Time. It seems like there’s never enough of it in a day. The issue is especially strong for anyone who needs to meet the needs of others along with their own. This is why finding easy meals for caregivers is so crucial.
Let’s face it. Many of us don’t have that much energy left at the end of the day as it is. Caregiving adds another element into that equation, meaning you might have even less energy and enthusiasm.
Thankfully, while preparing food can be time-consuming and frustrating, it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of healthy delicious meals that you can make. Many can be prepared in advantage too, so you can do the work when you have the most energy.
These are recipes that are packed full of nutrients, but don’t require you to stay in the kitchen for an hour or more.
In fact, most of the recipes featured in this roundup can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Those that can’t are easy in other ways, like meals that are cooked in a Crock Pot and those that make many servings.
For more ideas, check out our recipe roundups on power bowls and on soft foods for seniors. These also feature easy-to-make meals that we’re confident you’ll enjoy. Don’t forget about cooking tricks too, like getting all the ingredients out when you begin and using frozen vegetables. Such tricks can often help you to save time. They make life just that little bit easier.
Fast and Easy Meals for Caregivers
- 20-Minute Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Foil Packets
- Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Homemade Meatballs
- Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Easy Healthy Sesame Chicken
- Korean Ground Beef Bowls
- Healthy Mini Meatloaf
- Sheet Pan Flank Steak with Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Easy Margherita Flatbread Pizza
- Chicken Potato Bake
20-Minute Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
The combination of chicken, noodles, and broccoli makes this stir fry look absolutely stunning. Noodles also happen to be fun to eat, which helps make sure that this meal never sticks around long. It’s also quite cool how you get a fun and delicious meal without needing to use too many ingredients.
The best thing is how easy the meal is to prepare. The noodles cook fast, so you can get the entire thing on the table in around 20 minutes. Don’t worry, you’re making the sauce for this recipe, so you don’t need to rely on flavor packets.
Lemon Pepper Chicken Foil Packets
Cooking in foil is a style that’s normally reserved for fish, yet cooking chicken this way works just as well. Not only does the foil make your cooking much less messy, but it also means that the chicken stays juicy. Doing so is important, as chicken breast can dry out easily and dry chicken can be difficult to eat.
This recipe from My Kitchen Serenity shows that you can prepare delicious chicken with minimal fuss. The lemon chicken flavor choice makes it especially appealing.
The recipe is also a healthy one, as the chicken and asparagus are both low in calories. While the recipe focuses on making four servings, you could easily scale the dish up or down based on your needs.
Stuffed Peppers
I love the bright colors of these stuffed peppers. You end up with a very easy meal for caregivers that is served in its own edible dish. Not only is the recipe tasty, but it can also be fun to eat.
While the image showcases multiple colors of pepper, you can pick whichever colors you like. Some people might stick to red peppers, as these are the sweetest and easily the most popular. Others might include as many different options as possible.
Easy Homemade Meatballs
How can you go wrong with meatballs? They’re a classic meal that is always popular. They’re also a perfect way to make red meat soft and easy to eat. The cooking style in this recipe makes sure that the meatballs don’t dry out. Making a full meal is as simple as cooking some spaghetti noodles to go along with the meatballs and sauce.
You could easily use the meatballs in other ways too, such as creating a homemade meatball sub. Don’t forget that you can play around with the flavors too. Perhaps you want to add your own combination of herbs and spices to personalize the meatballs.
Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing
Stephanie states that this is one of the most popular recipes on her blog and it’s easy to see why. Not only are you making delicious chicken and stuffing, but you’re doing so in the slow cooker.
This is a fantastic trick, as using the oven in the heat of summer will often heat your house up far too much. Relying on the slow cooker means that you don’t need to hang around the home either, which is perfect if you have errands to run.
The finished meal ends up being tasty with just the right texture. Stephanie also provides plenty of ingredient substitutions so that you can make the meal exactly how you want to.
Baked Chicken Tacos
These tacos seem like they would be the perfect meal to feed a crowd. They’re also another incredibly popular recipe, which is reason enough to check the meal out for yourself.
One of the best things is the combination of ingredients. Tacos often end up being a heavy meal, but the use of chicken helps to keep these ones delicious and light.
If they end up being too crispy, you could swap out the hard taco shells for soft ones instead. Doing so would make them easier to eat, while still giving you the same flavor profile.
Easy Healthy Sesame Chicken
Sesame chicken isn’t normally a healthy meal, as the chicken tends to be deep fried. Thankfully, this version skips the deep frying entirely and uses a healthy balance of ingredients. You end up with a delicious meal that tastes even better than you might expect.
The meal is also a fast one, taking less than half an hour from start to finish. Unlike many other recipes, you’re just making two servings. This is a perfect amount for a caregiver and their family member.
The author uses cauliflower rice as the side for the meal because the recipe was written for a paleo site. However, you could easily swap this out for a different side, like white rice or mashed potatoes.
Korean Ground Beef Bowls
I’ve always loved dinners that follow the bowl style. They’re perfect as easy meals for seniors, as you can swap ingredients in and out based on what you have on hand. There are plenty of chances to play around with flavor and texture too.
This recipe is an especially good example of a bowl-based dish. Doesn’t the whole meal just look amazing? The combination of beef, rice, and egg means that you have a tasty and filling meal that can be easily prepared.
The beef uses Korean flavors, which makes the entire meal stand out even more. The fried egg sets the whole meal off nicely, although some seniors may need to skip the egg.
Healthy Mini Meatloaf
These little meatloaves are made in muffin tins, which is such a clever idea. You end up with a single serving of meatloaf that is packed with protein and flavor. The small size means that the little meatloaves cook quickly – in just 20 minutes.
Another cool thing is that the meatloaves freeze well and can be baked from the freezer. You’d just need a side or two to make a complete dinner. You could also use these meatloaves in other ways too, like including them in a lunch box.
Sheet Pan Flank Steak with Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Sheet pan dinners are a stunning way to make easy meals, as everything is cooked together in one go. This version uses garlic roasted potatoes and flank steak, so you can be certain that it will taste amazing. I love the way that it looks on the tray too. The green and orange from the veggies provide a much-needed color contrast.
The meal can easily be modified too, so you can include different flavors or ingredients if you feel like it.
Easy Margherita Flatbread Pizza
This pizza is a 15-minute meal that takes advantage of naan bread. The style works perfectly, as you have a crust for your pizza that doesn’t need any prep work. How good is that?
You could easily change up some of the toppings for the pizza and use your own personal favorites instead. Of course, it’s worth following the recipe as written first. After all, the combination of ingredients here should give you a fantastic balance of flavors.
Chicken Potato Bake
Here’s one more delicious meal to try out. The flavors of chicken and potato always complement one another well, so why not use them together in a bake?
Not only is the meal tasty, but it is also easy to prepare. You’re only looking at around 10 minutes of prep time for a meal that serves six people.
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