65 Easy Dinner Recipes for Two

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, high protein

Honestly, if you can make homemade roasted red pepper pomodoro sauce in five minutes, why do you ever even go to a restaurant, let alone buy jarred marinara?

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, gluten free, <30 minutes

The only time-consuming aspect of this meal is making the peanut sauce, which involves dumping all the ingredients into a food processor and blitzing away. Sounds easy enough, no?

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: gluten free, high protein, beginner-friendly

Eat your heart out, butternut. Tons of earthy mushrooms and crisp apples make this a fantastic recipe for a chilly evening.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly

If your taco night revolves around ground beef, it’s time to expand your repertoire. These are colorful, bursting with flavor, vegetarian and so easy to prepare. (So basically, they’re fantastic in every way.)

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly

OK, we’re not making the ravioli from scratch or anything, but adding roasted cauliflower, spinach and white beans on top definitely makes it special enough for date night.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy

Think of this flatbread slathered in creamy ricotta as spinach and artichoke dip's sophisticated cousin. Bonus? Store-bought flatbread means no kneading necessary.

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, high protein

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more colorful salad. This gorgeous meal includes juicy peaches, vitamin C-packed bell peppers and a sweet blueberry balsamic glaze that you can prep ahead.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly

Gooey Havarti and melted Gouda share the spotlight with roasted cauliflower and lemon mustard aioli in this grown-up take on grilled cheese. (But honestly, your kids would probably dig it, too.)

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, low carb, keto-friendly

Basically, you’re stuffing all the goodness of pizza (cheese, herbs and marinara) into a delicious portobello mushroom cap instead of layering it atop dough.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly, make ahead

Some nights, you want a nice, light salad. But tonight, you’re too hungry for that. Here, farro, chickpeas and avocado tzatziki will fill you (and your S.O.) right up.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly, gluten free

Too lazy to use a bowl? Yeah, us too. Use a sweet potato as a vessel for these Greek veggies instead.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly,. beginner-friendly, vegetarian

If you have 15 minutes, you’ve got time to whip up these quesadillas. We never thought about putting mango inside our tortillas before, but now we don’t know how we ever lived without it.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, make ahead

This traditional Mexican dish is typically savory, but this riff has a touch of sweetness, thanks to orange blossom honey. Infuse it ahead to save time before dinner.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy

Spaghetti and meatballs? Yawn. It’s time to give your weekly dinner staple a much-needed makeover. Enter hearty polenta, a classy twist on an old favorite.

• Time Commitment: 4 hours and 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, gluten free, dairy free

A rich Italian dish with a Whole30 twist. Bursting with cauliflower rice, ground turkey and aromatic basil, these stuffed peppers are beyond filling.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly

Your favorite sushi joint will miss you. These Japanese chirashi bowls feature high-quality fish, a vinegar-based dressing for the rice and tons of raw veggies.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, make ahead, dairy free

It’s packed with potatoes, peas, asparagus and salmon, and is hearty enough to satisfy even the most salad-averse diners.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, beginner-friendly, one pan

This meal has everything: our favorite cold-weather veggie, soba noodles and plant-based protein. Did we mention it's vegan to boot?

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein, beginner-friendly

This aromatic green sauce, a new take on classic German grune sosse, is the ultimate topper for fish. (BTW, this recipe is ready in 50 minutes, but 30 of them are just for chilling the sauce.)

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: one pan, vegan, gluten free

Ten minutes prep + seven ingredients = one delicious vegetarian meal (and two happy campers). We'll take extra cilantro-lime cashew cream, please.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser

A combination of vermicelli and veggie noodles gives this comforting classic a healthier, more colorful update. Use rice vermicelli to make the dish gluten free.

• Time Commitment: 3 hours and 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein

Complete with endive salad in citrusy mustard dressing. If you use frozen duck legs, be sure to thaw them completely before beginning. (Swap duck legs for chicken legs if you must.)

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, gluten free, beginner-friendly, one pan

There’s a definite wow factor to this jewel-toned meal, not to mention the pops of mint and cinnamon that will surprise your taste buds and impress your boo.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes (plus marinating time)
• Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, make ahead

Pairing herb-marinated chicken with nutty, bright pesto is an ingenious way to amp up an Italian dinner (without relying on pasta, as usual).

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, sheet pan recipe, beginner-friendly

A classic one-pan meal for two, we love to see it. Bacon adds smokiness, while Dijon honey mustard offers the dish tangy sweetness.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: gluten free, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly

Nothing says, “Let’s cozy up on the couch for date night while it lightly snows outside” like a creamy, garlicky, bacon-y bowl of soup. Serve with crusty bread for dunking.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients

An indulgent pasta dish that will be done almost as soon as you’re finished grating the Parmesan and chopping the basil. The key to the short cook time is using thin-sliced sirloin.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly

Why aren't all veggies cooked with bacon? Its rendered fat offers so much more flavor than standard EVOO.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, gluten free, beginner-friendly

Between the crunchy kale, juicy pomegranate seeds and earthy sweet potato, we bet this will quickly turn into a go-to dinner for you. Make extra of the spicy chickpeas for snacking.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly, one pan

File this under “looks ridiculously impressive but secretly isn’t.” Here, rigatoni is tossed with herbs, tomato sauce and roasted eggplant. Trust us: You’ll go back for seconds.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: low carb, keto-friendly, <30 minutes

This keto twist focuses on protein (tuna and eggs) and low-carb veggies (leafy greens and green beans) in lieu of carby potatoes. Très chic, if we do say so ourselves.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: gluten free, beginner-friendly, <30 minutes

An incredibly straightforward wheat-free pasta recipe that packs a huge punch of flavor. It just might make your date think you’re a chef at first bite.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, high protein

Transform what some people consider a bland fish into a remarkable dish bursting with parsley, cilantro, mint and garlic. (You’ll have chimichurri sauce leftover for sandwiches and salads, too.)

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly, gluten free

Veggie tacos don’t need to revolve around beans. These boast roasted zucchini, corn, avocado, and a drool-worthy cumin and adobo sauce.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, Instant Pot recipe

Whether you slow cook for six hours or pressure cook for eight minutes, you’ll be amazed by how sweet, tangy and easy these BBQ bowls are.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients

Here’s a meal for someone who likes to receive praise without doing a ton of work (in other words, all of us). Let the super-simple Dijon, soy sauce and honey glaze do all the talking.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, no cook, make ahead

Tasty Moroccan spices like turmeric, cinnamon and cumin zest up the rotisserie chicken base (add tahini, if you'd like). Trading pita for lettuce cups keeps the carbs low too.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: one pan, high protein, beginner-friendly

This stir-fry cooks in just 15 minutes and delivers crunchy snow peas, creamy hints of cashew butter, sweet mango and spicy ginger.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, one pan, vegan

Searching for a stir fry with a little extra kick? Look no further than this dish, made with sinus-clearing kung pao sauce.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, low carb

Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, Paleo-friendly and Whole30 approved, these lettuce wraps are nutritious in every sense of the word.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly

Orange chicken might not be the epitome of health food, but this plant-based rendition uses no oil and only a little bit of sugar (use even less, if you insist).

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, one pan, beginner-friendly

Chickpeas are an underrated main, but just two cans of garbanzos create a shockingly protein-packed dinner for two. Swap butter out for coconut oil to make it vegan.

• Time Commitment: 10 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, low carb, one pan, keto-friendly

You can whip up this healthier version of fried rice faster than you can say, "delivery, please." That's a win-win dinner situation in our book.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, vegetarian

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with dumping jarred marinara onto your plate of pasta. But sometimes we want something a little more elegant that takes just as little effort to prepare. Enter this 15-minute gem.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, high protein, special occasion-worthy

Cook it all at once on a sheet pan and enjoy dinner without a pile of pots and pans in the sink. Serve with rice or raw greens.

• Time Commitment: 6 hours and 5 minutes)
• Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, high protein, kid-friendly

Fact: Making dinner in your Crockpot rocks. So the next time you go to plug it in, pile in the ingredients for this slow cooker chicken teriyaki recipe and let the magic begin.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: gluten free, low carb, beginner-friendly

Why do we love this recipe? Not only is this pizza super simple to make, but it's also gluten-free and Paleo-friendly. Add wine for an instant date night (but you knew that already).

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, make ahead, <10 ingredients

We're still wondering how something so delicious and nutritious can be so easy to make. Chalk it up to the four-ingredient lemon-tahini sauce.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients

Fire up the taste buds for a pan-seared salmon that's as gorgeous as it is satiating.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients

Looking to really impress? This decadent meal for two has date night written all over it. Bonus points for adding steak a la surf and turf.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian, beginner-friendly

Now this is what we call a dinner salad. Prepare the whole thing ahead except for the peaches, then grill them right before dinner.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly

Dirty dishes just...ruin the mood. Cook your dinner in foil on the barbecue instead if the weather permits. (If not, lean on a grill pan indoors.)

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly

Forget the dry veggie burgers you've had in the past—these are oh so moist. Smashed avocado and spicy mayo take the family-friendly handhelds over the top.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why We Love It: high protein, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly

Inspired by the iconic Mexican pork dish, this salmon is a zillion times better than your usual garlic-lemon-black pepper combo. Serve it over rice or flake it up to fill tacos.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, high protein

Your trusty cast iron skillet has done it again. This chicken main tastes divine as is, but you should really eat it alfresco if possible.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why We Love It: <30 minutes, one pot, <10 ingredients

Throw all of the ingredients in the pot and boil 'em to tender, citrusy perfection. We'll take crushed red pepper flakes on ours, please.

• Time Commitment: 55 minutes
• Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, one pan, special occasion-worthy

When the weather warms up, spaghetti and meatballs just don't fit the bill. Try this summer stunner on for size instead (and pair it with your favorite pinot grigio).

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, vegan, low carb, keto-friendly

You just took a trip to the farmers market and now have enough zucchini, cherry tomatoes and corn to feed a football team for a week. Well, now you know what to do with it all.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy, one pan

Make this once and you'll never be too intimidated to cook steak at home again. Don't even get us started on the garlicky herb sauce.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, vegetarian, kid-friendly

We'd happily eat a bowl of buttered noodles for dinner, but it's not difficult to dress up pasta without a ton of effort. This cheesy kale farfalle from Stephanie Nass, chef and founder of Chefanie, is proof.

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein

The three-ingredient coconut rice is a total game-changer. And the soy-ginger sauce is equal parts zingy and sweet (the latter courtesy of brown sugar).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: vegan, dairy free, special occasion-worthy

In case your boo is totally plant-based. Fair warning: You're going to go gaga for the hemp-rich cilantro crema, which we'd eat all by itself, TBH.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 25 minutes
• Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein, beginner-friendly

This decidedly classy recipe starts on a sheet pan and ends in your go-to skillet. Might we suggest following in Our Lady of Cosmos's footsteps by pairing the dish with cocktails?

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly

Aka the tastiest white pizza you'll ever make. It stars mozzarella di bufala, which is creamier, richer and higher in fat than standard mozz.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, one pan, beginner-friendly

Store-bought gnocchi never looked so good. Your kids will be chomping at the bit for the leftovers (yes, even the picky ones).