30+ Kid-Friendly Dinners

These Kid-Friendly Dinners come highly recommended and are perfect to try with your picky eaters. They’re simple, easy and can be served with a variety of side dishes. 

Hi friends!

Let’s talk kid-friendly dinners, shall we? Lately, I’ve been in a little bit of a dinner rut when it comes to feeding my family. Survival seems to be the name of the game lately and I don’t have a lot of energy left over for dinner planning. Add in that I’ve got a couple of kids who aren’t the most adventurous eaters and it has me falling into the trap of serving many of the same things over and over. 

I decided it was time to learn what some kid-friendly favorites were in other houses so I reached out to my Instagram community and made a list! Of course, some of the responses were the “stereotypical kid dinners”, yet even so, they’re still good ideas! I haven’t made pulled pork sliders in forever and my oldest loves them. So here are 10 easy ideas that don’t even need a recipe:

1. Spaghetti with Meatballs
2. Tacos/Nachos
3. Breakfast for Dinner
4. Mac and Cheese
5. Hot Dogs/Pigs in a Blanket
6. Hamburgers
7. Quesadillas
8. Pizza
9. Chicken Noodle Soup
10. BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

Then I made a list of specific types of recipes that were recommended several times like lemon chicken and hamburger helper and asked people to submit links to a specific recipe if they use one and it’s a hit with their family. Here are some fan favorites:

Kid-Friendly Dinners

• Cheesy Ham and Rice via Iowa Girl Eats (pictured above)
• Lemon Chicken via Ina Garten
• Change Your Life Chicken Shawarma via The Lazy Genius
• Turkey Pumpkin White Bean Chili via Skinny Taste – top with cheese and Fritos or serve with tortilla chips for scooping
• Pizza Pasta Bake via Spend with Pennies

• Pasta with Chickpeas via Smitten Kitchen (pictured above)
• Creamy Chicken Quinoa Broccoli Casserole via Pinch of Yum
• One-Pot Hamburger Helper via The Defined Dish
• Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie via Sally’s Baking Addiction or this one from Pillsbury
• Easy Chicken Marinade via The Lean Green Bean – after marinating I cook in a pan with carrots and serve with orzo.

• Fall Apart Slow Cooker Chicken via Wholefully (pictured above)
• Pesto Chicken Tortellini via The Lean Green Bean (make this even easier by using chicken sausage and just mixing it with pasta, pesto and peas)
• Skillet Tater Tot Casserole via Iowa Girl Eats
• Greek-Style Chicken via The Defined Dish
• Honey Soy Salmon 

• Best Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup via Modern Minimalism (pictured above) Serve with crusty bread for dipping!
• Sloppy Joes via Divas Can Cook
• Three Layer Lasagna via Barilla
• Instant Pot Hamburger Stroganoff via Julie’s Eats & Treats
• Shrimp Scampi (replace zoodles with regular noodles if you want. You can also sub chicken for shrimp)

• Chicken Parmesan via Well Plated (pictured above)
• Meatloaf via The Wholesome Dish
• Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta via Plain Chicken
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta via Crafty Morning
• Swedish Meatballs via Damn Delicious

 

A few more ideas to try:

1. Chicken Tortilla Soup – especially served with tortilla chips for dipping
2. Fish Sticks – you could make your own. I buy mine premade. Easy way to get fish into all 3 kids at my house.
3. Chow Mein – I loved this dish as a kid and I was a VERY picky eater
4. Stuffed Shells – start simple with just sausage and cheese and then you can start working some veggies in!

Let’s chat:

Do your kids have a favorite recipe?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–