14 Easy Dinner Recipes With 5 Ingredients or Less

If your time or energy level dictates the need for dinners that come together in a few steps using a few ingredients, you’ve come to the right place. There have never been so many excellent options for time-saving packaged sauces, high-quality frozen seafood, or other similar grocery shelf shortcuts.

My own go-to meals with minimal ingredients are often simple pasta that leans on pantry staples. You’ll find a few below, plus meals with shrimp, ground meat, chicken, and more. (Psst: In this definition, oil, salt, pepper, and water are all freebie ingredients that don’t count as part of the five.)

•  Warm Caprese PastaSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterThis fresh-tasting pasta brings sunny vibes any night of the year. It leans on cherry tomatoes that you cook quickly in a skillet until they’re slouchy. Mozzarella pearls add richness. No knife prep is needed!GET RECIPE
•  Easy Chorizo Sloppy JoesSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterA package of enchilada sauce plus spicy Mexican chorizo compose the filling, while avocado slices and crushed Fritos make this take on a Sloppy Joe even more fun.GET RECIPE
•  Taco Turkey BowlsSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterTaco-seasoned ground turkey, pre-cooked rice, and crumbled queso fresco give you a hot meal in less time than it would take to run to your local burrito joint.GET RECIPE
•  Creamy Pasta With ZucchiniSimply Recipes / Grace ElkusWhipped cottage cheese is the backbone of this creamy but light pasta that’s brightened with lemon juice and zest. The dry pasta cooks in the skillet, so there’s only one pan to wash up.GET RECIPEContinue to 5 of 14 below.
•  Buffalo Chicken Dip QuesadillasSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterRotisserie chicken and Buffalo sauce meet for a quesadilla version of the popular party dip.GET RECIPE
•  Jennifer Garner’s 5-Ingredient PastaSimply Recipes / Wanda AbrahamThis foodie celebrity’s pasta is worth checking out. It’s a brown butter and sage linguine that her character made on the show The Last Thing He Told Me. Do you need to be familiar with the series to bother with the recipe? Nope. We can vouch that this pasta stands on its own.GET RECIPE
•  Skillet Shrimp With Corn and PancettaSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterCorn is hearty enough to make this skillet dinner a one-pan meal, but you could also serve it over couscous.GET RECIPE
•  Easy Pasta BakeSimply Recipes / Sara HaasYou can’t go wrong with pasta, sauce, ground beef, cheese, and cottage cheese with mozzarella on top. This is one of those low-effort, high-payoff recipes that everyone in the family requests again and again.GET RECIPEContinue to 9 of 14 below.
•  Sheet Pan Salmon TeriyakiSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterLet’s hear it for the sheet pan dinner! Bottled teriyaki is the key to everything coming together so quickly.GET RECIPE
•  Linguine With Tuna and CapersSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterBriny capers and tuna packed in olive oil offer so much flavor is such small packages.GET RECIPE
•  Creamy Skillet Gnocchi With Bacon and PeasSimply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Shell RoysterBoursin, that mild spreadable cheese, makes an excellent sauce for gnocchi. It all cooks right in the skillet.GET RECIPE
•  Pesto Shrimp With Cherry TomatoesSimply Recipes / Coco MoranteAny kind of pesto—basil, kale, or cilantro—would work here.GET RECIPEContinue to 13 of 14 below.
•  Skillet Cacio e Pepe TortelliniSimply Recipes / Ciara KehoeEither cheese or meat tortellini fits the bill in this easy dinner that’s flecked with wilted baby greens.GET RECIPE
•  Trader Joe’s Meatball and Tortellini Pesto Soup RecipeSimply Recipes / Laurel RandolphOur recipe editor Laurel Randolph grabs all of the things she needs for this quick and filling soup at her local Trader Joe’s. “My husband goes ga-ga for this soup and it feels fancy enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to serve it to guests,” she says.