The Minimalist Cooks Dinner: More Than 100 Recipes for Fast Weeknight Meals and Casual Entertaining

by Mark Bittman

Showcasing Mark Bittman's signature ease and imagination, The Minimalist Cooks Dinner puts the focus on the center-of-the-plate main dishes. And, in this new volume, he also provides recipes for classic, versatile side dishes as well as recommendations for wine and food pairings. With a majority of its main dish recipes taking less than thirty minutes to prepare, this is truly the book every busy cook has been waiting for. Drawing on the global pantry and international repertoire that sets Bittman apart, each selection in The Minimalist Cooks Dinner is big on flavour and time-saving techniques. The perfect solution for weeknight after-work meals or casual dinner parties, this inventive collection offers a refreshing new take on standards, along with ideas that will inspire both novices and experienced home cooks to branch out. From Steamed Chicken Breasts with Ginger-Scallion Sauce to Korean Beef Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves, to Monkfish with Meat Sauce, Bittman banishes the ordinary with an appetizing range of choices.Also covering hearty pasta dishes, steaks, pork, veal, lamb and a wide range of seafood, The Minimalist Cooks Dinner makes for an invigorating alternative to mundane mains. And as Bittman's profile has never been higher, this is sure to become a kitchen staple for thousands of time-crunched cooks who want to eat well.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Culinary, Nutrition

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

MARK BITTMAN is one of the country's best-known and most widely respected food writers. His How to Cook Everything books, with one million copies in print, are a mainstay of the modern kitchen. Bittman writes for the Opinion section of New York Times on food policy and cooking, and is a columnist for the New York Times Magazine. His "The Minimalist" cooking show, based on his popular NYT column, can be seen on the Cooking Channel. His most recent book, VB6, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never run across a cookbook by Mark Bittman I didn’t love — until now. The best two recipes in this book (and I didn’t bother jotting down many) were Baked Eggs with Onions and Cheese and a recipe of variations on herb butters. That should tell you a lot. That I’m so grateful that I got this on Kindle Unlimited instead of paying a single dime tells you even more.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although several recipes claim that they will take no time, there is some serious prep time for those of us who cannot handle a knife like a person on Top Chef. For instance, Spicy Shrimp requires 4 cloves of garlic thinly sliced. Well it took me close to 20 minutes to cut two cloves of garlic, peel the skin and then dice and slice, but given that the closest I ever came to a clove was in a crossword, I though the prep time was worth it as the food came out pretty good.

The recipes seem fairly straight forward, and if I can cook them then you have to give him high marks.

[Mahafuz · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★

*★★★★★

**A Fantastic Cookbook for Busy Home Cooks**

*The Minimalist Cooks Dinner* is an excellent cookbook for anyone who wants delicious, satisfying meals without spending hours in the kitchen. The recipes are practical, approachable, and perfect for busy weeknights, while still being impressive enough for casual entertaining.

What I especially love is the focus on simple ingredients and straightforward preparation. The recipes feel realistic for everyday cooking, and the instructions make it easy to follow along even when you do not have much time. There is also a great variety of dishes, so it is easy to find something new to try.

This cookbook has quickly become a useful source of inspiration whenever I am wondering what to make for dinner. The recipes strike a wonderful balance between simplicity and flavor, proving that great food does not have to be complicated.

If you enjoy uncomplicated cooking, flavorful meals, and recipes that fit naturally into a busy lifestyle, this book is definitely worth adding to your collection. **Five stars!**
*The Minimalist Cooks Dinner** is a fantastic cookbook for anyone who wants delicious, satisfying meals without spending hours in the kitchen. The recipes are simple, practical, and perfect for busy weeknights, while still being impressive enough for casual entertaining.

I especially appreciate the straightforward approach to cooking. The recipes make it easy to prepare flavorful dishes with minimal fuss, and the variety keeps everyday meals interesting. The instructions are clear and approachable, making this a great choice for both newer cooks and experienced home chefs.

A wonderful collection of recipes that proves great food does not have to be complicated. Highly recommended for anyone looking for easy, reliable, and enjoyable dinner ideas.

[Md Al]

**★★★★★ Simple, Smart, and Perfect for Everyday Cooking**

*The Minimalist Cooks Dinner* is a fantastic cookbook for anyone who wants delicious meals without spending unnecessary time or effort in the kitchen. With more than 100 recipes focused on fast weeknight cooking and casual entertaining, it offers an appealing balance of practicality and variety.

What I enjoyed most is the minimalist approach. The recipes feel approachable and thoughtfully designed for real life, making it easier to prepare satisfying meals even when the schedule is busy. At the same time, the collection provides enough creativity to keep everyday dinners from becoming repetitive.

The entertaining recipes are another highlight, offering ideas that can help make hosting feel relaxed rather than overwhelming. The overall spirit of the book encourages confident, uncomplicated cooking while keeping flavor and enjoyment at the center.

Overall, *The Minimalist Cooks Dinner* is a useful and inspiring addition to any home kitchen. It is the kind of cookbook that can become a reliable go-to for quick dinners, casual gatherings, and those nights when you want something delicious without a complicated process.

**★★★★★ A wonderfully practical cookbook that proves simple cooking can still be flavorful, satisfying, and enjoyable.**

[Md: Amjad · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★

The Minimalist Cooks Dinner is a fantastic cookbook for anyone who wants to prepare delicious meals without spending hours in the kitchen. With more than 100 recipes focused on quick weeknight dinners and casual entertaining, it offers plenty of inspiration for making everyday cooking easier and more enjoyable. I love the idea of keeping meals simple while still creating dishes that feel satisfying and special. The practical approach makes this cookbook appealing to busy individuals, families, and anyone who appreciates good food without unnecessary complications. It's especially useful for those who want fresh ideas for dinner or need reliable inspiration when hosting friends and family. I also appreciate the emphasis on making home cooking feel manageable rather than overwhelming. A cookbook like this can encourage cooks to use their time wisely, explore different flavors, and build a collection of meals they can return to regularly. Whether you're an experienced cook or just beginning to develop your kitchen skills, this book offers an inviting approach to everyday meals and relaxed gatherings. Overall, it's a worthwhile addition to any cookbook collection. Highly recommended for anyone who values simplicity, convenience, and delicious home cooking!

[Sohel Rana · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A fantastic cookbook for anyone who wants delicious, satisfying meals without spending hours in the kitchen. I love the practical, minimalist approach to cooking—simple ingredients, straightforward recipes, and plenty of ideas that work beautifully for busy weeknights.

The variety is another highlight, with enough options for everyday dinners as well as relaxed entertaining. The recipes feel approachable rather than complicated, which makes this a cookbook I’d happily keep within easy reach and return to often.

[PAMELA ANN READS BOOKS · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first mark bittman book and i am very impressed!!! 😀😀😀

𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒓𝒆 "𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚" 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊 𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 36 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑰 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌! 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌. 🥳🥳🥳👍👍👍

[Diane Wilkerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and Easy

Mr. Bittman provides a variety of recipes that are quick and easy to prepare, each with a small number of ingredients. Don’t be afraid to attempt these for yourself or your family!

[Jaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for New, Easy Recipes? Here’s your book!

I got a lot of new meal ideas to try out & hopefully add to my repertoire of recipes!

This was a fun & quick insightful recipe book!

[estar* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting your feet wet with Bittman. Accessible if you don't wanna tackle his gigantic How to Cook Everything series.

[Robert Neill Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a small number of recipes that I found appealing. Readers with broader taste interests may like them more.

[Lacey Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too basic and too many hard to find ingredients for me. The ingredients part is more of an Austria problem.

[Dickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my essential canon of cookbooks, gifted to both my kids.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has set new expectations of cookbooks for me. Not just do you get awesome recipes, but you also get variations as well as key pointers on how to get them right! (You also get ideas for what to serve it with, wine to pair it with, and a little editorial comment often with some history on the dish.) I'd like to broaden the range of things I'm comfortable cooking, but sometimes you get these ingredients that you've never used before and you end up guessing what to do with them. Well, here you don't have to guess, it's all explained to you.

For an example, there is the Cauliflower Curry w/ Chicken recipe. As the introductory paragraph states, there is a common Indian dish of cauliflower & potatoes, that I love to eat out - usually off a buffet where it can be one of many things, but I have never even considered making it at home because it just never seemed it could "do" on it's own. Our minimalist chef has substituted in chicken for the potatoes to make it more of a one-dish meal and balance out some of the starchiness. One of the ingredients is cumin, and the "Key to Success" indicates that you'll get more flavor by toasting it first in a dry skillet. The "With Minimal Effort" section indicates that you could substitute back in the potatoes, or you might spice up the dish with ginger, garlic, chiles or cayenne, or you might also add some cubed eggplant. What was just one simple recipe is now a cooking lesson that offers tips on how to make the dish just right for you.

Maybe if you're already comfortable substituting or adding items, or have already learned a how to cook with a wide range of ingredients and style, then maybe this isn't going to be the wow for you that it was for me. I've borrowed this copy, but I'd say there's a very good chance I'll be purchasing it, as well as checking out any other cookbooks he's written.

[Catherine Woodman]

This is one of the best cookbooks that I don't own--mostly because alot of this is fairly intuitive for me--he is the most like me of any professional cook that I have read--which is not to say that I am any where near his level, but I already cook and eat in the neighborhood that her lives in. This would be GREAT if you lived alone and were persistently eating alone (something that I realized today that I have never ever done)...

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, I know second cookbook...what exactly do I read. Mark Bittman has a number of really easy recipes that have all come out well. I'm a big fan of the mussels and monk fish (never knew until this book). I also like that he gives some ideas on variations of a meal. Nice when you may not have all the ingredients on hand.

[Valary Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I must be picky about cookbooks. It was a good cookbook but I think I get frustrated when they take a rack of lamb or some kind of expensive fish and say "It is so simple". I found a few good recipes that I will try and I do like the approach that food does not have to be too complicated. I guess I still want it to fly onto my plate for less than $10 a person. :)

[AnnieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

clearly not doe the novice cook. It is a nice book to help the average cook to kick up the sophistication of their meals without losing one's sanity or time.

I will probably only write down a few recipients but for a home with few or no dietary restrictions, this is a good way to expand their cooking experience.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great dinner ideas in this book, though definitely not the sort of slap-dash, throw-together-in-twenty-minutes dinners I usually make. A lot of these require a little more planning ahead and prepping, but would be well worthwhile.

[Joanna Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Bittman.. and I learned from this book that you can make pasta like you would make risotto.. very interesting. Much like in "How to Cook Everything", he gives variations for the recipes.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - love mark bittman and the simplicity of this book is clear, but there aren't a lot of veggie things in here to keep me interested, but he makes making sort of fancy stuff seem easy so gotta love that.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B+ A lot of non veg recipes but some interesting stuff. Good for the quick cook who don't have a ton of time. I'm eager to try the recipes for miso soup and pasta w parsley sauce - both seem easy and yummy.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Bittman delivers. He's single-handedly revolutionized our kitchen. Well, not single-handedly. There have been others. But I wouldn't feel crazy buying every book he's ever written.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

You should have almost everything for every recipe in your pantry already...

[Laura]

I love his column in the "New York Times" so thought I'd try the book. It has no photos to speak of so I'm already a little turned off...

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Bittman books are good.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite cookbooks. Essential for me, the new cook. This book was given to my sister as a wedding present, she gave it to me when I saw it on her shelf. I love it! I love his explanations.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice addition for how to cook everything, more about organizing dinners.

[Wendy Hollister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simplified recipes that were not so appealing.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

No pictures. Still, good basic recipes.