As life gets engaged pinch school, work, holidays, and societal obligations, we're near pinch little clip to walk cooking.
Luckily, personage cook Ina Garten has plentifulness of easy weeknight meals that are low-effort but high-reward. I should know, arsenic I person spent astir a decade cooking my measurement done the Barefoot Contessa's full look repertoire of much than 1,350 recipes.
Garten is simply a maestro of distilling recipes to their essence, helping location cooks create tasty meals pinch the best-quality ingredients they tin spend while pulling retired the astir delicious flavors.
Below, I'm sharing 10 of my favourite easy recipes from her cookbooks.
Most of these recipes should get dinner connected the table successful nether an hr — galore successful conscionable 30 minutes.
Baked shrimp scampi tin beryllium connected the array successful little than 30 minutes.
"Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics," page 128
This baked shrimp scampi was the very first Garten look I ever made, and it's still a favorite. The prep takes little than 15 minutes, and the look only bakes for 12.
The results are buttery, lemony shrimp pinch hints of rosemary and garlic, and a bully panko crunch. Spoon it complete rice, pasta, aliases polenta pinch broccoli connected the side, and you person a meal.
This seared salmon pinch spicy red-pepper aioli is easy and tasty.
"Modern Comfort Food," page 122
Garten's instrumentality of searing the salmon connected the stovetop and finishing it successful the oven leads to tender, perfect salmon each time.
The spicy aioli infused pinch chipotle capsicum successful adobo sauce, lime juice, and roasted reddish peppers is the perfect condiment to complete the dish.
Roasted sausages and grapes sound a small funny, but the crockery is amazing.
"Foolproof," page 137
This sausage-and-grapes look was the biggest astonishment of the full project.
The thought of roasted grapes wasn't each that appealing, but pinch only 5 ingredients, I figured I'd springiness it a shot. It was heaven.
The crockery has the perfect equilibrium of saccharine and salty, and the grapes' spirit concentrates, creating a wine-like popular of sweetness. I work together pinch Garten that a excavation of creamy polenta is the easy, delicious guidelines to complete this meal.
I committedness by her rigatoni pinch sausage and fennel.
"Cooking for Jeffrey," page 114
Growing up successful the 1990s, Hamburger Helper made regular appearances astatine our table. I cackled erstwhile I saw personification opportunity they thought of this crockery arsenic the big type of the beefy packaged pasta dish.
But arsenic Garten would say, this could beryllium for illustration Hamburger Helper pinch the measurement turned up.
If I were forced to prime my all-time favorite Ina Garten recipe, it would beryllium this one. Pasta, sausage, and tender fennel successful a herb pick sauce? Yes, please.
The chickenhearted thighs pinch creamy mustard condiment travel retired tender and delicious.
"Cook Like a Pro," page 91
If I ne'er had to eat different chickenhearted bosom successful my life, I'd beryllium happy. Chicken thighs are different story, and 1 of my all-time favourite ways to bask them is successful this mustard pick sauce.
It's a elemental crockery pinch a precocious reward — crispy, juicy chickenhearted thighs swimming successful a white-wine, creme-fraîche, and Dijon sauce. I emotion serving pinch atom and charred broccoli to sop up each the phenomenal sauce.
Her easy Parmesan "risotto" is awesome for a vegetarian dinner.
"How Easy Is That?" page 160
If you're looking for a hearty vegetarian option, this "risotto" is for you. Even better, it doesn't require opinionated complete the basking stove for 45 minutes stirring — you simply cook successful the oven and past operation successful each the flavorings.
In summation to adding peas, I for illustration to sauté asparagus aliases different veggies and adhd them successful astatine the extremity to make this a much well-rounded meal.
The chef's weeknight Bolognese can beryllium fresh fast.
"How Easy Is That?," page 154
For those days you're craving a stick-to-your-bones repast but don't person the 4 hours to slow simmer a sauce, Garten has you covered pinch this pasta dish.
This Bolognese is simply a elastic recipe pinch crushed herb — complete the years, we've added and subtracted ingredients based connected penchant to make it our own.
Tomato crockery pinch grilled-cheese croutons is the eventual comfortableness food.
"Foolproof," page 56
Garten is the queen of comfortableness nutrient and, arsenic her 12th book "Modern Comfort Food" is titled, she likes to modernize galore of those comforting favorites.
Here, she takes a classical tomato-soup-and-grilled-cheese combo and creates a crockery that kids will emotion but is analyzable capable to beryllium appreciated by adults.
Who wouldn't emotion a creamy herb soup pinch orzo topped pinch buttery grilled food oozing pinch melty Gruyere?
Her grilled New York portion steak is easy to prepare.
"Make It Ahead," page 118
One of our favourite easy weeknight meals is simply a steak salad, and the swipe for this steak is our go-to — it's sweet, spicy, and earthy pinch the astonishing addition of crushed coffee.
We conscionable dress greens successful a balsamic-Dijon vinaigrette, adhd avocado, tomato, and onions, and service pinch the sliced steak connected top.
Eggs successful purgatory is cleanable for nights erstwhile you want meal for dinner.
"Go-To Dinners," page 68
Like Garten, I emotion having breakfast for dinner. Serve this eggs-in-purgatory crockery pinch crusty breadstuff and a elemental broadside salad, and meal is ready.
The eggs are cooked successful a flavorful sauce, and store-bought is fine. In this recipe, Garten infuses jarred arrabbiata condiment pinch onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and rosemary.
The look only serves two, but it's easy scalable.
This communicative was primitively published connected September 22, 2023, and astir precocious updated connected August 31, 2026.
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