Figuring out What to Eat for Dinner can be a headache when you’re short on time and don’t feel like cooking anything. This list of easy dinner ideas will help you find the right meal plan tonight.
If you’re looking for more dinner ideas, here are some Fun Family Themed Dinner Ideas and the Best Hygge Dinner Ideas to help make your evening meals memorable.
One of the best ways to create an easy dish is to use your slow cooker and throw in a few ingredients like pork chops or a whole chicken with vegetables. Crock pot meals are comfort food that takes the stress out of cooking.
If you didn’t have time in the morning to plan your meal, I’ve put together the following recipes to help you out when looking for what to eat for dinner.
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Here are the fun Ideas for What to Eat for Dinner
Charcuterie Board
A charcuterie board is an easy dinner idea if you don’t feel like cooking. It’s also great to make one on a hot summer day. A board with meats like cold cuts, salami, or pepperoni are all good ideas. Cheese cubes like cheddar, Swiss, Provolone, or Monterey Jack are fun additions. For more ideas on how to create a charcuterie board, you can find some here.
Things to Eat – Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese
Keeping cheese, bread, and butter always on hand is an easy way to throw together dinner at a moment’s notice. If you’re looking for an easy homemade tomato soup recipe to go with your grilled cheese sandwich, this recipe is from a famous chef in Seattle.
Tomato Sandwich
Toasted bread, sliced tomatoes, sliced sweet onions, basil leaves, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper are all the ingredients you need to bite into this delicious sandwich.
Tuna Melt
Mix canned tuna, mayonnaise, chopped sweet pickles, chopped onions, and some of your favorite spices. Top pieces of toast with the tuna mixture and add a slice of cheddar cheese. Bake until the cheese has melted, covering the tuna fish. Yum!
Grandma’s Open-Face Sandwich
My grandmother used to make this sandwich for us all the time. It’s so darn delicious. I guarantee you even picky eaters will love it too!
Toast bread slices and butter each piece. Top with sliced tomatoes, cooked bacon slices, and top with slices of cheddar cheese. Place the sandwiches on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until the cheese melts over the bacon.
Cold-Cut Platter of Meats
You can’t go wrong with a platter of cold-cut meats, cheese slices, bread, condiments, pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes. I always keep a jar of my Quick Pickled red onions in the fridge to make my sandwiches extra fancy.
English Muffin Mini Pizzas
English muffin pizzas are an easy to solution for what to eat for dinner. Toast your English muffin and layer it with your favorite pizza toppings like pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni.
Frozen Pizza
The most popular dinner idea, when you’re short on time is frozen pizza. You could always make an extra batch the next time you make homemade pizza and freeze it for busy days.
Ham Steak
If you’re not making ham steak already, you won’t believe how easy it is and delicious as well. My ham steak recipe has a brown sugar glaze that the entire family will love.
Chicken Sausage Stir-Fry
Using chicken sausage links as the main ingredient for your dinner is a way to put your meal on the table fast. My Easy Skillet Chicken Sausage recipe will make you a believer. It’s an easy chicken recipe everyone will crave.
Macaroni and Cheese
Making macaroni and cheese from a box is a fast way to get dinner on the table. I like to pair mine with applesauce.
Things to Eat – Breakfast for Dinner
Oatmeal
Breakfast foods for dinner work when you’re stretched thin. Top your oatmeal with toasted nuts and cut fruit.
Cereal
A bowl of your favorite cereal is a quick fix for a hungry stomach.
Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Scrambled eggs are one of the easiest meals you can put together. Add some fresh herbs like chives to elevate your eggs to dinner level.
Greek Yogurt Parfait
Fresh fruit, granola, and Greek yogurt might be the perfect combination of ingredients at the end of a hard day. Parfaits are an excellent option for summer days.
Smoothies
Frozen bananas, berries, protein powder, and almond milk whipped up together is a quick dinner that your body will love. I also have a Dreamsicle Smoothie that is delicious.
Savory Waffles
Another idea is to make a batch of waffles ahead of time and freeze them. It’s the perfect what to eat for dinner solution. Toast the waffles and add your favorite savory toppings liked smoked salmon, sour cream, and chives.
Avocado Toast
One of the best things about avocado toast is how easy it is to add more layers that will make your taste buds happy. It’s the perfect solution for a last minute easy meals.
Burrito with Refried Beans
Putting together a burrito with refried beans takes just a few minutes. Add shredded lettuce, hot sauce, sour cream, and black olives for a tasty meal. If you’re looking for ideas on how to make canned refried beans taste better, I put together a list of 35 ideas you’ll love.
You could also use brown rice or white rice as a base and add in your favorite canned beans for busy nights.
Quesadilla
Making a quesadilla is the perfect easy dinner recipe to include leftover meat and vegetables. Keeping tortillas and cheese on hand to assemble your meal is a simple way to ensure you’re ready for whatever life throws at you.
Easy Meal Ideas
If you’re looking for easy family meals that won’t break the bank, here are a few simple recipes to explore.
Sweet Potatoes
Baking a couple of sweet potatoes and serve with a simple side salad is a home-cooked meal that takes little effort. Top the sweet potatoes with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Beans on Toast
The English are on to something. Beans on toast is a great way to get in some extra protein and make a simple evening meal simultaneously. Another idea to try is Sautéed Mushroom Toast.
Butter Noodles
Buttered noodles is a delicious meal you can make with pantry staples you already have on hand. Boil your favorite noodles and mix them with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper for an easy dinner tonight.
Nachos
Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, salsa, and sour cream are a great for building the perfect nacho platter. You can add leftover meat like ground beef, black beans, chopped chives, chopped black olives, chopped bell peppers, pickled jalapeños, and chopped tomatoes if you already have them on hand.
Tacos
On busy weeknights, I usually serve tacos as my go-to meal. I always have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge and fresh vegetables like shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and onions. Add shredded cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce for quick dinner ideas.
Things to Eat – Healthy Dinner Ideas
Cauliflower Rice with Vegetables
I like to have my favorite vegetables on hand in my freezer. One thing I always have is cauliflower rice. Making a quick stir-fry with these ingredients is one of my favorite healthy dinner recipes. Season with coconut aminos, fresh ginger, and garlic.
Hummus and Freshly Cut Vegetables
Keeping hummus on hand is one of my favorite ways to cure hunger on busy weeknights. I love it so much that I wrote an entire post about how you can add hummus to your favorite meals.
Grain Bowls
Having cooked quinoa in the freezer is an easy way to make a meal with whole grains. My recipe for Greek Quinoa Salad is perfect for when you’re searching for the answer on what to eat for dinner with Mediterranean flavors. Quinoa is an excellent source of plant-based protein the whole family will love and a fast way to make easy meals.
Zucchini Noodles
There’s a reason zucchini noodles are all the rage in healthy recipes. They are easy to make and taste delicious. Stir fry the zucchini noodles with your other favorite vegetables or cooked chicken breasts for an easy recipe full of fiber.
Fruit Salads
Fruit salads are an easy meal idea for summer when you want something cool and refreshing. This Watermelon Feta Black Olive Salad recipe sounds unusual, but when you mix the sweetness of watermelon with savory feta cheese and salty kalamata olives – it tastes incredible and is a healthy recipe!
Hard-Boiled Eggs
If you’re looking for a light dinner, make a few hard-boiled eggs, cut up some crudités, and some cubed cheese makes a delicious meal that’s an easy clean up.
Salad
Salad doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many different ways to make your salad recipes ones that you crave. If you have a roast chicken in the fridge, you can make Chinese chicken salad, Cobb salad, or buffalo chicken nuggets salad. I put together an extensive list of Salad Favorite Toppings you’ll love.
We’ve reached the end of What to Eat for Dinner? I hope you enjoyed it.
Let me know in the comments below what your favorite easy weeknight dinner is.
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More Delicious Dinners to Try!
