7 Easy Dinners That Basically Make Themselves

Minimum effort, maximum payoff.

Charlotte Gomez / BuzzFeed

1. Sheet Pan Chili Lime Salmon

Karina / Via cafedelites.com

One-pan meals are such a great option for beginner cooks. You're literally cooking everything together at the same time. The only extra step this recipe requires is to whisk together in a bowl a super quick marinade (lime juice, olive oil, water, and a few herbs and spices).

Get the recipe here.

2. Five-Ingredient Chili

Ali Ebright / Via gimmesomeoven.com

Only 5 ingredients, 25 minutes, and not a whole lot of effort needed to make a tasty chili.

Get the recipe here.

3. Healthy Baked Pesto Rigatoni

Lindsay / Via pinchofyum.com

If you own a food processor, making homemade pesto will actually be super easy. But if you don’t, store-bought works too. The rest of the recipe is super straightforward: just cook some pasta, drain it, mix it with the pesto and tomatoes, pour the whole thing in a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake!

Get the recipe here.

4. Foil Pack Creamy Salsa Verde Chicken, Rice, and Veggies

Chelsea / chelseasmessyapron.com

chelseasmessyapron.com

Foil pack dinners are the best for anyone with limited time and/or cooking skills. Just make sure to use heavy duty foil and to grease the foil well with cooking spray.

Get the recipe here.

5. Easy Chili Lime Fish Tacos

Lindsay / Via pinchofyum.com

Quickly roast some fish with an easy chili lime sauce, toss a few toppings (cilantro, jalapeńo, etc) together with the fish, serve on tortilla, and enjoy!

Get the recipe here.

6. Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Marzia / littlespicejar.com

littlespicejar.com

Dump all your ingredients in a slow cooker (or a dutch oven), cook on low for a few hours, then blend the whole thing together, and you got yourself a delicious soup.

Get the recipe here.

7. Chicken Fajita Salad

Karina / Via cafedelites.com

Save even more time by swapping the grilled chicken for rotisserie chicken.

Get the recipe here.