Do you struggle to make dinners that your kids will actually eat? Struggle no more! Here are kid-tested, kid-friendly dinner ideas that make dinnertime less painful!
It’s hard to feed kids. I spent several years trying to convince myself that it isn’t, but the truth is that it really is. They change their tastes depending on which way the wind is blowing. This is especially true at dinnertime, when they are tired after a long day of kidding. And let’s be honest, I’m often tired after a long day of adulting too. Heck, I wrote a whole post about how not to hate dinnertime.
The last thing I want to do at the end of a long day is fight with my kids about eating their dinner. Yes, I follow @feedinglittles and I know that food should be presented without pressure and I shouldn’t worry too much about how much food they are eating at each meal. But, I’m human. I want my kids to have the nutrients and fuel that their bodies need. It’s also frustrating when they don’t eat their dinners and say they are hungry after they have brushed their teeth.
My goal
So, my goal at dinnertime is to avoid a fight about food and reduce the chances of having to brush their teeth more than once at night. It hasn’t been easy to figure out how to do this, and I’m going to be honest, my method isn’t foolproof. We still have the occasional dinnertime fight or late night snack. But, they are fewer and farther between than ever before.
So, what’s my method? A list of kid-friendly dinner ideas that I can keep on my fridge and go to often. What makes these kid-friendly? They are almost guaranteed to be eaten and they’re relatively nutritious. That’s it. My bar is low here.
It’s taken a while, but I’ve come to understand that it’s OK that my standards for what makes a good kid-friendly dinner aren’t high right now. This is the season of life that we are in now. It won’t last forever. But, for now, these are the kid-friendly dinner ideas that work for us now. And I sincerely hope they work for you and your kids too. This is a long one, so buckle up!
Kid-Friendly Dinner Ideas
Ham
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, kids love ham. And thankfully for the moms and dads out there, ham is easy to put on the dinner table. It’s a kid-friendly dinner that the whole family can get behind. It’s the perfect no-recipe dinner – a dump and go delight! If you don’t know where to start, just follow what I do!
Pineapple ham
What you need
1 Pre-sliced, fully-cooked ham (I like the Kentucky Legend brand)
1 20 oz can of pineapple tidbits
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar (optional)
How to make it
Remove the ham from its wrapping and slide it into your slow cooker, juice and all. If you want it a little sweeter, rub the ham with the brown sugar at this point. Dump the can of pineapple tidbits over the top of the ham (don’t drain the pineapple!). Set your slow cooker to low and let it go for a few hours (no more than 3 hours). Voila! You have a delicious ham!
What to serve with it
You can add whatever side dishes your kids like. In my house, that’s mac and cheese and baby carrots (roasted for everyone but the 5-year-old, raw for him).
Meatloaf
I don’t know why people turn their noses up at meatloaf. It’s delicious and easy. And most kids I’ve ever met inhale it. I mean, it’s a vehicle for ketchup, which is every kid’s favorite food group. It’s also easy to customize to your family’s specific taste preferences and it can come together quickly for a good portable on-the-go dinner option too. Is there a more perfect kid-friendly dinner option?
Easy meatloaf
What you need
1 lb ground meat of your choice (we usually use turkey)
1 egg
1/3 Cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A few squirts of ketchup
A few squirts of yellow mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
How to make it
Toss all of the ingredients above into a bowl. Get in there with your God-given utensils, your hands, and mix well. Mold the mixture into a log shape on a baking sheet or just throw it into a loaf pan. Bake at 375°F or until cooked through.
What to serve with it
It’s not meatloaf night in our house without mashed potatoes. Even if they’re pre-prepared mashed potatoes from the grocery store. We also always add a vegetable to round it out. This is usually peas when my husband isn’t home for dinner. If he does join us for meatloaf night, I pick another vegetable, like green beans.
Lasagna roll-ups
Do not sleep on these lasagna roll-ups. My kids inhale them. Even when I’m serving them a few days later as leftovers. I’m not sure there is another kid-friendly dinner on this list that is just as exciting to them as leftovers as it is wen it comes fresh out of the oven. The Skinnytaste version that uses cottage cheese is our particular favorite because the cottage cheese gives these roll-ups a but of a protein bump, which is always appreciated. No one wakes up hangry the next morning – is this a modern-day miracle?
What to serve with it
We keep it simple with a side salad. My kids love a Caesar salad or what my son calls orange crouton salad – the Southwest salad kit they sell at Sam’s Club. Sometimes we also add garlic bread if I’m feeling extra or just craving the best ever garlic bread. I’ve shared this recipe before, but because it’s just that good, here it is again.
Garlic bread
What you need
1 loaf of fresh Italian bread (not pre-sliced!)
5-6 Tbsp butter
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
How to make it
Slice the bread such that the bottom of the bread remains connected to the loaf. Melt the butter and mix in the minced garlic to make garlic butter. Brush the garlic butter on both sides of each slice of bread with a pastry brush. Pour any remaining garlic butter over the top of the loaf. Wrap the loaf in foil and bake in a 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes. It’s truly heaven!
Variations
Pasta, cheese, and tomato sauce combinations as a whole make great kid-friendly dinner ideas. You can easily add baked ziti (my recipe is here), ravioli casserole, or plain old spaghetti and meatballs into your dinner rotation to similar success.
Chili
You might be surprised to find chili on a list of kid-friendly dinner ideas but stay with me. We had chili for dinner last night and my 5-year-old raved about how much he loves chili until I kissed him goodnight. You can make a kid-friendly chili that isn’t spicy!
If your kids (or your partner) don’t like beans, chili is still a good option. You have options, even. First, we really love this no-bean sweet potato chili. The sweet potatoes are a really nice replacement for the beans to keep the chili feeling hearty. Alternatively, you can throw the beans in your food processer and mush them up. Then, add the bean mush to your chili to bulk it up a bit (and increase the protein).
What to serve with it
The classic accompaniment to chili is cornbread, and it’s classic for a reason. It’s just not chili night in our house without cornbread. You can find some good mixes at the grocery store if you don’t have time to make it homemade (just stay away from plain Jiffy if you’re not going to plus it up). If you have a bit of time on your hands and you want to sneak in a vegetable, consider broccoli cornbread. I’ve shared this recipe before, but I’m sharing it here again because it’s just that good.
Broccoli cornbread
What you need
4 eggs
1 box of frozen chopped broccoli
¼ tsp salt
1 Cup cottage cheese
1 stick butter, melted
2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix
How to make it
Throw the thawed broccoli, eggs, salt, and cottage cheese in the blender and blend until smooth-ish. Mix with the melted butter. Fold in cornbread mix. Pour the finished mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
Meatballs
Meatballs are fun, so it’s no surprise that they make my list of kid-friendly dinner ideas. They’re also super versatile – you can make meatballs and have them work in pretty much any cuisine. Of course, the Italian spaghetti and meatballs are classic, but you can also make meatballs for Mediterranean night or Asian night. Expect lots of clean plates on meatball night, especially if you make those Asian ginger meatballs. They are to die for!
What to serve with it
This will depend entirely on what type of meatballs you make. For Italian meatballs, I like spaghetti and salad. I like couscous for Mediterranean meatballs, and plain white rice for Asian meatballs.
Pizza
Pizza is an obvious kid-friendly dinner, so I won’t spend too much time on it here. What I really like about pizza is that it’s usually a good vehicle for me to try out new flavors on my kids. They are usually willing to try anything that’s on a pizza, at least once. If you want to branch out from the typical kid-approved cheese pizza, I have amassed a list of delicious topping combinations in my ultimate pizza toppings post.
Variations
Sure, everyone loves traditional pizza on a round crust, but you can mix up pizza night by varying the crust. Pizza bagels are a favorite in my house, as are tortilla pizzas (especially with pepperoni chickpeas). You can also build your pizza on top of a loaf of halves French bread or a store-bought sheet of puff pastry. Have fun with it!
Tacos
As I mentioned in my how not to hate dinnertime with kids post, my kids do really well with do-it-yourself dinners. They love the control they have when I let them be in charge of what they are eating. My kids’ favorite make-your-own dinner has got to be ground beef tacos. They love to fill the shell or tortilla with their favorite things and then chow down.
You don’t have to make taco night complicated, either. I’ve found that it’s the most kid-friendly dinner when I use a mild taco seasoning packet in ground beef, either hard or soft shells, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, and taco sauce. I love it when a kid-friendly dinner is also easy to get on the table!
Tomato soup
I’m not sure I can think of a more kid-friendly dinner than tomato soup and grilled cheese. If you’ve been reading Sara in Season for any length of time, you know that we eat a lot of tomato soup and grilled cheese in our house. I mean, it’s a classic for a reason – it’s delicious.
You can always open a can of tomato soup to make this meal super easy. I often do, to great success. If you want to make the soup yourself, I’ve found this simple tomato bisque recipe to be delicious.
What to serve with it
Grilled cheese, of course! You can go the simple route and slap a slice of cheese between two pieces of sandwich bread or you can jazz it up a bit. My favorite way to make grilled cheese is extra sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, and sourdough bread. But then again, I’m of the opinion that bacon makes everything better!
Pesto pie
When I asked my 5-year-old what his favorite dinners were to check my list, the first thing out of his mouth was pesto pie. I know that I’ve shared this as a favorite before, but if it works, it works!
I do want to warn you, though, that this is a kid-friendly dinner that you might want to save for the weekend. It’s a little labor intensive, but it’s worth it for the end result. It also makes a ton, and my kids don’t turn their noses up at leftover pesto pie, so you get quite a bit of bang for your buck.
What to serve with it
Like the lasagna roll-ups above, we like to round out our pesto pie dinner with a side salad. Anything you can get your kids to eat is the right salad to serve.
Shepherd’s pie
Shepherd’s pie (or rather, my mom’s inauthentic version) was one of my favorite dinners when I was a kid. Happily, it’s also something my kids like too so it definitely deserves a place on my list of kid-friendly dinner ideas. Now, if you grew up with authentic shepherd’s pie or cottage pie, look away now. This will probably offend you. If you don’t care about food being authentic, don’t miss this.
Shepherd’s pie
What you need
1 lb ground meat (I usually use beef)
Onion powder, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 oz frozen vegetables (I usually use peas)
2 Tbsp flour
1 Cup beef broth
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Mashed potatoes (homemade or store-bought
1 Cup shredded Cheddar cheese
How to make it
Brown the meat over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Remove from pan and set aside. To the same pan, add the olive oil. When heated, add garlic and toss until golden and fragrant. Add flour and mix well. Add frozen vegetables, broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and meat mixture. Simmer on low, about 10 minutes or until thickened. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture into an 8 x 8 pan, layer with mashed potatoes, and then top with cheese. Bake in a 400°F oven for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Other posts
Looking for more dinner inspiration? Check out these posts:
I hope this list of kid-friendly dinner ideas is helpful to you and your family. What did I miss that your kids love? Please share below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.