Made with five ingredients or less, these easy dinners are simple and delicious.
You’ll love these five-ingredient dinners, including enchiladas, lazy lasagna, chicken parmesan stuffed peppers, chili, mustard roasted salmon, and more.
Weeknight dinners are about to get easier and cheaper since you don’t need to buy a ton of ingredients.
Table of Contents show
Chicken Penne Pasta
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It uses rotisserie chicken, a time-saving shortcut.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Penne Pasta
Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Peppers
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: This dish has plenty of substitutions and variations, so you’ll never get bored of this easy dinner.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Peppers
Crock-Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: You can throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker and come home to a tasty comfort food dish.
Get the Recipe: Crock-Pot Beef Stroganoff
Apricot and Ginger Glazed Chicken
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “This was a huge hit at my house, and it really only took 20 minutes to throw together.”
Get the Recipe: Apricot and Ginger Glazed Chicken
Mustard Roasted Salmon
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It uses simple and wholesome ingredients.
Get the Recipe: Mustard Roasted Salmon
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s a one-pot meal, so cleanup is a breeze.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
Slow Cooker Caribbean Jerk Chicken
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “Made jalapeno cornbread to go along and it was so good.”
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Caribbean Jerk Chicken
Pesto Shrimp
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s a healthy, no-fuss meal packed with flavor.
Get the Recipe: Pesto Shrimp
Lazy Lasagna
- Number of Ingredients: 3
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: This lasagna recipe has only 5 minutes of prep time thanks to a genius ingredient hack.
Get the Recipe: Lazy Lasagna
Lazy Enchiladas
This collection of easy dinners has just five ingredients or less. Salt, pepper, and water are the only freebies that don’t count toward the five ingredients.
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It uses frozen taquitos, a clever time-saving hack made popular on TikTok.
Get the Recipe: Lazy Enchiladas
Air Fryer Tilapia
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 16 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “Made this last night. Super crispy coating and moist fish.”
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Tilapia
Mini Chicken Pot Pies
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: These are freezer-friendly, so you can make a big batch ahead of time and reheat them when you want a hassle-free, comforting dinner.
Get the Recipe: Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s an inexpensive family dinner that even picky eaters will love.
Get the Recipe: Pizza Tater Tot Casserole
Potato Soup
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s the best budget meal, made with only four inexpensive ingredients.
Get the Recipe: Potato Soup
Fried Tacos
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “This is so good! My family goes crazy when I make these! So simple and delicious!”
Get the Recipe: Fried Tacos
Sloppy Joes
- Number of Ingredients: 3
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s even better than store-bought sloppy joe mix.
Get the Recipe: Sloppy Joes
Copycat KFC Bowl
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It tastes just like the real thing, but it’s cheaper to make, and you won’t have to wait in a drive-thru line.
Get the Recipe: Copycat KFC Bowl
Meatloaf
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Why You’ll Love It: It’s a healthier spin on traditional meatloaf. Plus, if you or someone in your household avoids gluten, this recipe is gluten-free.
Get the Recipe: Meatloaf
Chili Recipe
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “This is such a quick and easy chili recipe! Love having a nice meal that doesn’t take forever to make.”
Get the Recipe: Chili Recipe
Air Fryer Roast Beef
- Number of Ingredients: 3
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: While some roast beef recipes turn out dry, this one is perfectly juicy. Plus, the herb crust is delicious.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Roast Beef
Mac and Cheese
- Number of Ingredients: 4
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: It’s incredibly creamy and is even better than the boxed store-bought mac and cheese.
Get the Recipe: Mac and Cheese
Prosciutto and Pesto Sandwich
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: A sandwich is something different to add to the weekly dinner rotation. Sandwiches don’t have to be just for lunch.
Get the Recipe: Prosciutto and Pesto Sandwich
Chili Cheese Dog Casserole
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Why You’ll Love It: Cleanup couldn’t be easier since you use just one dish. Also, it makes yummy leftovers to pack for work the next day.
Get the Recipe: Chili Cheese Dog Casserole
Baked Gnocchi
- Number of Ingredients: 3
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “This is one of our favorite go to weeknight recipes. So darn quick and easy. Everyone loves it!”
Get the Recipe: Baked Gnocchi
Crock-Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
- Number of Ingredients: 5
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
Best Recipe Review: “Easily one of my all-time favorite recipes. I’ll be making this over and over again for years!”
(By the way, this recipe received so many glowing reviews that you know it’s worth making.)
Get the Recipe: Crock-Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
About the Author
Annie Brown
Annie Brown is a frugal living expert and the founder of Savvy Honey.
Her expert advice has also been featured in Buzzfeed, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBanking Rates, Woman's Day, The Spruce Crafts, and more.
