16 New Dinner Recipes Ready in Three Steps or Less (2024)

Looking for new dinner ideas? You're in luck with these brand new recipes that are just waiting to be tried. With only three steps or less, these dinners are especially easy to prepare and can be paired with a colorful veggie side. Delicious dishes like our Seared Halibut Fish Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts are healthy, simple recipes that will be tasty additions to your dinner table.

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Seared Halibut Fish Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

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Halibut—a tender, sweet-tasting white fish—is a great option for fish tacos, especially when paired with crunchy slaw, pico de gallo and a salty cheese. We promise you'll want these more often than just on Taco Tuesdays. Serve them with a side of black beans or yellow rice to round out your meal.

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Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

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We combine feta, a salty, tangy cheese, with baby spinach for a bonus serving of greens built into a stuffed chicken breast. Try using mozzarella or provolone cheese for a more mild, kid-friendly dish. If you have leftover spinach, use it for a simple side salad. If you don't want to bother stuffing the chicken cutlets, turn these ingredients into a simple salad with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Clean Out Your Fridge with This Veggie-Packed Farro & Chickpea Salad

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Here's a great dinner template to keep in your back pocket when you get to the end of the week and you don't think you have anything stocked for dinner. A couple pantry staples, a little cooked whole grain, some bold-flavored condiments, a few crunchy veggies and you're done. Here, we use cilantro, lime juice and garlic in the dressing, but feel free to riff on it with whatever you might have on hand.

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Air-Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

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Make these sandwiches with your favorite type of apple. Give Granny Smith, Gala or Pink Lady a try. If you don't love arugula, try romaine or spinach.

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Cabbage & Kielbasa Skillet

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Smoky sausage, tender cabbage and sweet apples, along with mustard and cider vinegar, create a perfect balance of flavor in this hearty skillet dinner.

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Pan-Seared Strip Steak

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This fantastic strip steak is the perfect dinner for date night or any special occasion that deserves something extra delicious on the table. A little butter adds richness and keeps the leaner-than-usual beef moist without adding much in the way of total fat. Don't know how to cook steak on the stove? No worries! Not only is this one of our best steak recipes, it's incredibly easy. However, a word of caution: This recipe is smoky! Keep your exhaust fan on high or cook in a skillet on a hot outdoor grill.

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Slow-Cooker Beef Curry

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Long, slow cooking periods mellow flavors while bold spices, in bold amounts, will hold their own over time. Thats just what happens here with big flavors from Thai curry paste and fish sauce finished with fresh touches of cilantro and lime juice that together, draw inspiration from Thai curry. Serve over a bed of brown rice or brown rice noodles to catch all the sauce.

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Quick Chicken Marsala

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Marsala cooking wine is a worthy addition to your pantry; it's dry and sweet without being overpowering, and can cut through the richness of cream or stock. The alcohol will cook off as the sauce simmers. Adding butter at the end, a classic technique, gives the sauce its body and gloss. Serve this skillet main over polenta, mashed potatoes or hot cooked brown rice. If you have leftover thyme, try steeping in chicken stock before making a risotto, tossing with roasted vegetables or adding to a frittata.

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Red Pea Soup

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In this installment of Diaspora Dining, Jessica B. Harris' series on foods of the African diaspora, the author and historian shares her recipe for a soup starring kidney beans. Called red peas in Jamaica, this ingredient connects this Jamaican soup with Africa's Caribbean diaspora.

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Shrimp Paella

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Paella is a Spanish seafood and rice dish, prized for the crispy bits of rice that come from letting the rice sizzle in the pan, and the deep yellow color from saffron. We cheat the color with less expensive ground turmeric and speed the process with precooked brown rice. Make sure to spread the rice mixture in an even layer so the bottom can crisp. The shrimp take less than 5 minutes to cook. Rinse well under cold running water until completely thawed, and then pat dry before adding to the pan. Serve with simply steamed asparagus to round out the meal.

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Copycat McDonald's Southwest Salad

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If you were a fan of the McDonald's Southwest Salad before it left the menu, this copycat recipe brings it all back with a few healthy twists. The creamy dressing keeps saturated fat and calories in check with reduced-fat sour cream combined with salsa to give it its signature spice. We loaded it up with plenty of veggies, but feel free to give it your own spin with chopped avocado or crushed tortilla chips for crunch. (Editor's note: The title of this recipe does not align with EatingWell's practices for naming and attributing recipes but gives proper credit to McDonald's menu, which called this dish "Southwest Salad.")

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Creamy Lemon-Basil Chicken

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This ultra-quick creamy lemon-basil chicken is bright and refreshing. Using whole lemon slices in the sauce gathers the essential oils from the rind plus the acidic punch from the flesh and adds more depth of flavor than juice and zest alone.

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Kale & Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Avocado Caesar Dressing

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This salad combines the flavors of a Caesar salad with tender green lacinato kale and the crunch of raw, shaved Brussels sprouts. The brown-butter breadcrumbs add additional crunch and a nutty, toasted flavor. Serve with grilled chicken for an added boost of protein.

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Summer Chicken Parmesan

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Skip canned tomatoes and serve these crispy, cheesy chicken cutlets with a fresh tomato-and-zucchini sauté instead, a super-easy side that takes advantage of peak-season summer produce. For a healthy whole-grain swap, use white whole-wheat flour in place of all-purpose for breading the chicken and in any sweet or savory recipe. Make sure to position your oven rack in the middle of the oven, about 6 inches from the broiler, so the cutlets don't cook too quickly. Round out the meal with a simple green salad and garlic-rubbed toasted bread slices.

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Broiled Salmon with Lemon

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For quick weeknight meals, go for the broiler. It preheats in a flash and acts like an upside-down grill, bringing salmon to perfect doneness in just 10 minutes. Don't sweat it if you slightly overcook the salmon. Serve it with a dipping sauce or drizzle a bit of olive oil over top to bring back instant moisture. This basic broiled salmon recipe is even better when served with a creamy yogurt sauce and a side of quickly steamed or broiled broccolini.

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Air-Fryer Zucchini Noodle Hash with Eggs

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Zucchini noodles are shaped to form nests, creating a perfect pocket for eggs. These nests make for a stunning presentation and are perfect for breakfast or brunch at home. A quick tomato mixture adds a pop of color.