Quick Dinner Recipes

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Looking for fast & quick dinner recipes? This is the ultimate list of tried & tested family favorite dinner recipes that are quick, fast, and done in 30 minutes or less.

QUICK DINNER RECIPES

No matter if it’s a school night, a busy weekend dinner, or you just want to make dinner that does not involve you being in the kitchen for hours, this ultimate list of quick dinner recipes will be your best friend.

I love this collection of quick & easy fast dinner recipes that can all be on the table in 30 minutes or less. My kids love them all and I know it’s something that I can make for dinner that they will actually eat! It’s so nice to have a list of recipes that you know can be made quickly and with not a lot of time or effort.

These 30 minute dinner recipes are a great place to start. Pick a few and write down what ingredients you need to buy, make a list, and go shopping. That way you have the stuff at home already to make dinner.

MY TIPS FOR MAKING QUICK DINNER RECIPES

Use a Rotisserie Chicken in recipes that call for already cooked chicken
- In any dinner recipe that calls for already cooked chicken use a Rotisserie chicken from the store. I always get one at Costco when I go because I know I can use it to make a fast dinner recipe like these french bread hot chicken salad sandwiches or these green chili & corn chicken enchiladas.
Using canned chicken is another option for making dinner in a hurry
- Some recipes call for canned chicken like these chicken flautas and this 7 can chicken taco soup which makes them not only easy to make but quick to make! Trust me, it’s delicious and you won’t even tell the difference. I buy the good canned chicken from Costco because I prefer that over any brand in the grovery store. Canned chicken gets a bad rap but it’s so simple to use in recipes and no one can even guess that there is canned chicken.
Buy pre-chopped vegetables from the produce section or the freezer section
- You can also buy pre-chopped vegetables or onions in the produce are of the grocery store. These are more expensive so I don’t usually use them, because they blow up my grocery budget, but they are a great time saver.
Make a meatless dinner
- Make a meatless dinner to save time and it’s inexpensive compared to buying meat. These meatless dinner recipes are still hearty and filling even without the meat like this instant pot baked ziti or my kids favorite dinner recipe creamy garlic parmesan pasta.
- Meatless dinner recipes are also usually very quick and easy to make too!
Slow cook a large batch of chicken breasts and shred it or chop it for recipes later in the week
- You can also buy a pack of chicken breasts and put them into a slow cooker with a can of chicken broth. Let it cook on LOW heat for 6-7 hours.
- When it’s done use two forks to shred it and then place about 2 cups of shredded chicken into quart-sized Ziploc bags. You can either freeze it or place it in the fridge if you will be using it within 2-3 days.
- When I need chicken for a recipe I just pull one out of the fridge or thaw a frozen one in the morning.
- I like to put about 2 cups of shredded chicken in each bag because I have found that most recipes call for 2 cups of cooked chicken. You can do more or less in each bag if wanted.
Make a menu plan at the beginning of the week to save time & money!
- When you plan out what you’re making for dinner ahead of time you will save so much time. When I don’t have a plan I end up scrambling for what to make for dinner. Which means it ends up being scrambled eggs or frozen chicken nuggets because I don’t want to hurry and run to the store.
- When you plan out the menus, and go grocery shopping for it, you are ready to go no matter how busy the night is and the best part is that planning it out saves you money on your grocery budget too. I don’t know about you but the more trips I make to the store during the week equals the more money I spend. It’s so easy to just buy random things every time I go to the store.
- I like to plan out 4-5 dinners per week. We usually end up eating out or ordering out at least a couple of nights a week because some nights you just have to do that for your own sanity! And that is ok! I plan out the meals and then schedule a grocery pick up. That way I am ready to go when it’s dinner time during the week.