These 5-ingredient dinner recipes prove you don’t need a long shopping list to eat well. Each meal below uses just five core ingredients (pantry basics like oil, salt and pepper aside) and comes together fast on a busy night. Short on one ingredient? DinnerForToday will adapt any of these around what you actually have.
Throw everything on one tray and let the oven do the work.
Ingredients 6 sausages 2 bell peppers, chunked 1 red onion, wedged 2 potatoes, cubed 2 tbsp olive oil Method 1 Toss everything on a baking tray with the oil, salt and pepper. 2 Roast at 200°C for 30–35 minutes, turning once. 3 Serve straight from the tray. A restaurant-style pasta from five ingredients in 20 minutes.
Ingredients 250g spaghetti 250g shrimp 4 tbsp butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 lemon Method 1 Cook the spaghetti; reserve some pasta water. 2 Melt the butter and cook the garlic 1 minute. 3 Add the shrimp and cook 3 minutes until pink. 4 Toss with the pasta, lemon juice and a splash of pasta water; season and serve. Three minutes of prep, then the oven handles dinner.
Ingredients 4 chicken breasts 1/2 cup pesto 2 tomatoes, sliced 1 cup grated mozzarella 1 tbsp olive oil Method 1 Place the chicken in an oiled dish and spread with pesto. 2 Top with tomato slices and mozzarella. 3 Bake at 200°C for 25 minutes until cooked through and golden. A vegetarian comfort bake with five everyday ingredients.
Ingredients 500g gnocchi 1 jar tomato pasta sauce 1 cup grated mozzarella 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp olive oil Method 1 Warm the garlic in the oil, then stir in the sauce and gnocchi (no need to pre-boil). 2 Simmer 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking dish. 3 Top with mozzarella and bake at 200°C for 18 minutes until bubbling. A glossy, sweet-savoury salmon ready before the rice finishes cooking.
Ingredients 2 salmon fillets 3 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp oil Method 1 Whisk the soy sauce, honey and garlic. 2 Sear the salmon in the oil, skin-side down, for 4 minutes. 3 Flip, pour over the sauce and cook 3–4 minutes, spooning the glaze over. 4 Serve with rice or steamed greens. Add what’s already in your fridge and DinnerForToday’s AI builds the perfect recipe around it in seconds.
