Dinner ASAP: 12 Fast, Family-Friendly Recipes

Not only is this one-dish pasta dinner quick and easy to make — 25 minutes tops — the whole family eats it up, broccoli and all.

Pan-seared until crisp on top and just barely cooked at the center: this is how I cook salmon when I have to hit the kitchen running.

New Orleans barbecue shrimp has actually very little to do with barbecue: the dish refers to sautéed shrimp in a Worcestershire-spike butter sauce. It’s one of those dishes you can throw together at a moment’s notice.

This dish is a MAJOR family-pleaser and can be made in just 30 minutes from ordinary supermarket ingredients. And the beauty of “bowls” is that everyone can create their own.

Made from fresh raw salmon and seasoned with Old Bay, these salmon cakes are as elegant as crab cakes but much more affordable. Throw them together on a busy weeknight or serve them to company.

This easy weeknight pasta dish is a quick riff on spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

In this easy, family-friendly dish, chicken thighs are seasoned with garlic, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika and then broiled with a sweet and tangy honey glaze.

These drip-down-your-chin sliders are jazzed up with smoky Southwestern spices, jalapeño pepper and Jack cheese. Serve them with my roasted tomato-peach jam and your family will swoon.

My kids love these chicken tacos. They’re a healthier spin on traditional beef tacos — and they’re just as good, if not better.

This shrimp dish takes just twenty minutes to make. Plus, I always have all the ingredients on hand, the my kids love it as much as I do, and there’s barely any clean-up. Winner!

There is much to love about this Chinese stir-fry: meaty shiitake mushrooms, crunchy broccoli, sweet bell peppers, and a gingery, garlicky brown sauce. Buy your veggies ready-cut to minimize prep time.

This dish of stir-fried chicken and roasted cashews tastes just like take-out, only better.