Top 10 10-minute dinner ideas

A super fast dinner you can have on the table in just ten minutes, without preparation!

No time to chat. Ready to cook? Here are 10 last-minute dinner ideas for you.

The meals on this list must meet two criteria. First, they have to be fast. Really fast. Second, they should be meals that contain ingredients I keep in the pantry and the freezer. I always have frozen vegetables. I always have pasta, and I always eat potatoes, tortillas, etc.

Here they are, straight from my note cards: Our favorite 10-minute dinners!

# 1 Whole Wheat & Vegetable Pasta

Spaghetti with vegetables and cheese on a white plate

This is my # 1 last minute favorite meal. We generally make this dish 90% of the time.

1 package of whole wheat noodles (I love whole wheat angel hair – just 5 minutes to boil!)
One bag of frozen vegetables.

Cook the pasta as directed on the package. Put the vegetables while the pasta is cooking in the pasta water throughout the cooking period. Drain pasta and vegetables. Then add:

1 tablespoon butter
1 / 4-1 / 2 cup grated or grated Parmesan cheese (fresh is best, but we use all we have)
Optional: If we had any leftover meat from previous dinners, I would preheat the meat (usually chicken) and toss it after the noodles had dried.

There are a lot of things I love about this meal, but for the most part, my kids never complain when we eat it. In fact, they’ll order this meal most nights. Usually they ask for it by saying, “Can we have angelic hair tonight?” But this is the meal they are referring to. Any noodles with broccoli and parmesan cheese, they’ll eat!

# 2 Taco

Taco

Any meat (ground beef, chicken, fish)
Any type of beans (black beans, pinto beans, fried beans, black-eyed peas)
Any vegetables (tomato, avocado, lettuce, pepper, sauce, etc.)

# 3 Burritos

Tortilla topped with cheese, beans and ground turkey on a blue plate

Similar to the tacos, but you definitely want a tortilla here. We use it in general This recipe for burrito, But it can be very flexible. We will add:

bean,
Vegetables,
Meat (optional)
And sometimes rice

If we wanted to spend a few extra minutes, I’d wrap the tortilla with the filling myself, and quickly fry the tortilla to seal the rim, and make the outside a bit crunchy!

# 4 Anything breakfast

Pies covered with butter, berries and syrup on a white plate with a blue napkin

I still haven’t met a kid complaining about breakfast at dinner! Whether your kids love pancakes, pancakes or egg dishes, 90% of our breakfasts take less than 10 minutes! The only thing you need to achieve this is baking supplies (like flour, milk, salt, etc.) and eggs!

# 5 Dirty Joe

Sloppy rice on whole wheat bread served with carrot sticks and celery

We stock up on ground beef and ground turkey, so we always have it The ingredients to make these illusions sloppy. This recipe is quick and only takes one skillet.

# 6 Spaghetti

Noodles with sauce and cheese with garnished napkin served with kiwi

Good old noodle, go, and always popular! The way we make this dish, in 10 minutes, is as follows:

First, start by boiling the water and cooking the pasta. (Again – whole wheat angel hair is the fastest pasta to cook!)
Second, slice up any vegetables you have on hand like peppers, mushrooms or onions!
Third, once the vegetables start to wilt (about 3-5 minutes), preheat Spaghetti sauce In the same pan. (You can jar it yourself or Freeze yourself To control ingredients, or check labels to pick one that’s low in sugar and sodium. Trader Joe’s has noodle sauce We keep on hand for emergencies like 10-minute meals!)

# 7 Grilled cheese sandwiches

Grilled cheese on a white square plate served with oranges, tomatoes and carrots

These can be healthy! we Make grilled cheese With whole wheat bread, we add spinach leaves. To make it extra healthy and full, we also add tomato soup for dipping (only if we have some in the freezer. Anytime I make tomato soup, we double it up and store half of it in the fridge on busy nights!)

Grilled quesadilla topped with sauce and served with peaches on a yellow plate

We simply make quesadillas with veggies, beans, tortilla and cheese! All items we have on hand. Verify A recipe for this one here.

# 9 Egg Fritatas With greens

Cut asparagus and cheese frittata into strips on a white plate

This breakfast for dinner is very full and very fast! Cooking for the whole family in one skillet is also a quick cleanup! We love both. Our asparagus (pictured) is the one we make most often. Recipe here!