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Dinner recipes

These dinner recipes answer the question every household asks around five o’clock: what are we eating tonight? The answers run from stir-fries done in half an hour to braises that simmer all afternoon, from kitchens across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

On a weeknight, cook chicken teriyaki, kung pao chicken or pad Thai; at the weekend, make lasagne alla bolognese or boeuf bourguignon and let them take their time. Choose a recipe, set the number of people, and the ingredients you still need go onto the shared list for whoever does the shopping.

208 recipes

Weeknight dinners in 30 minutes or less

A good number of dinners here are done in 30 minutes or less by the clock. Fettuccine Alfredo takes 15, cacio e pepe and Cajun blackened fish 20, drunken noodles and a smash burger 25, and beef chow fun, kung pao chicken, chicken teriyaki and fish en papillote 30.

They are fast because the cooking is short, so the preparation has to come first. Kung pao chicken spends about five minutes in the wok, which leaves no time to chop garlic halfway through; measure every sauce ingredient into a bowl before the heat goes on.

Fish en papillote asks the least of you: fillets sealed in parchment with tomatoes, olives, capers and lemon, steamed in their own juices and opened at the table. Thin fillets need about 10 minutes in the oven, and the parchment leaves little to wash up.

Slow dinners for the weekend: braises, stews and bakes

Some dinners need time rather than skill. Boeuf bourguignon braises for an afternoon in a whole bottle of red wine, cocido madrileño and feijoada simmer for hours, and chicken adobo is little more than chicken braised in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay for about 45 minutes after a short marinade.

Many of these taste better the next day. Boeuf bourguignon keeps for three days in the fridge, chicken adobo improves once the sauce has soaked into the meat, and moussaka can be assembled a day ahead and baked straight from cold.

One-pot dinners save washing up as well as effort: chicken cacciatore, brown stew chicken, chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, and fårikål, Norway’s lamb and cabbage pot that is left alone for two and a half hours. Each goes from hob to table in the same pot, which also makes them easy to cook for a larger table.

How to plan a week of dinners

A workable week mixes speeds: two quick pastas or stir-fries, one big pot that feeds you twice, one bake, and one night without meat. Arroz e feijão, chickpea stew and lasagne alla bolognese all suit cooking once and eating again later in the week.

For the meat-free night, aloo gobi, baingan bharta, briam and chickpea stew are vegan, and baked feta pasta and margherita pizza are vegetarian. Eggplant parmigiana is not tagged vegetarian, because Parmesan is made with animal rennet.

Once the week is chosen, add each recipe to the shopping list. The ingredients are grouped by aisle, and everyone who shares the list sees what is still needed.

Frequently asked questions

What is an easy dinner to make tonight?
Chicken teriyaki is one of the simplest: crisp-skinned chicken thighs glazed in soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, ready in 30 minutes. Cacio e pepe needs only pasta, pecorino and black pepper and takes 20. A smash burger takes 25 minutes and needs little more than minced beef, soft buns and a very hot pan.
What is the difference between butter chicken and chicken tikka masala?
Both start with yogurt-marinated chicken charred under the grill, and both finish in a tomato sauce with cream. Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is the Delhi dish: its sauce is thickened with cashews and finished with butter and dried fenugreek leaves, which give it its particular taste. Chicken tikka masala is the British-Indian curry-house dish, with a sauce built on onions and ground spices.
Does fettuccine Alfredo have cream in it?
The Roman original does not. Fettuccine Alfredo here is fresh egg fettuccine tossed with soft butter and Parmigiano Reggiano in a hot bowl, with a little cooking water, until they form a sauce, and it takes 15 minutes. The cream version is American; it appears on this page as chicken Alfredo, topped with pan-seared chicken breast.
What is the difference between Thai and Chinese cashew chicken?
Thai cashew chicken, gai pad med mamuang, fries whole dried chillies in the oil first for a smoky background and adds onion and red pepper to a short oyster sauce glaze. The Cantonese chicken with cashew nuts has no chillies at all: the chicken is velveted in cornflour and egg white and cooked gently with celery and water chestnuts. In both, the cashews go in at the end so they stay crunchy.
What should I cook for a dinner party?
Beef Wellington is the classic centrepiece, and it can be assembled a day ahead and baked from the fridge; a probe thermometer takes the guesswork out of the beef. For less last-minute work, moussaka or boeuf bourguignon can be made the day before. Tacos al pastor suit a relaxed table where everyone builds their own.

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