34 Five-Ingredient Meals For Easy Family Dinners (2024)

You’ll only need five everyday ingredients to turn out these tasty meals. From the perfect roast chicken to light salads and hearty curries, these meals are sure to be loved by kids and adults alike.

Life is hard enough some times it’s handy to be able to at least make dinner simpler. These great recipes can be easily created with a few of your pantry staples and around five ingredients you can pick up on the way home. No need for a big shop or a whole host of ingredients. We have 5-ingredient recipes to make in your slow cooker, healthy recipes, chicken recipes and recipes that only take 30 minutes.

With everything from quick pastas and fragrant curries, slow-cooked lamb wraps, tacos, pulled pork rolls and casseroles you’ll never run out of new meal ideas.

Looking for more five-ingredient chicken dinners and a five-ingredient dessert to follow?

Pantry staples

Keeping these in your pantry means you have the basis of an easy meal, with only a few extra ingredients needed to transform these staples into a delicious dish.

1 Canned foods

Must-haves are canned fish, beans, lentils, coconut milk/cream and tomatoes, all of which are used in

a variety of cooking styles.

2 Vinegars and oils

Whether you have two or 10 different kinds in your pantry, they add flavour to meals. Cook with them, make dressings for salads or drizzle over your food.

3 Nuts and seeds

Nutrient-dense, these are great for vegetarians and add texture and flavour to dishes. Freeze in bags for long-term storage.

4 Pasta, rice, grains and beans

Wheat and egg pastas come in many shapes and sizes. Stock up on coloured rices and ready-cooked sachets, as well as dried beans, lentils, quinoa and barley, which are rich in protein.

5 Spices and seasonings

Add spices to breathe life into sweet or savoury recipes, for flavour, colour and complexity.

Fridge staples

Less is more when it comes to fridge supplies. Rather than crowding your fridge, use our suggestions here for meal building, which will allow you more room for perishable foods.

1 Vegetables

Cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin and robust lettuce last well. Store avocados and tomatoes in a fruit bowl. Celery, fennel, carrots, chillies and alliums, such as leeks, are the ideal flavour base for casseroles and stews.

2 Herbs and spices

Buy ginger and lemongrass, and woody herbs like rosemary and thyme for longevity.

3 Cured meat and fish

Pancetta, prosciutto, salami and chorizo are handy for pastas, or crisped for salads, as are smoked salmon and ocean trout.

4 Sauces and condiments

Chilli sauces, miso (white and red), red curry paste, tahini, soy sauces, indian spice pastes and mustards are the basis for marinades, dressings, curries and stir-fries. Olives and capers give piquancy.

5 Citrus

Lemons, limes, oranges and mandarins can all be used for their rind, flesh and juice to add freshness. Makrut lime leaves give a fragrant touch and add a flavour boost.

6 Dairy

Rotate cheddar, bocconcini, haloumi, goat’s cheese and blue cheese for umami flavour and oomph. Fetta in oil provides cheese, plus oil for dressings. Yoghurt is another essential.

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White bean, avocado and capsicum salad

White bean, avocado and capsicum salad

This 5-ingredient salad is full of protein-rich white beans. Finished with a simple red wine vinegar dressing, it’s not only easy, it’s also delicious and budget-friendly too.

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Salmon and quinoa salad

Salmon and quinoa salad

Enjoy this deliciously fresh salmon and quinoa salad for lunch or dinner any night of the week.

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Grilled haloumi, white nectarine & kohlrabi salad

This grilled haloumi salad recipe is a wonderful balance of salty haloumi, sweet nectarine and crisp kohlrabi for a delicious side salad or light lunch.

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Lamb cutlets with dukkah

Lamb cutlets with dukkah

Deliciously tender and flavoursome – these lamb cutlets with dukkah are the perfect addition to your next gathering or family BBQ! A dish everyone will love!

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Red curry coconut chicken with sweet potato

Red curry coconut chicken with sweet potato

Roast your chicken and sweet potatoes with red curry paste and coconut milk for an interesting twist on roast chicken and potatoes.

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Honey soy lamb chops

Honey soy lamb chops

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Char siu pork ribs

Char siu pork ribs

Serve ribs with steamed rice and stir-fried asian greens. Ask the butcher to cut the rib racks into pieces that will fit your slow cooker.

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Corn & buttermilk fritters

Corn and buttermilk fritters

These tangy corn fritters are delicious served crisp and warm from the frying pan with roasted tomatoes.

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Sweet potato bubble and squeak

Sweet potato bubble and squeak

This old favourite has been revamped using sweet potato as the star. Served with poached eggs and fetta, it’s a must-have for your next brunch menu

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Mushroom and blue cheese soufflé omelette

Mushroom and blue cheese soufflé omelette

This fluffy soufflé omelette gets its airy lift from beaten egg whites.

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Chilli, spinach and fetta baked eggs

Chilli, spinach and fetta baked eggs

Chilli, spinach and fetta make delicious baked eggs even better for a tasty bread-free breakfast meal.

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Hoisin pork bun

We’ve made things incredibly simple. With only five ingredients and your trusty slow cooker you can create these tasty hoisin pork buns.

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Five ingredient beef tacos

Five ingredient beef tacos

With only five simple ingredients and the use of a slow cooker you can create these tasty tacos with little effort. Minimum effort for max reward.

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Slow-cooked lamb wraps

Slow-cooked lamb wraps

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Five ingredient beef tacos slow cooker

Five ingredient beef tacos

With only five simple ingredients and the use of a slow cooker you can create these tasty tacos with little effort. Minimum effort for max reward.

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Pulled salmon tortillas recipe with red cabbage slaw

Pulled salmon tortillas with red cabbage slaw

Succulent baked salmon fillet with fresh flavours of coriander and a red cabbage slaw creates a lighter twist on classic soft tacos.

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Pork skewers with sriracha aioli

Pork skewers with sriracha aioli

Spicy sriracha swirled through aioli give these tasty pork skewers an added hot kick

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Balsamic tomato and mushroom chicken

Balsamic tomato and mushroom chicken

With the freshness of tomato, earthyness of mushrooms salty fetta and tart balsamic this chicken casserole is full of flavour and ready in no time.

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Ginger beer pulled pork rolls

Ginger beer pulled pork rolls

You might have tried pulled pork, but have you tried ginger beer pulled pork? This slow-cooked recipe uses the spicy soft drink for an added zing

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Nan’s lemon chicken

Nan’s lemon chicken

This chicken drumstick, potato and rosemary bake immersed in lemon juices brings a nostalgic feeling to the table. Don’t forget a splash of white wine

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Lemon Chicken Casserole

Lemon Chicken Casserole

Serve this delicious saucy dish with flavourful rice and a crisp green salad.

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Vietnamese meatball and lettuce wrap

Vietnamese meatball and lettuce wrap

Vietnamese banh mi flavours meets san choy bau. The juicy beef combined with pickled carrot and coriander makes for a flavoursome low carb meal.

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Grilled chicken with barley pilaf

This low-GI grilled chicken with barley pilaf will satisfy everyone from the health conscious, to the just plain hungry. It is full of flavour and goodness, and perfect for a midweek family meal.

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Corned beef and red cabbage sandwich

Corned beef and red cabbage sandwich

Corned beef and red cabbage is a classic combo that gives your midweek sandwiches a deluxe touch with this spin on the slow-cooker favourite.

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Tom yum fried rice with prawns

Tom yum fried rice with prawns

With a well-stocked pantry, you’ll only need to grab five ingredients for the easiest seafood dinner ever!

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Chicken and mushroom pizzas

Chicken and mushroom pizzas

Grab yourself a few bases, a barbecue chicken and some pizza cheese on the way home to create these tasty chicken and mushroom pizzas for dinner.

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deep-pan pepperoni pizza

Deep-pan pepperoni pizza

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buffalo chicken wings

Buffalo chicken wings

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Smoky and delicious baked chorizo and chickpea stew

Smoky and delicious baked chorizo and chickpea stew

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Green olive and lemon chicken

Green olive and lemon chicken

Green olive and lemon makes for a tender and tasty roast chicken. You can use natural string to tie the legs in place of small steel skewers.

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Pasta wintervera

Pasta wintervera

Create this fresh and easy winter pasta in 30 minutes with only a few simple ingredients for a delicious meal when you’re short on time or energy.

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Chicken tikka with cucumber-mint raita

Chicken tikka with cucumber-mint raita

A quick version of the popular starter in many Indian restaurants, we use ready-made tikka paste.

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Chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes

Chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes

A jar of premade pesto, pasta and a barbecue chicken come together for this simple midweek dinner that can be thrown together in no time at all.

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Persian bread with fetta & honey

From our “Five-ingredients” cookbook this simple persian bread with fetta and honey uses only 5 ingredients an a few pantry staples to create.

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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