25x our quick, easy weeknight success recipes
If we had our way, we’d eat fancy pancy and culinarily responsible food every day. But sometimes we don’t have the time, energy or money. And usually it’s a combination of all three. Does that mean we eat less deliciously? Absolutely not! These are our 25 quick, easy and utterly delicious success recipes for weeknights.
Another nice thing: they contain no hellishly long ingredient lists. And no ingredients that you can only find at that one specialty shop 100 kilometres away. Ideal!
1. Potato pancakes with cheese
Think of that feeling you have after spending an entire day on the slopes in the mountains… Or simply after an insanely busy, chaotic day at work. You only want one thing: something delicious, and now. These cheesy potato pancakes make everything better. They contain just 4 ingredients, yet somehow manage to be the ultimate comfort food. A delicious way to start this list of quick, easy weeknight success recipes.
2. Quick scampi by Gordon Ramsay
It’s almost impossible to believe, but Gordon’s scampi is genuinely ready in 10 minutes. And that’s despite tasting as though you’ve spent hours slaving away in the kitchen. Impressive, right? PS: the white wine in the dish can definitely find another destination too. In your glass alongside the scampi, for example.
3. Feta fried eggs
Perfect as a quick lunch or easy breakfast: fried eggs with feta. They went viral on TikTok for a very long time, and we completely understand why. The saltiness of the feta pairs perfectly with soft, slightly crunchy fried eggs. Finish with your favourite herbs and you’ve got a delicious meal. Which, of course, you can also happily eat in the evening. Sometimes it’s simply a fried-eggs-for-dinner kind of day.
4. Quick salad with hot-smoked salmon and edamame beans
Unbelievable but true: we don’t always feel like cooking either. What do we like to make when we want a delicious and healthy plate? Welmoed’s 5-minute salad with salmon and edamame beans. The dish comes from her book Saladebijbel. The salmon and beans make it a satisfyingly filling salad. The perfect base if you also want to exercise that evening.
5. Thai salad with steak and tomatoes
Persiana elke dag by Sabrina Ghayour is one of our favourite cookbooks. We love making the Thai salad, with seared steak and juicy tomatoes, on weeknights. Why? Because it’s a party on your plate and in your mouth. Even though it’s on the table in no time. Ideal!
6. Crispy salmon tacos by Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is the uncrowned king of delicious dishes made with just a handful of ingredients. Jamie’s salmon tacos are a perfect example. Crispy, fresh, sweet and slightly spicy: this dish has it all. Can you imagine achieving that with just 8 ingredients?
7. Orzo carbonara with burrata
Pasta Carbonara is the ultimate comfort food. Want to make it in a different, but still easy and quick way? Then try this orzo carbonara with burrata. It’s on the table within 20 minutes. I’m telling you: afterwards you’ll have completely forgotten about today’s hectic workday.
8. Oven-baked feta pasta
An old favourite and a true TikTok classic: feta pasta. We know almost nothing that’s simultaneously this easy, this quick and this delicious. The original recipe contains (hold on) 2 ingredients. Yes, really. Pasta and feta, that’s it. Okay, a good glug of olive oil, pepper and salt are welcome additions, but you probably always have those at home. We still love it, even though we’ve made it at least 100 times.
9. Quick fish stew with olives
Stews taking hours of work? No way. This fish stew with olives is actually pretty basic, admits its creator Alison Roman. But that doesn’t make it any less flavourful. And it really doesn’t need to simmer on your stove for hours. You can have it in front of you within half an hour to 45 minutes. Close your eyes and you’ll be somewhere by the Mediterranean Sea.
10. Super-easy (and cheesy) pan pizza
Happy, angry, sad or intensely joyful: pizza suits every emotion. So does this pan pizza with lots of cheese. Okay, I admit you’ll need to get started on the dough over the weekend. But it’s a fun little project. Then on Monday you can simply have fresh pizza, with a shitload of cheese. Isn’t that a very happy prospect after all those exhausting meetings?
11. Easy spicy chicken satay
Rice with chicken satay is delicious, quick to make and satisfyingly filling. Good chicken satay is crucial, though: dry chicken on a stick is no fun. So try this easy, spicy chicken satay. Spicy and sweet, just how we like it. Oh, and would you like a good tip for cooking your rice? We’ve got one for you.
12. Quick, easy tagine with white fish by Jamie Oliver
Tagine: it sounds as though you’ll have to spend hours in the kitchen. With this white-fish tagine, that certainly isn’t the case. As you’d expect from Jamie, you can recite the ingredient list in a single breath. Delicious with green asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
13. Always a good idea: soup
A bowl of soup is like a little bowl of love. Warm, cosy, comforting: the kind of thing that makes you feel better all over. We really like this carrot soup with cumin. Sweet and wonderfully spiced at the same time. No time to make soup yourself? No problem, apparently the best tomato soup ever simply comes from the supermarket. So you can easily pick some up. Make your soup more exciting with extra ingredients and you’ll have a wonderfully culinary meal on the table.
14. One-pan spaghetti carbonara by Julius Jaspers
In our view, anything made in one pan is always easy and quick to prepare. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily apply to every one-pan dish. But it certainly does for this one-pan spaghetti carbonara. You’ll have it on the table in no time and hardly any washing-up. Thank you, Julius Jaspers, for understanding that this is exactly what we crave after a busy workday.
15. Easy polow with minced beef
Does polow not immediately ring a bell? Polow means ‘pilaf’. It’s a Persian dish with rice, lots of herbs and meat. This polow recipe comes from the book Persiana elke dag, which also includes the Thai steak salad. Sabrina made the polow with minced beef. Together with the herbs, it makes a wonderfully rich, flavourful dish.
16. Simple but perfect stamppot
In winter, we dream of good stamppot every day. It really warms you right through, doesn’t it? With this trick for stamppot, you can put a perfect pan of mash on the table. Every day, if you like. Sometimes the weather (and life) simply calls for it. We are particularly fond of a classic kale stamppot with a good piece of juicy sausage (and a splash of wine).
17. Kaiserschmarrn
When we’re on a skiing holiday, we eat ourselves sick on Kaiserschmarrn. But why not simply put this sweet, wintry treat on the everyday dinner table? It’s easy to make, so you don’t need to come up with an excuse. This recipe for Kaiserschmarrn is our absolute favourite. Put on your ski goggles and it’s just like you’ve come straight off the slopes.
18. Spaghetti Pomodoro (from the Netflix series The Bear)
Have you watched the culinary Netflix series The Bear? Spaghetti Pomodoro is a dish that provided a delicious plot twist. It’s also the dish everyone was eagerly anticipating when the episode ended. How do we make it? Here it is: the recipe for Spaghetti Pomodoro from The Bear. Spoiler: you only need 5 ingredients, including 10 cloves of garlic.
19. Gourmet meatball sandwich
A meatball sandwich always hits the spot, right? You don’t even have to be at a football canteen for it. Ronald Giphart’s meatball sandwich is a favourite here in the editorial office. A soft white roll made completely soggy by the thick sauce… It makes us feel wonderfully relaxed. Add a beer (or 0.0), put your feet up and it feels just like Saturday night on a Wednesday.
20. Easy, quick bami goreng by Emma
One more pan of comfort food: bami goreng. Of course you can get it from the nearest Chinese takeaway, but making it yourself might be even tastier. ‘No time’ is certainly no excuse for this super-simple yet flavourful bami goreng by Emma de Thouars. Open a bag of prawn crackers and it feels just like a Sunday meal.
21. Yellow cauliflower curry with roasted chickpeas
Heartwarming, as FavorFlav’s Sharon calls this yellow curry dish. The kind of dish you end up eating too much of. Good news: it’s incredibly healthy, thanks to the cauliflower and chickpeas, so going back for seconds is perfectly fine. Make a big pan straight away, so you can eat it again later in the week. Very convenient with a busy workweek ahead.
22. A delicious classic: an AVG meal
Super classic, but also super delicious from time to time: an AVG meal. Will you go for roast potatoes, boiled potatoes or perhaps creamy mashed potatoes? We like to have a slavink with it, but feel free to go wild with your own favourites.
23. Gnocchi from the Airfryer
If any kitchen appliance radiates convenience and speed, it’s the Airfryer. This gnocchi from the Airfryer is a nice change from gnocchi made in a pan. The Airfryer makes them soft and crunchy, exactly how you want your gnocchi. While the appliance hums away, you can put together your favourite sauce. Before you know it, you can sit down to eat!
24. Super-quick broccoli with feta
TikTok is the platform for life-changing hacks in the kitchen. This broccoli with feta definitely belongs there. Who knew that slightly boring broccoli needed something as simple as feta to truly shine? Eat it as part of your AVG meal. Or do something crazy and make it as a snack for work. You can be healthy too.
25. TikTok hit: microwave sushi salad
FavorFlav’s Wieke had her doubts about this lightning-fast rice with salmon. If it’s ready in 5 minutes in the microwave, how on earth can it be delicious?! I can tell you: it can. It’s like eating a kind of sushi salad, with rice, salmon, soy sauce, sriracha and Japanese mayo. And you don’t have to put any time or effort into it either. Yes, you can see why there’s a good chance you’ll eat this every day.
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