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We count 279 easy dinners in our library: ready in 30 minutes or less with 8 ingredients or fewer, not counting pantry staples such as salt, oil, spices and sauces. The simplest is Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash (2 ingredients, 30 minutes). 21 are done in 20 minutes or less.
Dinner ideas for two
253 dinners that use whole cans and packages at 2 servings, so nothing is left half-used.
Sheet pan dinners
69 dinners cooked on one baking sheet in the oven, with no stovetop pan.
Ready in 20 minutes or less.
Six ingredients or fewer.
Easy pasta and pizza dinners.
Easy chicken dinners.
Steaks and chops.
Bowls and stir-fries.
Burgers, sandwiches and wraps.
Dinner salads.
Soups and stews.
More easy dinners.
Showing 48 of 210 more. Search the full recipe library by dish or ingredient.
Plan these as a week.
Pick the dinners you like and MealPot writes one grocery list sorted by aisle, scaled to your household. Free to download on iPhone and iPad; full weekly plans need MealPot Pro.
Common questions.
What is the easiest dinner to make?
By ingredient count, Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash: 2 ingredients plus pantry staples, ready in 30 minutes.
What counts as an easy dinner here?
A dinner recipe that takes 30 minutes or less and needs 8 ingredients or fewer, not counting pantry staples such as salt, oil, spices and sauces (the recipe pages list those separately under "From the pantry"). 279 of our 1,273 dinner recipes qualify.
What can I make for dinner in 20 minutes?
21 of these easy dinners are done in 20 minutes or less, starting with Gnocchi with Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Seared Strip Steak with Crunchy Zucchini Noodles & Sizzling Chili Oil, Creamy Dijon Kale-Peach Salad with Walnuts, Goat Cheese & Bread Crumbs.
Can I get a grocery list for a week of these?
Yes. Add the dinners you want in MealPot and it writes one grocery list sorted by aisle, scaled to your household size. Full weekly plans need MealPot Pro.
Are these recipes free?
Yes. Every recipe page here is free to read, with ingredients for 2, 4 or 6 servings and step-by-step directions.
How we picked: a recipe is listed when it is a dinner, its total time is 30 minutes or less and it has 8 or fewer ingredients with a listed quantity. Pantry staples without a quantity (salt, pepper, oils, spices, sauces) are not counted. Recipe names, cook times and ingredient quantities are recorded from Mealime’s published recipes; photos, descriptions and directions are MealPot’s own. Counted on 27 October 2026.
More collections: dinner ideas for two · sheet pan dinners · By ingredient: chicken breast · ground beef · salmon · shrimp · pork chops · tofu · chickpeas