These tasty gluten-free dinners can be prepared in under 30 minutes!
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Rather than making meal prep a laborious task every weekend, stick to basic, simple meals that can be prepared in a minimal amount of time. Gluten-free cooking doesn't have to be complicated, and in fact, can be a lot of fun! If you are scrambling to find the time to prepare something to eat for dinner, these dinner ideas can help!
These are the meals that I regularly rotate during my weekly cooking. By focusing on recipes that have minimal ingredients, are easy to prepare, and don't require you to be slaving over my stove, you can enjoy a tasty meal without a lot of time or effort. While I enjoy making more time-intensive recipes like butter chicken and empanadas, but I save those for when I have a few hours I can commit to being in the kitchen. I love to cook, but sometimes I really just want to eat! Anyone else feel this way?
In this post, you will find links to recipes here on the website, and recipes from other food bloggers and resources I recommend. I have also included gluten-free products I use personally and always return to for excellent taste, texture, and quality. There are even a few easy recipes right into the post - like how to make gluten-free aioli sauce!
Let's dive into these delicious gluten-free dinners that are 30 minutes or less!
10 Gluten-Free Dinners In Less Than 30 Minutes
- 10 Gluten-Free Dinners In Less Than 30 Minutes
Gluten-Free Tacos
How can you ever go wrong with TACOS?
All you have to do is prepare your filling. The possibilities for tacos are endless. Try filling tacos with fish, shrimp, chicken, pork, beef, jackfruit, or even chickpeas! The only cooking required for tacos is the protein. After that, it's time to add your toppings. Try shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion, sour cream, cheese, fresh lime juice, cilantro, beans, corn, or whatever floats your taco-filled boat.
For great grain-free taco shells and tortillas, try Siete Foods. I discovered their grain-free products after my second diagnosis of Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. Everything Siete makes is fantastic, and your body won't miss the corn. They use cassava flour and almond flour for their products and they are absolutely amazing! (There's a bag of their Lime Tortilla Chips on our pantry shelf as I type this.)
Taco Recipes To Try
We love using this my homemade taco seasoning over ground turkey or ground beef. I highly recommend serving tacos with a side of Mexican rice, too. And if you don't feel like having tacos, you can always make some loaded nachos, instead!
Gluten-Free Salads
Salads are often thought of as a side dish, but they don't have to be. With a little protein and toppings, a salad can be a complete meal. There are multiple ways to prepare salads and not only do they offer plenty of variety, they can be prepared in less than 30 minutes!
Pick a leafy green base, add a protein, then add any toppings you'd like. If you are bored with your current salads, try changing it up. Use different lettuce. Always using romaine? Try some leafy kale, healthy spinach, or peppery arugula. Look to see what fruits and veggies are in season and create a salad around one of those flavors.
Salad Recipes To Try
My friend Mollie features delicious salads in her weeknight meal rotations on Instagram (as seen above), on Gluten-Free Mollie D, which is my go-to for salad inspiration. She often features a variety of greens with chickpeas or crispy chicken with Aleia's breadcrumbs. I'm also a big fan of this chicken salad!
Gluten-Free Pesto Pasta
Pasta is the meal of most college kids for good reason - it's cheap and the only cooking skills required are boiling water! To get pasta with pesto done in 30 minutes, start making your pesto sauce while you are waiting for the water to boil. That way, the pesto has time to sit and thicken while you finish cooking the pasta.
Pesto Recipes To Try
Pesto originally comes from Genoa, Italy, and is made with basil. My dear friend Heather from BecomeItaly and her fiance Roberto (who is from Genoa!) had excellent tips for pesto making which we learned during this gnocchi dinner party. Get all of Roberto's pesto tips here and check out my spinach pesto recipe for your next pasta night!
Gluten-Free Rice Bowls
Rice bowls are versatile and super easy to throw together with whatever you have in the fridge! And with a rice cooker, this meal is one of those "set it and forget it" dinners. (Does anyone else remember those infomercials from the '90s?)
While your rice is cooking, choose a protein and cook it on the stovetop, and prepare your vegetables. An easy choice is bell peppers and onions, which you can also saute in about 10-15 minutes. Add lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocado, or whatever other toppings you like!
Rice Bowl Recipes To Try
These are the rice bowls we make on a regular basis, which have also come in handy for gluten-free traveling. I also love this cilantro lime rice along side my gluten-free lomo saltado!
Gluten-Free Pizza
Pizza, especially with Zeia Foods gluten-free crusts, cooks in 15 minutes! What's better than having a homemade pizza for dinner?
Whether you prefer a classic Margherita pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil, or you feel like switching it up with some funky toppings, pizza is the perfect way to get creative. You can customize your pizza to include veggies, protein, cheeses, sauces, and plenty of fun flavors.
Pizza Recipes To Try
Butternut squash might not seem like a pizza topping, but trust me, it is. Dylan and I made two different gluten-free butternut squash pizza recipes and they were bonkers. Feel free to make your pizza with whatever your heart desires, but grab some Zeia crusts for crispy texture, great taste, and 15 minute cooking time!
Gluten-Free Pad Thai
Oh Pad Thai, how I love thee.
Pad Thai was my first real exposure to Thai food...in Thailand. Everything I eat pales in comparison to authentic Thai cuisine - except for this dish! After learning the basics in a Thai cooking class, I came home determined to replicate what we had in the land of smiles and have since become obsessed with making pad thai.
Pad Thai Recipes To Try
Here it is -the only gluten-free pad thai recipe you need! Feel free to add tofu or chicken, or just stick to my preferred dish with just egg. It's how I ordered it in Thailand. Get ready for a taste of Asia!
Gluten-Free Sausages & Veggies
Something about throwing everything into one pan makes the dish seem so much easier. And with a sheet pan sausage & veggies meal, that's definitely the case.
With sausages of your choice, cut up some vegetables like potatoes, peppers, squash, carrots, or broccoli. Toss everything onto a sheet pan and season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs, and bake!
Sausage & Veggie Recipes To Try
I found this recipe for a sausage and vegetable bake called "Lazy Sunday Casserole" years ago and it's been a staple in our dinner menu ever since!
Gluten-Free Burgers
Even if you don't have a barbecue at home (we don't), our George Foreman works great, or even a frying pan on the stove! Burgers are easy to prepare and cook in about 10 minutes. Add a side salad, veggies, rice, avocado, or whatever sides you'd like, and you've got a delicious meal.
Burger Recipes To Try
I never follow any burger recipes in particular and prefer to make up my own seasonings for the patties and sauces. Dylan makes his burgers with a mixture of salt, pepper, and dried herbs, and I use this homemade aioli with fries!
Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata never fails to be an amazing, scrumptious meal that comes together quickly. With a side of pasta, rice, or roasted vegetables, I know I can rely on this dish for an easy dinner that won't have me cooking for hours.
Chicken Piccata includes dredging thinly-sliced chicken breasts in flour, pan-frying, then creating a sauce with lemon juice, chicken broth, butter, and olive oil. Simple, satisfying, and with lots of sauce you can pour over your side dishes!
Chicken Piccata Recipes To Try
I adapted Giada's recipe from the Food Network to create my own version of chicken piccata- gluten-free! I also double the amount of sauce. It's so good, you might want to drink it - and I won't judge if you do.
Gluten-Free Breakfast For Dinner
When all else fails and you literally have no idea what to make for an easy dinner - go back to basics with breakfast! Whether it's eggs, egg cup omelets, waffles, pancakes, frittatas, even some sausage, and bacon, or an egg sandwich - keeping it easy and quick with brinner (breakfast for dinner) is always a great idea for a fast dinner.
Recipe Ideas For Breakfast
Egg cups are perfect for breakfast on the go, or you could turn them into a frittata with this recipe, which is my go-to reference for frittatas. Pancakes are fantastic, and these gluten-free lemon ricotta pancakes don't disappoint. For breakfast sandwiches, I have tried to recreate Crave's North Shore sandwich at home, but it doesn't do it justice.
Final Thoughts: Gluten-Free Dinners In Under 30 Minutes
What do you think of this list?
Did you find something to cook for an easy dinner this evening?
I hope these meals help inspire you to cook some tasty and quick meals in the weeks ahead.
If you have any other gluten-free dinners that can be made in under 30 minutes, leave them here in the comments!
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