A Week of Quick Dinner Ideas for Kids

These easy 20-minute quick dinner ideas for kids hit all the marks for fast, nutritious, and accessible. And they’re meals that both little kids and adults can share too.

Whether you work, stay home, do some mix of the two, have 1 kiddo or 7, love to cook or hate it, serving up dinner that the kids and adults can agree on when you’re short on time is HARD. (And it’s hard even for those of us who write about it for a living!)

To help give you a few quick and easy ideas to share with your family, these recipes are ready in about 20-30 minutes OR LESS and are designed for everyone at your table.

You may need to adjust how something is cut (and cut things smaller for a baby eating finger foods or a one year old) or add hot sauce or more salt to an adult portion.

And you also may want to add a simple side like crackers and cheese, applesauce, fruit, or a quick veggie like Roasted Broccoli or Sauteed Carrots.

Otherwise, here’s hoping these ideas are useful for you and your family.

(Find my Master List of Family Dinner Ideas and my go-to freezer meals for families to help, too.)

You can serve this easy family dinner idea—with chicken, beans, and a veggie-sauce mixture—as taco filling, or pair it with rice. It works in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, and you could even buy precooked rice.

Round out the meal with some fruit and dessert, or some shredded cheese, sour cream, or salsa depending on what your family likes best.

TIP: The vegetable sauce gets pureed quickly so you don’t have to worry about your kids picking out a stray veggie chunk.

I love this shortcut method for making fish tacos. Simply prepare frozen fish sticks (or try my homemade Baked Fish Sticks) and serve with warmed tortillas and your favorite taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, chopped avocado, sliced bell pepper, or guac.

(These Bean and Cheese Quesadillas are also fast and easy.)

TIP: To warm a stack of tortillas, wrap with a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, or until warm, flipping the stack over halfway through.

Wednesday: Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Browned Meat with Peas

One kid doesn’t like tomato sauce, one kid loves meat but a parent doesn’t, another can’t stand peas but her brother is obsessed.

Make pasta night easier on yourself by putting all of the options into separate bowls and letting everyone help themselves to the foods they want.

I like using a jar of marinara sauce on weeknights (and every other day, if I’m being honest), though you can also make homemade marinara. And frozen peas warm up in under about 2 minutes. Brown the ground beef (or turkey or chicken) in a small amount of olive oil in a large pan for about 8-10 minutes.

You can make all of the components of this meal ahead and simply warm up right before dinner time, or quickly cook when you get home.

TIP: Try rotisserie chicken, fully cooked sausage, fully cooked shrimp, or cooked marinated tofu to make the protein even easier.

My kids love this easy family dinner: Rice noodles simply need to soak in hot water to soften, so that can be happening while you sauté some tofu and veggies in a pan on the stove.

I like to use toasted sesame oil and sauté the tofu cubes on both sides (about 4-5 minutes on each side over medium heat) with some simple veggies like broccoli florets, edamame, shredded carrots, or even corn.

You can top with homemade Peanut Sauce or use a store-bought kind.

This is so good for the end of the week! Pull out all lingering veggies, fruit, cheese, meat, and snack foods and arrange them on a plate to share. We like to include thinly sliced salami (cut it up into smaller pieces as needed) and add foods we all like such as hummus, cheese, and nuts.

Adjust the ingredients here according to the chewing abilities of your kids, and add different crackers, meats, and cheeses that appeal to both kids and parents.

Sandwich night is always a good idea in my house. And while we love this veggie grilled cheese, we also sometimes do BLTs, a classic turkey sandwich, BBQ Chicken, or some other sandwich for a quick weekend meal.

Add some roasted potatoes or frozen (and then cooked!) French fries on the side or go with baked beans, a simple salad, and/or fruit.

This soup supper feels fancy enough for Sunday dinner but is easy enough to pull off if you spend the whole day running around with the kids.

We also like to add some sliced Italian bread or crackers on the side of this one!

Best Tips for Success

• It’s also a nice time to remind us all that prepared food, takeout, and leftovers are easy options, too—for any night of the week.
• Try the easy Huevos Rancheros Tacos recipe below as another option.

What’s your favorite fast family dinner? I’d love to know so please share below in the comments!

Get Recipe Ingredients

• Warm a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the butter or oil to the pan. When melted, spread around the pan with a spatula.
• Crack the eggs into the pan and stir regularly but gently with a spatula until cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Add shredded cheese and sprinkle with salt, if desired, to serve.

• Meanwhile, add 4-8 taco size tortillas to a tortilla warmer or wrap with a damp, clean kitchen towel. Warm in the microwave for about 1 minute.

• Serve tacos with any toppings you like such as shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, or hot sauce (for the adults).

• Use more or fewer eggs and tortillas as desired.
• For kids under about 2, it may be easier for them to chew the tortillas if warm and cut into thin strips.
• Add a sprinkle of salt and cumin for more flavor.
• Add a side of fruit and warmed beans to make this more substantial.

Serving: 2 tacos, Calories: 388kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 350mg, Sodium: 625mg, Potassium: 228mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 704IU, Calcium: 216mg, Iron: 4mg

This post was first posted in October 2018.