53 Quick And Easy Meal Ideas You Can Make On Any Budget Perfect For Weeknights

Easy dinner ideas that are also tasty can be hard to come by off the top of your head.

Especially when you want nothing more than to fix something tasty yet filling that doesn’t take too long.

Besides awesome crock-pot recipes, there are plenty of simple dinner ideas out there that can help make either lunch or dinner a success.

A lot of these simple recipes can help you with affordable meal planning and making sure you get the nutrition you need. Especially because they’re so easy to make and you can always put away leftovers for later.

Related: 61 Dinner Ideas To Stay With Your Budget And Still Eat Tasty

To help create your easy dinner ideas like a pro, we put together a crazy long list of more than 40 recipes to choose from that can take your dinner plans from zero to hero.

Now, to start, since we are talking ‘simple dinner ideas’ here, we decided to include an ‘Easy Chicken Recipes’ section in the beginning.

Why?

Well for starters chicken is some of the cheapest meat you can find if you really want to incorporate protein in your meals, it’s easy to fix, and can be absolutely tasty.

Chicken Potato Bake

Image and Recipe: Dizzy Busy and Hungry

To begin we’ve got a chicken potato bake as an easy dinner idea. Often we don’t think of pairing some creamy potatoes with chicken, but if you bring them together with the right seasoning, it can be a dinner winner. To find out more about how to put this simple dinner idea together make sure you check out the recipe here.

Chicken Parmesan Sub

Image and Recipe: Eating Well

Making these easy chicken parmesan subs can save you an expensive trip to Chic-Fil-A. They’re pretty filling if you pair them with the right toppings. I personally love making a fresh homemade coleslaw and slathering on a ‘yum yum’ sauce of sorts with ketchup, mustard, and mayo with some chili powder mixed in.

Check out the awesome cheap and simple dinner recipe here. 

London Chicken

Image and Recipe: The Midnight Baker

If you’re feeling a little fancier, try this great London Chicken Recipe. It’s a top favorite in the easy chicken recipes list.

Here is how you can put it together.

5- Ingredient Chicken Tikka Masala

Image and Recipe: Pinch of Yum

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of my absolute favorites! It can be pricey if you choose to go out for dinner at your local Indian restaurant, but you can make it affordable if you make it at home (and it’s an especially awesome affordable and easy dinner idea for two).

The creamy sauce envelopes the chicken nicely and goes great with some easy white Basmati rice. Here is the Pinch of Yum recipe that’ll have you makin’ a finger licking dinner in no time.

Easy BBQ Chicken Calzones

Image and Recipe: Chef In Training

Here is a little twist on the traditional Italian Calzone…just make it a BBQ Chicken Calzone. It’s an easy chicken recipe that you can add to your list of easy recipes as something that will fare well with the whole family (even the dog).

Here is the creative recipe to learn how to put it together!

Sesame Chicken

Image and Recipe: Rasamalaysa

It’s never a bad day for Sesame Chicken that gives you that oriental nod we call crave every so often (or for some of use every other day). It doesn’t take long to put it together and you can make it with just a few pieces of chicken breast with your favorite sauce.

Here is the handy recipe.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Image and Recipe: Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen

If you’re looking for healthy chicken recipes this one right here is your winner. Lettuce wrapped anything can provide a great alternative to starchy breads filled with glutten and sugars.

Here is the healthy chicken recipe to make tonight’s dinner a success.

White Chicken Chili

Image and Recipe: From Valerie’s Kitchen

If you don’t like beef but like chili then this is THE recipe for you to try. It looks absolutely delicious and I can almost smell the aromas by just looking at the end result.

Here is how to make this cheap dinner recipe idea.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Image and Recipe: The Weary Chef

Buffalo chicken wraps sounds sooo yummy right now. Really anything with buffalo sauce is a winner in my book. Not only can this be part of your healthy chicken recipes ideas but it can be a great on the go meal.

Here is the easy dinner recipe! 

Spicy Fish Tacos

SAVE IT

Image and Recipe: Teal Notes

While they might not look like it, these spicy fish tacos are a pretty quick dinner idea. The preparation process is a lot less involved than you would think (aren’t they just gorgeous tacos?) and it doesn’t cost too much to make at all which makes them a great quick dinner option. They can be ready in as little as 20 minutes.