Figuring out what to make for dinner every night for the rest of our lives feels like a punishment for something, to be quite honest. Very rarely am I inspired to head back into the kitchen and make an elaborate meal for my family; I love them, but damn, didn’t I just feel y’all last night? And as someone with chronic illnesses that cause pain and fatigue, there are some days when I truly can’t dredge up the energy to cook. So when I say I lean on lazy dinner recipes a lot, I say “lazy” with love and understanding that we are not all operating with the same levels of energy, inspiration, or interest in making food whatsoever.
To me, what makes a winning lazy dinner recipe — one that I will return to even in a flare-up — is that it’s short on steps, ingredients, and tasks that require me to stand in the kitchen. If I have to get 17 ingredients out of cabinets and the fridge, it’s a nonstarter. I want minimal chopping (or the ability to buy the veggies that need to be diced already cut up from the store). All of this also means that sheet-pan meals, slow-cooker meals, and one-pot recipes that save me from doing dishes are very popular in my house.
Here are some lazy dinner recipes I’d be willing to try — and that’s saying something.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Carnitas
Your slow cooker can do so much for you, including making tender, flavorful chicken carnitas a la All The Healthy Things’ recipe. If you use jarred minced garlic like me, then all you have to slice is an onion (into thin slices, no dicing necessary) and an avocado for your toppings.
Easy Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
I love any recipe where you can use up leftover chicken or just shred a rotisserie chicken and not have to cook it yourself. Family Fresh Meals’ teriyaki chicken casserole will teach you how to make a delicious and crowd-sized meal out of shredded chicken and frozen veggies.
Quick Garlic Butter Shrimp
Budget Bytes’ garlic butter shrimp recipe works with fresh or frozen shrimp, and is ready in 20 minutes or less. You could boil some pasta to toss in that delicious butter sauce, or microwave up some pre-made rice to serve with them.
One-Pot Chili Mac
Buy the minced garlic and diced onion and grab a stool to sit by the stove. Princess Pinky Girl’s chili mac is delicious and cheesy and comforting, and if you skip the chopping, it only takes about 20 minutes start to finish. Plus, your number of dishes to wash will be very low.
Sheet-Pan Nachos
If I have leftover shredded chicken, pork, or ground beef, I’m making sheet pan nachos. Dump your protein and cheese over a bed of chips and top with whatever you have in the fridge. I don’t even eat them with utensils because why have to wash a fork?
Baked Healthy Salmon
If I can barely be bothered to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, I’m making sheen pan salmon for dinner, much like this recipe from Damn Delicious. Plop it onto the pan, season it, show it some lemon juice, and walk away. Pair it with microwave rice and a frozen veggie.
Potsticker Soup
Who knew frozen potstickers and pre-cut coleslaw could become something so yummy? Fit Slow Cooker Queen’s potsticker soup sounds nourishing and delicious, and all the veggies inside can be purchased shredded or chopped in advance to save you time and energy.
Chicken Orzo Bake With Lemon & Parmesan
With A Sweet Thyme’s chicken with lemony, parmesan orzo, you’re going to do some measuring and some browning of the chicken. That’s about it, though, and you’ll end up with a delicious, fresh, savory dinner that won’t leave you totally drained.
Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili
You can buy everything that needs to be diced in this recipe already like that — praise be. After that, Budget Bytes’ recipe just requires that you dump all the goods in your slow cooker, set it and forget it. See you in eight hours for dinner.
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Fajitas
Damn Delicious is the queen of sheet-pan recipes, and her shrimp fajita one is fantastic. Yes, there’s some chopping, but it’s quickly turning bell peppers into strips and an onion into wedges, so I can let it slide. It’s fine dicing that makes me yearn for the grave.
Slow-Cooker Balsamic Chicken
This slow-cooker balsamic chicken from Foodie Crush requires zero chopping or effort if you buy pre-sliced mushrooms (most come that way anyway, right?). Brown your chicken for five minutes to get that yummy finish on the outside, and everything else gets dumped into the Crock-Pot to take care of itself.
It’s OK to lean on shortcuts in the kitchen. Whatever makes cooking for your family easier and more accessible is exactly what you should do.
