35 Favorite Dinner Ideas for Kids (Easy, Yummy, and Nutritious)

This bright green pesto is cheesy and mild, making it a perfect sauce for a quick dinner of pasta and peas!

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Peas

With a simple cheese sauce—no standing and stirring over the stove here!—a solid dose of veggies, and a super creamy final result, this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a fast lunch or dinner option for toddlers. (And the rest of the family, too!)

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (5-Ingredient)

Friends, meet my new favorite lightning fast dish. This Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese requires just 5 simple ingredients, zero prep work, and is just the yummiest pasta recipe! 

Easy Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

This easy skillet dinner is super cozy and super versatile. You can use freshly diced butternut squash or precut squash from the store and frozen peas or broccoli according to what you have or prefer. See the Notes for vegetarian options.

Quick Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage

This Pasta with Pea Sauce is fast, creamy, and so yummy. It’s also high in fiber and protein, and tastes so delicious with fresh herbs like mint!

Pasta with Pea Sauce

These baked chicken nuggets have simple ingredients and a pleasantly crispy exterior. Aim to cut the chicken into similarly sized pieces so they bake evenly.

Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets

With just four simple and affordable ingredients, you can make tender Baked Chicken Meatballs to share with the kids. Bonus: You can tuck a veggie into the mix, and they are perfect to batch-cook and stash in the freezer!

4-Ingredient Baked Chicken Meatballs

These crispy Chicken Tenders are fast and versatile. To make these with panko breadcrumbs, use 1 cup and stir ¼ teaspoon salt into the flour before you dredge the chicken.

Easy Baked Chicken Tenders

With just a few ingredients, you can transform chicken into the yummiest Chicken Fritters to share with the kids. These are great as a baby-led weaning food, a nutritious finger food, or just a delish family dinner option.

Easy Chicken Fritters

With just two ingredients, you can cook up deliciously moist and tender Instant Pot BBQ Chicken to use over noodles or rice or in sandwiches. So easy—and ready in about 20 minutes!

Easiest Instant Pot BBQ Chicken

Forget takeout—deliver this popular Indian dish to your table instead. Shredded chicken thighs are coated in a rich, buttery sauce with hints of tomatoes, ginger, and garam masala—a messy but very flavorful finger food. Adapted from The Multi-Cooker Baby Food Cookbook.

Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, these Homemade Chicken Nuggets are both easy and delicious. You can prep the sweet potato up to 5 days ahead if that’s easier for you, too. Try serving these with ketchup, ranch, or marinara sauce.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets (with Sweet Potato)

Tofu is typically sold in 14-16 ounce blocks. If yours is 16 ounces, you may need 1 ¼ cup panko. The garlic powder is optional, but adds nice flavor.

Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets (SO Good and Easy)

Try this quick family dinner the next time you’re craving fresh comfort food—and want to please the entire family! You can add a protein to this dish if you’d like. See the Notes for options.

20-Minute Stir Fry Noodles

I like to use vegetables like carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, and snap peas in this easy recipe. Plan to cook the rice ahead of time or to get it started first.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice and Tofu

Easy Baked Zucchini Fritters

These tender Egg Muffins are packed with protein and vitamins—and can be made ahead of time! Add any veggie you like, whether carrots, butternut squash, broccoli, or spinach.

Mini Egg Muffins with Cheese and Veggies

You can use ABC pasta, orzo, pastina, or ditalini—or any other very small pasta shape in this Alphabet Soup recipe. And you can start with fresh or frozen veggies. See below for options.

Favorite Alphabet Soup

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

Fluffy pizza bites are a delicious lunch or dinner option—and you can customize the filling to please your kids! We like these with a little side of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Favorite Pizza Bites

For delicious homemade pizza without the work and in a lot less time, Flatbread Pizza to the rescue. Adjust this for allergies as you need.

10-Minute Flatbread Pizza (Just 3 Ingredients!)

With three simple ingredients, iron and vitamin C in the sauce, and a kid-friendly format, this super easy Pesto Pizza is a perfect kids lunch or dinner that parents will enjoy, too!

Quick and Easy Pesto Pizza

Whether you’re looking for a healthy make-ahead dinner for the whole family or a new way to serve up veggies, these Homemade Pizza Pockets are a delish option. (If using Homemade Pizza Dough, make it at least an hour before you plan to assemble the pockets. If using store-bought, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so it’s not too cold when you try to form the pockets.)

Favorite Pizza Pockets

This Pizza Rolls recipe is packed with nutrition—and even greens!—but the cheese, and silly spiral shape makes them much more appeal to toddlers and big kids. Be sure to grease your pan well and roll the dough up fairly tightly around the fillings for best results. (But it’s okay if they don’t look perfect when they go into the pan!) 

Favorite Pizza Rolls (with Veggies)

With an easy method and a fun result, these Pizza Cups are a yummy dinner to share with the kids. They’re ready in under 30 minutes, can be made with homemade or store-bought pizza dough, and work with any toppings your kids like!

Pizza Cups (Pizza Cupcakes)

These work well to make ahead and warm up for an easy lunch or dinner. These taste best served warm.

Pizza Muffins (with Veggies!)

I like to prep the veggies and rice ahead of time so that the process of making the nuggets is a little quicker. You can of course do it all at once though!

Homemade Veggie Nuggets (with 3 Veggies!)

Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, these tots are a seriously fun way to serve broccoli. You can cook the rice up to 5 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the tots.

Homemade Broccoli Tots (Better Than the Freezer Aisle!)

With two veggies right in the sauce, this Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese is a favorite kids dinner. (Try having the kids make it with you and watch the veggies disappear!)

Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese

Serve up veggies in a kid-friendly form with these SO-good Veggie Muffins. They have broccoli, carrots, protein, and kid-approved flavor!

Easy Veggie Muffins

With the texture you expect from a traditional meatball but added nutrition from three types of veggies, your whole family will love these.

Healthy Meatballs (with Hidden Vegetables)