Weeknight
3487 recipes found
Pasta With Green Bean Ragù
This spoonable pasta, the result of smart home cooking, is a dance of sorts between two pots: Fresh green beans boil with the pasta in one pot to season the water with their gentle vegetal umami, while the quick sausage ragù simmers in another. That green-bean broth gets incorporated into the final dish, a rich, melting mix of Italian sausage, fennel seeds and crushed red pepper. A squeeze of lemon and a generous grating of Parmesan bring it all together.
Gheysava (Eggs With Dates and Cinnamon)
A sweet and savory combination of rich dates and eggs, gheysava is an energizing breakfast dish popular in Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province. The dates are first soaked in hot water to soften, and then cooked in butter alongside walnuts until caramelized and luscious. Some variations cook the dates down until smooth and creamy and the eggs are then scrambled in, but here the dates retain their form and the eggs are simply cracked right into the pan. Juicy, meaty dates such as medjool dates are best here. Gheysava warms you from within and fills you with vitality and strength to take on the day. Serve with bread and a hot cup of tea.
Cheesy Baked Gnocchi With Spicy Tomato Sauce
A stellar weeknight meal starter, shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi is combined with a zippy tomato sauce to make this deeply comforting one-pot meal. Stir in as much crushed red pepper as your family and friends can handle, then top the whole thing with a blanket of melty mozzarella, umami-packed Parmesan and bright basil. If you keep Calabrian chile paste on hand, it makes a great substitute for the crushed red pepper, as does harissa.
Peppery Beef and Shishito Stir-Fry
This stir-fry is doubly peppery, thanks to a combination of shishito peppers and plenty of coarsely ground black pepper. Though most of the shishitos are mild, the occasional one packs a punch, adding a delightful unpredictability to any meal. The peppers are fried on high heat until they blister, bringing smoky depth and texture. Soy sauce and toasted sesame oil make a fine (and quick!) marinade for steak strips that are seared in the same wok. Ginger and garlic enhance an umami-rich sauce that makes the steak and peppers shine. Serve with white rice for a formidable weeknight meal in under 30 minutes.
Chickpeas all’Arrabbiata
A quick rummage through the pantry brings these saucy beans to life in this humble meal that leans on the power of a few dusty cans that may be lingering on your shelves. Let chickpeas swim in this fiery, garlic-heavy arrabbiata sauce built from canned tomatoes and they take on the vibes of the best slow-simmered red sauce classics in a fraction of the time. Slip a pan of no-stir creamy polenta into the oven before getting the beans started and it will be ready to catch every drop of sauce, but you could also toss the chickpeas with pasta or simply spoon them over toast.
Ham and Potato Soup
Cooked ham lends a surprising amount of flavor to this simple, hearty soup. Easy to put together using leftover ham or a ham steak, this recipe is perfect for a weeknight or a busy weekend.
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.