80 Fast Menus!
Use this meal-planner guide to find menus that suit your weeknight fancy, and voilà: faster, healthier weeknight eating for your entire family.
To get a shopping list for a specific menu, click the View Menu link at the bottom of the slide. You will be taken to that menu's page on MyRecipes.com. From there, click Add to Shopping List to the right of the menu. You will be prompted to sign in to your personal Recipe File account. If you don't have an account, click Print Menu. From there, select the Shopping List option from the left column of the page.
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Meal #3: Chicken Dinners
White BBQ Sauce is an Alabama staple condiment—peppery, creamy, and tangy; medium-thick. Here, we serve it with quick grill pan chicken, but you can also try it with: Grilled, roasted, or smoked chicken; shredded cabbage (for coleslaw); chicken or turkey sandwiches.
- Grill Pan Chicken
- White BBQ Sauce
- Garlicky Asparagus
- Wheat Rolls with Orange Butter
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Meal #4: Chicken Dinners
Plenty of sautéed mushrooms give this sauce deep, meaty, umami flavor, balanced by a touch of acid from white wine. Medium-bodied texture. Other delicious pairings: Steak; roasted or grilled chicken or pork; mashed potatoes; shepherd's pie filling; hot cooked rice or egg noodles.
- Grill Pan Chicken
- Mushroom Sauce
- Creamed Spinach and Mushrooms
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
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Meal #5: For Seafood Lovers
Breading the flesh side of the fish allows the skin to crisp up on the other side.
- Pecan-Crusted Trout
- Creamed Spinach and Mushrooms
- Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
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Meal #6: For Seafood Lovers
Fish is a great choice for quick dinners—most fillets cook to perfection in less than 10 minutes. You can use pecans, walnuts, or pine nuts in place of hazelnuts. To streamline prep, roast the asparagus together with the suggested potato side dish.
- Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Roasted Asparagus
- Roasted Red Potatoes
View Menu: Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut with Roasted Asparagus Menu
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Meal #8: For Seafood Lovers
Our warm bacon vinaigrette is salty, smoky, and tart. Thin-bodied, with chunks of bacon crumbles and chopped shallots. Here, we pair it with basic striped bass. Some other options: Main-dish green salad with shredded rotisserie chicken; grilled or roasted chicken or trout; seared scallops; steamed or sautéed green beans or asparagus; roasted Brussels sprouts.
- Basic Striped Bass
- Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Sautéed Butter-Thyme Mushrooms
View Menu: Basic Striped Bass with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Menu
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Meal #17: Salad Meals
We made a classic Greek sauce of creamy yogurt and cucumber for the base of this tangy salad.
- Tzatziki Chicken Salad on pita chips
- Mixed Greens Salad
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Meal #19: Salad Meals
A combo of yogurt and mayo gives a traditional chicken salad more zip. We like the richness of white and dark meat, but you can use all one type.
- Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad on whole-grain crackers
- Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
View Menu: Creamy Tarragon Chicken Salad on whole-grain crackers Menu
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Meal #19: Salad Meals
Crunchy green beans and juicy tomatoes create a beautiful salad.
- Chicken and Green Bean Salad on crostini
- Roasted Red Potatoes
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Meal #23: Meaty Meals
The lightly meaty, flour-thickened chicken broth base for our quick gravy is enriched with cream cheese for a smooth, medium-bodied, herb-flecked sauce. Paired here with roasted pork tenderloin, try also with: Grilled or roasted chicken, pork, or turkey; meatballs; potpie fillings; mashed potatoes, savory bread pudding, or oven fries.
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- Quick Gravy
- Roasted Red Potatoes
- Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
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Meal #24: Global Fusions
Use all white sesame seeds if black seeds are unavailable.
- Sesame Tuna with Edamame and Soba
- Napa Cabbage Slaw
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Meal #28: Fiery Flavors
Substitute lower-sodium soy sauce if fish sauce is difficult to find. The flavor won't be as complex, but soy sauce will still add a salty note. You can also substitute thinly sliced Thai bird chiles or jalapeño for the sambal oelek—or leave it out completely if you'd rather enjoy a mild dish.
- Spicy Basil Chicken
- Brown Rice with Sesame
- Sautéed Snow Peas and Peppers
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Meal #31: Fiery Flavors
Editor Scott Mowbray proclaimed, "These are the best crab cakes we've ever made!" Try them out and see for yourself. For a milder Rémoulade sauce, omit the red pepper.
- Crab Cakes with Spicy Rémoulade
- Mixed Greens Salad
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Meal #32: Healthy Pizzas
In the roster of shortcut ingredients, fresh pizza dough is an all-star. In as little as 30 minutes, you can make a fantastic pie with a crispy-chewy, deliciously browned crust, hot from the oven. And when you load it with fresh veggies: voilà, a wonderfully healthy salad pizza.
Each pizza is a complete meal. However, you can buy extra greens and have more salad on the side.
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Meal #33: Healthy Pizzas
Fresh dough, from the supermarket bakery section or from a local pizzeria, is our favorite to work with, though canned dough and prebaked crusts work fine in a pinch.
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Meal #34: Healthy Pizzas
Kitchen Tip: If the dough starts retracting and fighting you as you shape it, walk away for a couple of minutes; let it relax, and it will cooperate.
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Meal #35: Healthy Pizzas
All your favorite steak house flavors and ingredients—blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, and beef tenderloin—come together for a delicious salad pizza.
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Meal #36: Pasta Dinners
For those nights when you just don't have the 12 minutes to cook dried fettuccine, reach for refrigerated fresh pasta: It's done in about two minutes. The texture is deliciously different: more delicate, with a slightly springy bounce. Yet, it's not too refined for a bold Bolognese, a meatball treatment, or a creamy vodka-tomato sauce. Fast Fact: These pasta dishes are ready, beautifully, in under half an hour.
For our first pasta menu: This Creamy Spring Pasta dish is luxuriously creamy, but the pasta soaks up the sauce quickly. Be sure to serve right away.
- Creamy Spring Pasta
- Butter Roasted Carrots
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Desserts: Last-Minute Tropical Sherbet
Extra! Extra! We put together a few sweets along parfait, pudding, and sundae lines—the perfect punctuation to any quick meal.
First up: Frozen fruit and yogurt get whirred together to make a tangy sherbet that's the texture of soft-serve. You can make it ahead, but don't freeze overnight; the mixture will become icy.
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Desserts: Mango-Ginger Parfaits
Make a quick, creamy parfait by combining Greek yogurt with mascarpone cheese. Top with chopped fresh mango, gingersnap crumbs, and toasted coconut.
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Desserts: Greek Yogurt with Warm Berry Sauce
Frozen berries make this a year-round treat. Although this is dessert, there's enough protein to consider it for breakfast.
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Desserts: Coffee-Drenched Ice Cream with Banana and Nuts
This quick treat is a coffee-lover's dream. We used espresso, however feel free to substitute strong brewed coffee, or use instant coffee/espresso granules to make the coffee. A vegetable peeler is a great tool to make chocolate curls from a bar of chocolate.
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Desserts: Warm Mocha Pudding
If you've never tried a warm pudding, this is the one to try. The flavors are more up front when the pudding is warm.
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Desserts: Limoncello Freeze
Mush together purchased ice cream, lemon curd (found near the jellies and jams), and limoncello, and you get a delicious lemony version of a Creamsicle—fruity-tangy and creamy-milky at the same time. Meringue cookies add welcome crunch.
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Meal #41: Chicken Dinners
This quick braised dish tastes like it has been cooking for hours. We make ½-inch-deep cuts in the chicken to expedite the cook time.
- Chicken Braised in Wine and Rosemary
- Quick Chive Mashed Potatoes
- Asparagus with Lemon and Pecorino
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Meal #43: Chicken Dinners
If you can’t find fresh tomatillos, substitute canned whole tomatillos and use less salt. Grilled lime wedges are a zesty garnish.
- Chicken with Quick Chile Verde
- Grapefruit, Walnut, and Feta Salad
- Herbed Corn Muffins
View Menu: Chicken with Quick Chile Verde and Grapefruit Salad Menu
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Meal #44: Chicken Dinners
Cutting half of the peas in half gives the dish a lovely look, but you can skip that step and leave them all whole, if you like.
- Chicken with Quick Chile Verde
- Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Snap Pea and Radish Sauté
View Menu: Chicken with Quick Chile Verde and Roasted Potatoes Menu
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Meal #45: Chicken Dinners
Here we riff off the flavors of a Manhattan cocktail, which is traditionally made with rye whiskey or bourbon, maraschino cherries, and orange rind. For less of a bourbon kick, boil the bourbon in the sauce for a minute before spooning over the chicken.
- Manhattan-Glazed Chicken
- Glazed Baby Carrots
- Wilted Spinach with Fresh Chile
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Meal #58: Beefy Meals
A splash of fish sauce adds a rich, savory flavor to the glaze, but it’s OK to omit if you don’t have it on hand.
- Hoisin-Glazed Steak with Sesame Vegetables
- Soba Noodle Salad
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Meal #62: Salad Menus
Hit up the farmers’ market for the freshest spring veggies. You can also try the dish with shrimp, salmon, or pork in place of chicken.
- Spring Garden Salad with Chicken and Champagne Vinaigrette
- Herbed Corn Muffins
View Menu: Spring Garden Salad with Chicken and Champagne Vinaigrette Menu
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Meal #64: Fish and Seafood Feasts
There are a number of sustainable salmon options available; look for U.S.-caught and U.S.-farmed fish.
- Roasted Salmon with Soy-Marmalade Glaze
- Snap Pea and Radish Sauté
- Quinoa with Toasted Pine Nuts
View Menu: Roasted Salmon with Soy-Marmalade Glaze and Snap Peas Menu
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Meal #65: Fish and Seafood Feasts
There are a number of sustainable salmon options available; look for U.S.-caught and U.S.-farmed fish.
- Roasted Salmon with Soy-Marmalade Glaze
- Soba Noodle Salad
- Wilted Spinach with Fresh Chile
View Menu: Roasted Salmon with Soy-Marmalade Glaze and Soba Noodles Menu
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Meal #66: Fish and Seafood Feasts
Look for U.S.-caught Alaska cod, gray cod, or true cod.
- Panko-Crusted Cod with Tomato-Basil Relish
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Soba Noodle Salad
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Meal #67: Fish and Seafood Feasts
U.S.-farmed rainbow trout (pretty much all you’ll find at the market) is a sustainable choice.
- Rainbow Trout with Seared Sugar Snaps
- Glazed Baby Carrots
- Quick Chive Mashed Potatoes
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Meal #68: Fish and Seafood Feasts
All mussels are sustainable stars. They’re surprisingly affordable, too.
- Mussels in Smoky Poblano-Cilantro Broth
- Green Salad with Simple Vinaigrette
- Goat Cheese Crostini
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Meal #69: Fish and Seafood Feasts
Choose U.S. wild-caught halibut. The sauce would be tasty with cod or inexpensive tilapia.
- Grilled Halibut with Tarragon Beurre Blanc
- Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Asparagus with Lemon and Pecorino
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Meal #71: Sandwich Suppers
Quickly make carrot ribbons with your vegetable peeler.
- Soy-Marinated Pork Sandwiches
- Soba Noodle Salad
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Meal #72: Sandwich Suppers
If you don’t have almonds on hand, use any nut.
- Portobello Sandwiches with Red Pepper Sauce
- Grapefruit, Walnut, and Feta Salad
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Meal #79: Mac and Cheese Menus
Chimichurri–the South American herb sauce typically served with meat–revs up basic mac and cheese with tangy flavors. You can also serve this in individual ramekins or small serving skillets.
- Chimichurri Mac and Cheese
- Glazed Baby Carrots
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Meal #80: Mac and Cheese Menus
Dark beer lovers will appreciate the flavor: cheesy up front and slightly bitter and malty at the end. Garnish with parsley for a pop of color.
- Stout Mac and Cheese
- Wilted Spinach with Fresh Chile
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Desserts: Dark Cherry Merlot Sauce over Yogurt
Homemade sweets on a busy weeknight? Yes, with our fast recipes that complement any meal.
First up: We love the flavor of a tangy fro-yo with this sweet sauce, but ice cream is also nice.
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Desserts: Sparkling Raspberry Parfaits
Raspberry sparkling wine has a pretty pink color and lightly sweet flavor; you can use regular sparkling wine for a less sweet dessert. Or you can skip the alcohol and use raspberry-flavored seltzer water instead.
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Desserts: Granola Cookie Wedges
Instead of taking the time to scoop individual cookies, bake a superfast cookie “pie,” and then cut it into wedges.
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Desserts: Balsamic Strawberries over Angel Food Cake
Use good aged vinegar for the best flavor in this dessert recipe.
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