“Minimal Effort, Maximum Taste”: 25 Easy Meals For Lazy Days

We’ve all been there—you get home after a long day, and the last thing you want to do is cook. But before you reach for that overpriced takeout menu, Reddit has some ideas for you. Someone asked, “What are your go-to dishes for ‘too tired to cook’ night?”, and Redditors came through with their best lazy yet satisfying meal ideas.

#1

Image source: ra14lysa

Frozen vegetables is the ultimate shortcut in cooking.

I have been dealing with depression for a long long time in my life. Sometimes I wouldn’t think about feeding myself for weeks. But, this one thing has changed things momentarily.

Don’t get me wrong. All those microwavable meals and instant ramens are always in my pantry. But there is one thing that really helped me to break my depressive routine. I could so easily cook meals and prepare a main dish without thinking more. I don’t have to make sure that the vegetables haven’t gone bad by sitting in the fridge for too long. I don’t have to think about if I can use the whole head of cauliflower before it goes bad. I don’t have to think about chopping the vegetables. And I don’t have to think about dealing with the rotting remains of the vegetables.

I just want to highlight something that has really worked out wonders for me. Hope some of you can benefit from it.

Love to all.

#2

Image source: weensucks, Melissa Walker Horn / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Snack dinner. Salami, cheese, crackers, olives, nuts, glass of wine. I’m happy.

#3

Image source: estergin, Raphael Nogueira / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Bagged Caesar salad and grocery store rotisserie chicken.

#4

Image source: Kesarin

Egg roll in a bowl – ground meat of your choice, and a bag of two of coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix, sautéed with some soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and a splash of sriracha. Good stuff, and takes like no time.

#5

Image source: anon, Patrycja Jadach / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Pesto pasta.

Pesto, penne, cheese. Boil pasta, drain and add cheese and pesto. Love it.

#6

Image source: figgypudding531, Kate Trifo / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Meals that I freeze when I’m not too tired to cook for exactly that purpose.

#7

Image source: gscrap, Nerfee Mirandilla / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Pasta with jar sauce.

#8

Image source: shmargus, Dragne Marius / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Beans and rice. The added bonus is it means I know I won’t have to worry about tomorrow’s lunch either which is comforting on those kind of nights.

#9

Image source: BainbridgeBorn, Mikey Frost / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Costco has like a 5 lbs. bag of gyoza that take like 10 minutes to make and very little effort. Eat with a side salad, EZ meal.

edit: here’s my not so secret anymore dipping sauce recipe, a couple bits of bacon microwaved for 10 seconds, combined with dark soy sauce, normal soy sauce, hot sauce, and a couple drops of rice wine vinegar. It’s very meaty and savory.

#10

Image source: iamalwaysrelevant, Aibek Skakov / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Instant ramen with an egg thrown in and chopped romaine lettuce.

#11

Image source: Padildo33, Cansu Hangül / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Pita pizza— pita bread, tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella. Bake til crispy like a thin crust pizza!

#12

Image source: moviesandcats, Melissa Walker Horn / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Breakfast for dinner, and there’s a good variety for that.

Soup and PB&J sandwiches.

I also keep several (homemade in advance) containers of pasta sauce in the freezer. All I need to do is heat up the sauce and make whatever pasta and dinner is done.

My husband’s favorite ‘meal’ as a kid was mac and cheese and baked beans. So, sometimes we do that. (yeah, I know, but he loves it and I don’t mind)

And when all else fails, Chinese or Mexican food.

#13

Image source: Platinumkate, Patrycja Jadach / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Two fried eggs on toast. If I can muster up the energy to dig thru the freezer, I toss some tater tots in the pan too.

#14

Image source: Oh_No_Its_Dudder, Amin / Wikimedia (not the actual photo)

Frozen pizza, just slap that bad boy in the oven, hop in the shower and it’s done soon after you are.

#15

Image source: angelicism, adrian vieriu / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Some sort of pasta aglio olio. So much better than the sum of its parts and the most tedious part is waiting for the water to boil.

#16

Image source: Phydoux, Deena Englard / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Cereal. No cooking involved and it’s ready within 2 minutes depending on how fast you get the bowl, spoon, milk and cereal of choice all together.

Honeycombs! Dinners done!

#17

Image source: PrateTrain, Brett Jordan / Unspalsh (not the actual photo)

D**n guys, I just throw frozen chicken nuggets and fries in the oven for 20 minutes. That or a frozen pizza.

#18

Image source: eva_rector, Alexandru Acea / Unspalsh (not the actual photo)

We don’t have central a/c, so in the summer time, it’s anything that won’t heat up the kitchen. Breakfast, pork bowls, sandwiches, oatmeal and fruit, etc.

#19

Image source: MikeLemon, Fernando Andrade / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Tacos.

#20

Image source: RosaSimon98, Lenin and McCarthy / Wikipedia (not the actual photo)

Microwave a hot pocket (bacon egg and cheese) for 2 minutes. Go sit on the couch. Forget about the hot pocket in the microwave. Go to bed hungry 4 hours later. Wake up. Open the microwave to heat up yesterday’s coffee. See hot pocket. Scoot it over and put coffee next to it. Heat both up. Cry. Go to work.

#21

Image source: punkolina

Avocado toast made with naan and avocado mash. Or grilled cheese and tomato soup.

#22

Image source: ttrockwood, Cup of Couple / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Everything In The Fridge Salad + canned chickpeas

I always have veggies around, and a can of beans somewhere. Leftover roasted veg or whatever i made last night goes in too

Or- microwave baked potato + canned black beans + salsa, and avocado if it’s around.

#23

Image source: dot5621, pedro furtado / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Butter noodles.

#24

Image source: lookssharp, kweez mcG / Wikipedia (not the actual photo)

Tuna melt. Whip up some tuna, I always keep caramelized onions on deck. slice of cheese, on the panini press. Takes maybe 5-7 minutes.

#25

Image source: southerncalifornian, Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

I’ll make a jazzed up ramen; often times it’s just ramen with some leftover chicken and some fancy garlic oil I keep in the cabinet and a soft boiled egg. Other times, I’ll chuck some garlic in the oven to roast, pour myself a drink, and then add that to the concoction. You can level up depending on how fancy/tired you’re feeling. Want some scallions cut on a bias? Go for it! You got furikake laying around? Hell yeah!

Other times, I eat a can of tuna over the sink with some cajun seasoning and a glass of wine.