5 weeknight dinners you can make in under 20 minutes

1. Garlic butter shrimp rice bowl

12 minutes · serves 2. The fastest "proper dinner" in rotation.

You need

• Cooked rice (leftover, or a pouch of quick-cook rice)
• Shrimp, fresh or thawed frozen
• Butter, garlic, soy sauce, a lemon
• Frozen peas or corn

Make it

1. Start the rice. If it's leftover, reheat it with a splash of water in a covered pan.
2. Melt a generous knob of butter, add sliced garlic, and cook one minute — no longer, or it turns bitter.
3. Add the shrimp and cook 2–3 minutes until just pink. Splash in soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
4. Toss the frozen peas into the pan for the last minute. Serve over rice, pan sauce on top.

Swap: strips of chicken thigh need 4–5 minutes instead of 2–3.

2. Fifteen-minute tortilla pizzas

15 minutes · serves 2. Crisper than you expect, and everyone assembles their own.

You need

• Flour tortillas
• Pizza or pasta sauce, or passata with a pinch of oregano
• Grated cheese, and any toppings in the fridge

Make it

1. Heat the oven to its hottest setting with a baking sheet inside.
2. Top the tortillas thinly — sauce, cheese, toppings. Less is more; overloaded tortillas go soggy.
3. Bake on the hot sheet 6–8 minutes until the edges are crisp and blistered.

Swap: a dry frying pan with a lid does the job on a stovetop — 3 minutes per pizza.

3. Peanut noodles with crunchy veg

15 minutes · serves 2. Room temperature friendly, lunchbox excellent.

You need

• Any noodles — spaghetti genuinely works
• Peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, a clove of garlic, squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar
• Cucumber and carrot, julienned or grated
• Optional: chili flakes

Make it

1. Boil the noodles. Whisk everything else into a sauce while they cook — loosen with a spoonful of noodle water.
2. Toss the drained noodles with the sauce while still warm.
3. Top with the raw veg and a sprinkle of chili. Done.

4. One-pan egg and veggie hash

18 minutes · serves 2. Breakfast for dinner, and nobody complains.

You need

• Potatoes, diced small (or par-boiled from the day before)
• Onion, any color pepper, paprika
• Eggs

Make it

1. Microwave the diced potatoes 4 minutes in a covered bowl — this cuts stovetop time in half.
2. Fry the onion and pepper, add the potatoes and paprika, and let it sit undisturbed until the bottom crisps.
3. Make two wells, crack in the eggs, cover the pan, and cook 3–4 minutes until the whites set.
4. Bring the pan to the table with bread. That's the whole dinner.

5. White bean and tomato stew

18 minutes · serves 2–3. Tastes like it simmered all day. It did not.

You need

• Onion, garlic
• Canned tomatoes, canned white beans (both, drained/rinsed)
• Stock cube or stock powder, a bay leaf if you have one
• Handful of spinach or frozen peas, and bread for the side

Make it

1. Soften the onion and garlic in a pot, 4–5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, crumbled stock cube, and half a can of water. Simmer 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans and greens, simmer another 5, and season until it tastes right.
4. Serve with toasted bread rubbed with garlic.