My 5 Favorite Super Fast Weeknight Dinners

For squeezing in during holiday prep and celebrating.

By
Micah Siva, RD
Micah Siva
Micah Siva, RD
Micah Siva is a trained chef, registered dietitian, recipe writer, and food photographer, specializing in modern Jewish cuisine. She runs Nosh with Micah, her personal blog.
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Published December 22, 2025
Micah Siva
A bowl of soup with greens and chickpeas Simply Recipes logo in the corner

December feels like a fever dream. Between holiday prep, holiday parties, the holidays themselves, and getting ready for the New Year, my already stretched capacity is wearing thinner than a sheet of filo dough (that’s pretty darn thin!). I’m hosting multiple meals, making desserts for a number of parties, and my son’s daycare is closed for the week. Someone send help! I’m on the hunt for quick and easy weeknight meals that get on the table with minimal fuss.

When looking for quick meals, I look for shortcut ingredients (like rotisserie chicken) and frozen vegetables, as well as methods that make cleaning up a breeze, from no-chop to harnessing the power of my blender or food processor. And hey, if dinner turns into peanut butter jelly sandwiches or a bowl of popcorn, that works, too.

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  • Yasmin Fahr’s Tomato Rice with Chicken

    tomato rice with chicken

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    When time is tight, shredded rotisserie chicken is your best friend. This one-pot meal is largely hands-off and has it all: protein, starch, and vegetables. It uses frozen green beans, meaning you don’t even need to cut them yourself. I love the labneh on top, and I add dried mint to my cooking liquid for a little added oomph. In lieu of water, use chicken stock for even more flavor. This recipe makes great leftovers, so double it up!

  • Broccoli Tots

    broccoli tots on a plate next to a bowl of ketchup

    Simply Recipes / Molly Adams

    If you have little ones at home (or a picky eater), you’ll know the struggle of getting them to eat their green vegetables. My two-year-old is lukewarm when it comes to broccoli, but anything in “tot form” is a guaranteed win for him (and my picky husband, to be honest). I love that I can use fresh or frozen broccoli for these, and we get a little protein from the eggs and cheese. I’ll be dipping these in ketchup (because… toddler), and adding everything bagel spice mix. Serve these with roasted potatoes, on salad, or even in a pita for dinner in under 30 minutes.

  • Spinach White Bean Soup

    Overhead view of a white bowl of white bean and spinach soup with a spoon next to a plate of bread and bowl of lemon slices

    Simply Recipes / Alexandra Shytsman

    Now that the weather is in the single digits, my cravings exist primarily in the soup category. Soup is my favorite type of dinner—it’s simple, comforting, and nourishing for these chilly winter nights. I love that this soup comes together with an immersion blender, meaning I don’t even have to use a cutting board. The spinach gives this soup a vibrant green color (use frozen if you have it!), and I like to add a few tablespoons of store-bought pesto for added depth. It’s filling, and it’s on the table in twenty minutes flat… what more could you want?

  • 5-Minute Chicken Salad

    2-ingredient chicken salad over a bed of microgreens and lettuce

    Simply Recipes / Kris Osborne

    There will always be a night when you get home at 6 p.m., you remember that you still have to get dinner on the table, and ordering in will take at least 50 minutes to get to your door (and cost a small fortune!). It’s on these nights that you need to make this two-ingredient chicken salad that's simply rotisserie chicken and store-bought green goddess dressing. I like Trader Joe’s refrigerated dressing. If you are like me, you’ll add it directly to a clamshell of lettuce and eat it out of the container. If you are slightly more refined, you might even put it on a plate. No judgement here!

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  • Pizza Cottage Cheese Toast

    Cottage cheese toast topped with sundried tomatoes on a ceramic plate

    Simply Recipes / Ali Redmond

    Cottage cheese core has yet to slow down, and I’ve been buying containers non-stop over the past few years. When it comes to dinner, cottage cheese is often on the table, from adding it to my macaroni and cheese or even into my scrambled eggs for added protein. With this base recipe, you can customize it to your liking for a build-your-own pizza toast bar. I like adding olives and roasted vegetables, mixed into the cottage cheese with parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and oregano. Serve it on sourdough or, my personal favorite, on a fluffy pita for a true pizza-esque experience.

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