As a food editor, I’ve written the phrase “faster than takeout” more times than I can remember, but even those of us who love cooking are sometimes—OK often—too exhausted at the end of a busy work day to do anything but grab takeout or prepared food. But takeout is expensive and, if you’re like me, comes bundled with way too much guilt about single-use plastics and packaging. Fortunately, there are plenty of dishes, especially those that lean on pantry staples, that are full of flavor and still come together in a flash. Each and every one of the recipes that follows—including spicy steamed mussels with ‘nduja, a simple stovetop mac and cheese, a Chinese-style layered omelette, and sambal-smashed chicken—comes together in 20 minutes or less.
