We've got the best 30-minute dinner ideas for your busy weeknights! These easy recipes will make weeknight cooking a cinch.
If you're like us, you want to eat great food but don't want to spend hours cooking during the week.
We've got loads of ideas for 30-minute meals, including chicken recipes, seafood dishes, pasta recipes, soups, main course salads, and more.
30-Minute Chicken Recipes
- Lemon Chicken with Orzo - This lemon chicken with orzo recipe is a delicious weeknight meal. It takes less than 30 minutes to make, a large chunk of which is hands-off time.
- Baked Caprese Chicken - This delicious baked Caprese chicken recipe combines juicy chicken breasts, mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes, and pesto for a flavorful meal!
- Quick & Easy Chicken Tikka Masala - This creamy, delicious chicken tikka masala is ready in about 30 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight meal. Serve it with naan or rice for a delightful meal.
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs - These lemon pepper chicken thighs are a zesty and delicious weeknight meal. They're so juicy and flavorful while still be really easy to make!
30-Minute Pasta Recipes
- Roasted Veggie Pasta with Feta - This creamy veggie pasta recipe is made with roasted vegetables, feta, baby arugula, and chunky pasta.
- Broccoli Pasta Recipe - This wonderful broccoli pasta recipe is made with parmesan, fusilli, and a bunch of broccoli.
- Lemon Chicken Pasta - This easy lemon chicken pasta is full of flavor! It's a delicious, weeknight meal that you will love. The bright flavor of the lemon, mixed with the subtle leeks, spinach, and parmesan is unbelievably good!
- Orzo and Chicken Salad Recipe - This orzo salad with shredded chicken, bell peppers, olives, and a wholegrain mustard dressing is such a wonderful lunch recipe!
- Butternut Squash Pasta - This butternut squash pasta with toasted panko and sage is a creamy, delicious recipe. It's ready in less than 30 minutes, so it's a perfect weeknight meal!
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta - This creamy roasted red pepper pasta recipe is made with roasted red peppers, penne, parmesan, onion, and garlic.
- Seafood Pasta Recipe - This delicious shrimp seafood pasta with white wine is an absolutely fantastic meal that's ready in 30 minutes!
30-Minute Main Course Salad Recipes
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad - This 15-minute Mediterranean chickpea salad with feta is a fantastic recipe that's quick to pull together.
- Green Goddess Cabbage Salad - This delicious green goddess cabbage salad is a wonderful combination of finely diced cabbage, green onions, cucumbers, chives, and a creamy dressing.
- Chickpea Salad with Cucumber - This easy chickpea cucumber and feta salad is ready in about 15 minutes! It's a great light lunch for two or a side dish for four.
- Delicious Bean Salad - This easy bean salad recipe is made with white beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and more!
- Mediterranean Salmon Salad - Tender salmon combines with crisp Romaine lettuce, juicy tomatoes and cucumbers, and much more for a delicious Mediterranean salmon salad recipe.
30-Minute Ground Beef Recipes
- Ground Beef Bulgogi - This delicious ground beef bulgogi recipe is ready in only 20 minutes! It's an easy, healthy weeknight meal that's a family favorite.
- Thai Green Curry Meatballs - These Thai green curry meatballs with carrots are a healthier dinner recipe you're going to love.
30-Minute Soup Recipes
- Dumpling Soup Recipe - This delicious dumpling soup recipe is made with potstickers, instant dashi, shredded carrots, bok choy, chili oil, sesame seeds, and green onions.
- White Bean Soup Recipe - This white bean soup recipe is easy to make and ready in less than 30 minutes. It's a fresh, healthy meal that is full of flavor.
- Mexican Veggie Soup - This awesome Mexican veggie soup is full of healthy, hearty ingredients, like tomatoes, onions, black beans, red bell pepper, corn, and chipotle chilis.
- Udon Noodle Soup - This udon noodle soup is a wonderful, cozy meal. It's perfect for a night when you want a warm, brothy bowl that's fast.
- Black Bean Soup - This delicious black bean soup is one of our favorite recipes! It's naturally vegan and gluten-free. It's an awesome weeknight meal.
- Chickpea Stew Recipe - This fantastic chickpea stew is veggie-heavy with tomatoes, chard, and bell pepper.
Comfort Food Meals
- Ground Pork Stir Fry - This delicious ground pork stir fry recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal. It's so savory, and the combination of aromatics, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar is very satisfying. The best part is, it's ready in less than 30 minutes!
- Coconut Lentil Curry - This coconut lentil curry recipe is a hearty, vegan recipe. It's got wonderful flavors and spices. It's so easy to make!
- Corn and Leek Fritters Recipe - This corn and leek fritter recipe is delicious and ready in 30 minutes! These fritters are perfect for lunch or a light dinner.
- Chickpea Spinach Curry - This chickpea spinach curry is bursting with flavor and is ready in less than 30 minutes. It's going to be your new favorite weeknight meal!
- Easy Baked Pork Chops Recipe - If you're looking to make juicy pork chops with simple ingredients, these baked pork chops are it!
30-Minute Seafood Recipes
- Coconut Crusted Tilapia - This coconut crusted tilapia recipe is richly flavorful and wonderfully spiced. You can make this recipe with any white fish fillet.
- Sheet Pan Salmon Recipe - This sheet pan salmon with haricots verts and radishes and a mustardy dressing is an easy weeknight meal.
- Blackened Tilapia - This spicy blackened tilapia recipe is ready in minutes! The seasoning and sautéing of this dish combine to make a delicious, tender fish.
- Shrimp Summer Rolls - These tasty shrimp summer rolls are made with crunchy cucumber, rice vermicelli noodles, and lots of fresh herbs. They're fun to make and absolutely delicious.
- Baked Parmesan Panko Cod Recipe - This delicious crispy baked cod recipe with parmesan and panko is the best way to make cod! It's easy to pull together and results in the tenderest, most flavorful cod.
- Baked Mahi Mahi Recipe - If you love the mild taste of white fish, you'll love this easy, baked mahi mahi recipe. You'll get a delicious fish that comes together in about 20 minutes!
Yield: 4 servings
30 Minute Dinner Ideas - Chicken and Orzo
Try one of our favorite 30-minute dinner ideas! This delicious lemon chicken orzo recipe is fantastic.
Prep Time
8 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Additional Time
2 minutes
Total Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ preserved lemon, diced, seeds removed
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup uncooked orzo
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle half the salt and pepper on top of the chicken things.
- Add chicken thighs to the skillet and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
- Remove the chicken thighs and add the lemon, tomatoes, chicken stock, orzo, and remaining salt and pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Nestle the chicken back into the orzo mixture and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and test the temperature of the chicken.
- Cook, uncovered, until chicken reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Top with the parmesan and parsley and serve.
- The chicken and orzo will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 621Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 230mgSodium: 1282mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 54g
Tell us your favorite 30-minute dinners in the comments below!