Quick and easy recipes with top time-saving tips
Smart cooking
Crispy, sticky chicken wings
You'd swear these gorgeous chicken wings were deep-fried, right? Wrong! The clever trick here is to add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to the dry rub. It makes the wings super crispy when they're baked in the oven. Halfway through cooking, they're coated in a sticky, sweet and sour glaze. Another top tip? Put them into a cold oven. As the oven heats up, the fat is rendered out, allowing them to crisp up.
Lasagne
The meat ragù for lasagne needs long, slow cooking. But you can massively speed up the preparation time by chopping the onion, celery and carrots in your food processor. This is such a good tip for when you need lots of finely chopped vegetables in a casserole or soup too. Just be sure to use the pulse button as you don't want to end up with a purée.
Aromatic sticky ribs
A marinade for Chinese-style ribs usually requires so many ingredients, from different spices to several sauces. But you can rustle up the marinade for our tasty ribs with just three ingredients: a shop-bought jar of barbecue sauce, two cinnamon sticks and three star anise. You'll still get that delicious flavour, but with much less time and effort.
Ham and rice casserole
This creamy casserole is such a speedy dish. And the best thing about it is there's no sauce to make. Simply use a can of condensed mushroom soup, or celery soup if you prefer, and you can make it even quicker by using ready-diced frozen vegetables too. The rice cooks in the mushroom sauce, so there's no pre-cooking either.
Easy pizza
Here's a pizza which takes just 10 minutes to rise. It calls for fast-acting, easy-blend yeast, so there's no more hanging around waiting for that dough to double in size. In fact, you can make this recipe even quicker by mixing the dough in a food processor, which will do the kneading for you. It's faster, and tastier, than a takeaway.
Black bean and chipotle soup
Homemade chipotle paste is a bit of an effort, with smoked chillies, onion, garlic, vinegar, sugar, spices, herbs and tomato purée all added into the mix. But, in this recipe, you can achieve the same wonderfully smoky flavour by simply using a jar of chipotle paste. Packed with nourishing black beans, the soup is very simple and warming. And you'll love the contrast of textures with tortilla chips, smashed avocado and sour cream too.
Miso ramen
Instant (or quick-cook) ramen noodles make a fast, hearty meal worthy of any noodle bar. This particular recipe uses frozen peas, but you can just throw in whichever vegetables you have to hand. A nourishing dinner will be on the table in just 15 minutes.
Get the recipe for miso ramen here
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Thai red pepper soup
This soup is ready in no time, thanks to the smart idea of using a jar of roasted peppers, shop-bought Thai curry paste and a can of coconut milk. Roasting peppers is a long job, as they have to cool before you peel them, so this is a great time-saving solution. You lose none of the fresh, lightly spiced flavour or creamy texture either.
Prawn laksa
Laksa is a spicy, Malaysian noodle soup, perfect on a chilly day – and when you need a quick lunch if you make clever use of a laksa paste base. It's always worth having a jar in the fridge, as it keeps very well. Thai red curry paste is a good replacement if you can't find it. Most of the other ingredients here are from the store cupboard too. You'll just need some fresh prawns and coriander. You could even use chilli flakes (one teaspoon) instead of the fresh red chilli.
Tomato galette
Bring Mediterranean sunshine into your kitchen with this gorgeous galette. Now that you can buy all-butter shortcrust pastry, you'll never notice the difference between shop-bought and homemade again. It's a great ingredient to have in your freezer. This is free-form too, so there's no lining of tins or blind-baking. The filling is a delicious mix of courgettes, cheese, onion, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Quick dan dan noodles
Create a favourite takeaway noodle dish in no time, with just a few ingredients. The trick is to fry sausage meat with Chinese five-spice powder until crisp, then make a chilli oil-based sauce, to emulate the traditional Sichuan peppercorn-spiced pork flavour and texture. As a bonus, use straight-to-wok udon noodles for an easy midweek meal.
Caesar salad
You may have been buying Caesar salad dressing for ages, given that the traditional recipe is made by hand, and involves some time to slowly whisk in the ingredients. Not any more! Our classic dressing is made in a food processor and is ready in five minutes. It's way better than anything you would buy, and the whole dish takes just 20 minutes to prepare and assemble.
Coconut fish curry
With just a few ingredients, this warming fish curry is easy to pull together. The preparation is made even quicker by ready-made garlic paste and ginger paste. They come in tubes or jars, and keep well in the fridge. So farewell to grating fresh ginger and crushing garlic – we bet these will be on your shopping list from now on.
Mediterranean roasted halloumi with basil
Everyone loves a traybake: there's so much less washing up. And this recipe is made even quicker as you'll use your food processor to make the sauce – no chopping required. Put potato halves and sliced peppers into the roasting tray; whizz up basil, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil until coarsely chopped; then toss into the veg and bake. After 20 minutes, add tomatoes and halloumi (or feta, if you prefer).
Get the recipe for Mediterranean roasted halloumi with basil here
Easy chicken biryani
A traditional biryani is a labour of love. The chicken needs to be marinated, the rice soaked then par-cooked, and it's all steamed in a clay pot with a dough seal. Without sacrificing the flavours, try these shortcuts. Soak the rice in warm water to speed up the cooking time, and cut the chicken into small chunks to cook more quickly. The recipe uses store-bought crispy fried onions too, so it all takes just 45 minutes to prepare and cook.
Thai-spiced fish cakes
There's no hunting around for lots of different ingredients for these aromatic fish cakes. White fish is pulsed in the food processor with grated ginger and garlic (you could use shop-bought pastes), plus chilli, coriander, fish sauce and an egg. They're formed into patties, dusted with flour and shallow-fried. Serve with a big crunchy salad, or they make a lovely starter on their own with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Pesto
Purists will say that pesto has to be made by hand, in a mortar and pestle. But you can easily make it in a food processor, using the pulse button so that the basil doesn't get overheated and bruised. You'll still have that wonderful aroma and taste of fresh pesto, with just a few ingredients. It freezes perfectly too, so you can have a taste of summer all year long.
Thai beef curry with peanut sauce
There are a couple of great time-savers in this dish. First of all, it uses a shop-bought Thai red curry paste. Then, there's no peanut sauce to make. Simply whizz up the nuts in the food processor until finely chopped, then they go straight into the coconut curry sauce. The recipe also uses thin strips of rump steak, so there's no waiting around for the beef to tenderise either.
Smoked salmon, dill and mustard tart
The classic combination of smoked salmon and dill with a touch of French mustard is a winner here. The recipe – which calls for shop-bought baked shortcrust pastry shells – is for six small tartlets. But you could happily make a large 20cm (8in) tart instead, or buy canapé pastry cases to make an elegant snack.
Get the recipe for smoked salmon, dill and mustard tartlets here
Satay noodle stir-fry
This simple stir-fry is ready in 15 minutes and it's the sauce which is the clever time-saver. Simply mix peanut butter with sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar – it's an instant store cupboard recipe. Add in straight-to-wok udon noodles with green vegetables for a healthy midweek meal.
Lamb and tomato curry
You may think a rich, spicy and tender lamb curry with neck fillet would take an age to cook. Not in this recipe, where it's made in a pressure cooker in just 20 minutes. Pressure cookers are great for making stewed dishes in an instant, so if you have one, give it a go.
Quick braised red cabbage, sausages and apples
Braised usually implies something is slow-cooked but this quick meal is on the table in under an hour – and doesn't skimp on that rich flavour. Thanks to red wine vinegar and dark maple syrup, the red cabbage cooks down fast, and will be glossy and tender in just 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of piquant English or Dijon mustard to cut through the hearty sausages, earthy apples and rich cabbage.
Get the recipe for braised red cabbage, sausages and apples here
Dan dan noodle soup
Sichuan chilli bean paste, crushed yellow bean sauce (or miso paste) and crunchy peanut butter are the star ingredients to making the broth in this noodle soup taste like it's been simmering for hours. In reality, it's ready in around five minutes and the whole dish is on the table in 15 minutes.
Traybake spaghetti
An easy pasta supper with five minutes of prep and minimal washing up? Yes please! Everything – spaghetti, onion, garlic, passata, chicken stock, tomato purée and chunks of sausage meat – goes into a tray uncooked. Then 30 minutes in the oven later, dinner is served.
Char siu pork with pak choy
Traditional char siu pork typically takes quite some time to marinate and roast. But this copycat stir-fry is ready in less than 30 minutes. It uses the same spices and flavours (happily involving lots of store cupboard ingredients), but the meat is stir-fried in a wok instead of roasted. The easy shortcut tastes just as good as the original.
Ploughman's toastie
How do you take a cheese toastie to the next level without a sandwich toaster? Easy! Sourdough bread slices are filled with Parma Ham, grated cheese, chutney, apple and spinach in this mouthwatering recipe. The clever time-saver is to fry it in a pan, with another heavy pan on top, to ensure a gorgeous crisp outside and gooey melting middle. It's ready in four minutes with no sandwich toaster to scrub clean afterwards.
Banana and chocolate ice cream
Frozen bananas blended with cocoa powder and chocolate almond milk makes an instant, healthy ice cream. Garnish with your favourite toppings and eat immediately before it melts. You could use dairy chocolate milk if you don't need it to be vegan.
Twelve-minute tiramisù
Classic tiramisù, made with eggs and mascarpone, usually needs a long time sitting in the fridge to set. But this quick version uses instant coffee granules, pillowy whipped cream and shop-bought sponge fingers to save time.
Chocolate orange mug cake
Mug cakes are a shortcut to something sweet anyway, but this recipe also makes use of two clever ingredients for maximum flavour. Marmalade adds a pleasing sweet-bitter hit of orange and chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella) adds a rich, chocolatey note.
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