50 EASY Dinner Ideas
These easy dinner ideas are perfect for busy days, when you’re wondering what’s for dinner. These quick dinner recipes include healthy recipes, family-friendly recipes, chicken recipes, ground beef recipes, vegetarian dinner ideas and more!
Delicious Dinner Ideas
Are you tired of eating the same meals over and over? If you’re looking for new dinner ideas that are delicious, easy to make, and pleasing even to picky eaters, then you are in the right place!
Below you will find easy dinner recipes that:
- are absolutely delicious and family-friendly.
- are made with simple, easy to find, wholesome ingredients.
- have a fast preparation time. Some of the recipes here are slow cooker recipes, but the hands-on prep time is short.
I’ve included a few of my easiest slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes in this dinner recipes list. Also check out these easy Instant Pot recipes and these delicious slow cooker meals.
Click the links in the table of contents to jump straight to the type of recipe you are looking for.
Table of Contents
What’s for dinner?
My biggest tip for getting a healthy home-cooked dinner on the table each night is to meal plan. It takes just minutes and saves so much time in the long run.
Grab your calendar (paper or digital), or a notepad and pen, pull up this list of easy dinner recipes, and choose three that you’d like to make during the week ahead. The other nights of the week can be filled in with leftovers, breakfast for dinner, or other favorite easy meals that your family loves.
Once you have your meal plan written down, go through each recipe and make a grocery list. We try to grocery shop once a week and buy everything we’ll need. Avoiding extra trips to the store saves us both time and money.
With these recipes, your menu is covered for at least the next two months. That’s something to get excited about!
Find even more Dinner Recipes here.
50 Best Easy Dinner Ideas
Delicious Chicken Dinner Ideas
Chicken is a common answer to the “What’s for dinner?” question. These chicken dinner recipes are versatile and will satisfy any kind of craving, from soups to sandwiches, tacos and more.
This easy Chicken Stir Fry is filled with chicken and vegetables in the best homemade stir fry sauce.
These Baked Chicken Thighs are deliciously crispy and juicy!
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan is restaurant delicious yet easy to prepare with your favorite marinara sauce and a side of pasta.
This hearty White Chicken Chili is easy to make on the stove. It’s a cozy meal that’s perfect for a weeknight.
When you need a really easy dinner idea that the whole family will love, this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken always hits the spot. Made with just a handful of ingredients, this recipe is so fast to prep.
Baked Chicken Breast is a classic dinner idea, and with my recipe and tips your baked chicken will turn out tender, juicy and full of flavor.
This Crockpot Whole Chicken recipe makes a juicy, seasoned whole chicken, vegetables and gravy. This make ahead meal is perfect for Sunday dinner.
You’ll need just three ingredients to make the seasoned chicken for these Crockpot Chicken Tacos. Serve in tortillas with your favorite toppings!
This One Pot Chicken, Broccoli and Rice is a quicker, healthier take on the classic comfort food casserole.
This Honey Sesame Chicken is another prep-ahead meal that both kids and adults will love.
There’s so much to love about this Chicken Tortilla Casserole: chicken, black beans, salsa, tortilla chips and cheese, all cooked in one skillet!
This Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is a reader favorite recipe. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this easy recipe can also be made in the slow cooker.
Serve this Grilled Chicken with some simple side dishes for a delicious meal that always hits the spot. A delicious homemade chicken marinade gives it so much flavor!
This Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables is made with just six ingredients. Make it with sweet potatoes and broccoli, or use your favorite veggies.
This One Pot Pasta with chicken sausage is made with just 5 ingredients, so it’s perfect for busy days!
Air Fryer Fried Chicken is crispy dinner perfection the whole family will enjoy.
Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks cook much faster than the oven, in less than 30 minutes you’ll have the most flavorful drumsticks ready to enjoy!
Mouthwatering Ground Beef Dinners
Ground beef is a staple when it comes to making easy dinner recipes. It’s budget-friendly, kid-friendly, and easy to prepare. These ground beef recipes will keep your taste buds happy with their delicious variety of flavors.
You won’t believe how easy it is to make Sloppy Joes from scratch. These meaty, saucy sandwiches have the best combination of savory and sweet flavors!
This Slow Cooker Taco Pasta is a must-make recipe. It’s comfort food at its best!
This One Pot Baked Ziti is made completely in one skillet. The pasta absorbs so much flavor as it cooks!
Tacos are a classic family dinner idea. This ground beef taco recipe is fast, easy and delivers maximum flavor.
This healthy Taco Salad is ready in 20 minutes. You’ll love this meal because everyone can assemble their plate just the way they like it.
Instant Pot Spaghetti is one of our go-to recipes for a quick meal that the whole family loves. Everything cooks together in the Instant Pot!
Layer the ingredients for this Slow Cooker Lasagna in your crockpot and then come back hours later to a hot meal ready to enjoy.
This Slow Cooker Chili is thick and hearty. Once you prep the ingredients for your slow cooker, you can set it and forget it until it’s time to eat.
Healthy Salmon Dinner Ideas
Salmon is a healthy option for easy meals. From my favorite simple baked salmon recipe to a mouthwatering salmon salad, you’ll love these easy salmon dinner recipes.
Our favorite salmon recipe, this Oven Baked Salmon gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it!
This Sheet Pan Salmon and Asparagus is seasoned with lemon and garlic. Since everything cooks on one pan, clean-up is a breeze.
This easy Grilled Salmon can be cooked on an outdoor grill or indoors on a grill pan. It’s the perfect healthy meal for any time of year!
This Honey Garlic Salmon is another one pan dinner. Salmon, potatoes and green beans cook together on one pan for easy prep and easy clean up!
This flavor-packed Salmon Salad is a delicious combination of greens, grilled salmon, avocado, blueberries and goat cheese, all tossed in a tangy dressing.
This Air Fryer Salmon has an irresistible caramelized crust made from a simple seasoning rub and cooks in your Air Fryer in just a few minutes.
Easy Dinner Ideas with Ground Turkey
When you’re looking to lighten up your meals, ground turkey is a delicious option. These ground turkey dinner ideas are high on flavor and sure to join your regular recipe rotation.
Easy enough for a weeknight, this Turkey Taco Soup is made with simple ingredients that come together to create an ultra flavorful taco soup.
You can make this Turkey Chili on the stove top, in the slow cooker, or in an Instant Pot. It’s the best healthy chili recipe!
These Ground Turkey Tacos are a 30 minute meal that’s quick to make and so flavorful. Top them with your favorite taco toppings for a meal the whole family will love.
This Turkey Burger Recipe makes juicy, flavorful turkey burgers. Serve them with sweet potato fries for a healthy dinner.
This Unstuffed Bell Pepper Skillet has all of the stuffed pepper flavors that you love, with less effort to make.
These Sweet and Sour Meatballs are made with ground turkey and a 3 ingredient sweet and sour sauce. They are freezer-friendly for a make ahead meal.
When you’re craving lasagna but are short on time, this Lasagna Soup is just the recipe you need! It delivers cozy, comfort food vibes and a faster preparation than traditional lasagna.
Full-Flavored Vegetarian Meals
This list of vegetarian dinner ideas has something for everyone. Eating meatless meals has never been so delicious!
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. This cheesy, creamy macaroni and cheese is so easy to make in the Instant Pot.
This Broccoli Cheese Quiche is made with just 5 ingredients. It’s so simple to prepare yet so delicious!
This Skillet Mexican Quinoa is a hearty dinner idea, with plenty of protein thanks to black beans and quinoa. This delicious 30 minute meal also includes sweet potatoes, enchilada sauce and cheese.
Homemade Mac and Cheese is a satisfying dinner idea that easy to make. Try this classic mac and cheese recipe tonight.
These Instant Pot Lentil Sloppy Joes are a tasty vegetarian twist on classic sloppy joes. The sloppy joe filling is saucy, slightly sweet and tangy, made with lentils and veggies in the Instant Pot.
Cheesy chili mac pasta is one of the best comfort food dinners, and this One Pot Vegetarian Chili Mac is a meatless version that is so simple to prepare.
This healthier Broccoli Cheddar Soup gets its creaminess from potatoes rather than cream. There’s nothing better than sitting down to a cozy bowl of this soup on a cold day.
These easy Stuffed Shells are filled with four kinds of cheese and spinach. This classic pasta dish can be baked right away or frozen for a quick meal later.
You may be skeptical of the broccoli in these Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos, but once you give them a try you’ll be hooked! These are perfect for breakfast for dinner night.
These Slow Cooker Lentil Tacos are perfect for when you want to keep taco night meatless. The lentil taco filling is made with just a few ingredients and can be prepared in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Vegetable Stir Fry has stir-fried veggies in the best stir fry sauce. It’s a quick, healthy meal!
These Vegetarian Portobello Mushroom Fajitas are the best meatless fajita recipe! The mushrooms, peppers and onions are coated in a delicious marinade and then sautéed until tender. You’ll love this 30 minute meal!
It doesn’t get much easier than these Avocado Vegetarian Burritos! A creamy cilantro lime sauce makes these veggie burritos irresistible.
This Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese is a healthier homemade macaroni and cheese recipe that delivers all of the cozy, comforting vibes you expect from mac and cheese. The cheesy pasta is topped with a crispy breadcrumb topping.
This Cauliflower Soup is a 30 minute dinner idea. You’ll need only six ingredients for this cozy stove top soup recipe.
Pork Dinner Recipes
From pork chops to pork tenderloin and pulled pork, these pork dinner ideas are full-flavored and sure to satisfy.
With this Baked Pork Chops recipe, you’ll enjoy juicy, flavorful pork chops without a lot of effort. The simple seasoning rub is the best!
Baked Pork Tenderloin is a family favorite, and appeals to even the pickiest of eaters. A simple seasoning rub and scrumptious glaze make this easy baked tenderloin recipe exceptionally delicious!
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is a favorite crowd-pleasing dish that you can prep ahead for an easy dinner. The BBQ pork is tender and flavorful after slow cooking.
Cooking pork chops in a skillet is a quick and easy way to get a delicious dinner on your table. These Pan Fried Pork Chops are moist and juicy with the best flavorful browned crust. Serve them with potatoes and a vegetable for a praise-worthy meal.
Pork tenderloin and carrots cook together in a skillet in this Honey Hoisin Pork Tenderloin recipe. The honey hoisin glaze adds so much flavor!
Cooking these Pan Seared Pork Chops in a hot skillet gives them a beautiful golden crust. A honey mustard sauce perfectly complements the flavor of the pork. Serve the pork chops with potatoes and a vegetable for an easy dinner.
These thick cut Crock Pot Pork chops are so flavorful and tender when slow-cooked. Serve these slow cooker pork chops and mushroom gravy over noodles.
I love this roundup, Kristine! I definitely need ALL of the easy meals that I can get my hands on. I think I need to try every one of these.
I’ll be working my way through this list in the coming weeks. 🙂
So funny — I just meal planned yesterday and did my grocery shopping for the week. You know what I put on our menu? Your Unstuffed Bell Pepper Skillet! 🙂 Great minds think alike, since you included it on this list as well. I agree that meal planning is the key to easy dinner times. Have a great rest of the week!
Great minds! I hope your family enjoys the unstuffed pepper skillet. Thank you, Blair! 🙂
I live for meals like this, Kristine, and I’m so glad you shared this round up! There are so many I want to try!
What a great collection! Just in time too, I need new fall recipes!
I seriously want to try SO many of these! I definitely need to get back into the routine of meal planning — during the summer I find it so hard to want to cook dinner after cooking and photographing all day!
Good luck with the new school year, Kristine! My oldest goes back in two weeks again and I will definitely be in need of easy and tasty meals like these! This is such a great round-up and I can’t wait to try so many!