Quick easy meals to make at home: Recipes for a quick, healthy dinner

After a long day at work, all we want is quick, easy meals to cook. Even better if we they’re hassle-free, tasty, and comforting. This isn’t too much to ask, is it? Don’t worry, you can achieve quick and easy meals with ease thanks to our tips and tricks for fast cooking recipes, including easy-to-prep ingredients and time-saving gadgets. Read on to discover a range of quick, easy dinner recipes for family mealtimes, including some 30-minute dinner recipes for really speedy cooking. Ready, set, let's cook!

Creating a quick, easy dinner: Dinner ingredients made simple

If you only have 30 minutes, dinner preparation can feel quite overwhelming – especially if you’re trying to keep it healthy. It’s easy to turn a supposedly simple dinner recipe into a marathon: the potatoes need to be peeled and cut, the vegetables cleaned and washed, and the meat diced.

The key to cooking a quick, healthy dinner is efficient preparation. Make sure you deliberately choose recipes with as few ingredients as possible or alternatively prep your ingredients in advance. To prepare dinner recipes at lightning speed, follow these useful hacks that will help you learn how to cook fast:

• Use frozen or canned veggies. Canned or frozen vegetables are vitamin-rich, usually pre-chopped and are easily heated up. They are perfect for adding to sauces or soups.
• Consider pre-sliced meat. At your local butchers – and in supermarkets – you can buy freshly sliced or chopped meat, which saves considerable time during preparation.
• Purchase pre-made carbohydrates. Have some fresh pasta prepared in the fridge for quick midweek meals. For inspiration, check out our quick and easy recipes for making your own pasta dough.
• Plan ahead. Spend a few hours of your weekend preparing the bulk of your meals for the coming week. Trust us, you’ll be thanking yourself by the time Wednesday rolls around! Meals like our fried meatballs are perfect to refrigerate or freeze in plastic containers. Similarly, try cooking a backup of staple ingredients, such as a coriander pesto sauce that you can easily add to your pasta or grilled chicken. 

6 must-have items to create a quick recipe for dinner

To prepare a quick, easy dinner as easily as possible, the right equipment is essential. The truth is, even a blunt knife or a missing pot lid can delay preparation and cooking time! Here are our top must-haves to make creating quick and easy meals much simpler.

• Pot lid. Using a lid will help you cook faster and in a more environmentally friendly manner. After all, a shorter cooking time means less energy consumption.
• Pasta & noodle maker. Pasta is such a quick and easy dinner, but so much better fresh. Save time – and money – by making your own pasta with the Philips Pasta & Noodle Maker.
• Vegetable slicers. With these handy tools, you can avoid tears and cuts when slicing onions and similar foods. They also allow you to quickly – but carefully – shred your vegetables.
• Hot air fryer. The speediest of cooks use a hot air fryer at home, such as the Philips Airfryer XXL. With it, you can fry, grill, bake, roast or even toast, save time preheating the oven and prepare a delicious, quick dinner at the touch of a button. It’s 4 times faster than an oven*! The Airfryer XXL is also quick and easy to clean, with a removable QuickClean basket and non-stick drawer for fast, easy, and dishwasher-safe cleaning.