You should never have to go to bed hungry just because dinner is too difficult to make.
Even when you have mouths to feed, there are some days when you just heat up some frozen meal or order delivery because putting in the energy to cook a meal is just not in you. Been there, done that.
In those moments, 30-minute meals are exactly what you need. These five recipes are fantastic for busier weeks when you know it might be difficult to get into the kitchen on time. The best part is that you can prepare these meals in advance on Sunday so cooking will only take 10-15 minutes max during the week.
Sounds like a dream right?
This week, we’ll be making five 30-minute recipes to keep up with a crazy busy week. I selected a variety of recipes to keep things interesting throughout the week, so you don’t get too tired of one cuisine or another.
I have a mouthwatering round-up for you, including:
These simple dinner recipes are not only comfort foods, but they’re also packed with nutrition and delicious ingredients.
With these five recipes, you’ll only need a handful of additional ingredients on top of basic pantry staples! You can find a consolidated list below for your convenience, but please reference each individual recipe for exact measurements.
Also note that the grocery list below for weekly meal prep does not include basic spices or kitchen staples, such as milk, eggs, salt, pepper, etc. If you need to get those for your home, stock up! All my individual recipes have a dedicated ingredient list with the spices listed out if you want to double-check that you have everything necessary for the week.
I like to go grocery shopping for my meal prep on Saturday so everything can be squared away and prepared on Sunday. However, do what works best for your schedule!
You can approach meal prepping however you want. Since these 30-minute dinner recipes, you could bite the bullet and prepare everything for all five dishes on your meal prep day! Making everything in one go is a great option for busier families or individuals who have time and energy on Sunday but none throughout the week.
However, if you want a bit of a more balanced approach, I like to prep ingredients for all of my weekly meals so that the “cooking” is a lot more simple throughout the week. You’d be surprised how much time and energy goes into simply chopping ingredients and measuring spices!
I’ll outline how I do things for each recipe below, but meal prepping is super personal, so do what works for you.
This Spicy One Pot Lasagna Soup is one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made in my life. In addition to being freezer friendly, this soup tastes delicious every single time. If there’s any recipe you should make straight away on meal prep day, it’s this one.
The best part about this lasagna soup is that it’s not something you have to babysit or constantly stir. You can make the soup and let it simmer on low on your stove while you work on your other meal preparations. That way, you’ll have dinner on meal prep day and then some to save and enjoy throughout the week!
I like that you can buy a lot of the vegetables in this recipe pre-chopped, which makes your life a whole lot easier since you can save time on all that slicing and dicing.
It also doesn’t even require lasagna. You could substitute lasagna for pretty much any pasta you like; different shapes, whole wheat, Banza, etc. The world is your oyster with this one.
If you’re looking for healthy substitutions, you can always substitute ricotta for cottage cheese, which has more protein. You can whip it with a mixer if the texture bothers you.
The key to really making it delicious is fresh basil. All the ingredients come together to form the most comforting, body-warming soup ever, but the basil brings a freshness to it that’s hard to deny. So, when you’re shopping, I highly recommend you get some fresh basil from the produce or herbs section!
If you like Asian cuisine, you are going to absolutely die for this Panang Curry. This recipe can literally take 20 minutes from start to finish (including clean up!) if you use my hacks. However, you can make it fresh, with whole ingredients, and still make it in under 30 minutes.
In other words, I wouldn’t blame you if this becomes your new constantly-on-repeat recipe of the week (or month!).
My trick is to use frozen vegetables and the Seeds of Change Organic Quinoa and Brown Rice with Garlic. I understand if you’re wary of 90-second microwaveable rice, but trust me, it’s delicious and easy!
If you decide not to use instant rice, you can make the rice the day before, which I find works best for Asian dishes. You want your rice to be a little sticky. This not only helps it keep its shape (which pairs really well with curries like this one) but it also gives such a lovely, authentic texture. You can use jasmine rice, sushi rice, or classic brown rice.
For vegetables, you can get mixed frozen vegetables at just about any grocery store. You can also select your favorites from the produce section and prep them ahead of time by cutting them up and throwing them together in a Ziploc.
You can add any vegetables you like, such as:
It’s a perfect recipe to make if you have leftover vegetables or just want to get more nutritious ingredients in your diet. It’s also great to help clean out the fridge!
This Homemade Falafel is a Mediterranean dream in a bowl. Chickpeas and fresh herbs are key to making this taste delicious, but if you’re in a real crunch this week, you can use powdered herbs.
It is essential to soak the chickpeas for about eight hours before making this recipe. Soaking helps with not only quicker cooking when you’re making the actual falafel, but also allows your body to digest the chickpeas much better.
You can either soak these on meal prep day, the night before you intend to make the falafel, or in the morning so they’re prepped for dinner.
Another thing you can prepare ahead of time is the white sauce used to pair with the falafel. It’s super easy to make on meal prep day. I love to make my sauces and dressings in a mason jar and shake it up; this helps reduce the mess you make and can be stored as is, leaving you with fewer dishes to do.
What I love about falafel is you can enjoy it in so many ways. Plus, this recipe tastes almost exactly like what you might find at a halal cart. You can put the falafel in a pita or make yourself a bowl with brown rice and vegetables.
If you want to bulk up this recipe or simply have more time and want to truly enjoy the flavors of a halal cart, try my Halal Guys Chicken and Rice recipe.
Fried rice is such a fun dinner recipe, and this Crispy Garlic Fried Rice is no different. All you have to do to meal prep this dish is prepare your ingredients. In fact, if you use the Seeds of Change hack mentioned in the Panang Curry, you can get this recipe down to literally minutes.
All you have to do is cook your vegetables of choice, add protein, and mix in your rice. Therefore, you can use fresh produce or frozen mixed vegetables. I like to thaw frozen
vegetables in a bowl of hot water to help them cook faster and get that closer-to-fresh texture and taste, but you can do whatever you like.
For protein, you can pick pretty much anything you want: tofu, shrimp, fried egg, chicken, etc.
The best part is that in 15 or so minutes, you’ll get delicious crispy fried rice that is even better the next day!
Who doesn’t love a pasta dinner? This Cajun Alfredo Pasta is another super simple recipe to make when you’re on a time crunch. Whether you prepare this ahead of time or make it the day of, it’s incredibly easy and takes less than 30 minutes.
I recommend boiling the pasta the day before or earlier in the day to cut down on the cook time. If you want to take it a step further, you can cut your onions and peppers the night before as well as measure out all your spices and add each into its own Ziploc to easily dump into your pan when you’re ready to assemble your pasta.
Doing this prep the day before or the week of allows you to make this dish in under 15 minutes, which is fabulous for a super busy weeknight.
Quick and easy dinners are a godsend if you’re busy or just like to make your life more simple. I’ll continue to share my roundups with you throughout the month so you can discover fun new recipes that aren’t a headache to make.
No need to be America’s Top Chef during a busy week, am I right?
Of course, you can always pick your own recipes from my cookbook so you have one source of inspiration and healthy, convenient meals to make right at home! You can order your personalized cookbook today to get started.
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