5-Ingredient Recipes That Make Dinner So Much Easier
Greetings from the lazy cooks' club. Population: everyone who loves homemade food but not long ingredient lists. Our mission? To enjoy a super satisfying meal with just a handful of ingredients.
"It’s about making every ingredient count,” says HexClad Food Director Laura Rege. In these five-ingredient recipes, learn how to make ingredients do double-duty. For example, in the Creamy Coconut-Lime Salmon, chili garlic sauce both seasons the broth and adds a spicy finishing touch at the table. Or, buy one tub of ricotta and a hunk of Parm to use in both the Creamy Kale and Ricotta Pasta and Giant Spinach & Ricotta Calzone.
We assume you have a few basic ingredients like salt, pepper and olive oil, but otherwise, we stuck to five. These dishes are crowd pleasers that take ease and affordability into account. They're perfect for everything from family-friendly dinners to dorm kitchen staples.
1. Cheesy Salsa Rice And Bean Skillet
Everything you love about a burrito bowl is here combined in a one-skillet vegetarian recipe. Toast the grains in your 12” Hybrid Fry Pan to draw out their nutty flavor before boiling them in a salsa-water mixture. Stir in pinto or black beans, shower the dish with cheese, and broil for a satisfyingly crispy top. Served with avocado, the result is shockingly easy and affordable. Pro tip: Turn it into brunch with fried eggs on top.
Get the recipe for Cheesy Salsa Rice and Bean Skillet.
This recipe epitomizes the promises of one-pan dinners that are rich in flavor and short on ingredients. Begin by searing the salmon (check out our tips for cooking fish), then make a spicy coconut broth to complete this simple, delicious dinner. Stretch the meal further by ladling the broth over vermicelli rice noodles or steamed rice and topping with the salmon. No basil at home? Substitute thinly sliced scallion greens or cilantro leaves.
Get the recipe for Creamy Coconut-Lime Salmon.
3. Creamy Kale And Ricotta Pasta
Take a hike, basil. The key to this rich pesto is to first quickly blanch the kale to transform it into the mellow, gorgeously green base of the classic Italian sauce. It perfectly coats fusilli, whose corkscrew shape allows the sauce to cling to its curves. (Other good shapes to substitute include penne, gemelli, cavatappi or cavatelli). Add a ricotta-Parmesan dollop and you’ve got a restaurant-worthy meal.
Get the recipe for Creamy Kale and Ricotta Pasta.
4. Roasted Pepper & Potato Tortilla Española
If a vacation to San Sebastián to indulge that Tortilla Española craving isn't on the books, try this twist on the classic Spanish omelet. It features sautéed slices of potato and onion with roasted red peppers in a custardy egg base. Top each piece with a generous dollop of chipotle mayo, or do as the Spanish do and serve it with a garlicky aioli.
Get the recipe for Roasted Pepper & Potato Tortilla Española.
5. Giant Spinach & Ricotta Calzone
Any recipe that includes the word "giant" is bound to be fun: This homemade calzone is no exception. Buy a pound of store-bought pizza dough (or make your own) and fill it with a ricotta, Parmesan and spinach mixture before baking it on your HexClad Hybrid Pizza Steel. (If you don’t have one, your Small Roasting Pan works, too). Don’t mind going beyond the five-ingredient limit? Consider folding in sautéed sliced mushrooms or caramelized mushrooms.
Get the recipe for Giant Spinach & Ricotta Calzone.
We're starting to wonder why we'd ever need more than five ingredients for a mouthwatering meal!
