AFTER SIX · ASK THE KITCHEN

Easy dinner ideas for tonight

When it's 6pm and nobody has a plan, you don't need inspiration — you need simple dinner recipes that work first time. Every After Six recipe gives exact amounts in every step, so easy recipes for beginners actually stay easy.

Easy meals for tonight — ready in 30 minutes or less

Real dishes from the After Six kitchen, all rated Easy:

• Spaghetti Aglio e Olio15 min · Serves 2 · EasyGarlic, oil, chilli, pasta. Five ingredients, fifteen minutes, and a lesson in how good restraint can taste.
• Chicken Stir-Fry25 min · Serves 4 · EasyFast, fresh and endlessly adaptable. Get everything chopped first and it's done in the time rice takes to cook.
• Shakshuka30 min · Serves 4 · EasyEggs poached in a smoky pepper-and-tomato sauce. One pan, plenty of bread, ready before you've laid the table.
• Penne all'Arrabbiata25 min · Serves 4 · EasyThe angry one — garlic, chilli and tomatoes with nothing to hide behind.
• Prawn, Chilli & Lemon Linguine20 min · Serves 2 · EasyDate-night pasta in 20 minutes — sweet prawns, heat, and a lift of lemon.
• Honey-Soy Air Fryer Salmon15 min · Serves 2 · EasyGlazed, sticky salmon in under 15 minutes — barely a recipe, always a win.
• Greek Salad15 min · Serves 4 · EasyJust-ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumber and a slab of feta under good oil and oregano. Summer on a plate.
• Tomato & Mascarpone Penne25 min · Serves 4 · EasyThe creamy tomato pasta everyone secretly wants — grown-up enough, kid-approved always.

What should I cook tonight? Ask.

If choosing is the hard part, that's the assistant's job: tell Ask the Kitchen what you fancy — quick, healthy, vegetarian, whatever's in the fridge — and it narrows 200+ dishes down to tonight's answer.

More guides: recipe ideas from your ingredients · easy dinner ideas · quick family meals · AI meal planner · dinner for two