Easy Meals You Can Make In 15 Minutes

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These days, it’s pretty common to have a schedule that’s busting at the seams. It’s easy to just give up and pick up dinner somewhere — but that can get expensive and it’s usually not very healthy.

In this blog post, I’ll give you the formula for making fast, healthy meals at home. Are they perfect? No, but they are better than picking up take-out somewhere. Do they taste good? Yes!

The formula is simple — protein, veggie, carb, and sauce. Here’s the skinny:

  • Protein — go for easy-to-prepare proteins like eggs, tofu, and pre-cooked meat to keep cooking time to a minimum.

  • Veggies — look for pre-washed and/or pre-chopped veggies to save time.

  • Carb — Using easy-to-cook things like gluten-free pastas, quick-cooking rice, grain-free tortilla chips, gluten-free tortillas and canned beans can be a huge timesaver.

  • Sauce — One of this biggest meal prep fails is not having a tasty sauce to make your home-cooked meal worth looking forward to. Simmer sauces, marinades and dips can all make great sauces for your hot dishes. I’ll highlight a few of my favorites in this post.

CHICKEN AND SPINACH PASTA BOWL

This is an easy, hearty meal that comes together quickly and tastes good to a broad range of palates.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Bring a medium-sized pot of well-salted water to a boil.

  2. Heat a sauté pan on medium. When the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chicken. Cook until heated through.

  3. While the chicken is cooking, add 4-6 ounces of pasta to the water. Set a timer for 6 minutes.

  4. Once the chicken is heated through, add about half the container of French onion dip and a few ounces of the pasta water. Stir until mixed.

  5. Test the pasta at 6 minutes for softness. When ready, drain and add to the saute pan with the chicken.

  6. Add the spinach and stir, continuing to cook until wilted.

  7. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2.

KOREAN BBQ CHICKEN WITH BROCCOLI AND RICE

Using the popular Kevin’s meal as a backbone, this recipe is ready in minutes. The most time-consuming task is chopping the broccoli, but feel free to use pre-chopped broccoli, cauliflower rice, or pre-chopped kale as an alternative.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Heat a sauté pan on medium. When the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the broccoli. Cook until heated through. Remove from pan and set aside.

  2. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and add the chicken, using a wooden spoon to break it into smaller pieces as it cooks.

  3. Salt and pepper to taste.

  4. In a glass bowl, microwave rice for 90 seconds (remove from packaging first).

  5. Add the broccoli back into the pan with the chicken and add the sauce from the packet. Add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce is too thick to coat everything evenly.

  6. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 2.

LARB CHICKEN WITH VEGGIE SLAW AND RICE

This larb sauce from Om Som is so delicious and simple. This is a favorite quick meal of mine to make because it is just so gat-dang tasty!

Instructions:

  1. In a pot, heat the water to a boil, add the rice, then reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

  2. Heat a sauté pan on medium. When the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the broccoli slaw. Cook until heated through.

  3. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from pan and set aside.

  4. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and add the chicken, using a wooden spoon to break it into smaller pieces as it cooks. Salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Add the sauce from the packet plus a few ounces of water.

  6. Add the cooked slaw back into the pan with the chicken and lightly mix everything together.

  7. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 2.

DAIRY-FREE MAC AND CHEESE WITH CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND BROCCOLI

Instructions:

  1. Bring a medium-sized pot of well-salted water to a boil.

  2. Heat a sauté pan on medium. When the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and the broccoli. Cook until to desired texture.

  3. Add salt and pepper to taste, then remove from the pan and set aside.

  4. Slice or chop the sausage and sauté on medium in 1 tbsp. olive oil.

  5. While the sausage is cooking, add pasta to the water. Set a timer for 6 minutes.

  6. Test the pasta at 6 minutes for softness. When ready, drain and add to the sauté pan with the sausage and mix everything together.

  7. Squeeze the contents of the Daiya Cheez sauce pouch into the pan, plus a few ounces of the pasta water. Stir until mixed.

  8. Add the broccoli, mix together, and serve.

Serves 2.

USE YOUR NEWFOUND KNOWLEDGE

Use these easy recipes to reclaim some time for yourself and avoid those drive-through lines. If you found this blog post useful, share it with someone!

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