20 Low-Effort Sunday Dinners That Are Easy to Make

Baked Spinach and Feta Pasta
Photo: Jason Donnelly

These healthy Sunday dinners require minimal effort, but yield maximum flavor. Each recipe requires just 15 minutes or less of active cooking time, so you can let your appliances do the bulk of the work. Recipes like Baked Spinach & Feta Pasta and Garlic Butter-Roasted Salmon with Potatoes & Asparagus are delicious and filling dinners that barely require you to lift a finger.

01 of 20

Garlic Butter-Roasted Salmon with Potatoes & Asparagus

This spring-produce-packed one-pan meal makes a healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner. Melted garlic butter coats the salmon and vegetables, adding depth of flavor and richness to the dish.

02 of 20

Baked Cavatelli Casserole

This easy to make, comforting dish will keep you warm on a cold day.

03 of 20

One-Pan Chicken & Asparagus Bake

In this chicken and asparagus recipe, we use one baking sheet to whip up dinner quickly, veggies included. Pounding the chicken thin helps it cook quickly alongside the carrots and potatoes, with asparagus rounding out the meal. This is one quick dinner recipe you'll be returning to again and again.

04 of 20

Low-Carb Eggplant Pizzas

These eggplant pizzas have all the classic flavors of a real pizza without all the carbs. Opt for spicy Italian sausage if you like the heat! Serve these mini pizzas with a green salad on the side to complete the meal.

05 of 20

Sheet-Pan Maple-Mustard Pork Chops & Carrots

You need just one pan for this satisfying weeknight dinner. A sweet and savory maple-mustard glaze livens up baked pork chops, while the carrots are jazzed up with flavor-boosting and anti-inflammatory garlic, ginger and turmeric. Rainbow carrots add colorful pizazz, but regular orange carrots are a just-as-tasty substitute. Pork dries out easily--using an instant-read thermometer ensures meat is cooked safely, but still moist.

06 of 20

Sheet-Pan Steak & Potatoes

One pan = less cleanup. To make this sheet-pan dinner work, the potatoes are roasted for 15 minutes before the asparagus and skirt steak are added. Finished with rosemary and blue cheese, it's our easy--and healthy--take on steak frites.

07 of 20

Baked Spinach & Feta Pasta

Baked Spinach & Feta Pasta
Jason Donnelly

Feta softens in the oven before it's combined with spinach and pasta, with the pasta cooking right in the baking dish. Enjoy this one-pan dish on its own as a vegetarian main or serve with sautéed chicken breast for a boost of protein.

08 of 20

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Stew

This Mediterranean stew is a healthy dinner chock-full of vegetables and hearty chickpeas. A drizzle of olive oil to finish carries the flavors of this easy vegan crock-pot stew. Swap out the chickpeas for white beans for a different twist, or try collards or spinach in place of the kale. Any way you vary it, this stew is sure to go into heavy rotation when you are looking for healthy crock-pot recipes.

09 of 20

Salmon & Asparagus with Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce

Looking for a recipe to help you eat more heart-healthy fish and veggies? Add this salmon and asparagus dinner to your rotation. Not only is it healthy and delicious, this sheet-pan dinner is also easy to make and a breeze to clean up.

10 of 20

3-Ingredient Cheese Tortellini with Tomatoes & Basil

3-ingredient tortellini
Sara Haas

This Italian-inspired dish is made with just three ingredients—roasted tomatoes, tortellini and fresh basil—to create a delicious, easy dinner. Roasting the cherry tomatoes coaxes out their natural sweetness. It's worth the time—trust us!

11 of 20

Cauliflower Chicken Curry

Cauliflower Chicken Curry
Brie Passano

Yogurt combined with spices coats cauliflower and chicken thighs in this Indian-inspired curry. The longer you marinate the chicken and cauliflower, the richer the taste, but even 20 minutes of marinating time will give you great results. Smoked paprika adds a more complex flavor, but regular paprika works well too. Serve this saucy dish with brown rice to complete the meal.

12 of 20

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Bolognese

Beans stand in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian sauce that's ready when you are--thanks to the crock pot. The prep is quick and easy to do in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, just cook up some whole-wheat pasta to serve it over and dinner is ready. If you have leftovers, freeze them for an easy meal another day.

13 of 20

Baked Tomato, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta

Baked Tomato, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta
Jason Donnelly

Cherry tomatoes and mushrooms bake along with goat cheese to form the base of the sauce that cooks the pasta right in the baking dish—no stovetop required.

14 of 20

Baked Halibut with Brussels Sprouts & Quinoa

Fish plus two sides? It seems fancy but this healthy dinner comes together in just 30 minutes.

15 of 20

Roasted Chicken Thighs, Potatoes & Scallions with Herb Vinaigrette

Roasting chicken thighs directly on top of the vegetables bastes the scallions and potatoes with delicious drippings in this healthy dinner recipe. Serve with steamed broccoli, sautéed spinach or a mixed green salad.

16 of 20

Sheet-Pan Shrimp Fried Rice

Classic shrimp fried rice gets amped-up flavor with sambal heat. The textures are pretty spot on with hits of crispy and tender rice and are the same as you'd get if you prepared it in a wok or skillet. This sheet-pan shrimp fried rice recipe is a great way to use leftover rice, but you could also use pre-cooked microwave rice so that it can be coming to room temperature while you chop the veggies.

17 of 20

Sheet-Pan Sausage & Peppers

This easy one-dish meal is bound to become a regular in your dinner rotation--it's super simple and comes together quickly. Be sure to preheat your sheet pan--adding vegetables to a hot pan helps start the charring and caramelization, without steaming your veggies. And remember, you are only heating up your sausage, not cooking it from raw in this recipe, but if you substitute with fresh sausage (which you can), you'll need to cook the sausage longer.

18 of 20

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Quinoa with Arugula

Chock-full of quinoa, chickpeas and vegetables, this salad is a meal in itself. The roasted red peppers, lemon, olives and feta add familiar Mediterranean flavor. If you want to provide a meat option, serve with grilled chicken.

19 of 20

Chicken & Cauliflower-Rice Casserole

Chicken & Cauliflower-Rice Casserole
Will Dickey

Get your veggies and your protein fix in this easy, gluten-free chicken and cauliflower-rice casserole. Riced cauliflower stands in for traditional rice, making this creamy casserole low in carbs but—with the simple combination of Cheddar cheese and chicken—suitable for even the pickiest of eaters.

20 of 20

15-Minute Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms

15-Minute Salmon & Creamy Orzo with Spinach & Mushrooms
Brie Passano

In this quick salmon dinner, salmon fillets are paired with creamy orzo, wilted spinach and earthy mushrooms. Cooking the salmon at a high temperature helps speed up the cooking in this healthy dinner recipe. Look for pre-sliced mushrooms to speed it up even more.

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