5 Weeknight Dinners To Turn to Again and Again

Every Monday, our editors bring you Simply (Weeknight) Recipes, five quick and easy dinner recipes to make this week.

Did you catch Simply Recipes on CBS Mornings last week? We revealed the winners of The 2025 Grocery Awards on live television. These are the most exciting and delicious new products our editors and 75+ food experts tested. Our hosts Gayle King, Vladimir Duthiers, and Tony Dokoupil couldn't get enough. We're sure you'll love them, too!

Our goal with The Grocery Awards is to recommend products that help make your weeknight dinners more manageable, and I got to be a beneficiary of this!

Since I had to go to New York City for the segment, I stocked my fridge with some of the winners so that my kids could reheat or assemble them for dinner. As a working mom who often travels, I have this process down pat: frozen pizza, vegetarian sandwiches with hummus, and a pot of curry that can be served with rice or bread. The menu is the same every time, which makes it easier for everyone.

I can't wait to incorporate more winners into our weeknight dinners, and I'm curious to know which ones you love most. Here are five weeknight dinner recipes I'm making for my family this week, including smart tips from our contributors.

Sesame Soba Noodles

Get Recipe: Sesame Soba Noodles

Most package instructions will tell you to cook the soba for 6 to 8 minutes, sometimes longer. Don’t do this! I’ve tried a dozen brands of soba noodles and 99.99% are perfectly cooked in 4 to 4 1/2 minutes. Check for doneness at the 4-minute mark. Perfectly cooked soba noodles are springy and soft without a hard bite.

Sheet Pan Salmon With Asparagus

Get Recipe: Sheet Pan Salmon With Asparagus

Contributor Sheela Prakash says, "I keep an instant-read thermometer close by when cooking salmon because it’s a foolproof way to ensure it’s never dry and overcooked. I like my salmon to be opaque and still very moist and juicy (medium-rare), so I aim for 120°F to 130°F. If you prefer it more firm and cooked through, tack on another few minutes to the cooking time to hit 135°F to 140°F."

Creamy Tuscan Chicken

Get Recipe: Creamy Tuscan Chicken

According to Sheela, "If you can’t find chicken cutlets, buy 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds total). Lay the chicken breast flat on your cutting board and use a sharp chef’s knife to cut it in half horizontally. Each chicken breast will give you 2 cutlets."

Skillet Cacio e Pepe Tortellini With Wilted Greens

Get Recipe: Skillet Cacio e Pepe Tortellini With Wilted Greens

Sheela says, "While it doesn’t take very long to boil tortellini, it does require precious minutes to bring that big pot of salted water to a boil. Not to mention, it means there’s an extra dish to clean. Cooking tortellini in a skillet, right in its sauce, is one of my favorite tricks for getting pasta on the dinner table faster and with less mess."

Easy Wonton Soup

Get Recipe: The 15-Minute Dinner I Make Once a Week

Contributor Kris Osborne says, "My favorite [wontons] are the bibigo Fully-Cooked Chicken and Cilantro Mini Wontons from Costco. They're bite-sized, versatile, tasty, and cook in 2 minutes. They're also a great value purchased in bulk from Costco and often go on sale twice a year. Because they're fully cooked, they're hard to mess up."

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