25+ Fast Dinners for Busy Nights

Fast dinners can be the difference between chaos and calm on a busy weeknight. When you're juggling after-school activities, coming from late meetings, or have low energy, having a reliable plan with ideas for fast dinners makes all the difference. In this post, you'll find smart prep tips, simple strategies for building quick meals, and easy, family-friendly dinner ideas that come together in 30 minutes or less.

Be sure to check out my easy rotisserie chicken recipes for more fast dinners that start with rotisserie chicken as a shortcut!

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Smart prep to jumpstart easy dinners
Formula for quick & easy meals
10+ Quick & easy meals (30 minutes or less)
10 Low-prep slow cooker meals
7 Low-prep casseroles

Smart prep to jumpstart easy dinners

✨ Pro Tip for Fast Dinners ✨

Keep your freezer stocked with sautéed onions, cooked chicken, and browned ground beef. You'll save hours of time buying these items in bulk (preferably when they are on sale so you save time AND money) and prepping them for the freezer all at once. At dinnertime, half the work is already done.

My stocked freezer is my secret for getting dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. It takes less time to cook ten pounds of ground beef once than one pound ten times, and you only have to deal with raw meat and all the clean up one time.

Sautéing onions for the freezer is another huge time savings. It might be tempting to chop onions and freeze them raw, but they can't be effectively sautéed after thawing (they basically boil instead of sauté). Sautéing first also frees up time during dinner preparations because much of the work is already done.

Freeze sautéed onions in silicone muffin tins or "souper cubes" (amazon has inexpensive knockoffs) or in 1 cup sections on a cookie sheet (parchment paper makes cleanup easy). Once the onions are frozen, bag them together.

Formula for quick & easy meals

When you need a quick meal made from what you have on hand, knowing what to put together will help you get dinner on the table sooner. Get my Use-What-You-Have Cheatsheet for casseroles and skillet meals and post it in your pantry for quick dinner wins.

10+ Quick & easy meals (30 minutes or less)

When time is short and you need a quick win, these recipes that are ready in 30 minutes are a win.

A bowl of chicken enchilada soup garnished with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, and tortilla strips.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup (15 Minute Meal)

Perfectly seasoned and full of flavor, one pot Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a deliciously quick & easy dinner for a busy day. Serve with a salad and you have a healthy dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

Plate of tomato Spinach Pasta garnished with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil strips.

One Pot Tomato Spinach Pasta

Tomato Spinach Pasta is a one-pot wonder. Yes, it's hearty, but the diced tomatoes, sautéed onions, and fresh spinach also bring a burst of vitamins and color to your table—all that in about 30 minutes, with one pot to wash.

Plate of macaroni, beef, and tomatoes in a cheesy sauce garnished with cilantro and grated cheddar cheese

30 Minute Taco Macaroni

Cheesy, beefy, and delicious, this homemade taco pasta "hamburger helper" is a perfect weeknight meal that needs just one pot and 30 minutes or less to prepare.

Mexican Spaghetti

Mexican Spaghetti combines the flavors of taco-seasoned beef with corn, green chiles, tomatoes, and green onions in a quick and easy stovetop meal.

Orzo Alfredo

Serve Orzo Alfredo with Peas as it is for a vegetarian meal, or add cooked chicken for more protein.

Chicken breast over rice drizzled with white sauce and garnished with green onions beside a glass of iced tea and two limes.

Chili Lime Chicken with Coconut Lime Sauce

This quick, flavor-packed chili lime chicken recipe has just the right balance of heat and citrus and is finished off with a creamy coconut lime sauce.

Creamy Balsamic Meatballs

Balsamic vinegar and heavy cream combine into a surprisingly delicious sauce for meatballs.

A bowl of Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup served with a piece of toasted garlic bread and a wedge of Parmesan cheese with a grater to the side.

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (Copycat Recipe)

Inspired by Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup, this rich and creamy soup is a perfect cool weather meal. Serve garnished with grated Parmesan cheese and toasted garlic bread.

Cooked brown sugar kielbasa in a skillet.

Brown Sugar Kielbasa (Stove Top)

Four ingredients pack a flavorful punch in this quick and simple stove top Brown Sugar Kielbasa.

White bowl filled with soup of beans, tomatoes, and beef, topped with shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream, garnished with cilantro.

Quick & Easy Mexican Style Soup

This hearty one pot meal is ready in only 30 minutes (15 minutes if you keep cooked ground beef and sautéed onions in your freezer!).

10 Low-prep slow cooker meals

A few minutes early in the day, and these meals are ready when you are.

Cube steak with mushroom soup gravy served over mashed potatoes.

Crock Pot Cube Steak with Mushroom Soup

Crock Pot Cube Steak with Mushroom Soup is tender and delicious, and it requires almost no prep. Using cube steak with cream of mushroom soup, Lipton onion soup mix, salt & pepper, and water, you can put a delicious home-cooked meal on the table with almost no effort.

A plate of shredded chicken in a creamy sauce with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and green chilies served over rice and garnished with sliced avocado, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken is the chicken meal your crockpot was made for. You'll love the easy preparation, the fork-tender chicken, and the classic Mexican ingredients—this no-prep slow cooker Mexican chicken has black beans, corn, fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies, and cream cheese. But the real plus is how many ways you can serve it!

Closeup of a spoonful of potato soup with kielbasa garnished with shredded cheddar cheese and sliced green onion held above a crock of the soup.

Crockpot Cheesy Potato Kielbasa Soup

This easy crockpot potato soup with hash browns means less prep. Just slice the kielbasa and dice the onion, combine everything in the crockpot, and turn it on for a ready-to-eat evening meal.

Slices of beef on a white platter. Beef is covered with cooked onions and resting in an au jus. The plate is garnished with parsley and there is a steak knife resting on the back of the platter.

Crockpot London Broil with Au Jus

This succulent, tender crock pot London broil with au jus is slow-cooked to perfection and only takes ten minutes prep. Cooked low and slow, the roast is perfect as is with rice or potatoes, but it also makes a delicious sandwich with au jus for dipping.

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

Delicious and easy Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing has just four ingredients plus water and takes only five minutes to prepare for the crockpot. The creamy sauce and tender, juicy chicken make this simple dish a family favorite!

a white plate half full of roast beef and half full of rice. Roast beef and rice are both covered with gravy. There is a fork on the plate next to the rice. The plate is on an orange napkin with white stripes.

Easy Crockpot Roast Beef & Gravy

The easiest roast beef also happens to be the tastiest! Just season, place in the crockpot, and cook on low all day. This simple roast yields the most heavenly gravy, so be sure to serve it with rice or mashed potatoes.

White serving dish with cooked chicken breasts in a sauce made from cranberry sauce with whole cranberries, French dressing, and onion soup mix with a grey striped tea towel wrapped around the dish.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Chicken

Cook cranberry chicken in your crockpot when you want delicious chicken that doesn't seem like it was cooked in a crockpot.

The three (only three!) sauce ingredients meld to enhance flavor and provide a noteworthy texture, too—tender but with chicken breasts still holding their own, enveloped in the tangy, sweet cranberry-infused sauce.

Bowl full of seasoned beef burrito filling with a fork.

Seasoned Crockpot Beef Burritos

Slow cooker beef burritos made with London Broil are the ultimate easy weeknight dinner. They're flavor-packed, tender, and perfect for a DIY burrito bar.

Two bowls of hash brown soup in white crocks beside fresh basil strips in a small bowl and two spoons.

Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup

This crockpot cheeseburger soup is a slow cooker variety of the classic version—delicious, easy, and perfect for a hearty supper. It starts with frozen diced potatoes as a shortcut, and our tips for quick prep make it even easier to prepare.

Sliced pot roast with diced tomatoes on top and a red sauce.

Slow Cooker Mexican Pot Roast

Slow cooker Mexican pot roast is tender, flavorful, and easy—just 6 ingredients and 8 hours to a hearty, Tex-Mex-inspired dinner.

7 Low-prep casseroles

These fast casserole dinners take a little longer to bake, but prep is minimal so you aren't in the kitchen for long.

Easy Frozen Burrito Casserole

My frozen burrito casserole recipe starts with store-bought burritos, but with its delicious sauce and gooey melted cheddar cheese topping, no one will know it's a shortcut recipe! Using this frozen burrito hack is super easy, but this meal is so tasty it will actually become a family favorite!

Chicken Divan

Oven-baked Chicken Divan with Curry features chicken, broccoli, and a delicious creamy curry sauce. This long-time family favorite is an easy way to repurpose leftover chicken or broccoli.

Cheesy Tuna Casserole

Cheesy Tuna Casserole is easy, yummy family fare that goes from pantry to table in under 30 minutes. It's easy comfort food that is affordable and kid-friendly!

Baked Swiss Chicken

Baked Swiss Chicken with White Wine is a delicious family favorite—creamy white wine sauce and slightly crunchy stuffing mix are the perfect complement to gooey Swiss cheese over chicken breasts.

Baked franks and beans in a baking dish.

Homemade Franks and Beans

Our baked version of franks and beans in a rich, homemade sauce is loved by adults and kids alike. Kid-friendly, easy, and with fantastic flavor, this beans and weenies recipe is the dish you love, but better!

Casserole dish of baked frozen ravioli with a serving removed.

Baked Frozen Ravioli (No Boil)

Frozen ravioli and prepared marinara sauce make Baked Frozen Ravioli an easy, cheesy weeknight meal.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

This beloved southern favorite is creamy and delicious, and when you have cooked chicken on hand (which you will if you are following the Secrets of a Busy Cook!) it’s easy to make.

Smart prep to jumpstart easy dinners

Formula for quick & easy meals

10+ Quick & easy meals (30 minutes or less)

10 Low-prep slow cooker meals

7 Low-prep casseroles

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