Weeknight
3434 recipes found
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.
Sheet-Pan Lemony Chicken With Brussels Sprouts
This is a true oven-to-table sheet-pan dinner full of tender, crunchy brussels sprouts and crispy, lemony chicken. A simple lemon-and-herb compound butter seasons both the chicken and sprouts, which are then topped with thin lemon slices that become crunchy in the oven, offering a nice textural element and a bright splash of color and flavor. The key is to cut the lemon rounds almost paper-thin, so they can crisp up and lose their bitterness. This recipe is easily adjustable for a larger batch: Add 4 drumsticks (about 1 ½ pounds) to the chicken thighs, increase the butter by 1 tablespoon and adjust seasonings as needed.
Sheet-Pan Sausages and Brussels Sprouts With Honey Mustard
This hearty pan of sticky, honey mustard-glazed sausages, brussels sprouts and potatoes only adds to the argument that sheet-pan dinners make the best weeknight meals. As the sausages roast, they yield a delicious fat that coats and seasons the caramelized vegetables. Use any fresh sausage you like, as long as it pairs well with the honey mustard. Feel free to substitute or add other vegetables like squash, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, carrots or cabbage. The mustard seeds and nuts provide texture and crunch, but leave them out if you prefer.
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.
Sausages With Tangy, Gingery Pineapple
Debate ham and pineapple pizza all you want. There’s no denying the goodness of caramelized pineapple paired with crisp-edged sausages. In this easy weeknight meal, a tangy lime- and ginger-spiked dressing cuts the richness of the meat and tempers the sweetness of the fruit. Serve this with some crusty bread to mop up the drippings.
Skillet Hot Honey Chicken With Hearty Greens
Requiring just one pan, this recipe yields supremely crisp, juicy chicken thighs and hot honey schmaltz, which serves as a warm vinaigrette for sturdy greens and a sauce for your — let’s say it again — supremely crisp, juicy chicken thighs. Squint and the flavors are reminiscent of fried chicken with a side of braised collards: Crackly chicken cozied up next to spicy, tangy and a little-sweet greens fortified by animal fat. Make your honey-schmaltz as spicy as you wish: Green chiles will pack more heat than red.
One-Pot Chermoula Shrimp and Orzo
Traditionally used to season seafood and vegetables, chermoula is a Moroccan marinade made of herbs and spices like cilantro, parsley, paprika and cumin. In this one-pot recipe, the orzo cooks in a combination of chermoula and stock, so the orzo is seasoned all the way through. In the last few minutes of cooking, just stir the shrimp into the orzo to cook, and you have a quick and easy, yet exciting, dinner. Feel free to use a protein of your choice instead of shrimp, but adjust cook times accordingly. Also, consider making a big batch of chermoula and keep it in the fridge to use as a marinade, a dressing on salads or a condiment for sandwiches.
Chicken Manchurian
A stalwart of Desi Chinese cooking, chicken Manchurian is immensely popular at Chinese restaurants across South Asia. Nelson Wang, a third generation Chinese chef who was born in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), is credited with inventing the dish in Mumbai in the 1970s. This recipe comes from attempts at recreating the version served at Hsin Kuang in Lahore, Pakistan, in the late ’90s. At restaurants it’s almost always served on a sizzler platter, the tangy, sweet-and-sour sauce bubbling and thickening on its way to the table. Making it at home doesn’t compromise any of the punchy flavors. Velveting the chicken in egg and cornstarch means it’ll stay tender through the short cooking process; bell pepper and spring onions add freshness and crunch to the otherwise intense flavors from ketchup and chile-garlic sauce.
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.
Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
Filled with feta, yogurt and oats to keep the chicken tender and flavorful, these meatballs lean Mediterranean, but they’re subtle enough to play well with others. Though they anchor any meal as the main character, they welcome a wide range of supporting cast members. You could roast broccoli, asparagus or other vegetables with a similar cooking time in another sheet pan in the oven, or add heartier vegetables like delicata squash to the oven first, since they take a bit longer to cook. Serving the meatballs in a bowl of leftover tomato sauce or your favorite marinara would be a winning combination, too. Use them to add heft to salad, or (gently) drop them into a brothy soup just until warmed.
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.
Spicy Honey Chicken With Broccoli
Seasoned with pickled jalapeño juice and honey, these juicy thighs have a tangy, spicy-sweet flavor profile that evokes Tex-Mex toppings and salty soy sauce chicken. In this mostly one-pot meal, broccoli florets steam in the heat of the skillet alongside the chicken, so be sure to cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces that will cook in the time it takes the chicken to finish. (Chopped asparagus would be an easy swap for the broccoli.) Though the dish is vibrant on its own, adding some minced garlic or ginger to the honey mixture and finishing with fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley can brighten it even further.
One-Pan Crispy Chicken and Chickpeas
This speedy, no-fuss meal comes together in one pan with a minimal ingredient list — and barely requires any chopping. The chicken skin crisps as it roasts and the chickpeas, garlic and spinach soak up any juices at the bottom of the pan. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end brightens up the whole dish. Make sure to stir the chickpeas and spinach together gently at the end to avoid breaking up the chickpeas too much. For added flavor, you could dust the chicken with smoked paprika, ground turmeric or your favorite spice blend before cooking. Serve this dish with yogurt and hot sauce on the side, and flatbread, if you like.
Rosemary Chicken Ragù
Requiring just 30 minutes of simmering, this is the ragù to make any old night. Made with chicken, it is lighter than traditional ragù, but has strong flavors from butter, anchovies, rosemary, garlic and a hefty kick of red-pepper flakes. (You can use less if that scares you.) With such a savory base of ingredients, you can skip browning the chicken and still be rewarded with juicy meat that willingly shreds when pulled with forks. The silky sauce and delicate strands of chicken like to twirl with long noodles, but they would also be great over polenta, mashed potatoes, white beans or farro. Meal planners, you should know that this recipe makes 6 cups of sauce and will keep 3 days refrigerated — and improves with time.
Roasted Chicken With Fish-Sauce Butter
Roasting chicken thighs in a hot oven is a hands-off way to achieve two of life’s greatest pleasures: crispy skin and golden schmaltz. And you want that chicken fat because it will crisp hand-torn bread into croutons. This meal is made even more lovely thanks to a bold but balanced fish-sauce butter that you whip up on the stovetop while the rest of the meal takes care of itself in the oven. Be sure to start with cold butter; the gradual melting of the fat helps thicken the sauce without breaking it.
Skillet Chicken With White Beans and Caramelized Lemon
One of the best parts of cooking skin-on chicken in a skillet, aside from the obvious (crispy skin), is the delicious fat left behind. To maximize the amount of fat yielded, be sure to cook the chicken on the medium side of medium-high heat, which gives the fat plenty of time to render before the skin browns. All this extra time on the stove means you won’t have to finish your chicken in the oven. (The only exception are extra-large pieces, which may need a brief stint in a 350-degree oven to completely cook through.) While just about anything is great tossed in this liquid gold, using it to caramelize thick slices of lemon and wedges of shallot takes the dish to an even more complex, savory, tangy place. You can let the seasons or your pantry dictate what gets added next: hearty leafy greens, chunks of summer squash or a simple can of chickpeas or beans are all welcome to the party.
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
This spicy, saucy chicken takes almost no time to prep in the morning and only 5 minutes to finish before eating. At its simplest, the recipe is a meal-in-a-bowl stew, and the toppings are key to making it feel special. You could serve the chicken over rice or a whole grain, or use it as a taco or enchilada filling (use a slotted spoon to serve the chicken, if it is very saucy). You can also add 1 cup of frozen or fresh corn, or a drained 15-ounce can of black beans or pinto beans; just add them at the end along with the fresh cilantro and scallions. The level of heat in jarred salsas can vary, so taste yours first to ensure it is to your liking. If you want more spice, leave some of the jalapeño seeds in, or use hot canned green chiles instead of mild ones.
Sheet-Pan Chicken With Shallots and Grapes
This one-pan meal is simple enough for a weeknight, but impressive enough to serve at a dinner party. Chicken thighs are quickly marinated in garlic, olive oil and za’atar, if you’d like, while the oven comes to temperature. Then, they’re roasted alongside thick wedges of shallots and sweet grapes, whose flavors are gently coaxed together and deepened by the chicken fat as they cook. Serve straight from the sheet pan, or plate on a pretty platter. Serve with a salad of chicories dressed with lemon, olive oil, anchovies and salty pecorino cheese.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Korma
Flavored with cardamom and saffron-infused cream, then garnished with golden raisins and slivered almonds, chicken korma is a delicate and elegant dish. This version, by the cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, is quickly made in an electric pressure cooker. You can substitute chicken breasts here, as long as you buy them still on the bone. Boneless chicken is apt to overcook. Serve this over basmati rice to soak up the rich, creamy sauce.
Ginger Chicken With Crisp Napa Salad
Ginger, garlic and cilantro form the base of an aromatic marinade for this easy stovetop chicken dish. Lightly pounding the chicken breasts increases their surface area, which helps them soak up the marinade and cook evenly. A refreshing and crunchy salad of napa cabbage, cucumbers and fresh mint rounds out the dish into the perfect light lunch or dinner. To make this for a larger group, simply double the recipe.
Crispy Sour Cream and Onion Chicken
Picture sour cream and onion dip slathered on chicken cutlets, dredged in panko bread crumbs, and fried until crisp like a potato chip, and you’ll envision this recipe. The marinade doesn’t just deliver flavor here: The lactic acid in the sour cream also keeps the thin chicken breasts juicy. Shower the crispy chicken with fresh chives and lemon juice, or, if you crave something creamy for dunking, pair it with a dip of sour cream, lemon juice and chives.
Pad Krapow Gai (Thai Basil Chicken)
As dynamic as it is speedy, this ground chicken and green bean recipe from “Night + Market” (Clarkson Potter, 2017) by Kris Yenbamroong and Garrett Snyder, delivers a wallop of flavor with punchy ingredients that stir-fry in just 15 minutes. While this popular Thai street food can be whipped up using a range of proteins, Mr. Yenbamroong refers to his riff as “low-rent” because it’s prepared with ground chicken rather than pricier slices of meat. It’s piled with basil; Thai basil or holy basil provide more assertive licorice notes, but sweet basil adds herbal bursts of brightness. Spiked with Thai seasoning (see Tip), the chicken mixture is salty on its own, but it’s inextricably linked with rice, and imparts the right amount of salinity when dispersed.
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.
Weeknight Lemon Chicken Breasts With Herbs
Boneless chicken breasts suffer a bad reputation, owing in large part to their propensity to dry out. The solution here is a lovely bath in an ample amount of olive oil, white wine and lemon, which seasons and tenderizes the chicken. Later, the marinade becomes an easy pan sauce once it cooks with the breasts. Use fresh herbs in the summer; in the winter, dried herbs will do the trick.