Are you on the hunt for few quick family dinner ideas to add to your menu this week? These are some of our favorites that we eat on repeat. From none to done – have dinner ready faster than you can get through a drive-thru line. And they are healthier too.
We have four kids. Most nights we are on the go from one activity straight to another. Quick family dinner ideas are a must to get dinner on our table. Utilizing quick family dinner ideas in under 30 minutes cuts down on the time in the drive through.
One Sheet-Pan Quick Family Dinner Ideas
During Brandon’s dental school we didn’t have a lot of money to go out. He was often studying. We found some quick meals that were budget friendly that we actually enjoyed. These sheet pan dinners are perfect!
BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizza: Our kids even love this one. Most of them request no onions, but they love the rest of it!
One-Pan Veggies & Sausage: We ate this all the time in dental school. It’s as easy as it sounds. I’ll update the next time we make this with a photo. Cover the cookie sheet with tinfoil. Add chopped veggies: we like using broccoli, cauliflower, red onions, sometimes squash. Spread it out in one layer and lightly spray olive oil cooking spray, then add your favorite spice sprinkled to the top. Next, cut up your favorite pre-cooked chicken sausages into bite-sized pieces. Add that to the chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Just enough that it’s heated through and the veggies are tender.
Mexican Quick Family Dinner Ideas
Our family loves Mexican food. It’s what we pick when we choose to go out most often. Often we don’t even have time to sit at a quick Mexican place. Here are a few of our favorite quick Mexican meals that we can whip up right at home.
- Chicken Tostada/Tacos: Second, this recipe is quick. Just grab an inexpensive rotisserie chicken at Costco.
- Easy Chicken Burritos: These require crockpot cooking, but they are so easy. They take less than 5 minutes to throw in the crockpot. Let them cook all day. Ready to eat when you are.
Quick Family Dinner Ideas Using Pasta
When you’re in a bind it’s just easier to grab ingredients off the shelf. Pasta is great to store and has a longer shelf life.
- Tortellini Pasta: First, the best part about this quick family dinner is you can always keep these ingredients on hand. If you make a lot of pasta, be sure to have one of these pot/strainer combos. We use ours often!
- Quick Sauce Spaghetti: Thaw some turkey burger or hamburger from your freezer, saute it with onions and garlic. Grab a can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and Hunts meat sauce. Simmer together with oregano, basil, salt and pepper and some rosemary. Add cooked meat. Top over your cooked spaghetti noodles and you have a quick family dinner idea.
Quick Family Dinner Ideas with Soup
- White Bean Chicken Chili
- Taco Soup
- Olive Garden Zupa Toscana
- Enchilada Soup
More Quick Family Dinner Ideas Copycat Recipes
- Wingers Sticky Finger Salad: Next, have you ever been to Wingers? Or tried a sticky finger? This is one of our family repeats. Cater this one to your spice preference, and if you have young kids who don’t like spice at all, leave the sauce off and call it a Chicken Salad, however, it’s still delicious.
- These aren’t quick but are definitely a fun copycat meal of Cafe Rio/Costa Vida.
- Olive Garden Zupa Toscana
Prep-Ahead in a Crockpot
- Roast: Just needs 1/4 cup water, roast, 1 packet of each: ranch dressing, italian dressing, & brown gravy. Mix together and pour over roast in the crockpot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until tender. Add in veggies for the last hour.
- Chicken over Rice: Cream cheese, chicken breast, salsa, seasoning. Add over chicken in crockpot and cook for 5-6 hours on high. Shred 1 hour before finishing and let cook.
- Burritos: These are some of our very favorite burritos.
More Family Favorite Meals
We love trying out new meals and having a menu variety. But keeping things simple and having favorite recipes memorized is a major time-saver. It also helps to save time in the grocery store. If you liked these quick family ideas, you’ll want to check out these.