What to Make for Dinner When You Have No Idea: Easy Dinner Ideas

You know those nights when you have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner? You open the refrigerator, stare at everything for a minute, close it, and somehow expect a dinner idea to magically appear the next time you open it.

We’ve all been there!

Sometimes the hardest part of making dinner isn’t actually cooking it. It’s deciding what to make.

Instead of scrolling through dozens of recipes hoping something sounds good, start with three simple questions:

• What ingredients do I already have?
• How much time do I have?
• How much effort do I actually want to put into dinner tonight?

Once you answer those, figuring out dinner gets a whole lot easier.

Whether you have chicken that needs to be cooked, a pound of ground beef in the freezer, some pasta in the pantry, or practically nothing in the house, here are plenty of easy dinner ideas to get you started.

Start Here: What Do You Already Have?

Before you decide that there’s “nothing to make,” take a quick look through the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.

Pick one main ingredient and build dinner around it.

If You Have Chicken

Chicken gives you plenty of options without having to get too creative.

Depending on the cut of chicken you have, try:

• Chicken fajitas
• Grilled chicken with an easy side dish
• Chicken and rice
• Chicken pasta
• Sheet pan chicken and vegetables
• BBQ chicken
• Chicken quesadillas
• Chicken sandwiches or wraps

If you have leftover cooked chicken, dinner gets even easier. Add it to pasta, salads, quesadillas, rice bowls, or wraps.

Kitchen Tip: Don’t worry about creating a complicated meal. Seasoned chicken, a vegetable, and rice or potatoes is a perfectly good dinner.

If You Have Ground Beef

A pound of ground beef can go in a lot of different directions, which makes it one of my favorite ingredients to keep on hand for busy nights.

Try:

• Tacos
• Burgers
• Sloppy joes
• Beef and rice
• Spaghetti with meat sauce
• Cheeseburger pasta
• Meatballs
• Beef quesadillas
• Chili
• A simple ground beef skillet

If you also have rice, pasta, potatoes, or tortillas, you already have the beginning of dinner.

Try This: My homemade beef and rice is made in one skillet and is ready in about 30 minutes, making it a great option when you want something easy.

If You Have Pasta

When I’m completely stuck on what to make, pasta is one of the first things I check for.

You don’t need a complicated sauce, either.

Try:

• Spaghetti with marinara
• Pasta with butter, garlic, and Parmesan
• Baked pasta
• Macaroni and cheese
• Pasta with chicken
• Pasta with ground beef
• Pasta tossed with vegetables
• Ravioli with sauce and cheese

Frozen ravioli is especially handy because you can turn it into an easy dinner without much prep.

My 5-ingredient baked ravioli is perfect for nights when you want something comforting without doing a lot of work.

If You Have Eggs

Who decided eggs are only for breakfast?

Breakfast for dinner is one of the easiest solutions when you haven’t planned anything. I love breakfast for dinner some nights!

Make:

• Scrambled eggs and toast
• Omelets
• Fried egg sandwiches
• Pancakes and eggs
• French toast
• Breakfast quesadillas
• Egg and potato hash

Add fruit, toast, bacon, sausage, or whatever else you have. I make a breakfast bake that is easy and delicious. Made with peppers, eggs, sausage (or bacon), potatoes and cheese. Your family is sure to love it!

Dinner doesn’t always have to look like a traditional dinner.

If You Have Potatoes

Potatoes can turn random ingredients into something that feels much more like a meal.

Try:

• Loaded baked potatoes
• Breakfast hash
• Roasted potatoes with chicken
• Potato and sausage skillet
• Homemade fries with burgers
• Baked potatoes topped with leftover chili
• Eggs and potatoes

A baked potato bar is also a fun way to use up small amounts of cheese, sour cream, bacon, vegetables, leftover meat, or other toppings hanging around the refrigerator.

If You Have Rice

Rice is another great starting point because you can pair it with almost anything.

Try:

• Chicken and rice
• Beef and rice
• Fried rice
• Burrito bowls
• Rice and beans
• Sausage and rice
• Stir-fry over rice
• Taco bowls

Leftover rice can be especially useful for a quick dinner the next day.

If You Have Almost Nothing

We’ve all had those nights too.

Before giving up and ordering takeout, check for a few basic ingredients.

You might be able to make:

• Grilled cheese
• Quesadillas
• Eggs and toast
• Buttered pasta with Parmesan
• Tuna noodle casserole
• Boxed macaroni and cheese
• Soup and sandwiches
• Baked potatoes
• Rice and beans
• Pancakes or French toast
• A simple pantry pasta

This is also a good time to check the freezer. You might have frozen vegetables, ravioli, meat, bread, or leftovers you’ve completely forgotten about.

My tuna noodle casserole is another easy comfort-food dinner that uses just a few ingredients and is topped with potato chips.

Choose Dinner Based on How Much Time You Have

Sometimes it’s easier to forget about ingredients for a minute and ask yourself:

How soon does dinner need to be on the table?

I Have About 15 Minutes

Keep it really simple.

Try:

• Quesadillas
• Grilled cheese and soup
• Eggs and toast
• Sandwiches or wraps
• Quick pasta
• Leftovers
• Breakfast for dinner

This isn’t the night to suddenly decide you’re making homemade lasagna from scratch.

I Have About 30 Minutes

Now you have a lot more options.

Try:

• Tacos
• Chicken fajitas
• Burgers
• Homemade beef and rice
• Pasta dishes
• Stir-fry
• Chicken cutlets
• Sausage and vegetables
• One-skillet dinners

Thirty-minute meals are great for weeknights because you can still make a homemade dinner without spending the entire evening in the kitchen.

Chicken fajitas and beef tacos are a favorite here! I love tacos.

I Have an Hour or More

If you’re not in a rush, this is when you can pull out something that needs a little more oven or cooking time.

Try:

• Roast chicken
• Casseroles
• Baked pasta
• Meatloaf
• Roasted chicken legs
• Homemade soup
• Oven-roasted meats and vegetables

My whole roasted chicken is made with garlic, butter, salt, pepper, and lime and makes a great dinner when you have a little more time.

Now Be Honest: How Much Do You Feel Like Cooking?

Time isn’t always the problem.

Sometimes you technically have an hour to make dinner.

You just don’t want to spend it cooking.

That’s allowed.

I Actually Feel Like Cooking

Great! This is your night for something that requires a little chopping, seasoning, or extra preparation.

Pull out that recipe you’ve been wanting to try and enjoy making it.

I Can Cook, but Let’s Keep This Easy

This is probably where most weeknight dinners live.

Think:

• One-skillet dinners
• Pasta
• Tacos
• Fajitas
• Burgers
• Sheet pan meals
• Easy casseroles

Choose something familiar that doesn’t require a sink full of dishes afterward.

Please Don’t Make Me Wash Six Pans

I hear you.

Go with something that uses one skillet, one baking dish, or one sheet pan.

This is exactly when recipes like skillet beef and rice, baked ravioli, sheet pan chicken, or a simple pasta dinner shine. I love to make a simple creamy beef pasta on a night when I want simple. It is a one pan meal and easy to make.

And if you can line the sheet pan with parchment paper?

Even better.

I Don’t Want to Cook at All

Dinner can still happen.

Make sandwiches.

Heat up leftovers.

Put together a snack plate.

Have cereal.

Make everyone a grilled cheese.

Pull something out of the freezer.

And yes, you can declare it a fend-for-yourself night.

Not every dinner needs to be an event.

Use This Simple Formula to Build a Dinner

If you have random ingredients but no recipe, try building dinner using this simple formula:

Protein + starch + vegetable + flavor = dinner

For example:

Chicken + rice + broccoli + teriyaki sauce

Dinner.

Ground beef + tortillas + lettuce + taco seasoning

Tacos.

Pasta + chicken + spinach + Parmesan

Chicken pasta.

Eggs + potatoes + peppers + cheese

Breakfast hash.

Rice + beans + corn + salsa

Rice bowls.

You don’t necessarily need a recipe every night. Sometimes you just need a basic combination that works.

Keep a Few “Emergency Dinners” on Hand

One of the easiest ways to avoid the what am I going to make for dinner? panic is to keep ingredients for two or three extremely easy meals in the house.

They don’t have to be exciting.

They’re there for the nights when the day gets away from you.

A few things I like to keep around are:

• Pasta and jarred sauce
• Frozen ravioli
• Rice
• Eggs
• Tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Frozen vegetables
• Canned beans
• Bread
• Ground beef or chicken in the freezer
• Soup

Pick the foods your family actually eats and create your own little emergency dinner stash.

Still Can’t Decide What to Make for Dinner?

Here’s my favorite trick:

Stop looking for the perfect dinner.

Pick one ingredient you need to use and choose the easiest thing you can make with it.

Have chicken? Make chicken and rice.

Ground beef? Make tacos.

Pasta? Add sauce and Parmesan.

Eggs? Breakfast for dinner.

Sometimes having dozens of dinner ideas makes choosing harder, not easier. Narrow your options and keep it simple.

Dinner doesn’t have to be creative every night. It just has to be dinner.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

When you don’t know what to make for dinner, don’t make the decision harder than it needs to be.

Start with what you already have. Decide how much time and energy you want to spend cooking. Then choose something simple.

Some nights dinner might be roast chicken with homemade sides.

Other nights it might be grilled cheese.

Both count.

And if you find yourself standing in front of the refrigerator again tomorrow night waiting for inspiration to appear?

At least now you have a plan.

Save for later on Pinterest!