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Time is often a factor we consider when it comes to preparing dinner, especially on those really busy weeknights.
After all, the last thing you want to do after a long stressful day at work, is to spend another hour or two in the kitchen, all in the name of making dinner.
Sure, takeout is great in these kind of situations, but it can often get pricey over time, and if you’re working with a budget and trying to save money, or trying to eat healthier, then regular takeout might not be the best option.
Essentially, you want to be able to enjoy tasty meals that are super easy to put together, tasty, and ready in a short period of time. If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we’ll share some tips that could help you get dinner ready a bit faster, as well as 30 amazing weeknight dinner you can make in under 20 minutes from scratch.
That’s 20 minutes from start to finish, prep and cook time included. These quick and tasty weeknight dinners will satisfy your cravings easily.
From delicious casseroles, to pasta dishes, to soups, stir fries, tacos, and much more. Busy weeknights just got a lot less stressful with these.
Let’s get right into it.
Tips on cooking faster
Before we get into the yummy stuff, let’s take a look at some tips that could help you actually cook the same or similar meals, but in a faster period of time.
1) Prep Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time
I’ll never get tired of talking about meal prep, because the benefits are just too good to ignore. One area we tend to spend a reasonable amount of time when cooking, is in prepping.
Dicing the veggies, grating the cheese, marinating the chicken, and so on. If you want to save some time, doing these things ahead of time can be a really great idea.
If you have a little extra cash to spare, you can shop for already pre-processed ingredients, like grated cheese for diced frozen veggies. Either option works fine, and will save you some prep time.
2) Use Leftovers
Leftovers are an unpopular gold mine when it comes to cooking. If you learn to repurpose leftovers, not only will you save yourself time, you’ll also save some money too.
For example, instead of bothering to cook some chicken all over again, making use of the already cooked leftovers from the previous days or couple days would be a great idea.
Plus, if you store your leftovers well, they’ll taste as fresh and flavorful as the first day, so you won’t even feel like you’re missing anything.
3) Multitask
Multitasking can also be a great way to shave off some prep time. When I say multitasking, I don’t mean dicing the veggies, while simultaneously taking care of the kids, handling a phone call, while cleaning the house or something.
That’s mission impossible right there. A good case of multitasking, would be making use of multiple burners if you have them.
Let’s say for example, you’re making some teriyaki chicken, and want to serve it with some rice. Cooking both simultaneously on multiple burners, instead of one after the other can help you reduce cook time.
4) Make It All In One Pan/Dish
If you want an easy and stress-free weeknight, one pan/dish meals are the way to go. Since you end up cooking everything in one pan, everything comes together a lot quicker. Not to mention you’ll also spend less time doing cleanup.
30 Delicious Dinner Ideas In Under 20 Minutes
1) Healthier 20 Minute Sesame Chicken
Get the recipe at – Gimme Delicious
2) Honey Mustard Chicken
Get the recipe at – Budget Bytes
3) Spinach Farfalle Pasta Carbonara
Get the recipe at – Beautiful Eats And Things
4) Garlic And Herb Penne Pasta
Get the recipe at – Julie’s Eats And Treats
5) Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Get the recipe at – Two Peas And Their Pod
Also See: 30 Quick Dinner Recipes Ready In 15 Minutes Or Less
6) Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
Get the recipe at – Chef de Home
7) Cherry Tomato Penne Pasta
Get the recipe at – She Likes Food
8) Pan-Seared Fish with Pomegranate Salsa
Get the recipe at – Gimme Some Oven
9) Garlic Butter Chicken
Get the recipe at – Averie Cooks
10) Cashew Chicken Zoodles
Get the recipe at – The Endless Meal
Also See: 30 Healthy Spiralizer Recipes That’ll Leave You Drooling
11) Healthy 20-Minute Korean Beef Bowl
Get the recipe at – Real Simple Good
12) Korean Beef Sesame Noodles
Get the recipe at – Half-baked Harvest
13) Stir Fry Teriyaki Ramen Bowls
Get the recipe at – A Simple Pantry
14) 20-Minute Vegetable Stir Fry
Get the recipe at – Table For Two
15) Keto Shrimp Scampi recipe with zucchini noodles
Get the recipe at – The Roasted Root
Also See: 30 Delicious Keto Dinners You Can Make In Under 30 Minutes
16) Crispy Air Fryer Salmon
Get the recipe at – Sauced Up Foods
17) 20-Minute Swedish Meatballs
Get the recipe at – Garnish and Glaze
18) Creamy Dijon Salmon
Get the recipe at – Salt and Lavender
19) Creamy Enchilada Soup
Get the recipe at – Girl And The Kitchen
20) 20-Minute Tofu Stir-Fry
Get the recipe at – Minimalist Baker
Also See: 35 Droolworthy Tofu Recipes You Need To Try Today
21) Garlic Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein
Get the recipe at – The Recipe Critic
22) Tortellini Lasagna
Get the recipe at – Platings and Pairings
23) Chicken Fajita Quinoa Dinner Skillet
Get the recipe at – An Edible Mosaic
24) Quick 20 Minute Wonton Soup
Get the recipe at – Aberdeen’s Kitchen
25) One Skillet Sausage with Veggies and “Rice”
Get the recipe at – Paleo Running Momma
Also See: 32 Amazing Skillet Meals You Need In Your Life
26) Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Get the recipe at – Veggies Don’t Bite
27) One Pan Enchilada
28) Sausage and Potatoes Skillet
Get the recipe at – Busy Cooks
29) The Easiest Egg Fried Rice
Get the recipe at – Healthy Nibbles And Bits
30) Cheeseburger Casserole
