25 Quick Dinner Ideas for the Week Before Christmas: Pasta, Soups and Stir-Fries

A blend of cheeses melted into white wine with garlic and a little nutmeg, and you’ve got a party dinner in no time. The one secret: never let it boil, or the whole thing separates on you!

Linguine coated in eggs and Parmesan with golden, crispy guanciale. No cream here, the sauce comes together with the pasta cooking water. Grate the Parmesan right before using it, it changes everything!

Pork chops seared in a pan and covered in a creamy mushroom sauce with thyme and white wine. Whatever you do, don’t overcook them or they turn to rubber. Pure comfort, in the oven or on the stove!

Beef and pork meatballs flavored with five-spice and nutmeg in a creamy sour cream and thyme sauce. There’s plenty of sauce to spoon over potatoes, noodles or whatever side you pick!

A creamy risotto with several kinds of mushrooms, white wine and thyme, plus a splash of wheat beer halfway through. Slice the mushrooms the day before and keep your broth hot on the side, and it practically makes itself.

A Thai chicken coconut soup that’s creamy, spicy and tangy all at once. The chicken is rubbed with red curry paste and roasted before it goes into the broth with ginger and lime. A trip around the world in a bowl!

A pork tenderloin rubbed with brown sugar, smoked paprika and spices, cooked in the air fryer until it’s still pink and juicy. Let it rest under foil before slicing. A quick dinner, guaranteed!

Whole cherry tomatoes roasting in the oven around a block of garlic and herb cream cheese. Mash it all together, toss in the pasta with a little cooking water, and your creamy sauce is ready!

Cod patted very dry and seared in butter until it gets a golden crust, no touching allowed. You finish with a butter, lemon and caper sauce made in the same pan. Fancy-looking and fast to pull off!

Strip loin steak coated in cornstarch, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic and ginger in a soy and brown sugar sauce with ramen noodles. It all happens in a single pan, and it’s on the table before you know it!

Pasta in a creamy Alfredo sauce with garlic, white wine and lemon zest, topped with shrimp pan-seared in lemon juice. Take the shrimp off the heat as soon as they turn pink so they stay juicy!

An all-in-one dish where orzo bakes with Italian sausage, artichokes, cherry tomatoes and spinach around a whole block of herbed cream cheese. Stir it together and it turns creamy as can be!

Penne in a creamy tomato sauce with well-browned Italian sausage, white wine and a Parmesan rind simmering right in the pot. The comforting dinner that also makes really good lunches!

Wide rice noodles stir-fried in a wok with chicken, broccoli rabe, mushrooms and eggs, then caramelized in the sauce. Use boneless chicken thighs, they stay juicier than breasts and hold up better in the wok.

A creamy soup with Italian sausage, tomatoes, gnocchi and spinach, deglazed with a light beer. The gnocchi cook right in the broth just before serving, with spinach wilted in at the end. Comfort in a bowl!

Shrimp seared with a spice mix of smoked paprika, cumin and garlic, served in tortillas with sauce, avocado, feta, red onion and cilantro. Ready in a flash, and you never get tired of tacos!

Fried rice with chicken cubes, carrots, celery, mushrooms and snow peas, tossed over max heat with eggs. Use cold rice from the day before or from leftovers, it separates better and gets crispier!

Chicken stir-fried over high heat with a bag of frozen Asian vegetables and ramen noodles in a soy, hoisin and maple sauce. Wait until the oil is really smoking before you start. Express dinner for rushed nights!

Salmon coated in a paste of brown sugar, paprika and salted herbs that caramelizes in the oven. Pat it very dry first, that’s what gives you the crust. It also works in the air fryer for rushed nights!

A comforting soup with smoked ham, white beans, celery and carrots, with Parmesan stirred into the broth. Mash some of the beans with a potato masher to thicken it without cream. Even better the next day!

Strips of ribeye seared in small batches, a sour cream, Dijon and thyme sauce, and egg noodles stirred right into the pan. The garlic goes in with the mushrooms from the start, and it doesn’t burn!

The soup that takes you right back to childhood: egg noodles, shredded chicken, carrots and celery that caramelize a little at the start. A broth scented with thyme and rosemary, with buttered toast on the side!

Cheese tortellini cooked right in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms and white wine. Brown the mushrooms well at the start, that’s where the sauce gets all its depth!

Cornstarch-coated tofu cubes that crisp up in the air fryer, then tossed in a sticky ginger sauce. Press the tofu well before cooking, and work in two batches if the basket is full. It really does get crispy!

Chicken breasts brushed with an olive oil and spice paste, cooked in the air fryer until juicy. Let them rest before slicing so every bite stays tender. A weeknight dinner done in a flash!