Our Favorite Dinner Recipes We Make on Repeat

When I started Bake it Write, I swore I’d keep the focus entirely on baking.

Alas, here I am talking about my favorite dinner recipes. But, well, dinner can stop you in your tracks. Trying to think up something new and easy and quick and budget-friendly and crowd-pleasing and healthy-ish and tasty(!), night after night, is…hard!

So, selfishly, I’m hoping this is a bit of a quid pro quo. These are the recipes that enthusiastically show up on our table more often than not. But as I, too, continue to look for more, would you be so kind as to share what your go-tos are?

Bon Appétit!

p.s. In addition to the specific recipes below, we would be lost without the family-friendly cookbook 100 Days of Real Food (these chocolate peanut butter bites are one of my favorite treats from the book) and the compendium of compendiums The 150 Best American Recipes.

Ian’s Meatloaf
We’ve been making this meatloaf since 2010 - often on Sunday nights so there are leftovers to help start off the week. Adding bacon and dried plums to the meat mixture adds a touch of sweetness and lots of moisture.

Messy Meatball Buns
This is a very quick, very messy (read fun!) meal that my 11-year old loves to eat. (Note: We originally got the recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book, 5 Ingredients. The linked recipe is written in metric, but a quick Google search can easily convert the measurements - or, you can check out the book from your library.)

Italian Eggplant Parmesan (Vegetarian, GF)
Eggplant Parmesan sounds delicious but seems complicated. Enter Cookie and Kate’s version. The most time-consuming step of this recipe is baking the sliced eggplant before assembling, but even that is more down time than anything else. The entire dish can be on the table in a quick hour!

Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup (Vegan, GF)
As cliché as it sounds, this recipe is bursting with flavor. It’s also super easy and a total crowd-pleaser. And, it’s my go-to dish when dropping off food at someone’s house. We round out the meal with pitas heated in the toaster oven brushed with olive oil and sea salt.

Creamy Spinach and Cheese Green Chile Enchiladas (Vegetarian)
So much flavor from just 20 minutes of prep time! (fyi – I measure very generously when making this) Note: You could easily add rotisserie chicken, if desired.

Cast Iron Roast Chicken with Crispy Potatoes (GF)
Already fans of cast iron cooking, I would make this recipe on repeat for the schmaltz-crisped potatoes alone. OMG.

Baked Feta Pasta (Vegetarian)
It’s quite possible you already know about this TikTok-famous pasta dish – and I hope that you do! It’s fun to make (just plop a block of feta in a baking dish with cherry tomatoes and lots of garlic) and soooo satisfying to eat.

Skillet Cheesy Chickpeas (Vegetarian, GF)
It’s almost silly how easy this recipe is. Chickpeas…cheese…marinara. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread and you’re good to go.

Fennel-Brown Sugar Pork Ribs (GF)
I would have never thought to put this flavor combo on ribs, but, oh my! Your house will smell incredible, too. As they cook for about 3 hours, this is another great weekend meal. We often make for Sunday Supper with leftovers for lunch the next day (are you noticing a strategy to our Sunday cooking???).
(This is the original Milk Street recipe, if you have a subscription.)

Easy Enchiladas (Vegetarian)
I find this recipe (courtesy of my sister-in-law) to be a classic “bang for your buck” meal. Yes, it calls for mainly canned/packaged ingredients, but when you factor in the ease and resulting flavor, it will quickly work into your dinner rotation, as well.

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I love these recipes, but I know there are lots of other great ones out there. What are your favorite go-to dinners??? Please share in the comments below. 👇 I'm hungry!