11 top cooks share their go-to dinners for when they can’t be bothered

Getting dinner on the table can feel like a struggle, especially on those evenings when you can't muster the energy to chop or stand over the hob. And it's not just home cooks who experience this – even professional cooks and food writers come up against this routine challenge. To give you a bit of inspiration for those 'cannot be bothered' days, we asked them what their go-to meal is. Their answers, shared below, feature everyday kitchen staples, enhanced with easy flourishes – from grilled beans scattered with stilton to fudgy boiled eggs on sourdough, or crab pasta with garlic and parsley. Scroll on to discover tonight's dinner inspiration.

1. BOSH's Henry Firth & Ian Theasby: pesto pasta with crispy tofu

Henry Firth and Ian Theasby are plant-based pioneers and the founders of BOSH

When we’re short on time and fancy something tasty, we make pesto pasta with crispy tofu. Blitz a big bunch of basil with lemon juice, pine nuts, garlic, high-polyphenol olive oil, plenty of nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt, then toss through high-quality linguine or spaghetti – the rougher the texture, the better it catches the sauce. For the topping, grate a block of firm tofu, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast, then roast at 210°C for 25 minutes until golden and crisp. Twist the pasta into bowls, top with the tofu, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves. Delicious!

2. Maunika Gowardhan: big beans on toast with blue cheese

Maunika Gowardhan is a UK-based chef, food writer and bestselling author

Baked beans topped with blue cheese has always been my favourite. I like to put the tinned beans in a baking dish, scatter over the blue cheese (gorgonzola or stilton is good) and grill. Once it’s melted and bubbling through, garnish with some herbs serve with toasted buttered sourdough on the table to share. You can also add a salad on the side.

The sharpness of the cheese works so well with the tomatoey beans. It makes a great dinner but also a brilliant late-night snack!

3. Rhiannon Lambert: green butterbean mac and fibre cheese

Rhiannon Lambert is a registered nutritionist, bestselling author, podcast host and founder of the Harley Street clinic, Rhitrition

Pasta dishes or pasta bakes are usually my go-to when I am short on time. They are such an easy option and always go down well with my kids, which makes life that bit simpler. I like to boost the nutritional value by adding greens into the sauce wherever I can.

One recipe I come back to again and again is my green butterbean mac and fibre cheese from my book The Fibre Formula. It is my take on a classic mac and cheese, made with wholewheat macaroni, fibre-rich butterbeans, and greens such as cavolo nero, kale or spinach. It is really comforting but also nourishing, and it only takes around 30 mins from start to finish, which is ideal on busy days.

I often include cheese in pasta bakes as it is a great source of calcium and protein, but I tend to choose options that are lower in saturated fat and salt, such as mozzarella, where possible.

4. Gurdeep Loyal: fridge-raid pesto

Gurdeep Loyal is an award-winning food and travel writer

I love to do a fridge-raid pesto. Always have an allium – if you have garlic great, if not, spring onions or even chives are wonderful. Then add a herb – it doesn’t have to be basil! I like to use sage, coriander, parsley… Lots of good oil. Some cheese for umami – could be cheddar, parmesan, pecorino, or if you don’t have any, chuck in a tinned anchovy. A squeeze of citrus – lemon, lime, even orange! Salt, pepper, stir through pasta – top with something crunchy like toasted nuts, crispy onions, even some crushed up crisps. It’s almost too easy, and a resourceful way to use up what’s in the fridge.

5. Anna Ansari: chicken stir-fry

Anna Ansari is an attorney-turned-food writer

I make a dish that I have honestly either been making or eating for four decades now. It’s a very simple, very quick, but also very satisfying and delicious chicken stir-fry that my husband loves so much he has dubbed it 'Anna’s special stir-fry' – despite the fact that I don’t find it particularly special at all.

Olive oil. Onion. Green pepper. Soy sauce. Chicken. Nothing more. Not even salt, as the soy sauce provides both the needed sodium and umami. The dish starts with a diced onion, (somewhat) slowly cooked over a medium heat until it reaches a lovely golden-brown. Then, I add a green pepper (also diced) and cook until it’s nice and soft before adding a healthy splash of soy sauce, turning up the heat and mixing everything together. The chicken is up next; always breast and always diced into thumb-sized chunks. I stir-fry the chicken and add another glug of soy sauce, then cook it all down until the chicken is cooked through, there’s only a faint bit of sauce left in the pan and the onions are dark and almost sticky. I serve it with some basmati rice on the side and that’s it. Boom. A 15-minute meal!

6. Ranie Saidi: crab pasta with garlic and parsley

Ranie Saidi is a London-based recipe developer

This is a dish I keep coming back to. It’s simple, full of flavour, and ready in about 15 minutes. I love seafood, and it works just as well with canned crab as it does with fresh, depending on what you prefer and what you can get.

You’ll need pasta, I usually go for linguine, a generous amount of garlic, about three to five cloves or more, and some chopped parsley.

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta until al dente. While that’s cooking, heat about a tablespoon of chilli oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 15 to 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to let it burn.

Add the crab meat and gently warm it through, then pour in a ladle of the pasta cooking water to create a light sauce.

Once the pasta is ready, transfer it straight into the pan and toss everything together. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon, add the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Suzie Lee: crispy eggs and beans on toast

Suzie Lee is winner of BBC's Best Home Cook 2020 and host of her own BBC series

I make beans on toast with cheese and a fried egg because it is quick and easy and I know my kids will gobble it up!

1. Heat the beans up

2. If I have it in the house I toast soda bread and butter it liberally (if not, it’s on seeded granary bread).

3. Add grated mature cheddar on top of the bread, then top with the hot beans… more grated cheese on top

4. Fry off a crispy skirted egg and put that on top of the tower of toast, beans and cheese, with a good crack of pepper and salt!

Yum!

8. Matt Adlard: sausage fennel pasta

Matt Adlard is a pastry chef and bestselling author

Sausage fennel pasta is my go-to dinner. I start by toasting a tablespoon of fennel seeds in olive oil, then remove the sausages from their skins and cook the meat until it’s really nicely crisped in the pan. I add chopped onion and garlic and let that cook down until soft, then scrape up all those crispy bits from the bottom with a ladle of pasta water, a splash of cream, and some grated parmesan. I let it reduce down while the pasta cooks (orecchiette is my favourite!), then toss the pasta through the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper then serve with an extra grating of parmesan.

9. Tom Gilbey: roast chicken

Tom Gilbey is a wine expert and author of Thirsty

Roast chicken, because it’s classic, comforting and always delivers without drama. You can put it on the table with a good wine and it still feels like you’ve got your life together. It's minimum effort, high reward and it makes your kitchen smell impressive. A whole bird stuffed with lemon wedges and a garlic bulb. Add a few potatoes, carrots and onions and you’ve got a winner.

10. Anna Glover: Nongshim ramyun noodles

Anna Glover is Good Food's head of video

After a full day of recipe developing or filming, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven – or even get a chopping board out for that matter. I’ll reach for a pack of nongshim ramyun noodles, and snip in chives or spring onions while boiling, add any frozen veggies I have to hand, and crack in an egg right at the last minute. Drizzle with crispy chilli oil and sprinkling of crispy fried onions. It’s so flavourful, comforting and delicious. A meal in five minutes, with practically no washing-up.

11. Alice Shields: fudgy boiled eggs on sourdough

Alice Shields is Good Food's food editor and test kitchen manager

When I can’t be bothered to cook, eggs are my best friend as they’re speedy, low-effort and filling. I like to top a generously buttered slice of sourdough toast with a couple of fudgy boiled eggs and some steamed long-stemmed broccoli. A drizzle of crispy chilli oil and a crumbling of feta to finish makes me feel like I’ve really made an effort, even though the whole thing has taken me less than 10 minutes.

Esther Clark's recipe for lemony tuna, tomato & caper one-pot pasta is another dish I make when I really can’t be bothered to cook. It’s minimal prep, packed full of flavour and, most importantly, all cooked in just one pan (because if I can't be bothered to cook, I definitely don't want to wash up).