TWENTY simple (like really simple) meal ideas that your kids will actually eat!!!

And no, these tips are not for the fancy chef.

Actually… these tips aren’t even for the average chef.

These tips are for the “I freaking hate to cook and never have enough time to do it” kind of chef.

These tips are for the “Ain’t nobody got time to cook” kind of chef.

These tips are for the “If I could just get my kids to eat their dinner without me having to NAG at them for 45 minutes to eat their dinner… then my life would be easier” kind of chef.

OK – now that we got that established, let’s continue!

Here are some of my family’s go-to easiest quick-fix meals. I highly recommend them for busy parents with families!

1. Breakfast!

Oh, how my family loves us some breakfast. And my goodness, it’s easy to cook! Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage… our kids always eat whatever we cook up for breakfast dinner! One of our favorites is waffle sandwiches which is everything breakfast layered between two waffles.

((For or whatever reason, throughout the years my husband has taken it upon himself to turn this whole waffle sandwich endeavor into a personal challenge to see how much food he can possibly consume while still being able to call it “one meal”.))

The first picture is a regular waffle sandwich. The second picture is what my husband created. 😂😂

2. Cheeseburgers!

(a.k.a. our youngest calls them “cheesy burgers”). We make sure to buy the thinner patties for the kids – ¼ pound burger patties. Add french fries or tater tots. Or if you feel like getting really fancy, get some curly fries or sweet potato fries! I’ve heard that air fryers are amazing… anyone ever tried one of these things? It’s on my list of things to buy and try!

3. Chili Boats!

First, make chili. Then let them use Frito Scoops to scoop up the chili to make boats before they devour them. This is the only way we got our littlest to eat chili without complaining about all the tomatoes, green chiles, and corn that she saw in it.

We make chili like this… brown 2 pounds of hamburger meat ((we ALWAYS make a double batch so we’ll have leftovers)) and add 2 packages of chili seasoning. Then we start adding in the cans. Depending on your personal preferences… add 1-2 cans of the following: chili beans, black beans, corn, green chiles, and diced tomatoes. And for added pizzazz, we add in some flax seeds and chia seeds because I’ve heard other people say that this could be a good thing??? Canned food is our friend. Canned food is the friend of busy mothers across America.

4. Fish Sticks and Macaroni & Cheese!

Fun Fact: I craved (ummm…and demanded) fish sticks and macaroni & cheese 90% of the time that I was pregnant with my first daughter.

5. Grilled Chicken!

My kids love grilled chicken. And the less seasoning for them, the better! When we grill chicken, we usually let the kids pick a vegetable to throw on the grill. Our kids usually pick corn on the cob.

6. Ham Roll!

Buy a Pillsbury bread roll from the refrigerator section. Unroll it until it’s all flat. Fill the middle with any cheeses and any sandwich meats that you prefer.

We’ve tried ham, turkey, pepperoni, sausage – all are yummy! (We’ve also added just a thin spread of cream cheese before to make it a little creamy).

Fold the sides to meet in the middle and pinch them closed. Bake in the oven until cooked and toasty on top. Soooo simple. Soooo yummy.

Pillsbury has a great “Italian Stromboli” recipe that you could use and/or tweak based on what ingredients you want to use.

7. Hamburger Quesadillas!

This is exactly what it sounds like. I’m not sure about you, but my kids love cheese quesadillas. We always want them to add some kind of meat. So one time I tried just plain hamburger meat with cheese in tortillas on the skillet until browned on both sides… and surprise, surprise, the kids ate them all up! If we don’t have any hamburger meat, we’ve also bought frozen fajita chicken strips and then add black beans and corn with cheese.

8. Hot Dogs or Brauts!

We prefer grilled. To switch it up and get really crazy, we sometimes add chili. I know, I know, we’re wild!

9. King Ranch Chicken!

I got this recipe from a wonderful friend who I used to work at the bank with almost 20 years ago. And we still make this recipe. Definitely a staple in our house. There are ways you can make it more homemade by adding in fresh ingredients instead of canned, but if you want the easy-breezy recipe check it out on www.allrecipes.com by clicking here!

10. Nachos!

We cook them two ways:

FIRST OPTION → Tortilla chips, cheese, hamburger meat with taco seasoning, and chili beans in the oven. Then top with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and black olives when ready to serve. Sometimes we add refried beans.

Or we have done SWEET POTATOES instead of chips which are amazing! Our kids have eaten it this way, but I’m not about to assume that all kids will eat this. You could always do half and half if the adults wanted to try it!

SECOND OPTION → Tortilla chips, canned chicken and black beans on the bottom. Then mix together some ranch dressing and sour cream (or nonfat greek yogurt) to add next. Then add cheese on top.

11. Pizza!

Have you heard of the CAULIPOWER 10 in. Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Crust?!? Check it out here!

It’s amazing! Add some cheese and toppings and you’ve got yourself an easy (and nutritious!) pizza dinner! Toppings that our kids will eat without complaining: sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, mushrooms, black olives, and cheese. But we also love adding tomatoes, green peppers, and banana peppers to the “adult” side.

Or create mini pizzas on french bread. This is nice is each kid wants to “decorate” their own with toppings. Sometimes letting kids decorate their own pizza which help them be a little more adventurous in the toppings that they choose!

12. Polish Sausage!

We cook it two ways:

FIRST OPTION → We slice it up and cook it on the skillet. Then we make mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

Have you ever tried Ore-Ida Homestyle Steam N’ Mash Pre-Cut Russet Potatoes?These frozen potatoes are amazing! Simply cook in the microwave for 10 minutes and then they’re ready to mash up!

*NOTE: We always keep vegetable cups on hand in our pantry. These are those plastic little disposable containers… and we always have corn, green beans, and carrots on hand. These come in handy for a lot of dinner nights when we make a vegetable that my husband and I like, but we’re ok with them eating something simpler.

SECOND OPTION → We slice it up and throw it into a glass casserole dish.  We add a bag of mixed vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. Then we add some oil and sea salt. Bake in the oven until cooked all the way through.
Somehow, our kids have started to miraculously eat these veggies! It used to not always be this way. Now, they do still take a while to eat them… and usually require reminders… but they’re eating them, people!

13. Sandwiches!

14. Spaghetti!

15. Meatball Subs!

Buy hoagie buns. Butter then and add some garlic. Add 5-6 meatballs on the bottoms, along with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. We leave the tops just with butter and garlic to make garlic toast. YUMMMM. If adults want to be a bit healthier, add some spinach on top!

16. Tacos!

Did you know they even make cheesy taco shells which makes it so much more fun for our kids to eat?!?  Yay for cheese! We always make our kids add lettuce. Usually they’ll add a few tomatoes and black olives as well. Or you could do burritos… we’ve found that the smaller you make the burritos, the more likely our kids are to eat them. So make them little bitty bite-sized burritos for less complaining!

17. Ziti Pasta!

Cheesy pasta is always an easy meal for our kiddos. See recipe here!

18. Babyback Ribs!

So although ribs can be a little bit pricey, they are sooooo delicious! And for us, they’re such a good way to spice it up since we so often cook with chicken and hamburger meat. We literally bought a rack of ribs from Walmart, and then followed the oven directions on the package. It was sooooo easy, and the meat fell off the bone!  Say hello to low maintenance dinner! We would add mashed potatoes and vegetables. The kids ate it up! (as did the adults!)

19. Salsa Chicken!

This is one of the easiest but yummiest and healthiest recipes we make! See recipe here! We’ve also added black beans and corn to the crockpot as it cooks. After we make the chicken, we pull it apart and put inside either tortillas or taco shells. The adults have also tried this over lettuce to make a delicious salad as well. We make sure to have additional toppings like sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, lime juice, and cilantro on hand to add to make it even yummier. YUM!

20. Pigs in a Blanket!

Buy some Pillsbury crescent rolls or biscuits. Fill each one with a little smokey sausage and cheese. Cook till they’re done! YUM. We’ve also added sandwich ham or pepperoni instead as well.

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Other tidbits that might help make weekly dinners easier:

→ Be Realistic. Don’t set a goal to cook dinner every single night if your lifestyle doesn’t allow it.

→ Allow yourself at least one guilt-free cheat night each week to eat out or pick something up on the way home.

→ Goals are good. Decide how many fancy meals (you know, the meals that actually require a recipe) and how many quick-fix meals (the no brainer kind of stuff) that you want to make each week.

→ Every weekend, when we make our grocery list, we print a list of all the days of the week. Then we write down what meal we plan to cook for each day, taking into account which nights we need easier meals on (such as when my youngest has gymnastics) as well as any nights we might be having friends over and want to plan something a little more involved, etc. This day of the week list is hands down one of the main things that help us stay focused so we don’t have moments where we’re completely caught off guard without a meal plan.

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→ On Sunday, why not cook one meal that will be used solely for the purpose of packing lunches for the week?

*NOTE: If you or your spouse refuse to eat leftovers, it might be worth reconsidering if you’re serious about making your life easier! Eating leftovers is one of the greatest ways in which our family saves time and energy.

→ Keep an actual list of all of your “go-to” meals printed out and easily accessible and easy to reference when you’re making your grocery list.

→ I highly recommend using the Walmart online grocery ordering service! This service has been a complete lifesaver for our family! We have all of our “favorites” saved on the website so it’s super simple to scroll through and add what we always get each week. Then for the weekly meal planning, we rotate the same meals often so those items are on the list as well.

No more time wasted lollygagging in the grocery store… or walking clear to the opposite side of the grocery store only to hear your child say that they need to use the restroom… no more impulse buys and time wasted wandering through the clothing and home decor aisles… it has really helped us waste less time on grocery shopping.

To see if your local Walmart has this service and/or if you’re interested in signing up, click here!

→ Take turns cooking. I’ve learned that it’s so easy to get burnt out on cooking if one person is primarily doing it. With that being said, I know that every household looks different in regards to who works full-time, who has what responsibilities, etc. so this doesn’t always work for all families. I also know that some people have the gift of cooking and those people are often the primary chefs in the house. I am jealous of that gift. It has never come naturally to me! Ha!

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At the end of the day, I am grateful for a husband who is happy to eat ANYTHING I put on the table. He would be just as happy with our “go-to” meal as newlyweds of hamburger helper out of a box… as he would be if I spent three hours on a meal. However, kids are not always as easy to please.

I hope these ideas inspire some of you to make your life easier and/or to help you gain the ability to satisfy those little children’s hungry bellies with some easy stress-free dinner ideas!

What’s your favorite “go-to” meal that your kid(s) will eat without complaining?

If you want some useful ideas on how to get your kids to eat their vegetables, check out THIS POST!

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