Weeknight
3434 recipes found
Hawaii-Style Garlic Shrimp
Three decades ago, the first shrimp truck rolled out on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. It served jumbo shrimp, a dozen to a plate with two scoops of rice, crackly shelled and dark with paprika and a rubble of garlic and butter — so much butter that the sheen stayed on your fingers all day. Rivals soon appeared and today, at least a dozen trucks vie for customers, both locals and tourists who drive an hour from Honolulu. When Kathy YL Chan, the writer behind the Onolicious Hawai‘i blog, reverse-engineered the recipe, she dredged the shrimp in mochiko (sweet rice flour) for extra crispness, although all-purpose flour works, too. She calls for one head of garlic here but uses two heads herself; feel free to adjust according to your taste.
Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta With Leeks, Tarragon and Lemon Zest
This creamy vegetarian pasta is hearty enough for chilly temperatures while still nodding toward spring with the addition of bright-green chard, leeks and fresh herbs. For texture, it’s topped with toasted panko, a garnish that can go many ways: Instead of using nutritional yeast, which adds tangy flavor here, you can melt a finely chopped anchovy with the butter and toss it with the panko. You could also add some ground coriander, Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence. Toasted panko, plain bread crumbs or even crushed croutons are a solid back-pocket trick to add crunch to any pasta, especially the creamiest kind. Don’t skip the tarragon and lemon zest garnish, which add a fresh note to an otherwise-rich dish.
Baked Salmon and Dill Rice
Fragrant dill rice is a natural accompaniment to salmon, and a complete meal of the two is made easy here by baking them together in one dish. Add fresh or dried dill to basmati rice, which is eventually topped with salmon covered in a tangy, sweet and spicy paste of mayo, lemon zest, honey and dried chile flakes. To ensure the rice is perfectly fluffy without overcooking the fish, the grains are baked until most of the water is absorbed before the salmon is added over the top.
Skillet Tortellini With Corn and Crispy Rosemary
You can have cheesy pasta, juicy corn, fried rosemary and loads of bacon in just 20 minutes, with the use of just one skillet. Fresh store-bought tortellini are a boon to quick meals, especially when they’re cooked directly in the sauce instead of a big pot of water. But it’s the trifecta of salty bacon, sweet corn and rosemary that makes this pasta substantial enough for cool nights yet fresh enough for summer — which is to say, it’s great for any time at all. To incorporate a green vegetable, add one that can cook in three to five minutes along with the pasta, such as halved snap peas, thinly sliced asparagus or broccolini, or spinach, or eat the pasta alongside a light salad of greens or crunchy vegetables.
Suqaar Digaag (Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Sauté)
A popular part of Somali cuisine, suqaar is a meat-and-vegetable dish that comes together quickly as a weeknight meal. Among different variations, the most common are hilib (camel or beef) and digaag (chicken). Seasoned with Somalia’s famous xawaash spice blend of warm cumin, coriander and other aromatic spices, this dish weaves layers of flavor into each tender bite of chicken. If you want a bit of heat, be sure to add the optional jalapeño. Chicken suqaar tastes as good with flatbreads like anjero as it does spooned over rice with a side of salad. If you want to enjoy this another way, serve it with Somali-style rice and bananas.
Sheet-Pan Jerk Salmon
Broiling is one of the quickest ways to cook salmon, and retain its moisture. It heats the outside while keeping the inside tender. When making this jerk salmon, your house may smell like a charcoal grill in the Caribbean. Don't worry if the fish darkens considerably as it cooks; that’s when you know it’s almost done. Finish it off with a mango slaw or classic carrot salad to make your dinner look as vivid as it tastes.
Salisbury Steak
In the United States today, most people might know Salisbury steak as a TV dinner. When made from scratch with just the right mix of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and brown sugar, the tender beef patties smothered in gravy are a hearty, soul-warming staple. The original dish was named after Dr. James Henry Salisbury, who famously recommended eating it for health reasons. This version is all about how delicious the meal is and leans into its savory flavors, especially the umami-rich onion and mushrooms in the sauce. Serve these mini Salisbury steaks with green vegetables and steamed white rice, mac and cheese, gamja salad or mashed potatoes.
Miso-Mustard Salmon
In this single-skillet recipe, miso and Dijon mustard create a one-two punch of salty and spicy to balance the sweetness of salmon and cabbage. Slather the mighty combination on the salmon fillets, sprinkle with sesame seeds for crunch, then roast on top of caramelized, crisp-tender cabbage. Serve with steamed rice or sweet potatoes if you like, then use the remaining sauce to drizzle over everything. The thinned miso mustard is also great to have around as a salad dressing for crisp lettuces, or a sauce for roasted vegetables or tofu. It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator
One-Pan Chicken With Peperonata and Olives
Peperonata is a classic Italian side of tangy stewed peppers that is often served with meat, stirred into pasta or draped over crostini. There are many regional varieties (the traditional Sardinian recipe uses only yellow peppers, while the Venetians add eggplant), but this combination of roasted peppers, tomatoes, olive oil and vinegar creates a vibrant, versatile sauce. Olives add a hint of brine, but capers would also do the trick. In this version, boneless, skinless chicken breasts roast directly on top for a no-fuss, one-dish meal. (You could also use chicken thighs, but you’d need to increase the cook time.) Serve this dish with any short pasta, rice or toasted country bread — and any leftovers tucked into a sandwich or tossed into salad.
One-Pot Ginger Salmon and Rice
This one-pot meal follows in the tradition of takikomi gohan, or Japanese mixed rice: Short-grain rice cooks with meat, seafood or vegetables and seasonings like dashi, hijiki, mushrooms and soy sauce. This recipe’s umami is driven by toasted nori (or gim); the sheets used for sushi or kimbap and the little, boxed seasoned snacks both work. When cooked with the rice, the seaweed loses its crunch, but its nutty, briny flavor infuses each grain. Seaweed goes well with salmon, which is lively with lemon and ginger, and silky from a quick steam on top of the rice. And while you could add any vegetable that steams in 10 minutes, crisp-tender asparagus works especially well.
Sheet-Pan Pierogies With Brussels Sprouts and Kimchi
This sheet-pan dinner is a sure win in under an hour, with your oven doing most of the heavy lifting. Roasting pierogies yields a crisp, golden skin with a soft, pillowy interior but, if you don’t have pierogies, you could use gnocchi in their place. (No pre-cooking required!) Cooking kimchi at high heat may feel like a surprising move, but it becomes sticky and caramelized, imparting lots of flavor and texture to the final dish. Finally, a dill sour cream adds a fresh richness, but feel free to swap out the sour cream and use a good-quality Greek yogurt, crème fraîche or even buttermilk (it will be runnier, so no need to thin with water).
Garlicky Chicken Thighs With Scallion and Lime
These tangy chicken thighs are a weeknight alternative to a long, weekend braise. They may not fall entirely off the bone, but the quick simmer in a rich, citrusy sauce yields an impossibly tender thigh that you wouldn’t get with a simple sear. Serve with rice, whole grains or with hunks of crusty bread for mopping up the leftover sauce.
Sheet-Pan Gochujang Chicken and Roasted Vegetables
Gochujang, a Korean fermented chile paste, enlivens a straightforward dinner of roast chicken and vegetables with a salty, spicy and umami-rich layer of flavor. Freshly grated ginger, sliced scallions and quick-pickled radishes elevate the flavor even further. This recipe calls for a wintry mix of squash and turnips, but equal amounts of root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and beets, or lighter vegetables like cauliflower, brussels sprouts or broccoli will work well too.
Sheet-Pan Sausage Parmesan With Garlicky Broccoli
Using quarter sheet pans (small rimmed baking pans measuring about 12 inches by 9 inches) allows you to cook your main course and side dish at the same time in the same oven, but without the mixing of flavors that would happen if you combined everything in one large pan. So the sausage juices can mingle with the tomato sauce and melted cheese, without compromising the roasted garlicky broccoli to serve alongside. You can use hot or sweet Italian sausages here, or a combination – as long as you can remember which is which for serving.
Shakshuka With Feta
Shakshuka may be at the apex of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it is breakfast food, a bright, spicy start to the day with a pile of pita or challah served on the side. (It also makes excellent brunch or lunch food.) It’s a one-skillet recipe of eggs baked in a tomato-red pepper sauce spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne. First you make that sauce, which comes together fairly quickly on top of the stove, then you gently crack each of the eggs into the pan, nestling them into the sauce. The pan is moved into the oven to finish. Shakshuka originated in North Africa, and like many great dishes there are as many versions as there are cooks who have embraced it. This one strays from more traditional renditions by adding crumbled feta cheese, which softens into creamy nuggets in the oven’s heat.
Sheet-Pan Cajun Salmon
This full sheet-pan dinner, ready in 30 minutes, couldn’t be any smarter or easier. Here, salmon, potatoes and asparagus are all added to the same tray at different points for a one-pan meal that makes cleanup seamless. A marinade infused with Cajun seasoning and paprika infuses the salmon, adding smokiness and some color. The bite in the asparagus plays off the flaky tenderness of the salmon, and the baby potatoes round it out. This meal stands on its own, but you could also put the leftovers over lettuce for a lunch salad the next day.
Pan-Seared Pork Chops With Charred Pineapple
In this quick skillet dinner, which is reminiscent of sweet and sour pork and tacos al pastor, boneless pork chops are seared with just a bit of sugar to promote browning, then pineapple chunks cook in the drippings until caramelized but still crisp. Once the pork is cooked, a spicy soy sauce is poured on top to add juiciness. It’s a perfect combination: The tangy, sweet pineapple cuts the richness of the pork, while the soy sauce balances the sweetness of the pineapple. You could also use tofu, boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced pork tenderloin or shoulder, or a firm fish in place of the pork chops. Eat with rice, noodles, sliced cucumbers or sautéed greens.
Sheet-Pan Sausages With Caramelized Shallots and Apples
In this rustic sheet-pan dinner, apples and shallots roast slowly alongside pork sausage, becoming fragrant and caramelized in the process. A quick toss with whole-grain mustard and apple cider vinegar adds a savory edge, making the apple and shallot mixture almost reminiscent of chutney. This recipe works equally well with both sweet and hot pork sausage, as well as any crisp apples, though a mix of red and green apples looks particularly nice. Serve with French green lentils and a green salad, with plenty of Dijon mustard on the side.
Spicy Sheet-Pan Chicken With Sweet Potatoes and Kale
These sheet-pan chicken thighs gain gorgeous color from a harissa-yogurt marinade, which also keeps the meat juicy during the roasting process. The thighs only need 15 minutes in the marinade, but you can leave them for up to 24 hours in the fridge. For weeknights, heat the oven, place the chicken in the marinade, then wash and cut the sweet potato and kale, so the prep work is done and the oven hot by the time the chicken is done marinating. Make the herb oil while the chicken roasts so it has time to sit. While it’s meant for the vegetables, it’s also wonderful drizzled on top of the chicken.
Sweet and Spicy Tofu With Soba Noodles
If you don’t cook tofu often (or even if you do), this unfussy tofu dish is for you: There’s no flour-dredging or shallow-frying, and no marinating at all. As long as you pat the tofu dry (a bit fussy, but not by much), the vegetable oil’s high smoke point will yield crisp edges, while the sesame oil imparts flavor, putting you well on your way to making tofu taste great. What’s more, a ginger-and-garlic-laced soy sauce coats noodles and tofu alike, giving you chopstick after chopstick of toothsome pleasure. Serve these warm or cold, and be generous with the cool, crispy vegetables on top, especially for summer picnics where you can stretch this to serve 6 or even 8 as a side.
One-Pan Bruschetta Spaghetti
Spaghetti in the dead of summer, when tomatoes are at peak ripeness and break down quickly to coat any pasta in irresistible flavor, is the best time to eat spaghetti. You won’t need a lot of time to make this, just one big pan (use your largest and deepest) and the resolve not to eat the whole pile of noodles yourself. You'll want a slightly larger cast-iron skillet here — either a 12-inch version, or a deep 10-inch — to avoid spillage. Make sure to cover the pasta with a lid or foil so it cooks faster, and to stir from time to time. Since you’re not draining the noodles as you would in a traditional pasta dish, it’s good to know that different noodle shapes, sizes and brands may soak up liquid differently and that some tomatoes may be juicier than others. Simmer as long as needed get the sauce to a consistency that’s just right for you.
Sticky Coconut Chicken and Rice
This comforting one-pot chicken dish features fragrant coconut rice infused with aromatic ginger, garlic and scallion, and studded with toasty cashews. The cashews soften as the rice steams, adding subtle nuttiness to the dish. Chicken thighs absorb the coconut milk as they cook, which keeps the meat tender and juicy. Fresh chopped cilantro brightens the dish, while hot sauce adds nice heat and tang to balance the creamy, rich and slightly sweet rice.
Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Potatoes and Turnips
Think of this as the sheet-pan dinner version of a Hungarian chicken paprikash, ruddy with paprika and sweet tomato paste. Roasting the chicken at high heat instead of braising it lets it singe at the edges, and allows the potatoes and turnips to turn golden beneath their coating of duck fat (or olive oil). Feel free to double this; just use two large sheet pans instead of the smaller pans.
Sheet-Pan Roasted Chicken With Greens
This one-pan meal features a bronzed bird and a pile of braised greens that are cooked unevenly to our benefit: The leaves under the chicken steam and absorb chicken juices, while those exposed to the oven’s heat brown and crisp. Use a mix of greens if you can, but either way, you’ll get a tangle of deep, dark greens so rich and soft, even the stems are edible. (And less prep work for you!)