All of us live busy lives, and routines make everything easier. For this reason, we tend to cook the same things every week in a reliable rotation. While this makes life and grocery shopping easier, variety is the spice of life. Why not do something different for fun family dinners?
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. We know what our families love to eat and we are happy to accommodate them for family meals.
Also, cooking the same dishes over and over makes mealtime easy.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to change things up occasionally. Also, when you try new easy family dinner recipes, you might just find a new family favorite.
Here are some family meal ideas that you can consider:
Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and a Caesar salad
Tacos or burrito bowls with seasoned ground beef or chicken, black beans, lettuce, cheese, and salsa
Grilled chicken or fish with roasted vegetables and quinoa or brown rice
Homemade pizza with your favorite toppings and a side salad
Baked ziti with garlic bread and a mixed green salad
Stir-fry with your choice of protein, mixed vegetables, and rice or noodles
Roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans
Vegetable soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Beef or vegetable stew with crusty bread
Veggie burgers with sweet potato fries and a side salad.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. You can always mix and match different proteins, vegetables, and sides to create your own unique family meals.
Comfort food at its finest, tuna noodle casserole isn’t served as much as it used to be.
When we were kids, there were fewer households with two working parents, so whoever was working at home had to be creative in spending the food budget.
Tuna noodle casserole is easy on the budget, but what we have forgotten is how delicious it is.
You can use mushroom soup as listed, but then maybe you can switch things up a bit and try a chicken soup or ham soup version.
You can get equally creative with the veggies. For example, use corn instead of peas, and maybe try tomato or broccoli. Serve this casserole with a sweet potato to make it a homey meal.
Also called turkey bolognese, this dish is ready in less than an hour, has loads of flavor, and is somewhat healthier than the traditional ragu that is made with beef and pork tenderloin.
This recipe uses ground turkey and turkey bacon, so you’re serving an incredibly low-fat meal to your family.
One thing that makes ragu so delicious is the red wine and fresh basil.
You can make the marinara sauce from scratch, but if you don’t have time, a store-bought marinara will work just fine.
You can serve this as a zucchini noodle dish if you’re feeling creative.
If you’re doing Meatless Monday every week, how about giving hearty black bean burgers a try for a weeknight dinner?
Not every family member may embrace a day of eating no meat, but these burgers make it effortless.
Best of all, you can load your burgers up with all of the normal fixings. Try grilled onions, garlic, pepper, and feta cheese for a gourmet meatless meal that’s packed full of protein.
Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, you may find yourself suddenly excited about Meatless Mondays when you know you’re serving these burgers.
When you combine two legendary favorites like pizza and Mexican food, you’ve created a dinner the entire family will love.
The best thing about Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is that it’s amazing for lunch or dinner.
The last time we checked, Taco Bell isn’t offering their popular pizza anymore. For now, if you want this addictive pizza, you will have to make it at home.
The beans, crunchy tortilla, tangy sauce, seasoned beef, and loads of cheese are so satisfying and tasty.
Want to go all out? Make some chicken tacos to go with your pizza.
You can also make this so that it’s vegetarian.
Serve this pizza with guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo to make it a full-blown feast.
In other words, ribs do best when they’re cooked at a low temperature for a long time.
For this recipe, the ribs bake for two to three hours in an oven that’s heated to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
Of course, you have to be home to bake these ribs because they’re oven-cooked, but just pour yourself a nice big glass of wine and sit down and read a book.
Then, in a few hours, you will have the perfect dinner for your family.
These ribs are delicious with mashed potatoes or potato salad.
This delicious pasta dish takes only 15 minutes to prep.
Once your pasta is just short of al dente, simply mix in the sauce you’ve warmed up and bake the entire dish for a filling, thick, but perfectly light meal.
You can use storebought pasta sauce, but if you make your own, you have full control over the ingredients and how much salt you put into it.
This pasta recipe makes use of the most simple ingredients: milk, cheese, and cream cheese.
What you have is a dish that’s positively bursting with flavor. We love the vibrant kale and intense sundried tomato flavor.
Chili is such a great meal to have on cool fall evenings, and this white chicken chili is full of protein and goodness.
When you make a big old pot of chili, it can feed your family for days. Also, this chili freezes well, so you can even put some in the freezer for busy weeknights.
The pale coloring is delightful, and the corn adds a satisfying crunch and sweetness.
To make this even easier, cook it in the slow cooker. Crock Pot chili is the best, isn’t it?
Serve this delicious chili with avocado slices and lime to make it super special.
Do you feel intimidated by the idea of making homemade garlic knots? Don’t be! It’s much easier than you would imagine.
Yeast isn’t as complicated to work with as people think. And you will end up with some delicious rolls that are brimming with garlic flavor.
You can make a big batch of these in advance when you have spare time and then freeze them up after you roll them into shape.
Then, just pull these tasty rolls out of the freezer when you want delicious bread to go with your family dinner. These garlic knots are great with pasta dishes or pork tenderloin.
When does English country food meet American comfort food? With shepherd’s pie!
How did this traditional English dish become one of the most beloved easy family dinners for busy Americans? We don’t know who first brought shepherd’s pie to the colonies, but we’re sure glad they did.
When it’s made with ground beef, this dish is actually called a cottage pie, but most people just stick with calling all of it shepherd’s pie. We’re OK with that!
Here’s a bonus idea: try cooking your shepherd’s pie in the slow cooker. It’s so easy and delicious.
Here is a video with even more delicious family dinner ideas. Enjoy!
Our 30+ BEST Family Dinner Ideas (+Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork)
These recipes are sure to please. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
