Weeknight
3429 recipes found
Greek Yogurt-Marinated Salmon
This weeknight-friendly recipe leans on Greek yogurt for a fish marinade that not only adds flavor, but also makes for salmon that’s even more tender than usual. The yogurt works on the salmon slowly, with less risk of “cooking” (or denaturing) the fish that citrus- or vinegar-based marinades pose, and acts as a protective crust, sealing in moisture as the salmon bakes. The marinade in this recipe calls for mostly pantry and fridge staples, along with grated fresh ginger and garlic, but feel free to use the yogurt as a starting point and add your own favorite spices and seasonings.
Broken Egg Salad
This dish has all the elements of a classic egg salad — eggs, mayonnaise and mustard — with one radical change: The cooked eggs are simply torn into deliciously irregular chunks of whites and yolks in a more laid-back approach. Egg salad recipes usually call for hard-boiled eggs, but since they stay largely intact here, this recipe calls for just-set yolks that are golden and jammy at their core. When cooking eggs, every second counts, so make sure you set a timer as soon as the eggs hit the water to avoid overcooking. Eat this egg salad as you would the classic: with bread as a sandwich or tartine, tossed with some chickpeas or grains, or served alongside roasted veggies.
Gnocchi Gratin
This speedy take on potato gratin uses store-bought potato gnocchi instead of sliced potatoes. Not only does the switch cut down on prep time, but the gnocchi get soft and luxurious as they warm in the heavy cream. A sprinkle of nutty Gruyere and salty Parmesan melts into the creamy sauce, which is also scented with garlic, sage and nutmeg — that is, except the layer of cheese on top, which browns and crisps. Serve this as a side to roasted cabbage, asparagus, chicken or another protein.
Beef Fried Rice
Fried rice is perfect for easy and fast weeknight cooking, as it is highly customizable and can be made with all sorts of veggies and protein. This beef version employs a traditional Chinese technique of velveting meat that quickly tenderizes tougher cuts. Simply mix the beef with cornstarch and oil (seasoned here with soy sauce) and let stand for 30 minutes (or even just 15 minutes, if that’s all you’ve got) before stir-frying until browned. Feel free to add more vegetables to this fried rice, like shredded cabbage or snow peas. Be sure to have all of your prep ready before cooking, as the process goes quickly.
Loaded Oven Fries
Roasting thick wedges of well-seasoned potatoes skin-side down on a sheet pan delivers the crispness of fries while maintaining the soft, pillowy insides of a perfectly baked potato. Top them with crispy bacon, melted sharp Cheddar, chopped scallions and sour cream for a crowd-pleasing game-day snack or hearty appetizer.
Lentil Soup Potpie
Rescue lentil soup from austerity by simmering it underneath a flaky, buttery crust. All of the hallmarks of a good lentil soup are here — sweet carrots, celery and onions, tender lentils and savory broth — with the added bonus of a warm pastry crown that shatters with each spoonful. The recipe is fairly hands-off, too, thanks to two shortcuts: canned lentils and store-bought puff pastry. To make this vegan, use vegan puff pastry (like Pepperidge Farm) and skip the egg wash, which will result in a more matte, but just as delicious dish.
Skillet Gnocchi With Miso Butter and Asparagus
This skillet gnocchi recipe has a spring in its step: It takes just 10 minutes to cook and is loaded with sweet springtime asparagus and baby greens. But that doesn’t mean the flavor is fleeting: The combination of miso, butter and vinegar forms a silky, rich sauce that glosses the seared gnocchi and vegetables and anything else you wish to add. Perhaps that’s the crunch of sliced radishes or toasted pistachios, or the crispness of a fried egg or seared fish.
Salmon With Radicchio and Anchovy Sauce
An edible bouquet of pinks and purples, this one-pan dinner for two serves up bitter and silky radicchio leaves against crispy-skinned salmon. Pan-roasting starts on the stove to give each a head start on caramelization, then finishes in the oven at a low temperature to cook through gently. The flavors are brought together by a sweet and punchy dressing of honey, mustard and anchovy, which is whisked up quickly as the oven does its thing and even allows for time to clean up. Substitute or mix in other bitter greens or chicories for the radicchio, like Treviso, Castelfranco or escarole. If you like, serve this with buttery mashed potatoes.
Spicy Shrimp Puttanesca
Puttanesca, the famous Neapolitan tomato sauce that’s briny and bold from olives, garlic, capers and anchovies, is pretty spectacular as is. This recipe leans into those intense flavors and adds shrimp for a complete dish that’s big on flavor and easy to pull off on a weeknight. Using tomato paste gives the sauce a deeper, more concentrated base that holds its own against the salty tang of olives and capers; it also helps the sauce cling beautifully to pasta and shrimp alike. A final dab of butter isn’t traditional, but it adds a glossy finish and pushes this pasta dish just over the edge of delicious.
Spring Garden Pasta Salad
A perfectly quick spring or summer dinner, this recipe draws on Meghan’s kitchen garden in Montecito, Calif., and her fondness for meals filled with vegetables. “Use a healthy dose of garlic, mint and whatever fresh green vegetables you have on hand,” she said.
Sour Cream and Onion Drop Biscuits
These wondrous, quick and easy biscuits taste very much like sour cream and onion potato chips. But even though the name of this recipe mentions sour cream and onion, the ingredient list does not include either: The tangy element is the buttermilk, and the actual sour cream flavor comes from grated Parmesan. Along with chives, the combination sort of tricks our brains into perceiving the beloved duo that is sour cream and onion. The effort required for these buttery biscuits is minimal, and the results are spectacular.
Tortellini Pasta Salad
Italian sandwiches don’t hold up well, but pasta salads do, so transform your go-to deli order into a make-ahead pasta salad that’s hearty, punchy and not at all soggy. Instead of regular pasta, this recipe uses cheese-filled tortellini for soft, creamy bites. There’s plenty of salami too, of course, along with sweet and sharp roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, red onion and arugula. But it’s adaptable depending on your personal preferences: Add more vegetables, such as frozen corn or cauliflower, or briny olives or capers; skip the greenery, or make a grain salad by swapping the pasta for farro.
Huevos Enfrijolados (Eggs in Spicy Black Beans)
Eggs nestled in a spicy, smoky black bean sauce, huevos enfrijolados are a staple of Mexican home cooking. It’s a quick way to make a meal from what’s already in the kitchen: leftover frijoles de olla, chiles and fresh eggs. In this version, canned black beans are cooked with chipotles and garlic until rich and creamy, then eggs are gently dropped into the simmering beans to poach. Served with crunchy tostadas, queso fresco and avocado, it’s a deeply comforting, pantry-friendly meal that comes together in under 45 minutes — perfect for a weeknight dinner or a quick and hearty brunch.
Spinach and Feta Lentil Bowls
These satisfying bowls are heaped with silky greens, spicy lentils, jammy eggs and salty feta. The fact that all of the components are cooked in the same pot and can be refrigerated for the week is nice, too. The greens are cooked like horta, a Greek dish of boiled wild greens often finished with olive oil and lemon. Using a mix of spinach and bitter greens, like kale or mustard greens, creates a juicy and bittersweet combination. The lentils, dressed with oregano and crushed red pepper, provide a tender base for the toppings, but grains would work, too. And feel free to embellish further with sliced raw fennel or carrots, toasted nuts or a dollop of cottage cheese.
Sesame Chicken With Creamy Chipotle Sauce
In this weeknight-friendly recipe, thin-cut chicken cutlets are given the milanesa treatment, dredged in a simple mix of sesame seeds and bread crumbs and pan-fried until crispy. The smoky, chipotle-infused flavors of tinga and pollo enchipotlado, which have a special place in the home cooking repertoire of many Mexicans, inspired the quickly simmered sauce, which is enriched by a generous amount of crema. Lime-tossed cilantro adds freshness to the dish, which is especially comforting when served with warmed tortillas to help scoop up the sauce with every bite.
Tinned Fish Hand Rolls
With tinned fish, tender rice and mixed vegetables, these meal-worthy hand rolls are all at once rich, fresh, crunchy and tender. They’re also pantry-friendly and customizable: Crack open a tin of any assertively-flavored fish (save the canned tuna for spicy tuna) and slice any mix of crunchy vegetables. (Pro tip: Baby carrots stay juicier in lunchboxes than regular carrots.) Clementines may be a surprising addition, but sweet citrus and oily fish are a common duo in Persian, Mediterranean and Mexican dishes. Try to use toasted nori sheets if you can; nori snack sheets are more brittle.
Mushroom and Egg Donburi
There are many different types of donburi, a Japanese rice bowl topped with some combination of meat and vegetables, including gyudon (beef), katsudon (pork) and oyakodon (chicken and egg). In this meat-free version, which was inspired by oyakodon, mushrooms and leeks simmer in a dashi-based sauce before beaten eggs are poured over and cooked until custardy. The combination of mushrooms and leeks is especially satisfying because it doubles down on the savory and sweet contrast in the sauce, but vegetarian versions of oyakodon are also frequently made with cubed tofu or other thinly sliced vegetables and egg. To keep it vegetarian, use fish-free dashi, which can be purchased or made with dried shiitakes and kombu. (You can add the rehydrated shiitakes to the mushroom mixture.)
Honey-Garlic Salmon With Grapefruit
A flurry of chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and garlic, gremolata is an Italian condiment that can brighten luxuriously meaty dishes like osso buco, or just about anything else that skews rich, including buttery roasted salmon fillets. This creative take on the classic garnish swaps the lemon with grapefruit, using both zest and fruit. Add the optional mint to the equation for additional brightness. Not one bit of the citrus is wasted: The juice is reduced and combined with honey and garlic to make a sweet glaze for the fish that offsets the bitter notes of the parsley and fruit.
Salpicón de Pescado (Spicy Citrus-Marinated Fish)
In Mexican cooking, salpicón is a dish of fish, shellfish or meat mixed with chopped vegetables and tossed in an aromatic dressing. In the Yucatán, salpicones are flavored with sour orange juice and habaneros. In this version, quick-roasted fish fillets are tossed in lime and orange juice to mimic that tropical flavor. The fattiness of the fish and avocado tame the heat of the habaneros, but if you are sensitive to spice, use half of a habanero or look for habanadas, a chile that tastes just as sweet and floral as a habanero but with zero heat! You can serve this dish right away while the fish is still warm, or refrigerate the fish and pico de gallo separately for a few hours — the flavors only get better. Then mix together cold for parties, picnics or a day at the beach.
Orange-Ginger Brussels Sprouts
Bring sunshine to your vegetable routine with a sharp dressing of turmeric, ginger, citrus and lots of black pepper. The combination is reminiscent of nose-clearing tonics and the spices in sabzis which can brighten roasted brussels sprouts as well as cooked beets, squash, carrots, cabbage or other hardy vegetables. Juicy orange chunks, chopped peanuts and cilantro (including crunchy stems) add pops of texture and freshness. This side would glow on a dinner party spread, or make it a weeknight meal by stirring in chickpeas or eating it with grains and yogurt.
Easy Savoy Cabbage
Savoy cabbage, in season from late fall through early spring, doesn't need much to be outstanding — just a simple steamy butter bath and some salt and pepper. Unlike regular green cabbage, crinkly savoy grows with looser, more delicate leaves which still maintain their bite after cooking. Though the core is edible, it's much denser than the leaves and cooks more slowly. Cut it out and discard, or finely slice it so that it cooks at the same pace as the shredded leaves. Half a cabbage will do for this recipe; keep the other half wrapped in plastic in your fridge, where it will last in your crisper for up to 2 weeks. Serve this dish over rice and top with a fried egg for a simple weeknight meal, or enjoy alongside a roast to balance textures and flavors. Use leftovers for bubble and squeak or add to your weeknight stir-fry for extra flavor and texture.
One-Pot Kabocha Squash and Coconut Rice
Great on its own, this rice dish makes for a light, low-effort vegan meal, but it can also be served alongside seared tofu or grilled chicken. Kabocha wedges are shingled over a base of coconut rice seasoned with garlic and ginger. You’ll marvel at how the rice cooks through in the time it takes for the squash to tenderize. There’s an art to cooking rice in a pot, and the details make a difference. First, be sure to wash the rice thoroughly before cooking to rinse out the starch from the grains for a fluffier texture. Be patient and try not to peek under the lid while the rice is cooking, as you’ll want to keep the hot steam inside the saucepan. If the brand of coconut milk you’re using does not have any stabilizer, the liquid may appear curdled. Don’t be alarmed: It’s all fine and will still taste delicious.
French Onion White Bean Soup
French onion soup gets a hearty makeover in this vegetarian recipe thanks to the addition of creamy white beans. While the classic version usually involves a long and slow caramelization of onions, this recipe uses a few simple techniques to shorten the cook time without sacrificing flavor. The onions are cooked with the lid on, which traps the heat, encouraging the onions to cook faster and concentrating all the flavors. (Do make sure to use a pot that is wide and large; the onions will steam rather than caramelize if overcrowded.) While this recipe is vegetarian and alcohol-free, it is no less rich than the original; the pan gets deglazed with soy sauce (or tamari) and balsamic vinegar, which lifts off all the sweet, charred flavors. No white beans? Substitute with chickpeas or lentils. Taking a cue from the original, the soup is crowned with Gruyère croutons — and, veering from tradition, accented by mustard — to bring a big textural finish.
Sheet-Pan Sausages, Sweet Potatoes And Balsamic Kale
This cozy sheet-pan dinner has flavors we love to love all year long. As sausage, sweet potatoes and whole sage leaves roast together, the sage seasons the sweet potatoes and crisps as if you fried them. Meanwhile, kale leaves soften in a combination of balsamic vinegar, dried cranberries (or cherries), honey and shallot. When the sausages and sweet potatoes are browned, transfer them to plates, then use the pan drippings and residual heat on the sheet pan to turn the kale silky and tangy.