Deciding what to eat for dinner every night when you have a family with young kids is no easy task. You want to cook healthy meals for your family, and you want those meals to actually get eaten, and, better yet, be enjoyed by everyone at the table. These family-friendly dinner ideas are here to help!
Family-Friendly Dinner Ideas for Every Night of the Week!
As a mom of 5 young kids, I know all too well the challenge of feeding a family. Which is why I’ve gone through every single one of the dinner recipes published on Kristine’s Kitchen, in search of the best kid-friendly recipes for dinner.
These dinner ideas are easy, crowd-pleasing meals that are sure to satisfy kids and grown ups alike.
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Family Meals: Chicken Recipes
When it comes to easy weeknight dinners, chicken is always a winning option. These kid-friendly chicken recipes include classic kid favorites like nuggets, comforting casseroles and more.
A crispy breadcrumb coating and melty cheese make this easy chicken Parmesan a kid favorite. Serve it with pasta and roasted broccoli for an easy, family-friendly meal.
In this quick and easy recipe, tender bites of chicken are coated in a sticky sweet-and-savory sauce. My whole family devoured this chicken – it’s that good!
No list of kid-friendly recipes would be complete without chicken tenders! These bake up crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Serve them with a few dipping sauces and let everyone choose their favorite.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Next up is a super easy crockpot meal: slow cooker honey garlic chicken. This set it and forget it recipe features tender shredded chicken in an irresistible honey garlic sauce. Serve it over rice with Instant Pot green beans on the side.
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
This chicken and rice casserole is deliciously seasoned and easy to eat, no matter your age. It’s made with a simple homemade cream sauce, no canned cream of soups here.
These chicken nuggets are one of the meals that my kids request most often. Crispy seasoned bites of chicken that cook quickly in the air fryer – what’s not to love? These homemade nuggets are so much better than anything off of the kids menu.
Simple is where it’s at with this baked chicken breast recipe. This fast family dinner idea makes the best juicy chicken breasts. Serve with potatoes, rice or pasta and a veggie for a quick, kid-pleasing meal.
Taco Night
Tacos are one of my favorite go-to family meals because they’re so easy and everyone in the family can fill their tortilla just the way they like it. Here you’ll find classic taco recipes plus new twists on taco night.
Everyone loves tacos, and this easy taco recipe is our go-to! Let the kids choose their favorite taco toppings to go along with this seasoned ground beef taco meat and warm tortillas. This 20 minute recipe is one of the best family dinner ideas.
Three ingredients and your slow cooker are all you need to make the best shredded chicken tacos! Prefer to cook in the Instant Pot? Try our Instant Pot Chicken Tacos instead.
This Mexican pulled pork cooks all day in the crockpot until it’s fall-apart tender. The ingredient list is simple yet infuses the pork with flavor. You can serve it as is or pop the meat under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the edges. Then serve with warm tortillas, rice and beans.
Vegetarian family-friendly meals can be hard to find, and these lentil tacos are one of the best. The lentil taco filling can be made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, so you can choose which cooking method works best for your schedule.
Easy Dinner Ideas For Family: Soups
A pot of soup and a batch of warm dinner rolls is a sure-fire way to bring everyone to the table. These family-friendly soups are both healthy and comforting.
A steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup is the ultimate comfort food, and this classic recipe is a family favorite. Tender chicken, veggies and noodles in a flavorful broth make this soup especially nourishing.
Creamy broccoli cheddar soup has been a favorite with my picky eaters since they were little. This healthy soup comes together quickly and is perfect for a cold day!
This healthy turkey chili is said to have won awards for the best chili recipe. It’s that good. Ground turkey, beans and chili spices make this chili so satisfying. We like to serve it with our favorite cornbread recipe.
This flavorful soup is a dump and go slow cooker recipe, with no chopping required. It has a short ingredient list, takes only 10 minutes to prep, and then your slow cooker does the rest. Dinner doesn’t get any easier!
Here’s another meatless meal that everyone in the family can get excited about: vegetable barley soup. Hearty barley makes this vegetable soup especially satisfying and you can feel good about the rainbow of veggies that go into the pot.
This white chicken chili is the kind of belly-warming meal that we all crave on a chilly day. It’s not too spicy so little ones are sure to gobble it up.
You Can’t Go Wrong with Mac and Cheese
When it comes to meals that kids love, mac and cheese is a classic. These homemade macaroni and cheese recipes are so much better than anything from a box.
Homemade Mac and Cheese Recipe
Mac and cheese is a crowd pleasing dish, and everyone at the table will agree that this is the best mac and cheese recipe! It comes out of the oven hot and bubbly with lots of ooey gooey melty cheese.
Meet the creamiest mac and cheese around: Instant Pot mac and cheese. And this recipe couldn’t be easier. It’s ready in 30 minutes, with just 10 minutes of hands-on prep time.
Sneak some added nutrition (and flavor!) into your mac and cheese dinner with this vegetarian chili mac recipe. This family-friendly dinner is a one pot meal that you can have on your table in just 30 minutes.
This recipe features shell pasta and broccoli in a creamy homemade cheese sauce. You can even give it an extra protein boost by stirring in some shredded rotisserie chicken.
Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese
If it’s a classic baked mac and cheese recipe you’re craving, give this whole wheat mac and cheese recipe a try. Whole wheat pasta provides fiber and a crispy breadcrumb topping makes this comfort food especially irresistible.
Easy Weeknight Dinners: Sandwiches
What’s better than a (sometimes) messy sandwich for dinner? Not much, especially if that sandwich comes with a side of baked French fries. These sandwich dinner ideas are fun to eat and perfect for little hands.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
This is one of our all-time favorite recipes for an easy weeknight dinner. The chicken cooks in the Instant Pot until tender and BBQ sauce adds a kick of flavor. Serve the saucy chicken on toasted burger buns with a side of sweet potato fries.
If your kids are burger lovers, they’re sure to gobble these turkey burgers up! These flavorful burgers are easy to make and you can cook them on the grill, on the stove or in the oven.
No list of kid-friendly recipes would be complete without a grilled cheese sandwich recipe. This air fryer grilled cheese is ultra cheesy, extra crispy and ready in just minutes! Pair it with bowls of tomato soup for a meal the whole family will love.
You can’t go wrong with classic sloppy joes for dinner. This made-from-scratch recipe calls for simple ingredients and takes only 25 minutes to make.
Using your slow cooker is the easiest way to make fall-apart tender pulled pork for sandwiches. You’ll only need five ingredients, plus salt and pepper, for this easy make ahead meal.
Pasta Dinners
Pasta is one of my go-to’s when I’m looking for a dinner idea that I know my kids will love.
Four kinds of cheese and marinara sauce make these stuffed pasta shells a kid favorite. Leftovers (if you have any) freeze well for a quick meal later on.
Five ingredients, ready in 30 minutes, and only one pot to wash after dinner? Yes, please! This cheesy one pot pasta with sausage is quick, flavorful and comforting.
This baked spaghetti is one of our favorite ways to cook spaghetti for a family dinner. Ground beef, pasta, marinara sauce and seasonings are topped with cheese and then baked until hot and bubbly. Serve this easy pasta bake with a salad and a side of garlic bread.
Put your crockpot to work for you with this slow cooker lasagna recipe! You don’t need to boil the noodles ahead of time, just brown the ground beef, layer everything in the slow cooker and set it to slow cook on low. Serve it up with a crisp Italian salad and enjoy!
Fresh flavors star in this easy caprese pasta recipe. Fresh tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella are tossed with al dente pasta for a meal that’s as simple as it is delicious.
This has been one of our most popular family dinner recipes for years, and it’s easy to see why. This slow cooker meal takes just 10 minutes to prep and is full of delicious flavors from salsa, taco seasoning, ground beef and cheese. If you’re more of an Instant Pot fan, make this Instant Pot Taco Pasta instead.
More Easy Family Dinner Ideas
I’ve saved some of the best kid-friendly dinner recipes for last! These recipes are quick, easy and so delicious.
My kids love salmon, and this honey garlic salmon recipe is one of our favorite ways to prepare it. Kids and adults alike will love the sweet and tangy honey garlic sauce that coats the fish. Cooking salmon and roasted vegetables together on one sheet pan means that clean up is a breeze.
Spaghetti and meatballs are a classic family-friendly dinner, and this recipe makes the best homemade meatballs. They’re baked in the oven for ease, and cook up juicy and flavorful, every time.
Here’s another quick one pot meal for you: goulash. This comforting dinner idea is made with ground beef, macaroni pasta and cheese in a flavorful tomato-based sauce.
Stuffed peppers can be hit or miss with kids, which is why I created this unstuffed bell pepper skillet. Rather than stuffing the meat and rice filling into whole bell peppers, this recipe combines everything into an easy skillet meal. This recipe has been a family favorite for years!
Pork tenderloin is an especially kid-friendly cut of meat because it cooks up nice and tender (aka, easy for little ones to eat). This recipe features a flavorful sauce and carrots that cook right in the same skillet as the pork. Serve it with rice for an easy weeknight dinner.
With pasta, cheese, veggies and tomato sauce, the whole family will love this comforting hamburger casserole. This recipe makes delicious leftovers, too, so you might even get a night off from cooking!
This 20 minute recipe makes the best fried rice with egg and vegetables. Stir in some cooked chicken or air fryer shrimp to add extra protein, or serve the fried rice alongside simple baked chicken breasts.
Most kids love pizza, and this pizza dough recipe is our favorite way to make pizza at home. You can even roll out small crusts and let everyone make their own personal pizza. Kids will love adding their own sauce, cheese and toppings to their pizza crust!
40 Best Kid-Friendly Dinner Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 bell pepper, chopped small, any color
- 2 medium carrots, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies*, such as RO*TEL
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni pasta, whole wheat or white
- 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar, Monterey jack, mozzarella, or a combination
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet* or pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and carrots and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and salt to the pan with the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chilies, pasta, black beans, kidney beans and water. Stir.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook, stirring every few minutes, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in most of the cheese, reserving a little for sprinkling on top. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Serve.
Notes
- You will need a skillet or pot that is at least 12 inches wide and 2 inches deep to fit the full recipe.
- This recipe makes a chili mac with some spice to it. The spice is not overwhelming, but if your family prefers less spice I’d recommend using mild diced tomatoes with green chilies or subbing with a can of diced tomatoes without green chilies (fire roasted diced tomatoes would be delicious). To make the chili mac spicier, add a small amount of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes along with the other seasonings.
- To add meat to this recipe, add ground beef or ground turkey to the pan after sautéing the onion, carrots and bell pepper for a few minutes. Cook the meat, crumbling, until browned and then proceed with the recipe.
Meal planning is definitely hard, especially for kids! My husband can be picky, so I have to watch what I make, too. And I often do the same…I plan on cooking a few nights a week, and with that, I try to plan for leftovers for the following nights. Makes life much easier! 🙂 I love the dinner ideas you listed, Kristine! Sounds like there’s something for everyone, including picky husbands! 🙂 I love the looks of that cheesy beef pasta skillet and chicken taco soup!
It looks delicious! My little brother and my little cousins will surely love this. Thanks!
I feel like a short order cook sometimes but now I make them eat a little of what I made and if they don’t like it they’re old enough to fend for themselves! I think these meals would be a hit and I know I would love all of them!
Thank you for the list!
My9 year-old daughter always wants to help me whenever I’m in the kitchen. She just love cooking with me.
The recipes are simple (more for me) so I can walk her through the process. It’s been a lot of fun and allows some extra bonding time for us.
What are your other no recipe weekly meals?
Pasta with jarred marinara sauce, grilled cheese sandwiches with canned soup, quesadillas, burgers, and tuna melts are a few of our other favorites. 🙂
Hve not yet tried it but thanks for the many recipe ideas. My children are becoming tired of the same things so they are ready to try new dishes. I think they will enjoy your Chili Mac Recipe. Looks delicious and quick to prepare.