How to Make any Dinner a 20-Minute Dinner

How to Make Any Dinner a 20-Minute Dinner

If you're someone who wants to make cooking during the week easier but doesn’t want to spend hours on meal prep, I've got you covered. The secret to a stress-free dinner every night is simple: meal prepping in a way that doesn’t involve cooking entire meals ahead of time.

Every Saturday morning, I spend a couple of hours in the kitchen prepping for the week ahead—and it’s honestly one of the best habits I’ve picked up for saving both time and money. Instead of scrambling for ingredients or stressing over dinner after a long day, I chop, marinate, and prep in bulk. By the time the workweek rolls around, I can put together a delicious meal in 20 minutes or less. It’s a rewarding routine that makes me feel like a meal prep pro, without spending all day in the kitchen!

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Prep Your Vegetables and Fruits

Start by chopping all the veggies and fruits you plan to use during the week. Whether it’s bell peppers, onions, carrots, or fruits for smoothies and salads, having them ready to go makes it a breeze to toss them into a pan or a salad bowl when you're hungry. This saves you from spending precious time washing, peeling, or slicing veggies after a long day.

Step 2: Make Sauces in Advance

If your meals often rely on sauces—whether it’s a stir-fry sauce, marinade, or salad dressing—make them ahead of time. A simple sauce can transform a basic dish into something special, and having them on hand means no last-minute scrambling to throw one together. Just store them in airtight containers, and you’ll have easy access all week long.

Step 3: Marinate Your Meats

If you’re cooking meat for your dinners, marinate it ahead of time. Whether it's chicken, steak, or seafood, marinating and sticking it in the freezer (or even just for a few hours) infuses flavor and helps reduce cooking time. When you're ready to cook, the meat is already tender and full of flavor, so all you need to do is throw it in a pan or on the grill. No need to wait for flavors to develop on the spot.

Step 4: Cook Your Grains

Grains like rice, quinoa, and couscous are easy to cook in bulk and store for the week. Preparing a big batch means you only have to reheat it when you're ready to eat, cutting down your cooking time significantly. You can even freeze portions to have them ready at a moment’s notice.

The Result? 20-Minute Dinners

With your vegetables prepped, sauces made, meat marinated, and grains cooked, your dinners during the week come together in no time without the monotony of conventional meal prepping. Whether you're making stir-fries, wraps, salads, or grain bowls, your meal is mostly ready to go. You just have to cook what you've already prepared, which takes far less time than starting from scratch.

Not only does this save you time, but it can also save you money. Having everything prepped and organized means you’re less likely to order takeout or grab something unhealthy because you’re too tired to cook. Plus, you can use leftovers from one meal in a different dish, reducing waste and making the most of your ingredients.

Meal prepping doesn’t have to mean cooking everything in advance. It means preparing the building blocks of your meals so that all you have to do is assemble and cook them during the week. Give it a try, and you’ll never look at dinner prep the same way again.