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Easy 3 Ingredient Dinner Recipes – Delicious Meals Fast!

February 11, 2026 by 53 Comments

These easy 3 ingredient dinner recipes will make it easy for you to make cheap and delicious meals your family will love without spending a lot of time in the kitchen!

These 3 ingredient dinner recipes will make it easy to make cheap and delicious meals your family will love without spending a lot of time in the kitchen!

Easy 3 Ingredient Dinner Recipes – Delicious Meals Fast!

This post is dedicated to my friend and neighbor Katie. She came over and we were talking and she said “I need some super easy 3 ingredient or less recipes for dinner“.

As I was telling her about a couple of these recipes she had no idea these recipes could be made, and so easily too! She grew up with a mom who never cooked so she never learned how to cook. She was telling me how she would like to learn now.

If you are new to cooking at home try some of these recipes to get you started and get a good cookbook to help you along the way. Even if you are an old pro try some for those days when you just need something quick and easy!

This easy creamy chicken recipe is quick and easy to make. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and then bake. It's perfect served with your favorite vegetable for an easy chicken dinner your family will love!
This easy 3 ingredient salsa chicken recipe is a super easy and delicious crockpot recipe perfect for families. Just 2 minutes' prep and the crockpot does the rest!
This easy 3 ingredient sweet pork chops recipe makes tangy and delicious pork chops your family will love! It's also great as a tangy ribs recipe for fall off the bone ribs! Just 5 minutes prep time and the crockpot does the rest!
This 3 ingredient Ritz chicken is a super easy baked chicken recipe you can make with less than 5 minutes' work! Your family will love it!
This easy 3 ingredient creamy chicken tacos recipe makes creamy and delicious chicken tacos, perfect for families! Just dump everything into the crockpot in the morning and dinner will be waiting!
This easy 3 ingredient Chicken Cacciatore recipe makes a delicious Italian style chicken dinner your family will love! With just 5 minutes prep time, it's a perfect meal for busy families!
This easy 3 ingredient beef tacos recipe makes tasty classic style ground beef tacos that every family loves! Just dump everything into the crockpot in the morning and at dinner time, serve on taco shells! Garnish with your favorite taco toppings!
This easy 3 ingredient barbecue meatballs makes an easy and delicious crockpot meal! It's quick and easy for you and the kids and family will love it!
This easy 3 ingredient sausage biscuits and gravy is a tasty crockpot recipe that is quick and easy to make. Biscuits and gravy are not just for breakfast - It makes a great dinner, too!
This easy 3 ingredient dr. pepper pulled pork recipe is a simple way to make tender pulled pork in the crockpot. With just 5 minutes of preparation time, it's a quick and easy meal your family will love!
You can make this easy 3 ingredient ranch chicken and potatoes recipe in the crockpot with 5 minutes' preparation time. Serve with an easy vegetable for a delicious meal your family will love!

For lots more easy and delicious dinner recipes, check out our Dining On A Dime cookbooks!

[dining]

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes And Main Dishes, Meal Planning, Quick and Easy Meals, Recipes, Save Money On Groceries

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Teri Thomsen says

    July 30, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    For the creamy chicken recipe – do you add any water to the can of cream of soup when you make recipe in the crock pot?

    Reply
    • Jill says

      July 30, 2015 at 3:29 pm

      No you don’t need too.

      Reply
      • donna b says

        September 16, 2018 at 8:34 am

        Hi Jill: don’t know if you can get this where you are, but sometimes I used cream of onion soup. it comes out pretty tasty.

        Reply
        • Jill says

          September 17, 2018 at 12:19 pm

          Hi Donna yes I can get this. As a matter of fact I am the one who usually deals with all of these questions and they come straight to me. Using the onion soup on this I imagine would taste really good too so thanks for the idea.

          Reply
  2. Trudy says

    July 30, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    These recipies are so easy and they look scrumptious, I will be trying all of them–Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Anita says

      February 6, 2025 at 9:38 am

      For the ranch chicken recipe, is it the dry packet of ranch dressing mix or the liquid ranch dressing in a bottle?

      Reply
      • Tawra says

        February 6, 2025 at 2:31 pm

        Dry

        Reply
        • Carmen Dawn says

          February 10, 2026 at 12:57 pm

          Hi Tawra what could,I use in place of Ranch Dressing?
          Thank you in advance 🌹

          Reply
  3. Denis says

    August 3, 2015 at 12:22 am

    The pork chop or ribs recipe calls for 12 bottle chili. Twelve??? You mean 1/2 as in one half, I hope or this is made for people used to eating food not made on this planet because I would be ejected from the planet by eating this food. LOL

    Reply
    • Jill says

      August 3, 2015 at 10:01 am

      Thanks for the heads up Denis. It is suppose to be 12 oz. bottle.

      Reply
  4. Sarah says

    December 30, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    Whats the best type of potato to use? every time ive done something similar to this in the past, my potatoes never cook all the way through 🙁

    Reply
    • Jill says

      December 30, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      I don’t think it makes any difference what kind you use. You may need to just cook it a little longer because crock pots cook at so many different temperatures that yours may just not be hot enough so needs longer cooking. Be sure to cube the potatoes too and if all of these fail then nuke the potatoes for a minute or two before putting them in the crock pot.

      Reply
  5. Brandy says

    January 15, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    For the Ritz chicken if you don’t like Ranch dressing what other dressing would you recommend?

    Reply
    • Tawra says

      January 15, 2016 at 3:30 pm

      You could mix some mayo with parmesan cheese.

      Reply
      • Tina says

        February 4, 2025 at 10:57 pm

        For the biscuits and gravy, do I need to bake the biscuits before adding to the crockpot?

        Reply
    • Susan Jones says

      January 22, 2018 at 12:39 pm

      I don’t like ranch either and wonder if you could substitute another dressing?

      Reply
      • Jill says

        January 22, 2018 at 6:47 pm

        You could use another creamy type of dressing although you wouldn’t have the same flavor because of the spices that are used in the ranch dressing

        Reply
      • Susan says

        September 13, 2018 at 5:26 am

        Creamy Italian would work!

        Reply
    • Lishe says

      November 4, 2021 at 11:20 am

      Ceasar dressing would be good… maybe the kind with bacon in?

      Reply
    • Pamela H. says

      August 1, 2022 at 4:12 am

      I would suggest creamy Ceasar.
      I was thinking about this because I don’t care for ranch either.
      I might try it with Bleu cheese.

      Reply
  6. Mvie says

    September 4, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    For the beef taco- is there a skillet version for that?

    Reply
    • Jill says

      September 4, 2018 at 12:59 pm

      Yes all you need to do is fry the ground beef, drain and add rest (drain tomatoes and chilies). You might simmer for about 5-10 mins in the frying pan or while you are getting other things for the meal ready. I never use a crock pot for this.

      Reply
      • Mvie says

        September 6, 2018 at 3:59 pm

        Would the same skillet version apply for the chicken tacos?

        Reply
        • Jill says

          September 7, 2018 at 12:08 pm

          Yes. A crock pot is nothing more that a pan that you just cook on low with. You can make the same things in the oven or on the stove as in a crock pot. I don’t even own a crock pot now. The low temp on a crock pot is the same as something cooked at 250 in the oven in a pan, the high temp is the same as 350 degrees in the oven. In a skillet just turn it down to very low or simmer.

          Reply
          • Wanda Dunford says

            February 2, 2022 at 7:37 pm

            thanks Jill for making it simple….love these wonderful recipes can’t wait to try..

          • Deborah says

            February 4, 2025 at 7:08 pm

            Jill,

            Thank you so much for doing the temperature conversion! I have pinched nerves in my back and the crock pot is relegated to collecting dust for now. The recipes sound simple and wonderful.

            Best,
            Deborah

  7. Brandy says

    September 21, 2018 at 10:21 am

    Hi, for the 3 ingredient ranch chicken and potatoes it says 2 cups ranch so I’m guessing it is the regular ranch and not the dry mix?

    Reply
    • Jill says

      September 22, 2018 at 7:41 am

      Yes it is the regular.

      Reply
  8. Melissa says

    March 7, 2019 at 8:20 am

    Thank you for helping my family with your website. Told my husband and he told me to follow your grocery list for the planned meals! Oh, I tried your meatloaf, it was outstanding. And was complemented! Credit goes to y’all.

    Reply
    • Jill says

      March 8, 2019 at 8:28 am

      Thank so much Melissa and tell your husband thank you too. 🙂 🙂

      Reply
  9. Cheri newman says

    May 3, 2019 at 10:29 pm

    These recipes look great do you have nutrition facts on them we are trying to eat low carb so I was just wondering ,do you have any ideas how I can use some or all your recipes while I am doing low carb and I have a friend that has diabetes can you help.

    Reply
    • Jill says

      May 6, 2019 at 8:45 am

      No Cheri I am afraid we don’t have nutrition facts on our recipes. We have thousands of them there is no way time wise to do that and most of ours are old family recipes. We also so at this point in time have no less than about 50 different special diets that people are all on so to try to adapt all the recipes for each diet would take months plus diets tend to change every 10 yrs or so but we have had many many people who have special diets that use our book and such because they say that the recipes are so simple and easy that it is easy to adapt them to their special recipes.

      Reply
    • Marlyce says

      March 20, 2020 at 3:15 pm

      Cheri you can place the recipe into Lose it and it will give you the calorie plus information.

      Reply
  10. Joyce says

    April 5, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    Great recipes, now that we are doing the social distancing thing. I run into the store, grab stuff, and leave as soon as possible.

    Reply
  11. Melissa says

    April 9, 2020 at 10:49 am

    On the sweet pork chops it calls for a 12 oz bottle of chili sauce? Bottle? So hot sauce? But says sweet not spicy! So, Hotdog sauce? Please tell me what you have used.

    Reply
    • Christine says

      April 21, 2020 at 2:28 pm

      Yes a bottle of chili sauce. It’s usually near the ketchup in a grocery store. Hot sauce is different. It’s usually made from vinegar, chiles and oil. Chili sauce is made from tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, and seasonings. There’s not much spice to it. The sweetness comes from the grape jelly.

      Reply
  12. joan says

    September 20, 2020 at 10:42 am

    This has totally helped me save money and time in the kitchen. We now have super delicious that cost a fraction of what we spent before. Thanks for the yummy recipes.

    Reply
    • Jill says

      September 21, 2020 at 10:30 am

      You are welcome Joan and so glad these worked out for you

      Reply
  13. Marie says

    February 7, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    I have to tell you all that you are a real blessing! I gave myself a huge Christmas gift by purchasing all 3 books! I also totally love when you share your biblical knowledge. I know Papa is smiling down on all of you, and your fruit is showing! Keep up the good work!

    Reply
    • Jill says

      February 7, 2022 at 6:20 pm

      Oh thank you so much Marie for that sweet comment. Hope you are enjoying the books and they are helping.

      Reply
  14. Shelda Lockwood says

    February 14, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    I forwarded this to my daughter to help get my grandson to start cooking for the family. I have a freezer full of chicken, and I’m thinking if adding some of the ingredients to my stockpile.

    Reply
    • Heather Bahnsen says

      December 18, 2024 at 9:39 am

      I just love all of your recipes. I got all of your ebooks and 2 cookbooks. Plan on getting the other cookbook to add to my collection. It’s all I use for my cooking and meal ideas.
      Do you have any ideas for breakfast ideas?

      Reply
  15. C pierce says

    February 7, 2023 at 10:38 am

    Hello, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your cook books. My family spent on average $ 400 a week on groceries. Since we discovered your inspiring channel and got the cookbooks , we now spend less than $400 a month just following your advice. Thank you very very much.

    Reply
    • Jill says

      February 8, 2023 at 12:50 pm

      Thank you so much for letting use know that the cookbooks are working for you. It helps others too because sometimes aren’t sure if the book will really help them and you comment can make a difference. Keep up the good work – sounds like you are on a roll

      Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      February 3, 2024 at 10:48 am

      I had shoulder surgery earlier this week that was much more involved than expected, and I can’t do much for 3 weeks. My husband is working 18 hour days right now, so our oldest 2 sons (13 and 11) are on cooking duty. They’ve been using the Dining on a Dime cookbooks (1&2) to make meals. Without these books/ this site, we’d be living on PB&J, noodles, and cereal. 😂 We’d survive, but recuperating is much easier with good food! Thanks for all you do!

      Reply
      • Jill says

        February 3, 2024 at 11:13 am

        Oh Elizabeth so sorry to hear about your surgery. That is rough to have a family and not be able to function. Tell those boys of yours they get a million gold stars for helping mom and sounds like they are doing a great job. I had to laugh at the diet you mentioned if you didn’t have the cookbook (PB&J, noodles and cereal) it sounds like a typical boy menus. LOL I have said for years one of the biggest surprises I always get is how many young men seem to enjoy using our cookbook – always tickled to hear that. Take care of yourself and get well soon,

        Reply
  16. Laura Baker says

    July 11, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    Just curious, how would you adapt the recipes to an Instant Pot?

    Reply
    • Jill says

      July 12, 2023 at 8:31 am

      Laura you would need to check the instructions that came with your Instant Pot and adapt them to let’s say how long they suggest to cook chicken and then use that time in these recipes or if you have some recipes of your own you can use the time from those.

      Reply
  17. Jenny Smith says

    February 2, 2024 at 4:00 pm

    This is great recipe thank you for sharing this amazing food!

    Reply
    • Jill says

      February 2, 2024 at 6:57 pm

      You are so welcome Jenny.

      Reply
  18. Dale Dyck says

    February 7, 2024 at 10:41 am

    Went through all the recipes, they sound really tasty. Liked the savings tips too. The cereal bags sound like a great idea. I think they would also make a perfect companion to rubbing butter on the crust of bread loaves that are freshly baked. These won*t fall apart. Thanks for the ideas!!

    Reply
  19. Robin Hubbard says

    August 23, 2024 at 1:22 pm

    The biscuits and gravy recipe says 2 refrigerated canned biscuits but you use 1 for the bottom of crackpot and no mention of the second. Should it be 2 layers of biscuits, sausage soup layers?

    Reply
    • Jill says

      August 23, 2024 at 2:24 pm

      Robin on step #6 where is says repeat it means to repeat with 2nd can of biscuits, then the sausage and soup on top of that. Hope that helps.

      Reply

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