9 Simple Recipes for Main Dishes {6 Real Food Ingredients or Less}
Nine real food, family favorite main dish simple recipes that all use six ingredients or less with minimal hands-on time.
Whether it’s because we’re busy enjoying the outdoors in summer, trying to navigate the school year, or working around sports activities or work, it seems like we can always use a few quick, simple recipes to have in our repertoire, right?
With that in mind, I’ve collected nine of our tried-and-true family favorite main dish recipes (these are the ones that make regular appearances on our menus) that are easy to make AND use just six whole food, staple pantry-fridge ingredients or less.
My definition of “ingredients” for these recipes include only real foods (no mixes, boxes, etc.) and doesn’t include things like salt, pepper, some other optional spices, and water, which tend to be standard in most recipes.
9 Simple Recipes for Main Dishes
Baked White Fish with Parmesan-Herb Crust – made with simple ingredients easy to put together, but there’s nothing simple about the flavor!
Both Grilled Shrimp & Vegetable Tacos and the Chipotle-Yogurt Sauce have 5 ingredients each – combine them for an amazingly flavorful one-dish meal.
Baked Maple-Mustard Chicken – chicken coated in a mustardy crust served with a savory-sweet sauce.
Salmon Patties with Flax (gluten-free) – healthy & tasty using pantry ingredients.
Sheet Pan Roasted Sausages with Peppers & Onions – use the vegetables as topping for a crusty bread for a one-pan meal
Creamy Pesto Pasta – a perennial kid favorite and the meal you make when you have 10 minutes.
Chicken Caesar Wraps – made with bought or homemade rotisserie chicken and Ceasar dressing, they go together in a flash.
Breakfast for dinner: Make-Ahead Mediterranean Breakfast Wraps.
Layered Cheesy Baked Pasta – aka, comfort food.
Simple recipes are life-savers! Look for more simple recipes using few ingredients and all real food in the future – I’m more and more of the opinion that simplest is best, in many areas of life.
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll find many other simple recipes (that use just a few more ingredients) in my recipe index.
Thank you Jami for putting so much work into your site. I have been making sourdough bread for a couple of years and getting better all the time. Your tips are so in line with my own experience that I was excited to try your recipes. I’m going with sourdough crackers next and your recipe is the most logical on the Internet. Some say you have to let the dough sit 8 hours before rolling out and I just don’t think that is realistic. lol
Thank you, Sharon! It does seem we are like-minded – if I find a recipe that takes hours, I’m always looking for another way. š The crackers are amazing, so I know you don’t need 8 hours.
Also not working on my phone.
Sorry, Jennifer, the mobile is acting up – working on it! š
Valerie, I had the same question inititally, but, if you look under the picture, it says picture 1 of 9 and there is a next box to click on. The individual recipe link is just under the picture as well.
Hope that helps you.
I am not getting the “next” box, the “picture 1 of 9,” or the individual recipe links on my smartphone. I will try to access this post via my laptop tomorrow and see if that helps.
Is this post incomplete ? I don’t see the recipes
There’s a problem with the mobile version – sorry, we’re working on it!
I’m confused – where are the recipes?
Ugh, I tried a new feature so there wouldn’t be as much scrolling and it’s not showing on mobile – sorry! I’m looking into it now, but it’s working on desktop and tablet.