These 5-Ingredient Dinners Taste Like You Spent Hours in the Kitchen (2024)

Honey-Sriracha Grilled Chicken Thighs

Number of Ingredients: Five

Who needs Asian takeout when you can whip up a homemade 5-ingredient meal full of flavor? We'll enthusiastically dig into these quick-marinated chicken thighs basted with a sweet-hot glaze. Round out this quick dinner with any veggies you have on hand; we're green bean fans here.

Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes and Shallots

Number of Ingredients: Five

Cooking perfectly flaky seafood at home need not be stressful. Proof: This 5-ingredient dinner recipe is as easy as seasoning the salmon and veggies, roasting, and serving. The shallots, garlic, and oregano amp up the complexity for better-than-restaurant results.

Sprouts and Cherry Toasties

Number of Ingredients: Five

A few strips of bacon make these hearty open-face sandwiches a meal. Each toast includes several food groups (dairy, vegetable, starch) in one tasty 5-ingredient meal. Add a fresh fruit salad, and you have a well-rounded dinner.

Quick Skillet Lasagna

Number of Ingredients: Five

For a 5-ingredient meal that's easy, cheesy, and full of comfort food appeal, turn to this semi-homemade lasagna recipe. This traditional Italian favorite can be prepared and cooked in 30 minutes in one skillet. Seek out mini lasagna noodles (mafalda) to skip the fussy layering step.

Cauliflower Chorizo Tacos

Number of Ingredients: Four, plus desired toppings

Skillet-browned cauliflower florets (one of the trendiest veggies around) absorb chorizo flavor like little sponges. These flavor-packed tacos stand on their own, but the optional toppings make a big impact. Round out the meal with 5 ingredients or less by crowning each taco with your choice of jalapeños, queso fresco, and/or green onions.

Air-Fried Salmon with Horseradish Rub

Number of Ingredients: Four

The very popular air fryer meets a 5-ingredient dinner recipe with delicious results in this impressive yet easy entrée. Fresh parsley and briny capers perk up the horseradish crust. Pop it in, and this healthy cooking tool does all the work. This crunchy-coated salmon is a catch as a date night dinner for two.

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Spicy Spring Picnic Pork

Number of Ingredients: Five

No smoker is required to prepare the meat for these pork sandwiches. (Although, if you needed one, did you know you can DIY on a standard grill?) Braise the shoulder roast low and slow in spicy barbecue sauce and sweet Dr. Pepper—trust us!—in your slow cooker. The results will have you asking, "Why didn't I try this 5-ingredient dinner recipe before?!"

Tea-Marinated Salmon

Number of Ingredients: Five

Extend tea time from midafternoon to the dinner hour. Lightly floral, herbal jasmine tea supplies the base of an unexpected marinade that pairs beautifully with grilled salmon. To balance the heat of the chipotle in adobo sauce, drizzle some honey on this easy recipe with few ingredients for dinner.

Smoky Slider Skewers

Number of Ingredients: Five

Here's one 5-ingredient dinner that's good to grill (or sear on a grill pan indoors come cold weather). Rather than sandwiching slider patties inside mini hamburger buns, try loading them into corn tortillas. Top the pint-size burger recipe with salsa or queso to match the Mexican flavors in the spice blend.

In-Your-Sleep Chili

Number of Ingredients: Five

This is one of the most chill chili recipes our Test Kitchen has ever developed. Easy-prep ingredients, such as canned diced tomatoes, chili beans, and vegetable juice, mean you can have this 5-ingredient meal stewing in the slow cooker in 15 minutes flat. For a lower-calorie entrée, trade ground chicken or turkey breast for the beef.

Pierogies with Meat Sauce

Number of Ingredients: Five

Stock potato-and-onion pierogies in the freezer, and you're never more than 25 minutes from a family-friendly meal. This 5-ingredient dinner recipe is a great last-minute supper solution for hectic weeknights. Once you boil the dumplings to tender perfection, all that's left to do is dress up the Polish favorite with cherry tomatoes, watercress, and chorizo.

Butternut Squash Soup

Number of Ingredients: Three

You'll be hard-pressed to find 3-ingredient recipes for dinner that taste like comfort food. But this fall-flavor soup fits the bill. Once the butternut squash cubes are roasted, this creamy blender soup recipe is ready in minutes. Sprinkle with chives, if you please, and serve with a side salad or a whole wheat baguette to complete the meal.

Buffalo Chicken Pizzas

Number of Ingredients: Four, plus desired toppings

Try this mash-up recipe the next time you can't decide between heading to the pizza parlor or the local tavern for wings.Stay home and cook this quick 5 ingredient dinner recipe instead so you can savor both in one supper. Pita-crust pizzas put a less-mess twist on the classic chicken wing flavor combo.

Eggplant Parmesan Heroes

Number of Ingredients: Five

Meet your new dinner hero: This 5-ingredient dinner is saucy, crunchy, and supremely crave-able. The loaded Italian sandwich couldn't be easier to prepare. A hoagie bun can substitute for the hero in a pinch.

Caprese Pasta and Steak

Number of Ingredients: Five

Pasta salads are rarely as filling and flavorful as this 5-ingredient meal. Multitask by using pesto as a steak seasoning and pasta topping for this salad-inspired pasta dinner recipe. To save time and mess, small fresh mozzarella pearls (also called bocconcini) can be traded for the sliced mozzarella.

Make-It-Mine Sheet Pan Dinner

Number of Ingredients: Two, plus desired seasonings and toppings

This sheet-pan recipe is endlessly customizable. Simply pick your protein and vegetables, sprinkle with olive oil and spices, then roast for 20 to 30 minutes, and top as desired. Try this 3-ingredient dinner if you're unsure of where to start: chicken breasts (seasoned as desired) + tomatoes + tzatziki.

Grilled Salmon and Leeks with Rosemary-Mustard Butter

Number of Ingredients: Five

Whether you prepare this salmon dinner on a grill pan indoors or on an outdoor charcoal or gas grill, it will be ready to plate in less than 30 minutes. The rosemary-mustard butter melts into a delectable sauce for the 5-ingredient dinner recipe. Our optional but recommended item number six: a bottle of your favorite white wine to share.

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

Number of Ingredients: Five

Shrimp is one of the quickest-cooking proteins. (Not to mention one of the highest in protein and healthiest too. Choose one of these sustainable options at the seafood counter.) Use the versatile seafood superstar in this pasta party of a 5-ingredient dinner spiced with chopped jalapeños.

Fast Chicken Fettuccine

Number of Ingredients: Five

Go ahead and give this 20-minute meal a twirl! Add color and protein to this restaurant copycat fettuccine Alfredo recipe by mixing in sautéed zucchini, chicken, and sun-dried tomatoes. Come winter, make a seasonal swap by trading mushrooms for the zucchini in this 5-ingredient dinner.

Grilled Pork and Pineapple

Number of Ingredients: Five

Pork chops and apples are a classic combo. Still, we're fond of mixing things up by using pineapple in this Asian-inspired 5-ingredient dinner recipe. Give the pork chops and pineapple slices a swipe of orange marmalade while you grill them for a pleasantly caramelized crust. Cool each bite with the yogurt-marmalade dipping sauce.

Striped Bass en Brodo

Number of Ingredients: Five

En brodo, meaning "in broth," refers to how firm fish is cooked in this light 5-ingredient dinner recipe. The poaching process works well for any firm whitefish. Confession: We're skirting the rules a bit by including this recipe in this roundup since a sixth item—warm bread—is a nearly mandatory side to soak up every last drop of the broth.

Easy Pumpkin-Roasted Red Pepper Mac and Cheese

Number of Ingredients: Five

Take a break from boxed mac. This decadent dish is almost as easy and fits the bill as a 5-ingredient meal. (That's pretty much on par with the pasta, cheese powder, butter, and milk you'd need for the box mix.) This baked mac and cheese is uber-creamy because of the Alfredo sauce, pumpkin puree, and Fontina cheese. Cook the pasta casserole uncovered for the final 5 minutes to lightly brown the top.

Jamaican Pork Stir-Fry

Number of Ingredients: Five

Add some sizzle to your supper menu any time of the year with this 5-ingredient dinner recipe using frozen fajita vegetables. If you can't find pork strips at your grocery store, slice pork loin into thin pieces to make this 20-minute meal. The sweet plum sauce and spicy jerk seasoning make this speedy stir-fry recipe taste surprisingly complex.