These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (2024)

Seven ingredients (not counting salt, pepper, or oil) are all you need for a wholesome dinner that comes together in a flash. It's no coincidence there are as many ingredients as there are days of the week in these easy 7-ingredient recipes, as they are perfect any day of the week…even the busiest weeknights. These easy dinner recipes with only a few ingredients all start by having you pick through your panty and raid your refrigerator for what you already have on hand. Take the stress out of dinner with saucy skillet recipes, quick-prep pastas, shortcut salads and soups, and more easy meal ideas.

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Queso Fundido Torta

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (1)

Mexican dinner recipes in less than seven ingredients? Yes please! This Mexican sandwich packs in flavor with smoky chorizo, spicy poblano peppers, and melted queso Oaxaca.

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Air-Fryer Flank Steak and Fennel

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This easy steak dinner comes together in your air fryer for easy prep, and easier cooking. You'll only need lemon juice, flank steak, fennel, and red new potatoes to pull off this few ingredient dinner recipe. Season with a bit of salt and pepper for a truly delicious steak dinner.

The 8 Best Air Fryers of 2024 for Crispy, Golden Brown Food, According to Testing

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Pesto-Prosciutto Flatbread

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Refrigerated dough and store-bought pesto give you a head start to this 7-ingredient flatbread. Simply spread the pesto on the uncooked dough, add cooked prosciutto, and then sprinkle some cheese before it bakes in the oven for 16 minutes. Top with fresh arugula and a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil.

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Taco Burger Sliders

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (4)

Think mini to save precious prep time. These taco-seasoned beef burgers grill in less than 10 minutes since they're slider-size. Melty cheese and store-bought salsa are just two of the six ingredients that make these few-ingredient burgers fiesta worthy.

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Herb-Roasted Shrimp

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This seafood dish is made with fewer than 7 ingredients and can be served as an appetizer or on its own for a main course. Start with some fresh or frozen shrimp and add in a few pantry staples to finish off this simple recipe. The fresh succotash relish is optional but adds tons of flavor!

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Chicken and Vegetable Sauté

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (6)

Looking for easy chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients? Opt for chicken tenderloins (or slice full-size chicken breasts into thirds) to get this skillet dinner recipe on the table in 30 minutes. A can of white beans add protein, while carrots, broccoli, and onion boost the color and nutrition.

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Tuscan Tuna Salad

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (7)

This low-calorie tuna salad requires zero cooking! Just toss together white beans, canned tuna, lemon, arugula, and tomatoes for a fast and fresh salad. Prep a double batch and enjoy leftovers for lunch all week long.

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Quick Skillet Lasagna

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (8)

Five common pantry ingredients are all you need for this few ingredient lasagna that comes together in just 30 minutes. You'll just need a skillet and some will power not to dig in before this easy skillet dinner hits the table. Top the pasta with snipped fresh basil for a touch of freshness and a flavor boost.

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Turkey Vegetable Casserole

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Five common pantry ingredients are all you need for this few ingredient lasagna that comes together in just 30 minutes. You'll just need a skillet and some will power not to dig in before this easy skillet dinner hits the table. Top the pasta with snipped fresh basil for a touch of freshness and a flavor boost.

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Herbed Chicken, Orzo, and Zucchini

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From stove top to table in just 20 minutes, this chicken skillet recipe proves that easy recipes with few ingredients for dinner can be speedy and tasty. This easy chicken dinner gains simple but sophisticated flavor from dried basil. Orzo and zucchini cooked with red wine vinegar and dill round out the nutritious meal.

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Maple-Mustard Turkey Thighs

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (11)

Season tender turkey thighs with a zippy coating of brown mustard and maple syrup. Quick-cooking tapioca thickens the spread that pairs equally well with hearty new potatoes. Best part? This few ingredient chicken dinner comes together in your slow cooker!

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Apple-Pecan Pork Chops

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Brown sugar and butter provide the sticky glaze for these few ingredient pork chops. You'll only need some apples (tart are best!), pork chops, pecans, brown sugar, and butter for this easy dinner recipe. Cracked black pepper helps balance the sweetness of fresh apples and pecans.

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Gingered Beef and Broccoli Salad Bowl

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (13)

Dress up the tender steak strips and crisp vegetables in this no-fuss salad recipe with bottled ginger vinaigrette. The steak cooks quickly in a wok, while the rest of the salad assembles easily in a large bowl. Shredded carrot and sesame seeds make delicious additions to the nutritious 5-ingredient dinner.

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Chopped Salad Taco

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Ditch the meat and grab a can of fiber-rich pinto beans for your next taco night. The versatile low-fat protein provides a blank slate for fresh sweet corn, zucchini, and homemade guacamole. These easy tacos only require six ingredients.

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Quick Meatball Minestrone

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You don't have to serve the optional crusty bread with this 7-ingredient soup recipe, but you'll be happy if you do. Using frozen foods like meatballs and mixed vegetables is a smart way to make a wholesome meal in minutes. Combine them with beef broth, beans, and pasta for a quick take on cozy minestrone soup.

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Garlic-Lime Pork with Farro and Kale

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Easy pork recipes for dinner with few ingredients can be healthy, too! Skip the pasta and opt for nutty, fiber-packed farro instead. The perfectly al dente whole grain gets a coating of peanut butter, honey, and lime juice before joining wilted kale and garlicky pork medallions.

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Chicken-Green Curry Noodle Soup

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (17)

Soups are one of the best few ingredient dinner recipes. This Thai-inspired recipe cooks in only 12 minutes. That's just long enough to cook the chicken breast strips and to get the rice noodles al dente in the chicken broth and coconut milk base.

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Quick Skillet Steaks with Mushrooms

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These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (18)

Red wine, garlic, and mushrooms combine for an impressive yet easy sauce for skillet-cooked steak. The fancy feast is ready in 30 minutes and contains less than 300 calories per serving. Top with fresh parsley (optional) for some added color.

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Ham and Sweet Potato Mini Flatbreads

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In these few ingredient "pizzas," mashed sweet potatoes stand in for the marinara sauce. Thin whole wheat sandwich rolls can act as the crust, but a pita or tortilla would also work well. Add a handful of spinach for extra vitamins and a drizzle of warm cranberry sauce for color and flavor.

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Chicken and Lemon-Broccoli Alfredo

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No now one will ever guess this flavorful one pot dinner calls for less than seven ingredients. Light Alfredo pasta sauce dresses up simple stove-top chicken and mushrooms. Broccoli cooked with fresh slices of lemon makes an easy (and healthy) side dish.

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Chicken and Asparagus Skillet Supper

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Minimal ingredients and minimal cook time make this one of our favorite few ingredient recipes. Asparagus, squash, and green onion add a fresh touch to this chicken and bacon combo. A splash of broth helps the meat stay juicy and flavorful.

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Grilled Salmon with Garden Mayonnaise

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In less than seven ingredients, you can have a delicious entrée and homemade sauce ready to go. A zippy mixture of celery, green onion, tarragon, lemon juice, and mayonnaise tops this simple salmon recipe. Serve the fish with fresh grilled asparagus.

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Chicken Breasts with Herbs

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This Italian-inspired dinner only requires seven ingredients. A quick sauté followed by a brief braising keeps these quick chicken breasts moist. A mixture of garlic, lemon, oregano, and parsley provides a fresh take on traditional gremolata.

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Chicken with Summer Squash

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A few fresh ingredients and pantry staples are all this few ingredient chicken recipe requires. Prepared rotisserie chicken is a shortcut to home-style cooking. Simply quarter the chicken and serve it on a bed of sautéed squash, cherry tomatoes, and arugula or spinach leaves.

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Smoked Turkey Panini

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Even with the optional walnuts, this mile-high panini can be made in less than seven ingredients. This turkey sandwich gets a fresh spin with thick-sliced country Italian bread and bruschetta topping. Heart-healthy walnuts add nutritious and delicious texture to the easy recipe.

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Pierogies with Meat Sauce

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A package of frozen potato pierogi is the freezer-shortcut your dinner rotation has been missing. Top them off with a quick chorizo meat sauce and halved fresh cherry tomatoes for a hint of sweetness.

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Huevos Rancheros Skillet

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If you're a fan of breakfast for dinner, try this easy vegetarian dinner idea. A cup frozen roasted sweet potatoes makes a hearty base for salsa, beans, and eggs. Serve this take on huevos rancheros with sliced avocado and corn tortillas.

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Feta-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

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A filling made with feta cheese, fresh basil, and sun dried tomatoes keeps this easy chicken recipe moist and juicy. Adding a bit of cream cheese ensures the filling is the right consistency for stuffing into the prepared chicken.

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Lemon Thyme Air-Fryer Rotisserie Chicken

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Skip the store-bought rotisserie chicken and make your own with just 10 minutes of prep. Cooking a whole chicken in your air fryer results in a juicy bird with crisp, golden skin. Flavor it with fresh thyme and lemon.

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Tomato-Tortellini Soup

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If you need an easy dinner idea that's as simple as opening a few packages and cans, this is the soup for you. Combine tortellini with cream cheese, chicken broth, and condensed tomato soup for a meal that's comforting, delicious, and above all, easy to make.

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One-Pot Ham and Greens Pasta

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One-pot meals are a must-have in your weeknight dinner playbook. Here, orecchiette pasta cooks with diced ham, garlic, and kale for a hearty and balances dinner. A purchased blackened seasoning blend lends flavor without a long ingredient list.

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Pesto Chicken and Radicchio Skewers

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Summer grilling recipes don't have to be complicated or difficult to make. This four ingredient dinner idea starts with purchased pesto sauce and boneless skinless chicken breasts. Skewer the meat with bitter radicchio wedges and grill until lightly charred and smoky.

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Cacio e Pepe

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Cacio e Pepe literally translates to "cheese and pepper" in Italian and you'll need just four ingredients to make it at home. Toss cooked spaghetti with olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and Pecorino Romano cheese for a vegetarian dinner idea that's quick, easy, and delicious.

These Easy 7-Ingredient Recipes Will Inspire You to Start Cooking Again (2024)

FAQs

What is the most versatile ingredient in the world? ›

  • Eggs work well by themselves or with almost any other ingredient. ...
  • Whole potatoes can become almost anything. ...
  • Canned chickpeas are a powerhouse plant protein. ...
  • Canned tomatoes are good for more than just chili and sauce. ...
  • Soy sauce is excellent for seasoning many dishes.
Mar 16, 2020

What is the most simple thing to cook? ›

Easy staples of mine:
  • Eggs - scrambled and over easy.
  • spaghetti with meat sauce (brown meat and add a jar of sauce)
  • hamburgers on the grill.
  • tacos (hamburger meat and seasoning packet)
  • Bake a chicken breast with seasoning and microwave a bag of frozen veggies for side.
Jan 17, 2018

What food would you like to learn to cook? ›

10 Dishes Every Beginner Cook Should Learn
  • 01 of 10. Cream-Based Soup. Victor Protasio. ...
  • 02 of 10. Roast Chicken. Julia Hartbeck. ...
  • 03 of 10. Pizza. Bella Graves. ...
  • 04 of 10. Pasta Carbonara. ...
  • 05 of 10. Whole Roasted Fish. ...
  • 06 of 10. Risotto. ...
  • 07 of 10. Garden Salad. ...
  • 08 of 10. BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich.
Feb 1, 2024

What is one of the hardest recipes to make? ›

The 17 Hardest Dishes To Make From Scratch
  1. Consommé Dietmar Rauscher/Shutterstock. ...
  2. Confit de Canard. Wichawon Lowroongroj/Shutterstock. ...
  3. Lou Fassum. bonchan/Shutterstock. ...
  4. Turducken. Sara Louise Singer/Shutterstock. ...
  5. Hot water crust meat pie. ...
  6. Laminated dough dishes. ...
  7. Puff Pastry and Choux Pastry. ...
  8. Difficult desserts.
Aug 3, 2023

What is the most eaten item in the world? ›

Rice is often considered the most consumed staple food globally. It serves as a dietary staple for a large portion of the world's population and is a major source of calories and nutrition for billions of people.

What is the number one most liked food in the world? ›

Highlights: Most Popular Foods In The World Statistics

Pizza is ranked as the most popular food in the world, according to a survey by TasteAtlas. On average, Americans eat 18 acres of pizza a day, highlighting its popularity in the USA. Pasta is the second most popular food globally, after pizza.

What can I cook in 5 minutes? ›

25 healthy recipes you can cook in 5 minutes or less
  • Pea and broad bean couscous.
  • Fast home-made baked beans.
  • Porridge.
  • Pasta with cherry tomatoes and rocket.
  • Home-made hummus.
  • Smashed avocado and wilted spinach.
  • Cucumber (or potato) raitha.
  • Quick pitta pizzas.

What can you cook in 3 minutes? ›

Three-Minute Meals
  • Mushroom Toast. 1 piece whole-grain toast. ...
  • Spring Salad with Shrimp and Brown Rice. ...
  • Italian-Style Ratatouille with Chicken Sausage. ...
  • Quick Vegetarian Tacos. ...
  • Mediterranean-Style Loaded Baked Potato. ...
  • Breakfast for Dinner: Vegetarian Omelette. ...
  • Asian-Inspired Stir Fry. ...
  • Whole Grain Flatbread Pizza and Salad.
Jun 7, 2017

What can you cook in 8 minutes? ›

8-minute recipes (90)
  • 8 minute Spanish rice. ...
  • 8 minute spicy Ramen. ...
  • 8 Minute Fudge. ...
  • 3 Minute Bread Pudding (for breakfast and snacktime) ...
  • 1 California Farm Croissants (they are bigger!) ...
  • 3 ingredient fake pancakes (made with oats and cottage cheese)

What's the first thing I should learn to cook? ›

Start With the Basics

But these dishes are only so impressive because they are quite challenging recipes that you should wait to attempt until you've developed your cooking skills a bit more. Instead, the best way to learn to cook is to begin with the basics, such as pasta or tacos.

How to learn cooking for beginners? ›

Following Recipes and Understanding Measurements. Expert cooks can whip up a delicious meal without a recipe, simply pulling from their vast culinary knowledge. But learning how to cook for beginners usually requires following recipes. Relying on recipes from reputable sources may save you a lot of trial and error.

What is the most obvious problem with eating out all the time? ›

It's easy to be tempted when you're eating away from home — especially if everyone around you is chowing down on unhealthy options. But eating too much fast food or choosing high-fat, high-calorie menu items can drag a person's body down. The most obvious problem is weight gain.

What food is delicious but hard to eat? ›

And while we were at it, we made sure to include some helpful tips as to how to conquer the challenges ahead.
  • Wings. ...
  • Sushi. ...
  • Ice Cream Cones. ...
  • Mango. ...
  • Pomegranates. ...
  • Snails. ...
  • Crustaceans. ...
  • Coconut.
Feb 20, 2013

What is the hardest meat to cook? ›

Brisket takes about twice as long to turn tender as do other braising cuts. We've always thought that's because brisket has more chewy collagen (the main component in meat's connective tissue) than other cuts, which needs more time to convert to soft gelatin for the meat to fully tenderize.

What's the hardest dinner to cook? ›

The World's Most Difficult Dishes to Prepare
  • The Fugu Puffer Fish. A Japanese delicacy, this deadly dish's organs contain a neurotoxin 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide. ...
  • Mole Poblano. Some date this difficult dish from as far back as 500 years ago. ...
  • Soufflé ...
  • Turducken. ...
  • Consommé
Nov 14, 2017

What is the most universal ingredient? ›

Salt is the most widely used ingredient in the world, used for flavoring and preserving food. It has been used since ancient times and is still an essential ingredient in most cuisines. Salt is a crystalline mineral substance with a salty taste that is commonly used as a seasoning or preservative in cooking and baking.

What ingredient holds everything together? ›

Dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, and spices play a critical role in providing structure and flavor to baked goods, while wet ingredients such as eggs, milk, and oil bind everything together and add moisture.

What is the most versatile flavor? ›

First – Vanilla. Whether a flavorists uses Natural Vanillin or one of its many variants, vanilla flavor is used in everything from baked goods to candy.

What is the most important ingredient in food? ›

Salt – Salt might be the most important ingredient in all cooking and baking. At the very least, have a solid supply of kosher salt (I like Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt) on hand, which can be used for seasoning, brining and baking, and doesn't have any anti-caking agents like other brands.

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