Two Fast Five-Ingredient Dinners for Busy Nights

This Mako food column by Yarden Weiss, published on June 15, 2026 and updated later that afternoon, offers two quick dinner ideas that use only five ingredients each and can be made in about 20 minutes. The first is tuna patties, presented as a way to turn pantry cans of tuna into a full, filling meal.

For the tuna patties, the ingredients are blended together in a food processor, shaped into small patties, and fried quickly. The result is described as crisp on the outside and juicy inside, and the article suggests serving them with chopped salad, cut vegetables, or stuffed into pita with tahini.

The second recipe is a fast mac and cheese. The article argues against boxed supermarket versions and says the real dish should be made with actual cheese, specifically grated cheddar and, in this version, parmesan. It uses just five ingredients, not counting salt and pepper, and takes about 15 minutes at most.

The finished pasta is meant to be coated in sauce from every side and to deliver a properly stretchy, cheesy mac and cheese. The piece closes by wishing readers a good meal.