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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Grilled Salmon with Melted Tomatoes

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

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Lemon-Stuffed Grilled Branzino

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

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Sizzling Shrimp Scampi

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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.

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Hanger Steak with Herb-Nut Salsa

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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.

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Open-Face Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

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

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Summer Farro Salad

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

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Spring Onion and Salami Sheet-Pan Pizza

Credit: Greg DuPree
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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.

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Cod with Lemony Leeks, Snap Peas, and Herbs

Credit: Victor Protasio
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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.

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Knife-and-Fork Grilled Cheese with Honey

Credit: © Con Poulos
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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

Credit: © Nicole Franzen
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Cook these simple salmon-and-tomato kebabs on skewers or even on sturdy rosemary sprigs.

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Steak Au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce

Credit: Justin Walker
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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.

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Orzo and Chickpeas with Turmeric-Ginger Broth

Credit: Victor Protasio
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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

Credit: Victor Protasio
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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

Credit: CHRISTINA HOLMES
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This refreshingly crunchy salad makes for an excellent spring lunch or super quick dinner.

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Florentine Butter Chicken

Credit: Greg DuPree
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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

Credit: Victor Protasio
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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.

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Kimchi Fried Rice with Spicy Shrimp-and-Sesame Sauce

Credit: Victor Protasio
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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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