24 Healthy 30-Minute Meals for Busy Weeknights

These quick and easy 30-Minute Meals are the BEST weeknight dinner ideas – they'll feed the entire family in a flash!

Healthy 30 Minute Meals for Weeknight Dinners

Quick & Healthy Dinner Ideas

After a long day at work, school or just everyday life, the last thing you want to worry about is cooking a long and complicated meal. You might think that tight on time means short on flavour – but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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To help take away any dinnertime stress, I rounded up some of my favourite healthy and easy recipes that will be ready in 30 minutes or less with everything from pasta to buddha bowls, flatbreads and soups. They come together super fast so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time relaxing. See all my 30-minute meals here.

What's the quickest thing you can make for dinner?

Any of these recipes are great for dinner and will be ready in less than a half-hour. If you want to save time on cleanup as well, sheet pan recipes and one-pot meals are the way to go! You’ll get the best of both worlds with less time cooking and less dishes.

Meal Prep for Dinner

All these recipes will be ready in less than a half-hour, but you can save even more time on the weeknights by meal prepping these recipes on the weekend and storing them in the fridge or the freezer in airtight glass containers. That way, when it’s time for dinner, all you have to do is pop your dinner in the microwave and enjoy!

Watch how to make some of these recipes on YouTube!

30-Minute Chicken Dinners

We all have some chicken laying around in the freezer waiting to be used up. These quick and easy chicken dinners are crowd-pleasing favourites! Try a sheet pan dinner, a rice bowl, a pasta, or a wrap – they're all winners!

PF Chang’s Chicken and Lettuce Wraps via The Girl on Bloor // Sheet Pan Chicken and Asparagus via The Girl on Bloor

Sesame Chicken Rice Bowls via The Girl on Bloor // 30-Minute Sheet Pan Rosemary Chicken via The Girl on Bloor

Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Skillet via The Girl on Bloor // Meal Prep Fiesta Chicken Rice Bowls via The Girl on Bloor

30-Minute Beef Dinners

Steak shouldn't be reserved for just special occasions! It's a quick protein to cook up and goes well in stuffed peppers, tacos, and on a flatbread. Ground beef also makes for a fast meal – you'll love these delicious recipes!

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers via The Girl on Bloor // Grilled Steak Gorgonzola Flatbread via The Girl on Bloor

Low Carb Burger Lettuce Wraps with Special Sauce via The Girl on Bloor // Homemade Hamburger Helper via The Girl on Bloor

Kalbi Beef Tacos with Citrus Slaw via The Girl on Bloor // The BEST One Pot Lasagna Soup via The Girl on Bloor

30-Minute Shrimp Dinners

Shrimp is one of my favourite shortcuts for getting dinner on the table fast. It cooks up super quickly no matter how you prepare it. Try it in tacos, pasta or rice dishes for a complete meal. There's also a no-cook shrimp recipe in this round up for an even speedier meal!

30-Minute Kung-Pao Shrimp via The Girl on Bloor // Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos via The Girl on Bloor

Shrimp Dynamite Sushi Bowls via The Girl on Bloor // Lighter Pasta Primavera with Shrimp via The Girl on Bloor

Easiest Skillet Shrimp Fajitas via The Girl on Bloor // Shrimp Salad via The Girl on Bloor

30-Minute Vegetarian Dinners

One hack for making 30-minute dinners is using helpful appliances like the Instant Pot or a rice cooker. I also use frozen vegetables when and where it makes sense as it significantly cut down on prep time. Give these hacks a try with these fast and easy vegetarian dinners!