5 Fast, Cheap, Healthy(ish) Dinners I Can Actually Be Bothered To Cook On Weeknights

Our young adult selves were onto something with the whole “pesto pasta dinner” thing. But if you fancy something a little more grown up – and about five times as delicious – I recommend whipping up your own pesto while your pasta is bubbling away. 

I first made this pistachio version after trying the NYT’s full ravioli recipe. But, while I loved the sauce, I knew there was no way I’d actually whip out my pasta machine of a Thursday night, so I’ve simply kept the pesto and swapped the hard part for pre-made spaghetti. 

Pesto is surprisingly forgiving: I didn’t have pine nuts the first time I made this, and it was still delicious.

I will say, too, that though it sounds more involved, a pestle and mortar is actually faster and better than a blender: see my (awful) blended results below (left), compared to the two-minute, creamier version (below right).