What can I make for supper tonight?
List what is in the fridge and cupboard. You will get main meals for tonight, with the quickest options first and no unnecessary shopping.
Why supper is a different question
If you ask a general recipe tool what to cook, it will happily suggest a slow-cooked braise or a two-hour bake. Technically correct, and completely useless at half past six on a Tuesday.
Supper has its own constraints. It needs to be a main dish, it needs to use what is already there, and time is usually the binding one. This tool weighs those three things first and everything else second.
A week of suppers from one shop
| Night | What it needs | Typical answer |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Something fast from the fridge | Stir fry, omelette, pasta with whatever vegetables are left |
| Tuesday | Use up the meat | Mince dish, tray bake, quick curry |
| Wednesday | Something from the cupboard | Rice or pasta bake, soup with bread |
| Thursday | Something with the vegetables | Roast vegetable dish, frittata, noodles |
| Friday | Something a bit nicer | Home-made version of a takeaway |
| Saturday | Something that uses leftovers | Fried rice, pie, hash |
| Sunday | Something that makes leftovers | A roast or a big pot of something |
The supper rules that save the most time
- Start with the thing that takes longest, not the thing you are most excited about.
- One pan that goes in the oven beats three pans on the stove, and it is one thing to wash up.
- If you have rice, pasta or potatoes, you already have the base of a meal. Build onto it.
- An egg turns a pile of vegetables into supper. So does a tin of beans or a bit of cheese.
- Season at the end rather than during, so a plain dish does not become a salty one.
- If it is genuinely too late to cook, a proper sandwich is a better supper than a bad stir fry.
What to list for a good supper suggestion
Give the tool the main ingredient first, then the base, then anything that needs using up. "Mince, potatoes, carrots, frozen peas" is a better list than "meat and vegetables".
Include the sauces and condiments you actually have. A jar of curry paste, a tin of tomatoes or a splash of soy sauce can turn the same three ingredients into three completely different suppers.
If time is tight, say so. The tool will weight towards the fastest options instead of giving you a list of braises.
Supper is a specific kind of meal. It is not a showpiece dinner and it is not a snack. It is the main meal at the end of the day, made from what is in the house, on a night when nobody wants to go shopping.
This tool is aimed at exactly that. It gives you main meal options rather than sides, snacks or baking, and it favours the ones you can get on the table soonest.
Frequently Asked Questions
List your main ingredient, your base such as rice or potatoes, and anything that needs using up. The tool returns main meal options for tonight, ranked by how little extra shopping and time they need.