Repeat after us: A delicious dinner doesn’t have to take long. Nope, we’re not talking about takeout either — with the right recipe, you can get food on the table in 15 minutes flat. By supplementing fresh ingredients with a mix of pre-made picks and basic pantry staples, you’ll shave time off both your prep and cook time. To get you started, “Fit Men Cook” founder Kevin Curry stopped by TODAY to share his favorite 15-minute meal prep solutions.
Spice up dinnertime with Curry’s fire chicken dish. The garlicky Sriracha sauce definitely turns up the heat, but it’s nicely balanced out with the sweet mango-avocado salsa. Or, if you can’t be bothered to turn on the stove, give his no-cook taco salad a try. Rotisserie chicken is the star of this two-step recipe — just whisk together a quick homemade dressing and garnish your greens with crushed tortilla chips. Even seafood can be served on this week’s menu with Curry’s Southwest shrimp quinoa bowl. You’ll make enough for five servings that can easily feed the entire family or be reheated for a leftover lunch.
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With three meals done in less than an hour, you’ll have plenty of time to spend on sides and sweets — but you won’t need it. Use extra black beans from the recipes above to make 15-minute mini veggie quesadillas. And in only 10 minutes, you can spruce up store-bought pound cake for a just-as-good-as-from-scratch dessert.
Kevin Curry's 15-minute meal prep recipes
This is a quick and simple recipe that you can keep on hand to cook after a long workday. Serve it with pasta, grains, potatoes or vegetables for a complete meal.
Who doesn’t love tacos for dinner? Taco bowls are a fun take on old-fashioned casseroles and this recipe couldn’t be easier to make. This no-cook salad comes together in less than 10 minutes, thanks to the use of prepared rotisserie chicken.
This easy recipe makes use of leftovers and basic pantry staples for a quick meal. For a kid-friendly twist, top these bowls with sour cream, sliced avocado and a sprinkle of cheese.
More recipes to make this week
Round out the week with these recipes from Carrie Parente and Lauren Salkeld.
Honey, we shrunk the quesadillas! This mini version of the Tex-Mex favorite is made with wonton wrappers instead of flour or corn tortillas, so you taste every flavor in just one bite. We picked cheese, beans and scallions for the filling, but you can easily swap for ingredients you already have on hand.
Your guests don’t have to know that this recipe starts with a store-bought pound cake. By topping it with ricotta-mascarpone cream, fresh berries and toasted almonds, you take both the presentation and flavor profile up a notch for an impressive yet effortless dessert.
