If you’re looking for some really, really easy dinner ideas you can prep, make, and try out with your family, then these easy dinner recipes for family are at your rescue!
Choosing the right kid-friendly meals can be especially hard when you have picky eaters. You’ll also have to give them the nutrition they need as they grow up. These dishes are not only healthy but they’re also perfect for last-minute dinners and busy parents on a budget!
Do you want more dinner recipes that will make your nights so much better? Then you should definitely check out our 17 Easy Creamy Pasta Recipes You Should Try For Dinner article!
20 Super Easy Dinner Recipes For A Family With Kids
Cheesy Potato Tacos
We’ll start this list of easy dinner recipes for a family with these kid-approved tacos! You can customize tacos however you like. But for this one, we’ll use ingredients kids love. With some potatoes, sour cream, taco seasonings, shredded cheddar cheese, and tortillas. You can also top it off with the classic salsa!
Nacho Pizza
What’s better than nachos and pizza? A combination of both! This nacho pizza recipe is sure to make your game nights sooo much better. For this recipe, you’ll need the ingredients of pizza and nachos. Those are pizza dough, marinara sauce, cheeses, ground beef, lettuce, and taco seasoning. You can even add some Doritos for an extra crunch.
Chick ‘N’ Veggie Fried Rice
As we mentioned in our 17 Easy High Protein Meal Prep Recipes We Love The Most article, this meal is not only high in protein but also filling and delicious. And if you want to sneak in some veggies for the kids, you won’t have any problems doing so!
Creamy Chicken Pasta Soup
This meal is another one of our kid-friendly easy dinner recipes for a family! With ingredients like chicken broth, shredded chicken, some cheeses, and heavy cream, you can easily whip up this meal. You can also sneak in some veggies like carrots and spinach to make it healthier!
Cheese Quesadillas
You can make these easy cheese quesadillas with just 2 main ingredients: tortillas and cheese! The only other ingredient you’ll need is butter. You can also choose any kind of cheese you want, like cheddar, mozzarella, or even both!
Classic Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese recipes are classic for a reason. They’re easy to make, yummy, and of course, kids love ‘em! For an ultra-creamy mac and cheese, you’ll need some flour, butter, seasonings, macaroni noodles, and Velveeta cheese. If you’re looking for more creamy pasta recipes, then you should definitely check this out.
Easy Swedish Meatballs
We all know what menu this dish is from but did you know that you can easily make it at home too? You can make meatballs with some ground pork and beef, eggs, and different seasonings. For the gravy, you’ll need butter, flour, beef broth, heavy cream, and different spices!
Mini Corn Dogs
Corn dogs aren’t just for carnivals. They make the perfect dinner for kids too! And since this recipe is mini ones, kids of all ages can enjoy them too. You can make these with some buttermilk, egg, honey, yellow cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and hot dogs cut into thirds.
Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Even though this recipe is featured in our keto meal prep ideas, it’s still kid-friendly! You’ll just need some flank steak, olive oil, broccoli, and sesame seeds. To complete the meal, you can add some stir-fry sauce– whether it’s premade or made from scratch.
Sausage and Apple Pie
Want a savory twist on the sweet apple pie? This sausage and apple pie is the answer! For its filling, you’ll need some apples, apple cider or juice, sugar, and pork sausage. And surprise! This recipe also uses a cheddar crust so you’ll need some flour, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.
Chicken Alfredo
Another one of our easy dinner recipes for a family is chicken alfredo, which is also featured in our 20 Best Italian Pasta Recipes To Try article! This classic Italian meal calls for some fettuccine, chicken breasts, heavy cream, herbs, and spices. Don’t forget your cheese and some chopped parsley for garnish.
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets are a classic meal for children but they aren’t really the healthiest. By prepping and making your own, you can make them a lot healthier! You can make these with some panko breadcrumbs, skinless chicken breasts, and different spices and seasonings. Since you can also choose how to cook them, it can be a lot healthier!
Parmesan Fish Sticks
If your kids are picky eaters and you want to add some fish to their meals, then you should definitely check out this recipe! You’ll just need some salmon, flour, egg whites, and bread crumbs. You can also stuff some cheese to make it more enjoyable! For its doping sauce, you can simply combine some mayo, yogurt, mustard, and chives!
Sloppy Joes
This recipe is also featured in our 20 Weight Watchers Recipes With Points list but you don’t have to be a weight watcher to enjoy it! With some ground meat, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and paste, and some seasonings, you’ll be able to make these easily! You can also sneak in some veggies to make them healthier.
Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
Making these slow-cooker meals can take time but they’re really easy! You can make this dinner with a rack of baby back ribs, some BBQ sauce, and different seasonings and spices. To be fair, it really won’t take you that much time. You can prep ‘em in the morning and they’d be good to go for dinner!
Cheeseburger Casserole
Do you want to make cheeseburgers less messy? This kid-friendly dinner calls for some Rotini pasta, ground beef, garlic and onion, different seasonings, tomatoes (diced and paste), mustard, and tons of cheese! You can have this comforting hearty meal in no time.
Chicken Fajitas
Chicken fajitas go way back to our 17 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas To Simplify Your Life article. You can make this Mexican classic with some chicken breasts, bell peppers, lime juice, and cilantro. Toss these, together with some seasoning, in a sheet pan and throw them in the oven! When you serve them, you can include some flour tortillas, avocado slices or guacamole, and other toppings of your choice!
Chicken Tenders
Chicken tenders are probably one of our best easy dinner recipes for a family with kids! These boneless chicken wings are safe to eat and only call for ingredients you probably already have. You’ll just need some chicken breasts, breading, and a wet batter made with cornstarch, salt, water, and eggs.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Grilled cheese sandwiches are the best! And you can even make them better with a bit of fanciness. To do that, you’ll need some good-quality bread like sourdough bread, different kinds of cheese like muenster and Asiago, some Dijon mustard, and different seasonings. Talk about fancy!
Cheesy Tex-Mex Pasta
Even though these are one of our best adult lunch box ideas, they can also be one of your easy dinner recipes for a family! Your kids will definitely enjoy this oh-so-cheesy pasta. With some ground beef, beef broth, veggies, black beans, Rigatoni pasta, and cheese, you can have this meal in less than 20 minutes. Oh, and did we mention that you can make this meal in just one pot?
Dinner With The Family
Having family meals is important for a great family life. You get to communicate with each other, teach your children by example, build their self-esteem, and just overall develop a good family dynamic. This can also prevent serious psychosocial issues and even weight struggles in adulthood.
But having dinner with the family just doesn’t contribute to a healthy family life. You also learn to have a better relationship with food! It promotes healthy eating habits and weight control. Since your prepped meals are more balanced and nutritious, they can also contribute a lot to your physical health. Kids also get exposed to a wide variety of food so they can become less picky over time!
While prepping dinners is very easy, it can get trickier when children are around. You’ll have to consider the best for them! Of course, you can easily make any dish kid-friendly but if you’re looking for a cheat sheet that will make it a lot easier, then this article of easy dinner recipes for a family will save you!
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