20 Minute Recipes: How to Master Weeknight Meals
If you’re anything like me and often find yourself wiped out on weeknights with little energy to cook – but are trying to cut back on takeout and make more meals at home – I’ve compiled a list of my favorite 20 minute recipes (and kitchen hacks) to lend you a helping hand.
These meal formulas and pointers are based on some core principles that can help us reframe weeknight cooking, whether you’ve gotten into a food rut, are trying to dial-in your Postmates budget, or are wanting to eat healthier in the new year.
I’ve found that by making small shifts to set yourself up for success, you’ll find yourself gravitating more toward cooking and less toward ordering; simply because it’s easy, you feel better, and your wallet probably does, too.
Like anything in life, it’s about practice, habit-building, and positive reinforcement.
Your guiding principles for whipping up easy 20 minutes recipes:
1) Cook once, eat twice (or thrice)
If a weeknight recipe doesn’t yield enough for leftovers the next day, either double it, or skip it. When you go into making a meal in the evening knowing you’re doing something helpful for yourself by locking in your lunch or dinner tomorrow, it can make the effort feel more ‘worth it’ in the moment. Your future self will thank you and cooking this way really helps to reinforce the good habit, because it pays dividends on your initial time investment.
2) Outsource smarter
We’ve all been there: when Sunday evening rolls around after a full weekend, and you realize you haven’t had time to grocery shop or meal plan for the week. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying yourself on the weekend – that’s what they’re for! But the Sunday decision fatigue is real, and it’s taxing – and it can trickle into the rest of your week.
So I highly recommend using services like Purple Carrot to outsource the labor and time it takes to plan out meals and go to the market, particularly during seasons of life when you’re simply shorter on time. Purple Carrot will do the heavy lifting for you by delivering a box of meal kits straight to your door, and you still get to enjoy the benefits of a fresh, home-cooked meal. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to get cooking inspiration and learn new recipes that you wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.
Right now you can receive $200 off your first 8 orders with code GROW200 ($25 off each box, valid on orders of $78 or more through Feb. 4, 2026) – so it’s a great time to give Purple Carrot a try.
3) Bowls are your best friend
We’re talking Asian bowls, burrito bowls, mediterranean bowls, you name it. By relying on healthy plant-based staples, you can apply a balanced meal formula that works every time – and you can still get plenty of variety by switching up the sauces and seasonings.
Your magic formula: protein + healthy starch + veggies.
Mediterranean: The above was a fabulous Mediterranean bowl from Purple Carrot – it was simple and light but incredibly flavorful and satisfying. For your med bowl formula, you just need garbanzo or cannellini beans + brown rice or quinoa + romaine/cucumbers/bell peppers. Optional toppers: lemons, hummus, and/or tzatziki.
Mexican: black or pinto beans + shredded baked tofu + brown rice + romaine. Salsa, guacamole or avocado on top.
Asian: baked or air-fried tofu in a simple marinade + brown rice or sweet potato + leafy/cruciferous greens (broccoli, kale, or bok choy). Coconut aminos or tamari can be lightly drizzled on top.
4) Lean on beans
Stocking your pantry with beans is one of the top recommendations I have for people – they’re versatile, full of fiber, and a rare non-perishable, whole food protein source (they’re considered a staple in the Blue Zones diet for a reason, folks)!
The 5 beans I always keep on hand: kidney, black, pinto, garbanzo, cannellini.
5) Keep pre-cooked or frozen grains on hand
Brown rice – particularly short grain – can take a while to cook. So I highly recommend keeping some frozen (Whole Foods and Trader Joes have great frozen brown rice) and/or pre-cooked rice packets like Tasty Bite (Purple Carrot uses them in their meal kits and it’s SO convenient). Frozen or pre-cooked quinoa is another great staple grain to keep on hand.
The above meal was an extremely satisfying, zesty Green Goddess bowl from Purple Carrot – I loved the protein and crunch from the pistachios and the delicious green goddess dressing from Fabalish they included.
6) Keep clean-up and cook time down with one-pot or sheet pan meals – these will also keep you in that sweet spot for 20 minute recipes.
This particular Purple Carrot dish was a sheet pan bibimbap and made for the perfect, simple, minimal prep and clean-up meal. We just tore the tofu into chunks, sliced the Japanese sweet potato (a personal favorite), threw both onto a sheet pan and baked for 20 minutes, and made the kale/carrot salad and dressing while they cooked. Rice was microwaved for 60 seconds and bada bing, a perfect Asian bowl in 20 minutes.
Ready to master the art of 20 minute recipes?
I hope you can apply these tips and tricks into your own lives, and feed yourself and loved ones healthy, delicious meals without slaving away in the kitchen. If you tried any of them out, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
And if you’re wanting to “outsource smarter” by taking grocery shopping and meal prep out of the equation, right now you can get $200 off your first 8 orders of Purple Carrot with code GROW200 ($25 off each box, valid on orders of $78 or more). For a more in-depth look into the experience, head to my article that walks through a week of Purple Carrot meals.
Happy cooking!
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