essential to classic pad prik king (see Tip 2), but rest assured, this recipe is still delicious without them.
Chicken Jorim (Soy-Braised Chicken)
Korean jorim is a classic braise of meat, fish or veggies simmered in a savory soy sauce until they’ve absorbed all of the flavors of the thickened liquid. Typically done with beef, the stew is equally flavorful with quick-cooking chicken. Here, cubed chicken thighs and potatoes are braised in a tangy sauce infused with ginger, garlic cloves and mushrooms, a simple combination that delivers deep flavor. Serve the stew over warm rice to balance and soak up the intense sauce.
Dak Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Chicken)
One great joy of bulgogi, marinated grilled beef that translates to “fire meat,” is that you can prepare it in advance and, when you’re ready to eat, have dinner on the table in under 10 minutes. This stovetop chicken variation, dak bulgogi, provides the same workday convenience and savory-sweet flavors, thanks to soju, an alcohol which tenderizes the meat, and maple syrup, which caramelizes beautifully without burning. Apple juice extends those ingredients and allows room for the subtle umami — known in Korean as gamchil mat — from garlic, ginger and scallions to gently season the chicken. Don’t skip the salt, pepper and lemon at the end; they complete this deliciously brisk dish.
Easy Chickpea Salad
A bright zesty salad with crisp cucumbers and tender chickpeas inspired by the Levant, where chickpeas have been cultivated for millennia. Ready in a flash, this salad combines lemon and fresh aromatic herbs with a crunch and flavor that improves over time in the refrigerator, making it a great salad to bring to a picnic or potluck. Serve with warm pita bread, or spoon over rice. Instead of discarding the chickpea liquid (aquafaba), try making homemade vegan mayonnaise or even meringues. Leftovers keep beautifully for up to a week, and try this: mix in a touch of that homemade mayo for a delicious chickpea salad sandwich the next day.
Roasted Fish and Leeks Vinaigrette
This zippy sheet pan dinner takes inspiration from leeks vinaigrette, a French bistro dish in which leeks are boiled until tender and dressed with a mustard vinaigrette. Here, the leeks are roasted, along with some capers, for plenty of satisfying crunch and caramelized flavor. When the leeks are tender, the fish fillets are added right to the pan and roasted until tender and flaky. (A flaky white fish, like cod or halibut, or even salmon would work well here.) Finally, what brings this dish together is the quick, punchy vinaigrette made with whole-grain mustard, parsley, shallots and red wine vinegar. Spooned over everything before serving, it balances the richness of the roasted leeks and fish with just the right amount of acidity and freshness.
Caramelized Carrot and Halloumi Salad
Salty bites of crisp, golden-brown halloumi play well with sweet and tender caramelized carrots and red onion in this warm salad that takes inspiration from fattoush. Here, kale and crunchy toasted pita add enough bulk to ensure this dish is satisfying enough for dinner. It’s all tied together with a simple vinaigrette that’s both earthy and herbaceous, thanks to the blend of herbs, sesame and sumac found in za’atar. If you’d like to make this salad vegan, feel free to skip the cheese.
Herby Pearl Couscous and Sugar Snap Pea Salad
The earthy and tangy flavors of tabbouleh serve as the loose inspiration for this lemony and herbaceous salad. Fresh parsley and mint are bright and grassy, offering a lovely textural contrast to the silky pearl couscous; dried mint adds depth. Juicy and sweet sugar snap peas supply a fresh crunch, with just a rough chop needed to release the inner peas. Allspice brings a moment of intrigue, both warm and complex, but you could substitute with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or a little of each. This salad can be prepared up to several hours in advance (kept at room temperature); the flavors will meld and improve over time.
Baked Tofu
This recipe delivers crispy baked tofu that's perfect for salads, stir-fries, curries or rice bowls topped with sauce. Both firm and extra-firm tofu work well, though extra-firm has more bite. Since tofu quality varies significantly between brands, try a few to find your favorite. While you can press tofu between towels and weights, a tofu press makes the process easier if you cook tofu often. Skip lining the sheet pan here: Direct contact with the metal pan creates more crispiness. For a shortcut, freeze your tofu first to skip the pressing step entirely.
Pesto Chickpea Soup
If you constantly find yourself searching for the next no-fuss pantry meal to make after a busy day at work, this pesto chickpea soup is for you. It requires just a handful of ingredients and minimal effort; slicing two shallots is the most difficult thing this 20-minute recipe will require. The modest but mighty recipe relies on store-bought or homemade pesto as its main flavor source. The steps are as simple as can be: The shallots cook in the pesto’s fragrant oil until softened. Next, canned chickpeas are added to the pot and crushed, then simmer in vegetable broth until thickened. Finally, a second dose of pesto gets swirled in the stew alongside fresh spinach, preserving their radiance for a bright boost of flavor.
Noodle Okonomiyaki (Cabbage and Egg Pancakes)
These hearty, vegetarian main-meal pancakes have it all: noodles, eggs and big umami flavors. Loosely inspired by Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, this weeknight-friendly recipe is a shortcut version, with cabbage and instant noodles tossed with seasoned eggs to make a thick, satisfying pancake. It provides a good chance to use up that leftover wedge of cabbage in your fridge, as a little cabbage goes a long way here. There’s room to experiment with other vegetables, too, such as carrots, bean sprouts, potato or broccoli. The egg seasonings — soy sauce, scallions and sesame oil — are also flexible: Try adding a dab of miso paste, a drizzle of chile crisp, Maggi seasoning or a spice paste like gochujang. For a gluten-free alternative, opt for glass noodles. This recipe shows that the best weeknight recipes are the ones that work with what’s available in your pantry.
Jalapeño Grilled Chicken Breasts
These might be the juiciest chicken breasts you’ll ever cook. The fresh, peppery, neon-green brine — imbued with fresh onion, jalapeños, garlic and sake — results in irresistibly succulent meat with the clearest, most straightforward pepper taste. Bolstered by the barbecue’s fire taste, this grilled chicken is great alongside freshly steamed jasmine rice and your favorite hot sauce. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, an indoor grill pan works well; just be sure to ventilate your space well by turning on the hood vent and leaving a nearby window or door open. If you’re cooking this on an indoor grill pan, feel free to cover any empty spaces with thickly sliced onion and extra jalapeños: This prevents the pan from scorching and also gives you a free vegetable side dish.
Atole de Grano (Savory Corn Porridge With Chicken)
Atole is often thought of as a sweet, drinkable corn-based beverage, but in parts of Mexico, it also refers to this hearty, savory porridge made with masa harina and hominy. This version, inspired by the traditional atole de grano, is thick, creamy and deeply comforting — perfect for showcasing the variety of textures and flavors that different forms of corn can bring. Here, sweet corn kernels and chewy hominy add dimension to the velvety base, while a topping of roasted chicken and caramelized poblanos brings savory depth. A final flourish of lime, chicharrones and hot sauce adds brightness and crunch. Quick to come together and endlessly adaptable, this dish is a warm embrace in a bowl.
Tuna and Broccoli Fried Rice
Perfect for kids and adults alike, this fried rice comes together with the help of a can of tuna and some fresh broccoli, along with a few pantry staples, such as onion, garlic, rice, soy sauce and sesame oil. Despite the easy availability of its ingredients and the simplicity of the recipe, it's flavorful enough to impress company. While tuna is the heart of this fried rice recipe, the broccoli could easily be interchanged with other vegetables such as bok choy, kale or brussels sprouts. The chile-garlic sauce adds the slightest hint of heat, but can also be left out or served on the side, to accommodate any eaters with an aversion to spice. Save this recipe for those nights when you crave takeout-style fried rice but don’t want to spend takeout money.
One-Pot Miso-Turmeric Salmon and Coconut Rice
In this layered spinach, salmon and rice dish, a bed of greens layered on simmering coconut rice acts as a steamer basket for the fish nestled on top, allowing it to cook gently. The rice starts cooking while easy-to-eat salmon pieces are coated with savory miso and colorful turmeric. A bit of lime balances the rich flavors. It’s a recipe to play with, depending on whim and what you’ve got on hand: Swap the spinach for chopped chard or kale; stir in preserved lemon for brightness or sliced ginger for a warming kick; or serve with fresh avocado or radish slices.
Pork, Asparagus and Snap Pea Stir-Fry
This speedy stir-fry draws inspiration from the Sichuan dish of fried green beans with pork. In that dish, the green beans are charred and crisp, with red chiles and bits of ground pork playing a supporting role. Here, the ratio is roughly half vegetables, half pork, making this recipe a great way to turn a pound of ground pork into a delicious and balanced weeknight dinner. Asparagus and snap peas not only add freshness and crunch, but they’re time savers, too, needing only a few minutes in the pan. Finally, in order to ensure that the ground pork has lots of flavor, the recipe calls for mixing it with grated ginger, garlic, honey and soy sauce before cooking. The honey is key, as it helps the pork caramelize quickly and stay juicy.