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67 Family-Friendly Dinners Kids Can’t Wait to Eat

Grilled chicken thighs with couscous, store-bought ravioli in mushroom sauce, falafel-spiced turkey burgers, and more meals even your pickiest child will ask for again.
A turkey burger on a plate stacked on a bun with tzatziki mint romaine and sliced red onion with more fixings all around.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness

The good news about “family-friendly dinners?” They can be whatever you want them to be. Loaded sweet potato wedges eaten straight from the sheet pan? Absolutely. Or maybe it’s a dose of nostalgia by way of movie night sloppy joes, updated with a fiery kick of gochujang.

These kid-approved dinner ideas run the gamut, with plenty of options for adventurous and picky eaters alike. Whether tonight calls for a cozy soup (that you can set and forget in your Instant Pot if your hands are full), or you’re planning ahead for some easy fish tacos (we have a hunch they’ll become part of your regular weeknight dinner rotation), there are plenty of meal ideas here your whole family will agree on.

  • Barbecue mushroom pizza in a cast iron skillet on a green striped tablecloth.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    1/67

    BBQ Mushroom Pizza

    Store-bought pizza dough makes this family-friendly dinner a snap, even on busy weeknights. This California Pizza Kitchen–inspired recipe is smoky-sweet thanks to barbecue sauce, Gouda cheese, and frizzled mushrooms.

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  • Plate of three fish tacos on a lime green table.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Catherine Campbell Pearson
    2/67

    Easy Fish Tacos With Spicy Sauce

    Set tortillas, fish, sauce, and toppings out family-style, and let everyone assemble their own piled-high tacos.

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  • Corkscrew pasta in a sauce of cherry tomatoes feta cheese and Calabrian chiles in a baking dish garnished with torn basil.
    Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
    3/67

    Baked Tomato Feta Pasta

    Savory, tangy, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner. This fresh take on the trending recipe includes hot Calabrian chile paste to cut through the richness.

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  • Platter of chicken on white tablecloth.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Spencer Richards, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    4/67

    Zhug-Marinated Chicken Thighs

    Store-bought zhug, a Yemeni-spiced cilantro sauce, and your broiler are the shortcuts to juicy, charred, baked chicken without a grill.

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  • Cottage Cheese Lasagna on a white plate on a light blue background
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
    5/67

    Cottage Cheese Lasagna

    High-protein cottage cheese takes the place of often-pricier ricotta in this thrifty-ish lasagna. More shocking: mozzarella is out too, in favor of tangy super-melter Fontina.

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  • Basil and ground chicken on white rice in a white bowl
    Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    6/67

    Basil Chicken Stir-Fry

    So tired you’re considering takeout? Try this simple, speedy stir-fry instead, which comes together in 25 minutes but tastes restaurant-quality.

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  • Platter of sliced ribeye steak salad with romaine lettuce toasted pita crumbled feta sliced radishes fresh herbs and...
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    7/67

    Steak Salad With Feta Dressing

    Thirty minutes is all it takes to serve juicy steak ribboned through crisp lettuce to your people. The tangy dressing is like Caesar, minus the anchovies (picky eaters, rejoice).

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  • A blend of ground beef diced potatoes and poblano chiles in a bowl topped with chopped cilantro.
    Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
    8/67

    Mexican Picadillo

    This hearty catch-all skillet dinner tastes just as good in egg burritos the next morning, or make and freeze it up to 3 months ahead.

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  • Black Bean and Cheese Rellenos Stuffed Chiles on a plate full of tomato sauce
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
    9/67

    Stuffed Poblanos With Beans and Greens

    These vibrant (and vegetarian) kale-and-black-bean-stuffed peppers are a repeat-worthy one-dish dinner full of hearty flavor. Stirring a dollop of sour cream into the tomato sauce gives it rich texture.

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  • A blue bowl with salmon rice and avocado
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht
    10/67

    Spicy Salmon Roll Bowl

    A weeknight dinner inspired by your favorite sushi roll. Pickled cucumber and spicy mayo accompany crackly, broiled salmon cubes.

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  • A smash burger beef patty on a toasted potato bun with mayonnaise shredded iceberg lettuce a slice of American cheese...
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon
    11/67

    Best-Ever Smash Burgers

    These burgers are labeled “best ever” for a reason—they’re a 20-minute crowd-pleaser for family dinner, no grill needed.

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  • Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Food Styling by Thu Buser, and Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    12/67

    Jalapeño Popper Skillet Tacos

    This shareable skillet is full of the flavors of a family-favorite appetizer, with roasted poblanos, red onions, and jalapeños covered in cheesy sauce.

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  • Filipino Spaghetti in a shallow black bowl
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    13/67

    Filipino Spaghetti

    Thick, tangy banana ketchup is key to this savory-sweet spaghetti, which features hot dogs, ground pork, and marinara as the base of a Bolognese-style sauce.

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  • Dumplings grape tomatoes cilantro and sliced scallions in a buttery sauce in a skillet.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    14/67

    Quick Butter-Braised Tomatoes and Dumplings

    Don’t just zap your favorite frozen gyoza in the microwave. With just 15 minutes, one big skillet, and a few extra ingredients, you can turn that bag of dumplings into a fresher, fan-favorite dinner.

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Antara is an associate editor at Bon Appétit whose work includes writing about the joys of cooking with South Asian spice blends, a review of Bad Bunny’s Miami restaurant, and plenty of ingredient and technique explainers to help level up your kitchen skills. She developed the “Part-Time Plant-Based” cooking column ... Read More
Associate Editor, Cooking
Arietta Hallock is an editorial intern for Bon Appétit and Epicurious. She is finishing her journalism and creative writing studies at Syracuse University, where she is editor in chief of the campus food magazine. Hailing from Upstate New York, she loves seasonal cooking and a good roadside farmstand. ... Read More
Editorial Intern
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