25 Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas for South Africans in 2023

Are you looking to excite your tastebud or that of the members of your family for dinner with some unique South African meals, but you are running out of ideas on how to get this done? You are not left alone in this situation and we have even gone ahead to research and present some quick and easy dinner ideas for South Africans you can relish. These meals are exactly what they are categorized as “quick and easy” and you don’t have to spend long hours preparing dinner.

Many of our foods are simple and easy to prepare. With these dinner ideas, you’re on your way to giving your family a unique mouth-watering dinner. These dinner ideas have been further classified into various categories to narrow down your particular preference at any time maybe.

What simple dinner can you make if you have no idea? Check out the options below, the ingredients are easy to come and the prep direction is easy to follow;

Bobotie is South African original, similar to meatloaf, though better. Bobotie has a better and more exciting taste than meatloaf because of its additional ingredients, like raisins, sweet curry flavors, and almonds.

This is a South African custard pie garnished with a sweet pastry crust. This simple meal goes well with a cup of tea. Its combination gives you a warm and inviting evening to rest after a hard day’s work. Another amazing thing about this particular meal is the ease of preparation.

South African Malvapoeding is also known as Marshmallow pudding. Though it contains no marshmallow, it might have gotten its name from its texture, which is spongy. This simple and delicious delight is best served hot or cold with creams. If you want to serve it hot without creams, it can be accompanied with fruit juice, whether fresh or processed.

Ingredients

Here are the basic ingredients to prepare the pudding;

The ingredients for the sauce include;

South African chicken can also be a sumptuous dinner for the entire family. There are several ways to prepare it, depending on your choice of recipe and personal preference. It can be cooked boneless or with bones. Here are some recipes to make a variety of chicken breast dinner;

This meal is very popular in most parts of South Africa. It is called ‘braai’ because you have to cook it over the fire which gives it a natural taste. It can be prepared and eaten outdoors as the whole family relaxes and settle into the night. When accompanied with a bottle of wine, it tends to taste even better.

Normally, this dish takes about 45 minutes to prepare. To have a great taste of the meal, devour it with any salad of your choice. It’s one of the best dishes for chicken breast.

This stuffed chicken breast is very easy to prepare. With a five-step procedure with not many ingredients, your dinner is ready! The meal is cooked with some easy-to-find ingredients you can get from almost any food shop or market nearby.

If you love your chicken breast dish to be well seasoned with lots of pepper and sauce, then you try out this recipe. It’s garnished with lots of pepper and different spices that bring out a rich satisfying taste of chicken. Due to its peppery taste, this South African dinner goes well with wine or fruit juice.

When done, your chicken breast is set to walk down your throat. If it’s in large pieces, you can help yourself with a knife, cutting it into smaller pieces. Its best served hot or warm, depending on your preference.

Are you looking to host your date for a romantic dinner? If yes, we got you covered. Check out these romantic dinner ideas, easy to make and consumes less time.

This is a dish that contains carbs but is free of dairy. It takes about 20 minutes to get ready and involves not many ingredients. For a 4 – 6 serving, the list of ingredients below will do just fine.

After this, your dinner is ready to be served. You can step it down with a Laibach Ladybird Rose 2016, leaving you asking for more.

This dish is well garnished with lots of ingredients and spices. It’s a ‘busy’ dish if you wish to describe it as it looks. The Sirloin with bacon Sauce and Avocado Saladingredients seem to be endless, check it out.

This meal is best served with avocado salad. The avocado salad is a mixture of chili pepper, lemon juice, and oil, poured over the avocado.

This is an appetizing meal loaded with lots of flavors. It is made with the most common ingredients which are basically meat and mint and a variety of spices to bring out the rich meat and mint taste of the meal. With an average of 15 minutes of preparation time, your dinner is set to be consumed.

To foster healthy shopping and healthy eating among family and friends, here is a range of delicious and seasonal healthy friendly recipes you should consider.

This salad delicacy is one of the most cherished dinner meals by South Africans. Its immediate consumption after preparation makes it a healthy and perfect meal for dinner. It goes well with chopped veggies, pita chips, or crackers.

This chocolate cake that is free of sugar is a great substitute for you if you want to go off sugary things for a while. Its sweet taste comes from the combination of the date and banana, which are healthy dietary fibers to consume daily. This cake can also be made when you have a family gathering during dinner time and it would not take a lot of time to make.

If you’re looking for dinner ideas that are budget-friendly, that won’t cost you much but still offer great taste and value, check out these;

The South African sweet potatoes fries, from the name, make just a simple and less complex dish. With some potatoes and a few spices, your dinner is ready. It is recommended you salt the potatoes during washing and before frying to add taste to them. Depending on your preference, you can fry them to be crisp or slightly soft depending on what your choice is.

This South African meal is cheap and affordable for a family of four. With an average preparation time of 45 minutes with not many procedures, your meal is set. All ingredients you need to prepare can be sourced locally from the grocery store. The ingredients below are exactly all that you need.

Peppermint crisp tart is a pudding layer of biscuits, cream, caramel treat, and crisp chocolate bars. It’s simple to make and leaves you asking for more. This South African dinner has been noted to be a dinner favorite of many South Africans and we can all understand why. Here is all you need to get it prepared.

Are you at a crossroads of what dinner to place before your family? Check out these ideas and get some inspiration.

If you walk into many South African homes and restaurants today, you are most likely to be welcomed with their yellow rice. It is one of the most common delicacies. Made with different types of meats and fish, its flavor is distinct and the texture is unique.

Note that this recipe can go for white rice also, preferably long-grain rice. But basmati is always recommended if possible.

Mealie pap which is also known as Maize porridge is a staple food in most South African homes. It’s made from coarse maize and needs no refrigerator because it can stay longer and fresher all day. It’s a wholesome meal for the entire family and it goes well with sugar and milk, or golden syrup and butter, depending on what your household can afford.

Note:For the maple sauce, you may need to prepare it a day or two days ahead of time. This makes it become lighter in color and allow the butterfat to rise at the top. After preparing, refrigerate and only remove a few hours before it’s needed. Then stir well before you spread over the porridge. The ingredients are stated above; unsalted butter, maple, or golden syrup.

Take it easy on yourself, don’t be all fussy. Busy all week and you need to fix a quick dinner for Sunday? Check out these ideas, they are quick ones if you feel lazy or not too motivated for complex meals.

South African baked mac and cheese is a super creamy cheesy meal with lots of Southern flavors. It’s custard-style baked macaroni and cheese prepared with lots of eggs and evaporated milk to give that refreshing and nourishing taste as you unwind into the night.

Bunny chow is a South African delicacy not only eaten at home but also on the street. The mouthwatering delight is made wholly with meat, aromatic spices, potatoes, and chickpeas, all embedded in a hollow soft bread of your choice. To make the meal, you should gather these easy-to-find ingredients.

For vegetarians who are off the meat dishes but still want to enjoy a sumptuous dinner, these recipes will be perfect for you.

Gone are the days when as a vegan, you are limited to just a few meals and basically fruits. The vegetarian chili macaroni which is a popular vegan meal in South Africa is becoming increasingly popular even to people who are not entirely vegan. The dish is prepared mainly with plant products and macaroni.

Pasta with pantry staples is one of the easiest meals anyone can prepare on this list. It is a popular dinner delicacy in South Africa albeit it looks a lot more western than African. The meal is basically prepared with pasta and a few other ingredients that you can get from your local grocery store. To get started here is all you need.

Special occasions require special treats. Host your guests to a special and exciting dinner meal that leaves lasting, lingering memories of your D-day. The meals below are just perfect for any birthday occasion.

Beef Bourguignon naturally takes a longer time to get melted in the mouth, except you put your slow cooker to work, which performs the magic. Serving it over mashed potatoes gives you a taste outside this world.

Pan-roasted chicken is an amazing birthday dinner meal most South Africans relish. This is often the case, especially when the chicken is tastefully prepared with dates and shallots and cooked till it is tender and still retains the taste of the spices used to make it. Though this delicacy looks complex to pull off, you will be surprised by how easy it is to make it. Check out the ingredients for the combination.

Pickled fish with lime salad is a traditional South African dish and rightly so, a great meal for birthday celebrations and also weeknight dinner. This delicacy is best served cold with fresh bread or potatoes and a bottle of wine or juice, depending on your preference is equally not a bad idea.

As Friday night ushers in the weekend, it’s best to dine with delicacies that make the weekend a memorable one. Check this Friday night dinner idea as you unwind with loved ones and family.

This dish got its origin in South Africa and it is made with a combination of local food ingredients with a blend of western influence. The curry beef soup apparently is also a popular meal in many parts of Europe but South Africa’s has got a lot in its own uniqueness.

This is a South African vegetable relish, made with simple and spicy onions, tomatoes, and sometimes beans. It has its origin from black South Africans and is now a popular South African diner that can be found in most restaurants around the country. The good thing here is that the meal is not complex to prepare despite being one of the tastiest meals South Africa boasts of. To get started, you need these basic ingredients.