18 Quick Five Minute Meals

Here are 18 quick five minute family meals perfect for lazy dinners! These meals take just 5 minutes of prep time (and occasionally some oven time), and every single one has been tested for quality by our kids.

We’ve all been there – a hectic day, kids crying, and it’s you’re just too tired to make dinner.  (But of course, this never happens to you!).

Luckily, because we’ve been there, we’ve developed a list of “lazy dinners” (aka quick five minute meals) you can have on hand for those days.  They’re especially perfect when you’ve run out of  Make-Ahead Freezer Meals and haven’t had a chance to put any more together.

We do monthly meal planning in our home, and we make sure plan one of these meals each week.  That way, if a day happens to be busy, we can switch things around but we know we’ll have the ingredients on-hand.  These quick five minute meals are also all frugal enough to stick to your $42 weekly grocery budget.

If you’re looking for more ideas than these quick five minute meals, check out these great cookbooks on Amazon and these 15 Tips for Parents of Fussy Eaters.

Quick Five Minute Meals

These quick five minute meals take just 5 minutes of prep time (and occasionally some oven time), and every single one has been tested for quality by our kids the most renowned and difficult-to-please eaters in the field!

And if your kids like making their own food, then they’ll love these Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board Ideas!

Pigs In a Blanket

• One package Lil Smokies
• Two packages refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls

Cut each crescent roll in half length-wise, and wrap the strip around a Lil’ Smoky.  Bake in the oven according to the directions on the crescent rolls package.

Chili Cheese Bread

• Two slices of bread
• Canned chili

Toast two slices of bread in the toaster, and warm up chili in the microwave.  Pour the chili onto the bread and top with grated cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and whatever else sounds good.  (This is a lazy version of Navajo Tacos.)

Nachos

• Bag of tortilla chips
• Can of refried beans
• Grated cheese

Pile tortilla chips on the plate.  Scoop on refried beans and sprinkle on cheese.  Heat in microwave until cheese is melted.

Taco Salad – Quick Five Meal

• Bag of Fritos corn chips
• Can of kidney beans
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Ranch dressing

Pile the Fritos on your plate.  Layer with kidney beans, cheese, lettuce, and top with ranch dressing.  Simple!

Ham & Cheese Rollups

• One can refrigerated crescent rolls
• Grated cheese
• Ham lunch meat
• Alfredo or cheese sauce

Chop ham into small squares.  Unroll crescent rolls and sprinkle ham and grated cheese onto them.  Roll the crescent rolls and bake according to instructions on the package.  While baking, warm up sauce and use to top completed rolls.

Bagel Pizzas

• Bagel
• Tomato/pasta sauce
• Grated cheese
• Pizza toppings

Slice each bagel in half.  Spread on tomato/pasta sauce and sprinkle grated cheese.  Allow kids to top the pizza with their favorites!  (Pepperoni, ham, etc.)  Tip: you could also do this with English muffins instead of bagels as another simple and quick five minute meal.

Pepperoni Rolls – Quick Five Meal

• Can of refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls
• Sliced pepperoni

Mrs. Crazy lived in West Virginia for a while, which is the home of the pepperoni roll!  While WV has some amazing ways to create these culinary delights, we’re all about easy in our home.  Just roll up slices of pepperoni into the crescent rolls and bake in the oven according to the instructions on package.

Pepperoni Pizza Muffins

• Muffin tin
• Can of refrigerated Pillsbury biscuits
• Pasta/spaghetti sauce
• Grated cheese
• Sliced pepperoni

Get the directions here.

Quesadillas – Quick Five Meal

• Tortilla shells
• Grated cheese
• Canned chicken

Sprinkle grated cheese and canned chicken onto tortilla shells.  You can warm up in the microwave or cook on a frying pan or griddle.  Serve with salsa, avocados, or whatever sounds good!  Sometimes we use refried beans or ham lunch meat instead of the canned chicken.

Egg Toast

• Slice of bread
• Egg
• Slice of cheese
• Slice of lunch meat

Use a cup to take a circle out of the middle of the bread.  Place on a frying pan and crack the egg into the empty circle on the bread.  Fry and then flip over to the other side.  Place cheese and lunch meat over the egg until cooked through.  You can also lightly toast the extra circle and top with butter.

Grilled Cheese

• Two slices of bread
• Cheese
• Egg
• Lunch meat

Put butter on each slice of bread.  Place one slice on a griddle or frying pan (butter side down).  Then place cheese and lunchmeat on bread and fry the egg.  Next place egg on top of cheese, top with other slice (butter side out) and flip over to toast the other side.

Homemade Egg McMuffins

• Egg
• English muffin
• Cheese
• Lunch meat

Toast English muffin in a bagel and fry the egg on a small frying pan.  Then add cheese slice and lunchmeat. It’s a simple and quick five minute meal!

Apple-Cinnamon Breakfast Pizza – Quick Five Meal

• Tortilla
• Peanut butter
• Apple
• Cinnamon

Cut an apple into thin slices.  Next put peanut butter on the tortilla (lightly fried if you’d like), lay out apples, and sprinkle on cinnamon.  If you choose not to fry the tortilla, you can roll it up like a crepe or a wrap.

Italian-Style Loaded Potato

• Potato
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/4 cup marinara sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Italian herb blend

Microwave potato for four minutes (after poking holes into it with a fork).  Then mix cottage cheese, spinach, and marinara sauce together.  Next slice open the cooked potato and stuff with mixture.  Then top with mozzarella cheese and Italian herb blend.  Last, microwave one more minute to heat this quick five minute meal through.

Avocado & Egg Toast

• Slice of bread
• Avocado
• Egg
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh herbs

Toast the bread and slice the avocado.  Fry the egg on a small frying pan.  Place egg and avocado slices on toast, then top with parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.

Chicken Burrito – Quick Five Meal

• Tortillas
• Canned chicken
• Diced avocado
• Grated cheese
• Cilantro

Mix canned chicken, avocado, cheese, and cilantro together.  Spread evenly onto tortillas and roll up.  Fry until golden brown on each side.  Bonus: make a few at once and freeze for later.

Super Sweet Potato

• Sweet potato
• Eggs
• Cilantro
• Avocado
• Salsa
• Greek yogurt.

Microwave sweet potato after poking holes into it.  Scramble eggs.  Slice sweet potato open, scoop out insides, and mix with eggs.  Stuff back into shell and top with the remaining ingredients. It’s a perfect quick and healthy five minute meal!

Oven Baked Tostadas

• Tortillas
• Refried beans
• Cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomato

Bake tortillas (brushed with oil) at 400 degrees for just a couple of minutes on each side (they will continue to crisp as they cool).  Top with refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and any other desired toppings.

Pin These Quick Five Minute Meals!

Think your kids will these quick five minute meals?  Share them on Pinterest! Also check out our Easy 5 Minute Meals webstory.