5 Quick Dinners to Create in 20 Minutes with FREE Menu Planner

quick dinner ideas

Quick Dinner Ideas in Under 20 Minutes

We’ve all been there. The days gets away from us. We are jammed with work, with meetings and with endless after school activities. Yet every day, we need to be certain there is food on the table for the family to enjoy for dinner. In this post I share 5 of my favorite go-to quick dinner ideas that I make on those days where I resist stopping at fast food or ordering pizza.

1. Breakfast for Dinner!

It can be as simple as a bowl of cereal or frozen waffles. Homemade pancakes take sometime but if you have the ingredients, the pancake batterĀ can be made in & cooked in less than 20 minutes.

2. Pasta with just about anything.

Boiling the water will take less than 5 minutes. Cooking the pasta doesn’t typically take longer than 7-8 minutes. Serve it with butter and parmesan and the family will be happy. A jarred sauce is a staple in our pantry, so I often open and toss it with the pasta, when requested. When I do have the time, the family always begs for me to make pasta with cauliflower – that’s the very favorite pasta dish.

3. InstaPot for Dinner

An InstaPot and just about anything, even if its frozen. An InstaPot is an all-in-one electrical pot that is a pressure cooker, slow cooker and so much more. It’s a MUST for busy moms. Just today I made zucchini noodles with a bolognese sauce in under 20 minutes. TheĀ ground beef was even frozen when I began! How did I do it? In the InstaPot I added 1 pound of ground beef, 4 cloves of garlic, one large can of tomato sauce, chopped basil and minced onion. I set the manual time to 12 minutes and off I went to spiralize the zucchini. That’s it! Delicious! By the way, if you don’t own a spiralizer, you need to!

4. Sandwich Platter

What’s your favorite sandwich? Roast beef? Turkey? Ham? Tuna. Keep the dinner table super informal with a sandwich platter. Set out all your cold cuts, condiments and breads. The family can build their preferred sandwich.

5. Re-create Leftovers

Chef Marcus Samuellson taught me that it is important to not serve leftovers as leftovers. Instead of simply reheating the chicken cutlets from the night before, you can turn them into chicken parmesan by placing them on foiling, adding a dollop of sauce and sprinkling some cheese. Slide it into the oven – can even be the toaster oven – and allow the chicken and sauce to warm and the cheese to melt. This will take less than 20 minutes. Don’t forget my post on how to reuse taco meat leftovers! Readers shared there ideas on how not to make tacos but make something even better.

Organize Quick Dinner Ideas with a Weekly Menu Planner

A weekly menu planner is a smart way to keep your week organized and your family fed. Below I’ve shared various menu planners available, including a FREE weekly menu planner that I’ve created for you!

  • I’ve create a simple weekly menu form in a PDF. Use it to jot down your meal ideas for the following week. Click here to download and print the form.
  • Feeling crafty? I’ve shared the directions on how to create a magnetic menu board.
  • Feeling rushed? Just order one off Amazon or the like. Suggested ones below.


Quick Dinner Ideas for Moms

quick dinner ideas

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