75 Best Cheap & Easy Dinner Ideas

Meatballs will forever be one of our favorite foods, but even we’ll admit that forming a million of them can be tedious. Enter: monster meatballs. This recipe only makes 4 giant ones, perfect over a plate of spaghetti for an easy dinner.

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The goal of this recipe is for you to have 0% less stress and 100% more chicken Parm, so we used store-bought breaded chicken breasts and tomato sauce so you don’t have to do any heavy lifting. Honestly, at the end of a long day, that’s all any of us is really looking for, right?

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If you’re craving a reliable, nostalgic, easy (and cheap) weeknight dinner, then there’s no debate: A sloppy Joes’ night is in order. The perfect answer to, “How far can I stretch this package of ground beef?” these only require a handful of simple ingredients (that you might already have!) to create a classic family dinner.

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This ultra-creamy, cheesy spaghetti is as simple and comforting as you can get; only a few basic ingredients and 20 minutes are needed for the ultimate weeknight pasta dinner. We’ve made this simple recipe even simpler by calling for a pre-shredded Italian cheese blend instead of going through the trouble of buying three separate cheeses and shredding them yourself.

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In this vegetarian version of a Chinese-American favorite, oven-baked tofu gets tossed in a savory, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce along with crisp-tender broccoli, then topped with toasty sesame seeds and scallions. With a side of white rice, you’ll be on your way to a saucy, crowd-pleasing weeknight dinner.

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To create this takeout dupe, pieces of chicken get breaded and deep-fried until golden brown and crispy, then tossed in a glazy, sticky sauce, and topped with a shower of toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions. Dinners that only take 30 minutes have our hearts, and this sesame chicken is the newest addition to the quick-cooking club.

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Shrimp pasta is what dreams are made of, but this one—tossed in a Parmesan white wine sauce—really takes the cake. Buttery, garlicky shrimp are tossed in the simple but satisfying sauce with angel hair pasta before being topped with fresh herbs for a light dinner ready in under 30 minutes.

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A cheeseburger is one of the most perfect foods on Earth, but it can be hard to replicate the perfection of a restaurant-quality burger in the comfort of your own home. This hamburger casserole captures the same magic in the form of an easy weeknight meal.

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Sheet-pan crispy ramen takes your favorite comforting noodle dish and gives it a genius, textural twist—all with minimal effort. This recipe utilizes the broiler and the sheet pan, a true kitchen MVP, to create a hands-off meal packed with flavor and texture.

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Focusing on only 3 key ingredients, our chicken fajita recipe requires minimal prep and cook time, meaning dinner on the table FAST. Follow our classic recipe for our best-ever version or use it as a jumping-off point to experiment with your favorite proteins, veggies, and toppings.

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A stir fry is our go-to weeknight dinner when we just don’t have the energy to spend a long time in the kitchen or hit the grocery store—this recipe is no exception. Make it as is for our best-ever version, then use it as a jumping-off point to create your perfect chicken stir-fry.

Get the Chicken Stir-Fry recipe.