45+ Easy Weeknight Recipes
From quick Instant Pot recipes to low and slow Crockpot meals and everything in between, this collection of easy weeknight recipes will save the day again and again. You’ll love our sheet pan dinners, casseroles, and skillet meals!
Be sure to pin these easy weeknight dinners for later! And pop over to this post to find 25+ Make Ahead Meals that you can just thaw and cook on busy nights.
My mom and grandmother taught me a lot about cooking and baking, however, I also got a lot of cooking skills by watching 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray. Quick meals are my favorite, and I’m always looking for shortcuts to making cooking quicker, easier, and more delicious!
With school just around the corner, it’s time to find and save some awesome Easy Weeknight Meals. I’ve got a whole bunch of awesome slow cooker, instant pot, one pot or pan, and make-ahead ideas to share with you.
Easy Weeknight Recipes
When it comes to easy weeknight recipes, I’m looking for meals that don’t have a zillion steps or weird ingredients. I need simple and scrumptious ideas that my family will gobble up without grumbling.
I’ve chosen some of my favorite recipes from here on Juggling Act Mama, as well as some of my favorites from other blogs that are tried and true winners.
Meal Planning Printables
Click on the links below to download our PDFs to help make your meal planning easier.
New 30 Minute Meals
Honey Butter Chicken with a sweet and savory honey garlic sauce is delicious with rice, potatoes, or noodles.
This 30-minute meal is delicious, easy, and always a hit with the whole family!
- Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake – creamy, cheesy chicken and broccoli spaghetti is the weeknight meal your whole family will love.
- Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers – this easy low-carb meal is great for Taco Tuesday, or anytime you want a fast and flavorful meal!
- Ro-Tel Chicken Spaghetti – with diced tomatoes and green chilies, this delicious pasta bake is loaded with bold flavor.
Crispy Salt and Pepper Chicken with Chinese 5-spice powder and fresh garlic comes together in just 30 minutes.
This recipe is far and away better than takeout!
Related: Casseroles Using Cream of Chicken Soup
Walking Taco Casserole – If you love crunchy tacos, you’re going to absolutely love this easy 30-minute crunchy taco bake recipe.
- Pasta with Sausage and Broccolini (or broccoli) – ground sausage is often less expensive than ground beef so it’s an economical option for feeding a crowd. This pasta recipe is quick, easy, and, of course, delicious.
- Steak Bites and Potatoes – you won’t believe that this yummy meal is ready in under 30 minutes! Use the extra time to make a batch of cowboy butter, garlic steak butter, or cowboy butter dipping sauce.
- Chicken Noodle Casserole – grab a rotisserie chicken or your own pulled chicken and whip up this easy and cheesy 30 minute meal.
Slow Cooker Recipes
Above all, slow cooker meals are my favorite. I love being able to “set-it-and-forget-it.” For more tips on making the most of your slow cooker, check out this great article about How to Use a Slow Cooker Like a Boss.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is a great weeknight meal that the whole family will love!
Here are some delicious and easy weeknight meals you can make any night of the week with your slow cooker:
- Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup – this classic is unbelievably delicious! Serve with some crusty bread for a hearty meal suited perfectly for a cold night.
- Italian Roast Beef: Easy Slow Cooker – with potatoes and carrots, but you could also add a chopped sweet potato, too.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe – starting with onions, bell peppers and jalapenos, of course, this chili is easy to customize with sour cream or cheese on top. You could use rotisserie chicken to make it even easier.
- Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken – an easy way to make a no-fuss dinner. If you’re feeling fancy, you could even add bok choy to this recipe.
- Easy Slow Cooker Potato Soup – simple ingredients make this an awesome choice for dinner any night of the week.
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken – an easy recipe the whole family will love. It’s great for busy weeknights and is perfect on top of baked potatoes or pasta and made into Buffalo Ranch Wraps or Buffalo Chicken Salad.
- Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli – make your own hearty take-out meal and customize it with carrots or sesame seeds just the way you like it.
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – one of our most simple recipes and perfect for making Easy Pork Lettuce Wraps Recipe the next day!
- Beef Bourguignon Slow Cooker – forget fussy time-consuming traditional recipes! This has all the flavor with a fraction of the work.
- Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken – is a flavorful Asian dish that’s perfect for busy weeknights.
- Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs – whether you need an easy potluck dish or a simple weeknight meal, these flavorful meatballs fit the bill.
Pressure Cooker & Instant Pot Meals
Using an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker is a great way to save loads of time in the kitchen! Instant Pot Easy Meals always save the day. Here are a few of my go-to easy weeknight recipes using the Instant Pot:
- Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe ground beef and veggies make this a hearty and easy weeknight meal! Serve with a side of tortilla chips.
- Best Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – one of my most favorite pasta dishes! You’re going to love the parmesan and sharp cheddar cheese sauce.
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice – it doesn’t take much time to make this recipe but it has so much flavor! It’ll be an instant family favorite.
- Easy Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin Dinner – this one pot meal packs tons of flavor with very little clean up. What could be better than that?
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff – this mushroom stroganoff is a great recipe for a busy night – a complete meal all in one!
- Sweet Spicy Korean Meatballs in an Instant Pot – incredible flavor and perfect with rice or noodles.
- Instant Pot Meatloaf – one of my favorite dinner options and the leftover meatloaf makes great sandwiches the next day!
- Easy Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs – with garlic and ginger, as well as sesame flavors, these ribs are out of this world yummy.
- Pulled Pork Zucchini Boats – a super easy meal that is ready in 30 minutes (or less).
Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
This hearty soup only has 10 minutes of prep and is on the table in 35 minutes.
Best of all, this soup is super easy and versatile.
One-Pot or Pan Meals
Sheet pan meals and other one-pot meals are kind of brilliant since there won’t be a lot of dishes to clean up afterward (I hate doing dishes!) These recipes are tried and true winners:
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas – these are the easiest fajitas you’ve ever had! Add a side of black beans and a dollop of sour cream and you have a fabulously delicious recipe.
- Turkey Breast Recipe for a Sheet Pan Dinner – special enough for a low key holiday, but quick enough for any night of the week.
- Caprese Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner – with basil, tomatoes and mozzarella, this is the chicken you’re going to want for dinner tonight!
- Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Seasonal Vegetables – this family favorite can include whatever veggies are in season because the garlic and Italian seasoning mix compliments just about everything.
- Mediterranean Chicken Thighs Sheet Pan Dinner – chicken and potatoes go from boring to scrumptious with the addition of Mediterranean seasoning, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and fresh cucumber.
- One Pan Chicken & Potatoes Dinner – one of my favorite easy dinner ideas because it’s just simple to make but so delicious so I make this again and again.
- Chili Pot Pie – super easy recipe using leftover chili and cornbread mix.
- Tilapia with Salsa – you’re just 25 minutes away from a delicious and healthy baked tilapia dinner with pineapple salsa!
- Chicken Apple Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner – grab your favorite veggies and whip up this no-fuss weeknight meal.
Related: Easy Sheet Pan Dinners
Casseroles
Casseroles are not only delicious but also easy and simple to make. Here are some of my favorites.
- Sausage and Potato Casserole – perfect to make ahead and keep in the freezer for busy nights.
- Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake – creamy, cheesy, and so good. It’s one of my favorite 30 minute meals.
- Spicy Bacon Mac and Cheese – if you love spicy food, especially Jalapeño Poppers, this is the dish for you!
- Breakfast Enchilada Casserole – how about breakfast for dinner? This is loaded with eggs, sausage, peppers, and tomatoes.
- Sausage Mac and Cheese Bake – a fabulous make-ahead dish that’s great for those that love once-a-week cooking.
- Mini Chicken Pot Pie – an easy recipe that you can make any night of the week.
- Chicken Taco Casserole – you’ll only need 15 minutes of prep for this tasty Taco Tuesday alternative!
Related: Find tons more casserole recipes here.
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Salads
Whether it’s a side dish or a main meal, these salads are all totally delicious! In addition, salads can be a great way to use up leftovers or produce that needs to be eaten.
- Ham and Pasta Salad
- Chicken Cobb Salad
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Roasted Beet Salad
- Spinach and Strawberry Salad
- Mandarin Orange Salad with Chicken
Simple Side Dishes
When it comes to easy weeknight recipes, no meal is complete without a side dish or two, right? These are some of our family favorites:
- Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Pan Sauteed Asparagus
- Butternut Squash Casserole with Pecans
- Garlic Green Beans
- Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
- How to Make Broccoli in the Oven
- Mashed Cauliflower
- Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
- Make Ahead Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar
- White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Those side dishes look amazing, and I love anything that I can cook in my slow cooker or my pressure cooker!
Thanks Jessica! I hope you get to try one of these recipes soon 🙂
I love this idea, too. I have some lunch box printables here on the blog you can download for free 🙂
YES! Love this 🙂 I have a great homework caddy that’s inexpensive and easy to set up too. (Put the word homework into the search bar) 🙂
Start preparing for the routine two weeks before. I start scaling back bedtimes and wakeup times to help their bodies adjust.
Trying to plan the menu for the week!
It is an old school tip but still works. Lay the clothes out at night to save time in the morning.
Get back into a routine! I have a wall call the “information station” it has a dry erase calendar. A regular calendar so I can look ahead, school lunch calender, and anything else school/ work related
Preparing packed lunches and clothes to wear the night before is definitely a great helpful tip for the next day.
Say a little prayer with your child before school.
We push back bedtime to make getting up that first morning easy – and I get up EXTRA early so I can start my day with a dog walk and have some coffee before the busy morning ahead. 🙂
Such a great tip! Teaching kids about money early is so important 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Fran!