Easy 30-Minute Dinner Ideas for Lazy Summer Days

Taking Italian panzanella, or bread-based salad, on a trip to Greece makes for a tasty recipe road trip. As the basis of a traditional Greek salad, crisp cucumbers are the star here – but charred grilled tomatoes and red onions are great supporting players.

Bobby Flay turns grilled cheese into a special treat by combining rich brie with tangy soft goat cheese. Slightly sour green tomatoes soften on the grill in contrast to the crunchy watercress and bread.

Use your favourite sesame ginger dressing in this easy recipe for Vietnamese-style fresh shrimp rolls. The delicate rice paper wrapper tears easily, so handle with care.

Have breakfast for dinner with these lightning-fast, corn-studded pancakes. Swapping out maple syrup for creamy, herb-packed green goddess dressing keeps things savoury rather than sweet.

Centre cut pork loin cooks quickly – a great choice for speedy summer meals. Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe, which gives Parmesan and bread crumb-coated chops a flash in the pan, can be done stove-top for days when your cookout is rained out.

If you like the idea of an outdoor barbecue dinner neatly wrapped in a foil pack, but you don’t eat meat, this creative grilled vegetable spaghetti dinner is for you. Fast cooking Japanese eggplant and broken spaghetti get a bath in white wine and tomato pesto for a long simmered taste in a fraction of the time.

A simple sauce reminiscent of chimichurri gives plenty of parsley flavour to grilled beef fillet skewered with sweet pineapple.

Try and purchase the highest quality beef tenderloin you can for this quick recipe, since it will be served extremely rare. It may seem pricey, but there’s virtually no waste or trim and you’ll have this luxurious light dinner out to your guests in minutes.

Poke bowls continue to be popular, and one of the reasons is their ease and speed of assembly. Skip the pricey ahi or sushi grade salmon and sear wild salmon instead… or load up on the vegetables – the ingredients for this customizable dinner in a bowl are up to you.

Portioning, serving and cleanup are as speedy as this quick chicken, thanks to a foil wrapping for each serving. Add naan to the oven to heat while your packages cook, and you’re all set for an Indian-inspired dinner.

Using a store-bought tikka masala paste is an easy shortcut to a warming chicken curry. Greek yogurt provides lots of creaminess for sauce to spoon over basmati rice.

Mussels are one of nature’s quickest dinners – a brief steam in broth is all you need. Celebrate summer corn by cutting the kernels off the cob and letting the creamy interior contribute to the texture of the broth.

This quick salad is inspired by a traditional Northern Thai dish, and once the ingredients are assembled, comes together in a flash. Browse the fresh produce section of your local Asian market for makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, saw leaf and other fragrant herbs.