Easy

It's key to the juiciest Thanksgiving bird.

Sweet and tangy.

Plus, there's little to no clean up.

Anytime you find yourself with leftover baked chicken breasts, shredded chicken from the slow cooker, poached chicken breasts, or whole roasted chicken, consider it a very good thing. You can certainly go for a second round of last night’s dinner, but the wonderful thing about chicken is that it’s so easy to repurpose it into an entirely different meal.

You don't even need any measuring cups for this recipe.

My secret to getting dinner on the table every weeknight is a new sous chef — the air fryer. When I put this countertop appliance to work, I’m free to attend to the main dish while it works, virtually unattended. All I have to do is wait for that delightful “ding,” telling me the food needs a flip or is ready to eat.

Hot mulled cider is a must-have at all our fall and winter shindigs. It’s a great non-alcoholic drink option for holidays like Thanksgiving — guests of all ages never seem to turn down a mug, but grown-ups can also take the opportunity to do a little self-spiking and mix with their alcohol of choice. Slow-cooker mulled cider is the easiest way to serve a crowd.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy skillet meal, add this weeknight-friendly recipe to your dinner rotation immediately. With crumbled Italian sausage and creamy potatoes at the helm, it’s rooted in hearty, wholesome comfort and balanced by a light, bright twist from a handful of fresh parsley and a generous squeeze of lemon. When it comes to serving this skillet up, know that it works just as well for breakfast as it does for dinner!

If the hardest decision at your holiday table is choosing between desserts — be it a slice of pumpkin pie, a scoop of seasonal fruit crumble, or even a simple sugar cookie — these pumpkin pie bars are a sweet solution to your Thanksgiving troubles. These bars make use of smart grocery store shortcuts, like refrigerated sugar cookie dough and canned pumpkin pie mix. For the finishing touch, a buttery oat crumble is sprinkled over top.

You barely need a recipe.

It’s just creamy enough.

Yes, you really can make baked ziti (well, “baked” ziti) in your slow cooker. And the result isn’t just good — it’s amazing. What it lacks in the crispy-edges department it gains in the ooey-gooey comfort-food department: tender noodles coated in marinara sauce and mixed with a double dose of melty cheese. Pasta in the slow cooker has a reputation for being overcooked and soggy — a result of too much liquid in the slow cooker or too long of a cook time.

Do you love figs? Then you’ll love this easy dessert. But you’re that type. This dessert is really meant for people who can’t quite get the fuss over fresh figs — people who live in places where the only figs around are weak and watery, pale imitations of what they should be. This recipe will banish all that disappointment — these figs are caramelized, smoky, dark — and rich. The first time I tried a fresh fig I was disappointed.

One-pot pastas are an absolute magic trick. Cook pasta start to finish in just one pot? No straining? And oh, wait — all the other ingredients for a delicious, well-rounded weeknight dinner cook right in the pot with the pasta? Amazing!The family-friendly pasta technique deserves a spot in your meal plan. Here are 25 one-pot pasta recipes to keep you happy and well-fed.

Sipping icy-cold sweet lemonade on a blazing-hot summer day is one of life’s finest pleasures, which is why we think making lemonade from scratch should be the easiest drink you make this summer. After all, it is just three ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, and water. To make this lemonade-from-scratch recipe, juice the lemons and strain them, use the lemon juice to dissolve the sugar, then add cold water to taste. It’s that simple.

Puppy chow (also known as muddy buddies) is dangerous stuff. I had never even heard of the snack until my friend Beth, an Iowa native, left some at my house after a holiday gathering and I found myself eating handful after handful of the sweet, crunchy, nutty mixture. Why wasn’t there a warning label? It didn’t last the night.

For years I skipped over radishes; they felt more like a garnish in green salads than a necessary component. Then I joined a CSA and was bombarded with radishes. I suddenly had to figure out what to do with them all, only to realize radishes have a whole lot of love to give. They’re crispy, peppery, and not only a colorful addition to so many dishes, but can also stand out all on their own.

Cool, briny pickles straight from the fridge are one of the simplest pleasures of summer. Quick pickling is also a brilliant solution for preserving a plethora of summer vegetables from the market or your garden. Quick pickling doesn’t require canning or a bushel of vegetables. Best of all, you can adapt this simple formula for any fresh vegetables; try a mixture of vinegars and spices for a truly custom pickle pleasure. Here’s how to make these easy quick pickles in just 20 minutes.

My grandmother kept a tidy little vegetable garden outside her New England home. While she did a decent job of growing summer squash, cucumbers, and some tomatoes, her best results always came out of her snap bean plants. This also meant my annual August trips to visit her were filled by snapping beans on her porch (a job reserved strictly for grandchildren) and putting jars of quick-pickled green beans in her refrigerator.

No-bake cookies — the kind made with oats, peanut butter, and chocolate — are a classic dessert and an easier option than homemade cookies from scratch. Mothers and grandmothers around the country regularly make this stovetop cookie, to varying results. I remember at least a few times eating failed no-bake cookies with a spoon because they never fully set. Here’s my secret to better no-bake cookies: Think of the process more like candy-making than cookie baking.

Get your toast ready.

The grill has the ability to elevate sweet, juicy peaches from over-the-sink snack to the most stunning dessert or a side dish with nothing more than heat. Grilled peaches are the kind of magic that happens in a hot grill’s twilight, when dinner is nearly done, and sweet fruit is the best pairing for the cold wine and ice cream destined for dessert. Here’s how to pull it off with grace and ease in only four simple steps. They’re incredibly easy to grill.

Picture this: You’ve got guests coming over for a cookout in less than an hour. What can you grill that will be both impressive and quick? The answer is almost always grilled pork tenderloin. Pork, especially the pork tenderloin, takes incredibly well to the smoky char of the grill. With just a smart dry rub of sugar, salt, and spices, pork tenderloin grills up with a thin, tender-crisp crust, while being incredibly juicy and, well, tender in the interior.

When you have a glut of fresh summer fruit, sorbets are the answer. You don’t need a recipe — just a basic template to follow and a little creativity. Strawberry-peach sorbet? Mint-infused watermelon sorbet? Raspberry-rosé sorbet? Yes, let’s make all of these this summer. All you need is chopped fruits, puree it, then add a little simple syrup and lemon juice, chill the base, churn the sorbet, and then freeze it.

If you’re craving a juicy, tender, cheese-topped burger — one that you can really sink your teeth into — then you need to try the stovetop method. No dry hockey pucks here! Just the kind of burger you’d normally pay big bucks for at a restaurant. Today we’re talking burgers. From the best kind of ground beef to use to tips for shaping the patties, with a step-by-step recipe for simply the best burgers you’ve ever had — at home or elsewhere. Ready?

When the sun is shining and you’re contemplating grilling outside, don’t forget that easy grilled sweet potatoes can be a delicious addition to the summer dinner plate. All you have to do is toss thick slices with some oil and salt, and after just 10 minutes on the grill they’ll be sweet and tender with a hint of smokiness from the flames. To up the ante, toss the still-warm grilled sweet potatoes in a sweet-and-spicy dressing. Heat the grill.

As a Midwestern gal, born and raised, I do love my corn on the cob. What I don’t love, however, is standing over a boiling pot of water waiting for the cobs to cook on a sweltering summer day. Boiling has also always felt to me like a lot of labor for what amounts to a few minutes of actual cook time. Enter: the microwave. Ever since we first talked about this method, the microwave has become my favorite tool for quickly cooking a few ears of corn for a weeknight summer dinner.

It's the no-cook dish of my dreams.

This basic chicken breast technique gets meal prep done faster!

A step-by-step guide to the best sandwich of summer.

It’s summer, which means that not only is your grill hot, but corn on the cob is also finally juicy and sweet. The two need to meet. While I’d like to tell you it’s as simple as throwing the cobs on the hot gas grill or charcoal grill and letting the two mingle, there is some work that must be done to get the corn and its husk ready for the grill. Get to know which corn to buy, steps for grilling, and the essentials to achieve a grilled corn perfection.

I firmly believe a good 4th of July meal is as much about all the summery sides that fill up the plate as it is about the grilled burgers and grilled hot dogs. Whether you’re having a big backyard cookout or keeping things small, your outdoor feast is worthy of the all the best side dishes that you can possibly handle⁠—just don’t forget the dessert! When it comes to side dishes to round out the meal, there are so many delicious options to choose from.

In need of a new winning chicken dinner? This is it! You just need five ingredients to bring this buttery, lemon-kissed chicken to the table. Serve it alongside crispy skillet-fried potatoes and roasted broccoli for an easy weeknight dinner. It’s sure to become a new family favorite that everyone will love! Here’s how to make it. Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

For all the times I have ordered chicken lettuce wraps at restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, inhaled entire “appetizers” by myself, and sighed with happiness while licking sticky sauce from my fingers, it never once occurred to me to try making this dish at home. Partly, lettuce wraps have always felt like an indulgence that needed restriction to restaurant visits only.

Cool and crunchy, delightfully sour and capable of going from a quick snack to a crunchy addition to a hearty sandwich without a hitch — that’s what I call a good pickle. Did you know they’re a cinch to make at home? You don’t even need to set aside the afternoon; you can make a few pint jars in less than 30 minutes. Here’s everything you need to know to make your own batch of homemade dill pickles right now.

Being the primary cook in my household, I was shocked to realize recently that I had no idea how to make one of my favorite marinades. My partner always handles the grilling of galbi (Korean short ribs) plus firm tofu for me, but it seemed silly not to know what went into the sauce for this deeply flavored, salty and sweet Korean-style barbecue. Fortunately, it’s pretty simple and now that I know, I can share it with you, too.

Have you ever sipped a shrub? Not the bush out in your front lawn, but a fruit syrup, preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a tangy, refreshing beverage. An old-fashioned favorite, shrubs have steadily made a comeback in the last several years — especially on cocktail menus — but they aren’t solely the province of mixologists.

True to their name, poke cakes are sheet cakes that are baked, then (you guessed it!) poked, then filled with a liquid or syrup to add extra flavor and moisture into each bite. These no-fuss cakes (like dump cakes) are one of oldest baking hacks in the book. If you love retro recipes like icebox cake and pineapple upside-down cake, give poke cakes a try. These crowd-pleasing desserts are perfect for potlucks, parties, and gatherings.

Where once I’d pounce on a chef-made bowl of al dente pasta and crisp-tender spring vegetables, now it’s a dish I prefer to make at home. Using what’s fresh and new at the market, I slice and dice carrots, bell peppers, peas, spring onions, and baby Broccolini before tossing them into a pot to quickly cook with penne pasta. Finished with bright and citrusy lemon butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, this warm-weather supper is perfection. And the best part?

Move over, granola.

It’s no secret that McDonald’s Big Macs are beloved all over the world, primarily for the sweet and tangy sauce that’s slathered onto the burger buns. And while there have been plenty of rumors suggesting the special sauce is simply Thousand Island dressing in disguise, McDonald’s says otherwise.

For all your potluck and BBQ needs.

No sandwich press needed.

Here’s my dinnertime strategy: Bring on the vegetable recipes. I try to make vegetables the star of the show most of the time when I am thinking about what to make for dinner (in addition to keeping mealtime easy, of course!). By making my plate more about the vegetables, I find I automatically eat a more wholesome diet without radically changing much. Some nights that means eating a big dinner salad, while other nights I’ll make a hearty veggie sandwich or one-bowl meal.

Sticky-sweet BBQ chicken is the quintessential summer dinner that shouldn’t be limited to the lucky folks with backyard grills. I love BBQ chicken from the grill as much as anyone, but if we’re being really honest here, it is kind of time-consuming to do well. You’ve got to cook the chicken pretty perfectly without the sauce, and once the sauce is added you have to spend a lot of time flipping and basting to get that burnished-but-not-burned coating we all crave.

I have to admit an unpopular opinion: I am just not into mayonnaise-based summer salads. When it is hot out, I want to eat light and refreshing salads, not thick and creamy ones. So when I say this is the best pasta salad ever, it’s with that opinion in mind. But a mayo-free pasta salad can still come with a degree of creaminess. In this case it’s by way of an olive oil-rich vinaigrette and a sprinkling of flavorful soft cheese.

Is there a more quintessential warm-weather side dish than cold pasta salad? This cool salad keeps well, and it’s the perfect make-ahead lunch that you can pack throughout the week. Just about everyone in your family, from your kids to your mother-in-law, will eat it! This recipe is truly as simple as boiling water and tossing in a few key pasta salad ingredients.

Lately, I have been all about flank steak. This cut isn’t quite as fancy — or typically as expensive — as premium steaks, like ribeye and filet mignon, but it cooks just as quickly and delivers big on flavor. I love it for more casual weeknight meals, like easy steak fajitas or alongside some roasted veggies. Plus, the leftovers make tasty steak sandwiches for lunch the next day.

Banish all thoughts of stringy, tough, sad chicken from your mind. For our chicken salad sandwiches and quick chicken weeknight meals, we want nothing but the best. And for that, poached chicken is definitely the way to go. This poached chicken method is easy, fast, and foolproof. Totally tender chicken breasts that are as good for dinner as they are for lunch the next day? Not a problem.

It's the easiest dinner you'll ever make.

My dad has an intense sweet tooth, just like me. One afternoon when I was around 10 years old, Dad got a hankering and he enlisted me to help him make Toll House chocolate chip cookies. That was the first time he and I had ever baked together. Since then, whenever I make chocolate chip cookies, including the ones from this recipe, I think of him and that special afternoon we spent together in the kitchen. I developed this recipe over the years.

We love roasted peanuts in everything from homemade granola to crunchy slaws and vibrant salads. But we found found that it’s much cheaper to buy raw peanuts in bulk and to roast them at home. It’s quick and easy, and it lets us control the roasted flavor more precisely. It’s so easy! You start with raw, shelled peanuts, spread them on a baking sheet, then roast them in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. That’s it! They taste better than store-bought roasted peanuts.

Date syrup is a thick, caramel-colored sweetener made from dried dates. You may have seen date syrup on the shelves in your local health food store or online, as many cooks embrace it as an alternative sweetener. Date syrup is incredibly easy to make at home, can be more affordable than store-bought, and has the lush caramel hue and heady date flavor of its namesake fruit. Here is everything you need to know about making date syrup at home. Medjool: Medjool dates are ideal for making date syrup.

Here at The Kitchn, we are firm believers in the power of sangria. Whether you serve it in the spring, in the summer, in the fall, or in the winter, sangria is the perfect make-ahead cocktail. Pull a pitcher from the fridge as guests arrive and no one needs much encouragement to start pouring glasses. It feels fancy and instantly festive, but sangria is also one of the easiest big-batch cocktails you can make. As the party host, it’s a no-brainer.

When the heat of summer sets in I just want to eat meals that will cool me down. My relationship with soups, stews, and basically anything that comes out of the oven is on hold for these next few months. I prefer easy summer dinners that come together quickly when I don’t feel like cooking.Needless to say, this shrimp ceviche is on heavy rotation.

If we’re being honest, no one is more surprised than me at how legit these cottage cheese pancakes are. As someone who claimed for years not to like cottage cheese, these pancakes were the gateway that finally made me a believer. These are high-protein, low-fat pancakes with three simple ingredients that cook up fluffy and actually taste good. If it sounds too good to be true, I assure you it’s not.

Growing up, challah French toast was the only French toast I knew. We would slather softened butter over thick slices of fresh challah on Friday night for Shabbat dinner, and my dad would use the rest of the loaf to make mile-high stacks of French toast the next morning, dusted with powdered sugar and doused with syrup. (Eventually, we just started buying two loaves of challah, for fear we wouldn’t have enough left over).

A good hollandaise sauce, whether it’s over eggs Benedict on Saturday morning or steamed asparagus for dinner, truly levels up anything on your plate. Maybe you didn’t know that this creamy, buttery, slightly tangy sauce that you love so dearly could be made at home in about two minutes using just a blender. Want to impress your friends this weekend? Invite them for Sunday brunch or a steak dinner and tell them you’re making hollandaise sauce.

If you’ve avoided cooking dried beans at home because you’ve heard they are tricky, finicky, or complicated, it’s time to leave all that behind. Cooking dried beans, whether they’re black beans, pinto beans, or dried chickpeas, is no more trouble than filling a pot of water and letting it simmer happily on the back burner all afternoon. In fact, that’s basically all it is.