5 Quick Spring Dinners Ready In 40 Minutes or Less

Transform weeknight dinners from drab to fab, with fresh meals that are anything but ordinary.

By Laura Jeha

Updated May 24, 2026

A salad with avocado, tuna, tomatoes on a blue plate on a blue table.

(Recipes by Irene Ngo; Produced by Stephanie Han Kim, Sun Ngo and Aimee Nishitoba;

Monday: Tuna Cobb Salad

Ready in: 15 min
Serves: 4
No-cook dinner? Yes please! Since this recipe calls for canned tuna, you can have dinner on the table in record time without even turning on the stove. Get this tuna cobb salad recipe.

Tuesday: Saucy Beef Tacos

Saucy Beef Tacos; hard-shell tacos made with garlic, onion, lean ground beef, taco seasoning, tomato paste, in a red gingham paper French fries basket on a wood cutting board next to lime slices and a lagerita cocktail made with tequila and beer and lime juice for a post on an easy saucy beef tacos recipe and an easy lager and tequila lagerita cocktail recipe

Photo, Sian Richards.

Ready in: 20 min
Serves: 4
Rock taco Tuesday with these quick and easy beef tacos. Lay out toppings like pico de gallo and grated mozzarella and let everyone build their own. Get this beef tacos recipe.

Wednesday: Sugar Snap Pea And Asparagus Pasta

Sugar snap pea and asparagus pasta on a white dinner plate with a fork.

Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Ready in: 30 min
Serves: 4
Fresh asparagus and peas are added to the pasta during the last few minutes of cooking, making this spring meal a dead simple one-pot wonder. Get this pea and asparagus pasta recipe.

Thursday: Roasted Halibut With Rhubarb-Bacon Jam

A serving of white fish topped with a rhubarb and bacon jam, resting on green asparagus and served on a white plate with wavy edges

Photo, Erik Putz.

Ready in: 30 min
Serves: 4
Versatile rhubarb takes on a savoury incarnation when paired with bacon and roasted asparagus (so don’t be intimidated by the jam). Get this roasted halibut recipe.

Friday: BBQ Chicken Pizza

A BBQ chicken pizza topped with chicken, red onion and parsley on a sheet pan

Photo, Michael Alberstat.

Ready in: 40 min
Serves: 4
Make your own pizza dough or save time by using store-bought. Any way you slice it, this BBQ chicken pizza will win over the whole table. Get this BBQ chicken pizza recipe.

Dessert: Spiced Nut Sundaes

A spiced nut sundae covered with caramel and chocolate sauce

Ready in: 20 min
Serves: 8
Basic vanilla ice cream gets an upgrade with caramel, chocolate sauce and spicy-sweet toasted peanuts. A great low-key dessert for any night of the week. (Have leftover caramel sauce? Try adding it into no-churn ice cream, or swirling it into brownies). Get this spiced nut sundae recipe.