25 Fast, Satisfying Weekday Recipes
These flavorful meals are ready in 45 minutes or less.
Cara Cormack
Keeping weeknight dinners enticing can be a challenge, but not with these fast, flavorful recipes: Filling and nourishing, they all hit the table in 45 minutes or less. Try a tossed pasta such as gnocchi with chicken and kale or orecchiette with veal and rosemary; a big bowl of grains and vegetables or clams in a soppable broth; or creamy broccoli-potato soup or shrimp curry with rice. Whatever you're working with in the fridge this week, bookmark this collection of fast easy meals for when time is of the essence.
Spicy Tofu and Zucchini Stew
Sommelier Annie Shi, co-owner of King in New York City, grew up going to Korean restaurants with her family. Memories of dishes like soondubu jjigae, a spicy Korean tofu stew, became inspiration for a quick and easy stew of tofu and vegetables that she makes for cozy weeknight dinners.
Bacon Fat Fried Rice
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Rocco DiSpirito's Bacon Fat Fried Rice is finished in 40 minutes with jammy pineapple preserves and crisp fresh pineapple, which impart the savory bacon-flavored rice with a smoky sweetness and balanced acidity.
Steamed Clams with Tomatoes and Basil
Clams, white wine, jammy tomatoes, garlic, and herbs make an aromatic meal in a bowl with flavorful broth to sop up.
Chicken Breasts with White Wine Pan Sauce with Crème Fraîche and Spring Herbs
Andrea Slonecker's simple white wine pan sauce enriched with créme fraîche and a generous handful of tender fresh herbs turns pan-roasted chicken breasts into a special meal in 45 minutes.
Spicy Eggplant and Zucchini Stir-Fry with Plant-Based Meat
Similar in texture to ground beef with a rich, meaty flavor, plant-based crumbles are a perfect addition to quick-cooking stir-fries. Serve over brown or white rice for a fast and filling weeknight meal.
Creamy Shrimp Curry with Coconut Milk
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
This shrimp curry recipe from Anna Theoktisto combines fresh curry leaves, warm spices, creamy coconut milk, and sweet shrimp for a weeknight one-pan meal.
Miso Air Fryer Salmon With Baby Bok Choy
Cooking salmon in the air fryer allows the miso marinade to form a salty-sweet crust on the surface of each fillet. While the salmon rests, you can quickly cook the bok choy in the air fryer; the edges of the leaves will char a bit, creating a savory contrast to the ginger, soy, and sesame oil sauce that goes on top.
Lamb Loin Chops Sizzled with Garlic
If you've never cooked lamb chops, this recipe is a great place to start. It comes together in just 20 minutes, and delivers big, rich flavors from the lamb chop, the sizzled garlic, and the lemon, parsley, and crushed red pepper flakes in the pan sauce.
Ginataang Gulay (Filipino Vegetable Stew)
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Gently stew seasonal vegetables in creamy coconut milk until just tender for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner.
Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
Using an air fryer instead of frying in oil on the stovetop means crispy shrimp without any splatters to clean up afterwards. Serve the shrimp with rice for dinner with a side like baby bok choy sautéed in toasted sesame oil and fresh ginger.
San Bei Ji (Three-Cup Chicken)
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and rock sugar make the chicken in this classic Taiwanese dish tender and incredibly flavorful.
Steak Diane
Emeril Lagasse's retro recipe for Steak Diane features pounded filet mignon served with sautéed mushrooms in a buttery flambéed Cognac sauce — all in 22 minutes.
Roasted Vegetable Grain Bowl with Chickpeas and Tahini-Ginger Dressing
Sub in any grain, protein, or leafy green you have on hand for this satisfying bowl with a deliciously easy sesame-based dressing.
Creamy Tomato Rigatoni
Julia Hartbeck
A judicious amount of heavy cream enriches this simple tomato sauce, producing a lush texture that clings to the pasta without blanketing richness for a special but not extravagant, 45-minute meal.
Gnocchi with Roast Chicken, Bacon, and Kale
Roast chicken, crispy bacon, tender kale, and sweet red onion are tossed with gnocchi and topped with lemon zest and Parmesan for this hearty meal.
Broccoli and Potato Soup
The bright green broccoli florets floating on top of this hearty soup make it especially eye-catching, but it's the broccoli stems that do the real work. They're cooked with the potatoes and then pureed to form a creamy base. A final sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese gives the soup an extra savory touch.
Chicken Katsu
Cara Cormack
Roy Choi's perfectly golden, crisp breaded and fried chicken cutlets make for an incredibly comforting dish with tonkatsu sauce, Dijon mustard, and steamed sushi rice.
Maltagliati with Mushrooms and Pea Tendrils
Greg Dupree / Prop Styling by Christine Keely / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer
Nutty porcini mushrooms absorb the slightly sweet sherry vinegar and pair perfectly with fresh and frilly pea tendrils in this pasta traditionally made from dough scraps.
Longevity Noodles with Oyster, Shiitake, and Enoki Mushrooms
The longer the noodles the better to symbolize longevity in this spicy, savory dish, a must at Lucky Chow producer Danielle Chang's Lunar New Year feast. A mix of torn and sliced mushrooms (also a symbol of health and longevity) adds a variety of textures and a bite of umami to this quick-cooking dish.
Tofu Pad Thai
Earthy oyster and shiitake mushrooms combine beautifully with chewy noodles, golden-fried tofu, crisp bean sprouts, lightly spicy long red chiles, and crunchy peanuts in this 40-minute meal.
Creamy Polenta with Burst Cherry Tomato–and–Red Wine Ragout
An easy addition to your weeknight rotation, creamy polenta is topped with savory garden tomato ragout that's laced with ribbons of hearty greens. Cooked with milk, it's a comforting vegetarian main.
Seared Tuna with Soy and Red Chiles
Soy sauce, sesame oil, scallion, garlic, and dried chiles are combined with chicken stock to make an intense and delicious sauce for 25-minute pan-seared tuna steak.
Shrimp with Roasted Corn, Leeks, Tomatoes, and Basil
Showcasing late-summer produce, this simple sauté is a perfect shoulder-season weeknight dinner. Marinating sweet cherry tomatoes in vinegar and salt tenderizes them and draws out their juices, creating a light sauce.
King Trumpet Schnitzel with Mixed Herb Pesto
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Kathleen Varner
Here, king trumpet mushrooms get the schnitzel treatment. Double-breading them creates a crispy crust that stays crunchy even as they cook and release moisture. Black pepper and turmeric add a savory, bitter flavor to complement the mushrooms' earthiness, while fragrant Meyer lemon juice and nutty pecorino cheese amp up the herb-packed pesto.
Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine
Diana Chistruga
Tender veal ragù is flavored with white wine, capers, thyme, and rosemary, then tossed with little ear-shaped orecchiette.
For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on Food & Wine.
