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With fall in full swing, parents of school-aged children across the country are facing a familiar challenge: dinner anxiety. The stress of putting a nutritious meal on the table that kids will actually eat, night after night, is a clichéd but very real pain point for families. Between organized sports, music lessons, clubs, homework, and bedtime routines, there’s often little energy left for cooking.
While we love our drive-thru options on especially hectic nights, most of us just want reliable meals that won’t blow the budget—and ideally include something that grew in the ground or on a tree. Crowd-pleasers like tacos and spaghetti get the job done, but after years of cranking out dinner every single night, even our favorites can start to feel stale.
Even if you’re not a parent, everyone can relate to hitting a cooking rut. And the best way to pull yourself out of one is to get a little help from your village. Sure, they might not cook for you, but sharing ideas can spark creativity in the kitchen, making the daily dinner task feel less tedious and a bit more fun.
I asked parents from across the country to share their go-to meals for the busiest nights, and their answers might just inspire you to try something new.
The Best Easy Dinners for Weeknights, According to Busy Parents
Sheet Pan Salmon
Sheet pan meals have been growing in popularity for almost two decades now—and for good reason. With only one easy dish to clean and no time spent hovering over a hot burner, sheet pan meals allow you to cook both protein and veggies at the same time. Kim Miceli, a Tennessee mom of three, loves this option for busy nights. “Baked salmon with lemon, butter, and garlic is super fast and always a winner, she says.” Choose a veggie with a similar baking time as the salmon (such as broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots) for an easy, hands-off dinner ready in under 30 minutes.
Spanakopita Crescent Rolls
Yolanda Gutierrez
From pigs in a blanket to filling a bread basket, crescent rolls have been gracing American dinner tables for decades. We love this fresh take on this Pillsbury classic, taking inspiration from the Greek dish spanakopita. Amber Swanson, Illinois mom of three, loves this dish for those sports practice nights when even a spare 30 minutes seems like a luxury. “I like to make chicken spanakopita with crescent rolls (phyllo cups are so much better, but that’s not happening during the week!)” This three-ingredient recipe uses fresh spinach, but Amber makes it even simpler by using frozen spinach and adding chicken, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta for a quick yet hearty meal.
Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Ramona Cruz-Peters
Fried rice is one of those meals that usually everyone can get behind. This recipe lets you skip the takeout and opt for a homemade version that uses busy parents’ favorite thing—leftovers! Cooked rice and shredded chicken make this a cinch to throw together when you’re short on time. Florida dad Peter Fulton says, “This is about as adventurous as my son gets in terms of food. Happy to have an alternative to grilled chicken with pasta lately.” This recipe is easily customized for different palates and dietary needs. Swap the chicken for fried eggs to make it vegetarian, or swap the white rice for brown for a sustained energy boost, which every parent needs.
Rotisserie Chicken Tacos
We’ve long been singing the praises of rotisserie chicken for its convenience and taste, and we noticed a definite theme with parents using it, too. Whitney Parker, Florida mom of three, loves them so much she doesn’t stop at one. “I typically grab two and go ahead and shred both to use the next night for chicken tacos!” she says. We love this idea and can imagine using the leftover shredded chicken in chicken noodle soup, barbecue chicken sandwiches, or chicken Caesar wraps, but these Rotisserie Chicken Tacos are a great place to start.
Greek Chicken Bowls
Allrecipes Member
These Greek Chicken Bowls are packed with fresh veggies and healthy proteins. This one is easily tailored to your family’s flavor preferences, and you can even set it up as a “bar,” allowing each person to load up their favorites. To make this recipe even quicker, opt for a rotisserie chicken instead of grilling your own, or swap the cous cous for rice or quinoa. Amber Swanson loves this meal too, but uses ground turkey with shawarma seasoning instead: “I use any type of ground meat with schwarma seasoning, Greek yogurt or sour cream with garlic and lemon for the sauce, and chopped veggies.” Shawarma is a Middle Eastern seasoning that includes garlic, chili power, and oregano, as well as warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.
Naan Pizzas
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Families are no strangers to pizza night, but even with super fast pizza delivery, sometimes it’s just quicker to make your own at home (not to mention a bit healthier). Dealing with pizza dough is usually the most time-consuming part of the process, but using premade naan is the secret weapon to making pizza in minutes. Courtney Malone, mom of three, loves using naan for pizza night, topping it with rotisserie chicken (clearly a favorite of parents everywhere), pesto, and mozzarella. Launa Taylor swaps the naan for pita bread and adds veggies her 4-year-old will tolerate. We especially love this recipe for Naan Bread Margherita Pizza with Proscuitto because none of the ingredients need to be cooked, and it makes a stunning presentation—but you could also try other flavor combos, like this Naan Hawaiian Pizza or Spinach-Artichoke Garlic Naan Pizza.
DIY Poke Bowls
For families with adventurous eaters, we love these DIY Poke Bowls. The bowls are completely customizable, and with ingredients like rice, sashimi-grade tuna or salmon, avocado, and edamame, no one will feel hungry after eating them. Canada native Karen Culp, mom of three, says, “We keep poke fish in the freezer (usually salmon), and I just take it out the night before so it can thaw. I throw the sushi rice into the instant pot, and we always have eel sauce on hand (homemade), avocados, and frozen shelled edamame in our freezer. It’s nice and healthy, and everyone loves it! I also have rice molds, which makes them extra cute and fun.”
Crockpot Pork and Sweet Potatoes
If there’s one small appliance every parent should have, it’s a slow cooker. And if there’s one protein every parent needs to cook in that slow cooker, it’s pork. The trick is to use a Boston butt (which actually comes from the shoulder) roast instead of a pork loin roast. The fat marbling throughout this shoulder cut will lend juicier, more flavorful meat that easily pulls apart. Ashley Murphy, Florida mom of two, loves serving this “on top of sweet potatoes or Hawaiian rolls.”
Ground Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs
Make-ahead meals are an absolute must for busy families, especially ones that can live in the freezer. We love these meatballs not only for the healthier ground turkey but also for the ricotta giving them more moisture. Nebraska mom Gayle Hoybook says, “Would be super easy to make ahead and freeze. We’re adding it to our rotation for a change from just ground beef all the time.”
Texas Chicken Quesadillas
Okay, so quesadillas aren’t winning any creativity awards, but we adore this Texas spin on a kid favorite. This recipe uses shredded chicken, barbecue sauce, and onions to spice things up. But Texas mom of three, Haley Armand, takes them even further. “You can put anything in quesadillas. We do traditional taco meat, but also do chicken, cheese, and smoky black-eyed peas, too. It all works!”
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