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17 Fast Dinner Recipes for Busy Nights

17 Fast Dinner Recipes for Busy Nights

By Food & Wine

Updated May 17, 2017

Victor Protasio

Sheet pan meals. Grilled cheese. Pasta made with pantry staples. When we need to get dinner on the table quickly, we want recipes that have short cook times and even shorter ingredient lists. In this roundup, we’ve gathered several dishes that fit the bill, including an orzo and chickpea dish with turmeric-ginger broth that comes together in just 20 minutes and a smoked salmon salad that does double duty as an easy spring lunch or quick dinner. Read through to find the recipes and bookmark them for your next busy night.

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1 of 17

Grilled Salmon with Melted Tomatoes

JOHN KERNICK

Jalapeños not only garnish this sweet-smoky grilled salmon but also infuse the oil used to sauté the tomatoes.

Salmon Recipes

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Lemon-Stuffed Grilled Branzino

Barbara Lynch stuffs branzino with lemons and herbs, then grills it until the skin is browned and crispy to add even more flavor.

Healthy Fish Recipes

3 of 17

Sizzling Shrimp Scampi

Scampi refers to shrimp that are split, brushed with garlicky butter and broiled. The recipe here calls for flavoring butter with lemon, garlic, parsley and thyme, then dotting it liberally on shrimp and roasting the shellfish until it sizzles.

Delicious Shrimp Scampi Recipes

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4 of 17

Hanger Steak with Herb-Nut Salsa

Naomi Pomeroy takes a version of the salsa verde from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables and adds in toasted hazelnuts, plus double the herbs. Then, she serves it with medium-rare hanger steak for a quick, yet flavorful meal.

Delicious Steak Recipes

5 of 17

Open-Face Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

This sandwich is perfect for summer, combining fresh tomatoes, grilled eggplant, basil, and buffalo mozzarella.

Delicious Sandwich Recipes

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Summer Farro Salad

Marco Canora says you can swap in any starch—like bread or pasta—for the farro in this recipe.

Terrific Farro Recipes

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7 of 17

Spring Onion and Salami Sheet-Pan Pizza

Greg DuPree

When making sheet-pan pizza, bring the dough to room temperature before shaping. This ensures the gluten is relaxed and the dough doesn’t shrink from the pan edges.

8 of 17

Cod with Lemony Leeks, Snap Peas, and Herbs

Victor Protasio

In this dish, cod is quickly cooked in a skillet then given the elegant upgrade it deserves. Leeks take a quick bath in a broth composed of white wine and chicken broth, and snap peas get the briefest of simmers so they maintain their fresh texture. Butter is swirled in at the end to slightly thicken up the sauce, as well as some lemon juice for brightness.

9 of 17

Knife-and-Fork Grilled Cheese with Honey

© Con Poulos

Chef Chris Cosentino proves here that you can elevate the humble grilled cheese sandwich into something magical with just a few tweaks. His buttery, crisp version is filled with luscious Taleggio cheese, then drizzled with honey and sprinkled with flaky salt and coarsely ground black pepper. It’s so simple, but also jaw-droppingly good.

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Salmon and Cherry Tomato Skewers with Rosemary Vinaigrette

© Nicole Franzen

Cook these simple salmon-and-tomato kebabs on skewers or even on sturdy rosemary sprigs.

11 of 17

Steak Au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Justin Walker

Red wine pan sauce is an amalgamation of fond (those browned bits left in the pan after searing meat), shallots, broth, good-quality red wine, and a few pats of butter to bind it all together and thicken it to a syrupy consistency. A perfect interplay of acid from the wine and sumptuous fat, the sauce is an ideal accompaniment to a peppercorn-crusted rib eye steak.

12 of 17

Orzo and Chickpeas with Turmeric-Ginger Broth

Victor Protasio

Coconut milk and fresh lime juice are natural flavor partners to ginger and turmeric; here they come together to form a restorative tea-based broth that’s delicious studded with chickpeas and pasta.

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Roasted Merguez Sausage with Apples and Onions

Victor Protasio

For this sheet pan dinner, use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples, which hold their shape better during roasting that other varieties. Plus, their pleasant sweetness balances the intensely spiced merguez sausage.

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Spinach and Smoked Salmon Salad with Lemon-Dill Dressing

CHRISTINA HOLMES

This refreshingly crunchy salad makes for an excellent spring lunch or super quick dinner.

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Florentine Butter Chicken

Greg DuPree

This recipe is inspired by Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis’ trip to 150-year-old Trattoria Sostanza in Florence. The best part? It’s ready in 20 minutes.

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Pulling-from-the-Pantry Puttanesca

Victor Protasio

Chef Zoi Antonitsas is passionate about preserved fish. The salty, briny fillets are her favorite powerhouse pantry ingredient. They can make almost anything into a meal—and a delicious one at that. Use high-quality tins, like Matiz España brand, for the best results.

17 of 17

Kimchi Fried Rice with Spicy Shrimp-and-Sesame Sauce

Victor Protasio

Chef Roy Choi’s Kimchi Fried Rice is the best way to reinvigorate day-old rice with spicy, potent kimchi. The kimchi actually sweetens when heated and adds not only its signature funk, tang, and spice but also a delicious crunch. The briny, spicy dipping sauce is the perfect punchy accompaniment.

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