10 Easy Dinner Ideas When You're Too Tired to Cook

Whip up these 10 healthy, easy dinner ideas in 15 minutes or less when you’re too tired to cook. No recipe required! All the recipes are gluten-free, but easily adapted to any diet.

Pinterest collage with 4 photos of easy dinner ideas including stuffed sweet potato, savory cottage cheese, quinoa salad, and hummus veggie wraps.

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Thanks so much to all my Delicious News subscribers and readers who responded to my 2025 Spicy RD Nutrition Survey! One of your most popular requests was EASY dinner ideas and easy meals in general because many of you are too darn tired to cook. I hear you! So here you go, my friends, Enjoy!

10 Easy Dinner Ideas (Healthy, No Recipe Required!)

1. Loaded Avocado Toast

Two slices of gluten-free toast topped with lentils, mushrooms, avocado, and rosemary.

Top whole-grain or gluten-free toast (I love Cook’s Gluten-Free Sourdough) with avocado slices, protein (lentils, chickpeas, or a poached or boiled egg), sauteed mushrooms or cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning or fresh herbs.

Serve with a side of fruit or leafy greens with my easy vinaigrette to help meet your 30-40+ plants per week goal!

2. Everything But The Kitchen Sink Salad Bowl

Overhead closeup photo of a colorful greens, vegetables, fruit, and quinoa salad.

Start with a base of leafy greens or gluten-free grains, then add a protein like a rotisserie chicken, smoked salmon, deli turkey, canned tuna, black beans, or chickpeas. Toss in whatever extra veggies you have on hand, nuts or seeds, optional dried or fresh fruit, and your favorite dressing. Dinner is served!

3. Hummus Veggie Wrap

Stack of two veggie hummus wraps stuffed with vegetables, humms, and cheese.

Spread hummus on a grain-free tortilla, like Siete almond flour or chickpea flour tortillas, then layer in spinach or arugula, bell pepper, shredded carrots, cucumber, and any other veggies you love. Optional: Add feta cheese or grilled chicken for extra flavor and protein.

4. Scrambled Eggs and Toast. AKA “Breakfast for Dinner”

Scrambled eggs in a mason jar topped with tomatoes, cheese, and microgreens.

Scramble eggs with any leftover veggies in your fridge (spinach, mushrooms, peppers, etc). If desired, top with fresh herbs or microgreens and goat, feta, or your favorite cheese. Serve with a slice of gluten-free toast and avocado. Bonus points if you make ’em in a jar!

5. Greek Yogurt Power Bowl

Bowl of Greek yogurt topped with cherries, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Ornate spoon on top of the bowl with a pink and green napkin in the background.

Dinner doesn’t get any easier than this! Spoon plain Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese) into a bowl. Top with cherries (I love Costco frozen organic cherries) or berries and nuts, seeds, or granola. Drizzle with nut butter or honey if desired.

6. Clean Out the Fridge Fried Rice

Bowl of fried rice with pine nuts and sriracha on top. Green jade chopsticks on top of the bowl.

Heat avocado oil in a large skillet or wok. Saute chopped onion and garlic, along with any fresh or frozen veggies you have on hand. Add pre-cooked protein (chicken, tofu, shrimp) and egg if desired. Stir in pre-cooked frozen brown rice (I stock up on it at Trader Joe’s). Finish with gluten-free tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos. Add any “bling” you like: pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, or fresh herbs.

7. Lentil Feta Bruschetta with Gluten-Free Crackers

Glass bowl with lentil feta bruschetta dip.

This is one of my favorite “no-recipe” recipes using three ingredients from Trader Joe’s. Combine one package of pre-cooked lentils with one package of feta cheese (crumble it first) and one Trader Joe’s bruschetta sauce container. Mix well and serve with your favorite gluten-free crackers, like Mary’s Gone Crackers or Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers.

8. Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl

Glass dish filled with cottage cheese, tomatoes, basils, and basil seeds.

This yummy cottage cheese bowl is on my regular lunch rotation, but it’s equally suitable for a quick, easy dinner. Add cottage cheese (I like Good Culture) to a bowl to make it. Top with sliced cherry or grape tomatoes, fresh basil or arugula, and my latest super high fiber, high protein seeds, Zen Basil Seeds.

9. Simple Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato

Two sweet potatoes stuffed with beans, olives, cheese, and herbs.

Microwave a sweet potato (or Yukon gold or russet potato) until tender, then top with chickpeas or lentils, fresh herbs, optional cheese, and salsa, Greek yogurt, or Bitchin’ Sauce. Yum!

10. Protein-Packed Quesadilla

Wedges of veggie, chicken, and cheese quesadillas stacked on top of each other.

Fill a corn or gluten-free tortilla with cheese, beans, and leftover veggies or greens. Cook on a skillet until crispy, then serve with salsa, guacamole, or Greek yogurt for extra protein.

So, there you have it! Ten super easy, healthy, no-recipe dinner ideas. Let me know which ones you’ll try, and leave a comment to share your own ideas!