51 Kid-Friendly Dinner Ideas

Read Time: 25 mins

51 Kid-Friendly Dinner Ideas2/51 Chicken Strips 30 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Fried Chicken Strips Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 20 min Servings 6 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: I recently made this recipe of Mom’s for my in-laws and they told me it was the “best fried chicken ever.” Slicing the chicken breasts into strips cuts down on cooking time and ensures every piece is crunchy and evenly coated. Serve the homemade chicken tenders with your favorite dipping sauce. —Genny Monchamp, Redding, California 3/51 Ravioli Casserole 42 Reviews Contest Winner Test Kitchen Approved Ravioli

Children can help you assemble this one

Casserole Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 40 min Servings 8 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: The whole family will love this yummy dish that tastes like lasagna without all the fuss. Timesaving ingredients like prepared spaghetti sauce and frozen ravioli make it a cinch to put together. Children can help you assemble this one. —Mary Ann Rothert, Austin, Texas Our favorite kid-friendly dinner ideas are simple and quick, and that’s exactly what this ravioli casserole promises. You don’t even have to make the ravioli: Just layer your favorite refrigerated brand in a baking dish

and top with plenty of cheese and sauce

and top with plenty of cheese and sauce. 4/51 Contest-Winning Taco Casserole 29 Reviews Contest Winner Test Kitchen Approved Sarah Tramonte For Taste Of Home Total Time 45 min Servings 6 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: My preschooler doesn’t eat ground beef unless it’s taco flavored, so I came up with this casserole we all like. To make assembly easy, I prepare the taco meat and freeze several bags at a time. —Kathy Wilson, Romeoville, Illinois We love casseroles because of their dump-and-go ease. Cook your pasta, brown the beef, dump all the ingredients and watch them

bubble to perfection in the oven

bubble to perfection in the oven. Love to meal prep? This taco casserole can be prepped ahead and reheated in the same pan. For maximum freshness, wait to sprinkle the crushed tortilla shells on top so they don’t get soggy sitting in the fridge. 5/51 Chinese Pork Fried Rice 8 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Chinese Pork Fried Rice Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 25 min Servings 2 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: Pretty peas and crunchy carrots add color to tender meat and rice in this Chinese pork fried rice recipe. —Peggy Vaught, Glasgow,

West Virginia

West Virginia. If your kids give you a hard time about eating vegetables, getting creative is sometimes the only way to do it. In this recipe, vitamin-rich carrots, broccoli and peas are mixed in with seasoned pork and yummy rice. The kids might even go back for seconds! 6/51 Baked Orange Chicken 11 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Baked Orange Chicken Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 30 min Servings 2 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: This baked orange chicken is a quick and elegant recipe. It can easily be doubled or tripled for company. I

like to serve mine with baked potatoes

like to serve mine with baked potatoes. —Pamela Siple, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania Four-ingredient dinners ready in under 30 minutes are a game-changer on busy weeknights. Serve this baked orange chicken with a side of rice and your favorite vegetables. 7/51 Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta 71 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Total Time 30 min Servings 6 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: I try to make foods that are not only kid friendly, but are also easy to reheat since my husband works long hours and often eats later than our children. If you like, use reduced-fat cheese and ground turkey

for a lighter version

for a lighter version. —Melissa Stevens, Elk River, Minnesota Comfort food mashups are so fun to make and kids love them because they’re a mix of their favorite foods. This bacon cheeseburger pasta comes together in half an hour and you can make it your own by swapping regular bacon for turkey bacon or cheddar cheese with Havarti or pepper jack. 8/51 Big Kahuna Pizza 3 Reviews Contest Winner Test Kitchen Approved TASTE OF HOME Total Time 30 min Servings 8 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: A prebaked pizza crust and refrigerated barbecued pork make this tasty

supper idea super fast and super easy

supper idea super fast and super easy. Cut into bite-sized pieces, and it can double as a great last-minute appetizer, too! —Joni Hilton, Rocklin, California We know, we know, pineapples on pizza can be controversial. But if pineapple is one of your favorite pizza toppings, we’ve got the homemade pizza recipe for you. Of course, it wouldn’t be a kid-friendly dinner idea without an easy instruction list: Let the kids assemble their own pizzas for a fun family dinner night. 9/51 One-Dish Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet 10 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved One-Dish Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet Recipe photo

10/51 Skillet Mac & Cheese 96 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Skillet Mac &

by Taste of Home Total Time 30 min Servings 4 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: This quick one-dish dinner helped keep my husband and me on track throughout the week while we were still learning to balance our busy schedules. — Shannon Barden, Alpharetta, Georgia Ah, one-pot dinners, the shining star of busy evenings. When your sink is full of dishes and you don’t even want to think of adding 10 more to the pile, whip up this ground turkey and sweet potato skillet. 10/51 Skillet Mac & Cheese 96 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Skillet Mac &

This creamy mac and cheese is so simple it’s almost too easy!

Cheese Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 25 min Servings 4 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: This creamy mac and cheese is so simple it’s almost too easy! Kids really go for the rich cheese flavor, but I’ve never met an adult who didn’t love it just as much. —Ann Bowers, Rockport, Texas A list of kid-friendly dinner ideas just wouldn’t be the same without mac and cheese. Four servings can be made in just 25 minutes and you can use any pasta shape sitting in pantry. 11/51 Steak Sandwich Kabobs 3 Reviews Test Kitchen

Coleslaw, spruced up with chopped walnuts, is a great side for the kabobs

Approved Total Time 25 min Servings 4 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: Skewers with seasoned steak, bread and veggies are grilled and topped with provolone cheese for a fantastic meal. Coleslaw, spruced up with chopped walnuts, is a great side for the kabobs. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen Love a grilled steak sandwich? These kabobs are the kid-friendly dinner version of the classic sandwich. If the kids are too little to be wielding skewers of steak, you can cook this meal on the skewers and then pull off the chunks and serve them in a bowl with

garlic bread on the side

garlic bread on the side. 12/51 One-Skillet Lasagna 66 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Total Time 30 min Servings 6 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: This is hands-down one of the best skillet lasagna recipes our testing panel has ever tasted. And with classic flavors and cheesy layers, it’s definitely kid-friendly. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen One-skillet meals are a lifesaver when you have hungry mouths to feed and not a lot of time. This lasagna dish is so easy and flavorful, and it’s sure to fill the whole family up. Though the recipe is simple, there are

Both kids and grown-ups will love this hearty corn dog batter

quite a few items on the ingredient list, so be sure to give it a glance before you go grocery shopping. 13/51 Homemade Corn Dogs 16 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Corn Dogs Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 25 min Servings 10 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: Prepare corn dogs at home just like you’d get at the fair. Both kids and grown-ups will love this hearty corn dog batter. —Ruby Williams, Bogalusa, Louisiana 14/51 Cornflake Chicken 9 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Cornflake Chicken Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 40 min Servings

15/51 Hearty Pita Tacos 4 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Hearty

4 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: I took a recipe off a box of baking mix and altered it to make the prep easier. The result was this moist oven-fried cornflake chicken with a thick golden coating that’s a lot crisper than the original. —Angela Capettini, Boynton Beach, Florida There are so many ways to bread chicken, and cornflakes are certainly on our list of favorite methods. The preparation time is only 10 minutes and you’ll have golden, crispy drumsticks and chicken thighs before you know it. 15/51 Hearty Pita Tacos 4 Reviews Test Kitchen Approved Hearty

Pair this dinner with a side of chips and guacamole and the

Pita Tacos Recipe photo by Taste of Home Total Time 30 min Servings 6 servings Go to Recipe From the Recipe Creator: You don’t need to skimp on flavor when trying to eat healthy. Our 9-year-old daughter enjoys helping us make these tasty tacos, and likes eating them even more. —Jamie Valocchi, Mesa, Arizona These flavorful and protein-filled pita tacos are ideal on chilly nights when you’re not quite in the mood for a cozy soup but you also don’t want to sit around preparing a complicated meal. Pair this dinner with a side of chips and guacamole and the