Ready, Set, Cook! 20 Delicious Meals in 30 Minutes or Less

Written by Michael Matthews

Sweet & Sour Glazed Pork Chops

If you don’t want to overcook pork chops, start by searing them in a pan for a couple minutes on each side. Then while the chops roast in the oven, whisk together a sweet and sour glaze. It’s made with balsamic vinegar, honey, and dried herbs.

This is an easy entrée to pair any side dish, like roasted root vegetables, mashed cauliflower, or quinoa.

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Sriracha Shrimp Salad

To have a restaurant-quality salad, you only need a handful of ingredients and about 15 minutes. And with a half-pound of shrimp, there’s enough protein in this to count as a light entrée or lunch. Yet because there’s avocado, this has lots of healthy fats to keep you full.

The salad can go with a variety of dressings, but if you make this jalapeno lime dressing from scratch, there’ll be lots left to stash in the fridge (about 10 servings, to be exact).

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Lemon Chicken with Asparagus

This chicken and asparagus might look gourmet, but it’s actually an awesome meal to make when you’re short on time and energy. Along with a couple pantry staples, all you need in addition to the chicken and asparagus are some items to make the honey butter sauce.

Then this 5-ingredient dinner is finished with lemon slices. Since they can be bitter, you can think of the lemons as fancy-looking garnish that contributes flavor to the overall dish.

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Chicken, Lentil & Bacon Stew

With a pressure cooker, it’s possible to make a 30-minute stew with two kinds of meat – and you don’t have to start with precooked chicken. That’s definitely impressive, but it’s nothing compared to the fact that you can pressure cook dried lentils in a half hour.

There’s no need to soak them overnight. Crisp the bacon and soften the onions in the pot first, and then add everything else to pressure cook for 20 minutes.

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Baked Tilapia with Radish Relish

This dinner is pure protein thanks to the nutritional profile of tilapia. And the radishes contribute health benefits and flavor too, only they barely contribute to the total calories.

For a low-calorie dinner, serve with a green salad or veggies. If you need to get some carbs in, choose a side dish like brown rice or quinoa.

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Herb & Caper Crusted Salmon

Don’t let delicious parsley and dill go to waste. It can be hard to use up a whole bunch of herbs, and this is one delicious way to do it.

Start by chopping them up roughly with garlic and capers, and combine with lemon zest and red chili flakes. Rub down the salmon filets with olive oil, cover in the fresh herb mixture, and bake for just a few minutes to finish.

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Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Instead of ordering greasy takeout, try this vegetable pad Thai, which uses spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles. Since the stir-fried spaghetti squash can be both tender and crunchy, it adds great texture as well as flavor to this tofu pad Thai.

And if you prefer meat, use this trick to reduce calories and carbs in beef or chicken pad Thai too.

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Pesto Turkey Burger

Because it’s such a lean meat, ground turkey can dry out more easily than beef. That’s why these turkey burgers have a touch of pesto and crumbled feta. The olive oil in the pesto makes the burger patties tender and juicy while amping up the flavor.

These pesto burgers are good with simple toppings like tomato and cucumber slices, as well as Mediterranean sauces like tzatziki and hummus.

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Skinny Zuppa Toscano

With Italian sausage, cauliflower, and kale, you can make a soup from scratch in a half hour. It’s inspired by the zuppa Toscano from Olive Garden, but has healthy substitutions. It has cauliflower instead of potatoes, turkey sausage and bacon, plus kale for good measure.

To make this 30-minute soup, sook the sausage while boiling cauliflower in a pot of chicken stock. Half the cauliflower gets pureed, and then everything is mixed together and warmed to the perfect serving temperature.

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Lasagna in a Skillet

When you make lasagna in a skillet instead of in a casserole dish, it comes together in just 15 minutes. Not only is it a quick pasta dinner, but it’s a great use for broken noodles because they don’t have to lie flat to get the layers right.

This lazy lasagna begins with browning the beef and onions. Then the pasta, pour the sauce on top, and put the lid on the pan. Add cheese once the noodles are tender, and serve when it’s melted.

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Thai Steak Tacos

Steak tacos are normally filled with carne asada, thin strips of beef marinated in white vinegar, garlic, Jalapeno, and lime. This Thai version uses similar ingredients but with Asian influences like rice wine vinegar, chili garlic paste, and fish sauce.

Serve with a simple cucumber salad or green papaya salad, which can be made the day before.

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Black Bean Cakes with Fried Eggs & Avocado Crema

This makes a delicious dinner or breakfast – or both. Since the black bean cakes can be made a day ahead, you may as well enjoy a couple that night. Then, they’re great to reheat in the morning while you fry some eggs to go on top.

You can even try them two different ways, for example with salsa and sour cream, or with fresh corn and queso fresco.

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Whole-Wheat Tortilla Pizza with Prosciutto & Arugula

It’s possible to make homemade pizza in less time than it takes to order delivery. Just start with a whole-wheat tortilla, and add toppings from there.

Since there’s no dough you have to bake, the tortilla pizza only has to stay in the oven as long as it takes to melt the cheese. You can use Mexican ingredients like salsa, refried beans, and fresh cilantro. Or use the tortilla base to build a traditional pizza like this one with mozzarella, prosciutto, and arugula.

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Pickled Cucumber & Shrimp Stir Fry

Cucumbers are most often eaten raw, but believe it or not, they make an awesome stir fry.

First, they’re pickled in rice vinegar, salt, and sugar for a half hour. When they’re ready, it only takes 5 or 6 minutes to fry them in a wok with red onion, red chili, garlic, and shrimp.

Serve with brown rice, quinoa, or riced cauliflower.

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Freezer-to-Grill Marinated Chicken

Keep your grill busy all summer long with these make-ahead marinated chicken packs. All you need are gallon-size freezer bags, chicken breast, olive oil, and seasonings of choice. Or, use your favorite marinades like honey with minced garlic, fresh cilantro with lime zest, or lemon zest with black pepper.

Thaw in the fridge during the day, and dinner will be ready for the grill. These premade chicken meals will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

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Walnut & Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken

When chicken breast starts to seem boring, it’s time to try something new.

This recipe is a major upgrade from breaded chicken. It uses extra crispy panko, walnuts, and fresh rosemary to make a baked chicken dinner that seems fried. However, this has about half the fat of fried chicken and half the carbs of most breaded chicken breast.

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Egg Roll in a Bowl

It takes less time to make this cabbage and sausage stir fry than it does to pick up egg rolls from your favorite Chinese restaurant. But convenience isn’t the only reason to make this healthy version of Chinese takeout.

It also has less fat, fewer carbs, and hardly any oil compared to fried egg rolls. That means this sausage and veggie bowl is a quick dinner rather than a guilt-inducing appetizer.

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Paleo Crab Cakes

These crab cakes serve up all the seafood you love without the unnecessary breading. Instead, the recipe calls for a cup of cauliflower, a little coconut flour, and two eggs to bind the crab cakes together. The cauliflower has to be steamed first, which can be done the day before.

Once it’s ready, the crab cakes will come together in just a half hour. Let them chill in the fridge while the oven preheats. Then they’re pan-fried for just a few minutes before being baked to a crispy golden finish.

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Broccoli Taco Bowl

One ingredient that doesn’t come to mind when craving tacos is broccoli. But with this recipe, you can work the superfood into your meal plan along with ground beef, cheddar, and taco seasoning.

This fast dinner-for-one uses the microwave to prepare the broccoli, or you can steam it ahead of time. Everything else gets quickly cooked in a skillet. And for a spicier taco bowl, just add diced jalapeno.

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Grilled Oysters

You grill beef. You grill chicken. You even grill vegetables. But one thing you probably haven’t considered grilling is oysters – and, like every other food that’s thrown on a grill, they are delicious.

Before you get to the grill, though, make a lemony butter sauce. Then how you grill the oysters will depend on their size. Big ones can nestle directly on the grates, whereas small oysters should go into a small pan on a bed of rock salt or rice.

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