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To me, a simple dinner is a dinner I can pull together in 30 minutes or less. Whether it’s summertime with no desire to cook at the end of a long hot day, or school time with no time to cook, simple dinners are how I get dinner on the table without much stress.

simple dinners 30 minute meals

How to Make a Simple Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less

To achieve this goal, I use several techniques – menu planning, doubling recipes, the crock-pot, and including simple green salads. All of these kitchen techniques are simple and require just a little time, yet when used together, can help you create a dinner very quickly when you’re rushed for time.

Menu Plan

Having a menu plan means you’re not pulling meat out of the freezer at 5:00 pm, desperately hoping to get it defrosted and turned into a meal. You can use your menu plan to make the best use of your time in the kitchen by using the techniques I will talk about next.

To get started, print out a simple weekly calendar and start filling in each day. Menu planning newbies should stick to family favorites before trying new recipes. Give yourself at least one day off from cooking by including a leftover meal. Also, include a very simple meal like pasta and sauce. Save the more complicated recipes for the days when you have little on the schedule.

Types of menu plans

  • Simple meat and 2 side dishes
  • Theme nights: Mexican, Italian, Spanish
  • Meat and non-meat: Beef, Chicken, Meatless/Vegetarian
  • 2 week menu plan
  • 30 Day menu plan

Free Printable: Weekly Menu Plan

Double Recipes or Cooked Ingredients

Make once. Cook once. Eat twice. Any time you make a meal recipe that can be doubled, just do it. You don’t need to cook the meal in a doubled quantity. Make it all the way to the step where you can divide the food in half and freeze it or put it in the fridge for later in the week.

I also like to make double batches of simple sides like rice, pasta, potato wedges. This allows me to plan 2 meals with the same side dishes and 2 different meat recipes. Since some of my kids prefer one type of meat over another, having a side dish they like in 2 meals ensures they’ll have something they like to eat at dinner.

Use a Crock-pot

Crock-pots make it easier to cook roasts, soups and stews all day without burning them. Pull the ingredients together in the morning, put them in the crock-pot, and set the timer. Go spend the rest of the day doing whatever you planned to do with the kids. Voila! Dinner is ready at dinner time.

Include a Green Salad

Making a green salad doesn’t take much time. My husband buys mesclun mix and grape tomatoes, both good short cuts for throwing a salad together. Use a simple drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, or make up your salad dressing ahead of time.

The bonus – a green salad is an easy way to include more vegetables in your meal without going crazy looking for vegetable side dish recipes.

Simple Dinner Recipes

Salad Recipes

Crockpot Recipes

Casserole Recipes

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