Kid Friendly 20 Minute Meals {Healthy Family Recipes } (2024)

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Need a 20 minute meal that’s kid friendly? Here are 12, 20 minute meals that are Kid Friendly, and you can have READY IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS for busy weeknights or when dinner time simply sneaks up on you! Um. Like tonight. And maybe tomorrow tonight.

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Grab the FREE 18 Meal Ideas CHEAT SHEET Here!

I’m not gonna lie. 20 minute meals are more of a regular event at our home than not. I am a big fan of fast, delicious meals that are quick to pull together in under half an hour or less. Less is always better.

I know dinner time can be hard.

Coming back from work or after school activities often leave you with little time to prep and cook healthy dinners from scratch. Stopping at the local take out seems like the easier option. Thing is, it’s not good for your health, waistline or budget.

With a few easy, quick, kid friendly meal planning tips and fast meal ideas, you can get your family eating healthier and save money – in less time that it would take to get through drive through. Just a give it a go for one week.

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Healthy Family Dinners

But don’t worry – just because it’s a quick dinner, it doesn’t mean you miss out on flavour. Here are 12 of our families favourite 20 minute Dinner Recipes that will please even the fussiest palate. What’s special about these recipes? They’re full of kid-friendly flavor, no one likes a bland dinner but kids can sometime be…picky, shall we say, about the flavors they’ll eat.
These are perfect, and please the whole crowd. And that’s a good thing in my book!

Download myFREE Dinner Time Cheat Sheet below, it’s really handy and will give you a head start!

Grab the FREE 18 Meal Ideas CHEAT SHEET Here!

12 Super Fast Healthy Dinner Recipes

Here are 12 of our families favourite 20 minute Dinner Recipes that will please even the fussiest palate.

Chicken Pesto Fettuccine

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This super fast mid week Chicken Pesto Fettuccine is a winner with kids. The creamy Pesto sauce and tender chicken means clean pates all round! Pesto fettuccine recipe here!

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This beautifully colorful Thai inspired dish takes just 15 minutes to out on the table. Get the kids to help with chopping and make it even quicker! Thai Noodle recipe here!

Grab the FREE 18 Meal Ideas CHEAT SHEET Here!

Quick Soba Noodles

Try these 20 Minute, Hmmm MMMM delicious weeknight soba noodles. Tender strips of chicken, sautéed broccoli and a sweet and tangy noodle sauce. Soba Noodle recipe here!

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Crab Pasta {Especially For Kids}

This mild crab pasta dish is the perfect way to get some seafood in their diets. Its fresh, lemony and cheesy. Yum! Crab pasta recipe here.

Chicken Donburi Bowl

This Clean Eating Chicken Donburi Bowl recipe is insane!! It’s simple, versatile and can be prepped ahead for an easy lunch or light dinner.

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Chicken Donburi Bowl

Healthy Chinese Fried Rice

I could eat this healthy Chinese fried rice all over again. And I will. There is a small lunch box of leftovers still in the fridge. Just enough for me and whoever catches me heating it up :)

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Chinese Fried Rice

This easy mid-week (or quick weekend lunch) Ham and Mushroom pasta uses cream cheese as a sauce and is a great way to use up any ham you have in the fridge. It’s a simple recipe, and especially good for littler kids who prefer their food slightly plainer than bigger kids (and us) might like. Feel free to leave the garlic out if you’ve got garlic haters in your house, or add extra to give it a bigger kick!

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Ham and mushroom pasta

Clean Eating Lasagne

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So what’s the difference between Clean Eating lasagna and your regular homemade lasagna? Shhh don’t tell anyone, but the answer is … nothing. The whole point to Clean Eating is making food using whole food ingredients. It’s not complicated and it’s something everyone can do.
Lasagne recipe

Chicken Piccata

This is a real Summery recipe, Clean eating Chicken Piccata: It’s quick, easy, fresh and lemony. You can have this ready in 10 minutes or so, making it one of the fastest healthy chicken dinners I make. We have this fairly often. I use chicken thighs for this, they’re really juicy and full of flavor as well as being a bit cheaper than breast meat.

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Chicken Piccata recipe

Cauliflower Broccoli Casserole

This Healthy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole is delicious, cheesy comfort food, super healthy and packed full of the good stuff. It’s a regular here, requested often and always eaten. I make this with mywhite bean cheese saucefor an extra protein hit and while it’s technically a ‘side’ dish, this is so good you’d be forgiven for eating it all alone and straight from the dish!

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Cauliflower broccoli cheese casserole

Grilled Fish Tacos

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Grilled fish Tacos

Fussy Eaters Fajitas

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Recipe Link

Quick family dinners

So, there you have it!

12 new and a little exciting easy recipes for dinner to add to your weeknight meal plan.

The best thing is that you can whip these little beauties up super fast using ingredients you’ve actually heard of! The next time you’re wondering what to fix for dinner (which I think is the reason you are here) – all you have to do it pick one of these!

To see the other posts in this 10 of the Best Meal Prepping Series series, check out the following:

  • 10 Recipes You Can Make with a Pound of Ground Beef
  • 10 Recipes you can make with a Jar of Pasta Sauce
  • 10 Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners
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Kid Friendly 20 Minute Meals {Healthy Family Recipes } (2024)

FAQs

How to make family meals for cheap? ›

Feed the whole family with these five cheap and easy sheet pan meals:
  1. Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas.
  2. Sheet Pan Kielbasa, Potatoes, and Green Beans.
  3. Sheet Pan BBQ Meatballs.
  4. Sheet Pan BBQ Meatloaf Dinner.
  5. Sheet Pan Pizza.
Mar 31, 2023

What should I eat for family meals? ›

27 Quick And Easy Dinners Your Whole Family Will Love
  • One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta. tasty.co. ...
  • Garlic Broccoli Shrimp Stir-Fry. tasty.co. ...
  • 3-Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken. tasty.co. ...
  • Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa. ...
  • Taco Soup. ...
  • One-Pot Chicken and Mushroom Pasta. ...
  • One-Pan Garlic Butter Salmon. ...
  • 20-Minute Beef and Broccoli Noodle Stir-Fry.
Oct 25, 2023

What is the most easiest thing to cook? ›

From noodles, stir-fries, soups and salads, you'll find something for everyone.
  • 1Kung pao chicken noodle tray bake. ...
  • 25-ingredient meatball carbonara. ...
  • 310-minute cheat's fried rice. ...
  • 4Easy beef stir-fry. ...
  • 5Easy tuna, sweetcorn and rice slice. ...
  • 6Quick fish finger burgers. ...
  • 7Japanese-style pork and soba noodle stir-fry.

How do you feed a family of 5 for $10? ›

Cheap Family Meals Under $10
  1. Spanish Rice Soup. ...
  2. Ramen Noodle Stir Fry with Vegetables. ...
  3. Crescent Roll Sausage Egg Casserole. ...
  4. Chicken and Rice Casserole with Broccoli. ...
  5. Creamy Tomato Bacon Pasta. ...
  6. Easy Cheese Manicotti. ...
  7. White Bean and Spinach Soup. ...
  8. Black Bean Enchilada Casserole.
Apr 2, 2023

What is the cheapest food that can feed a lot of people? ›

Feed the masses without breaking the bank with these budget-friendly dishes.
  • Mexican Lasagne. A spicy lasagne for those of us who love Mexican and Italian food. ...
  • Cheese Cob Dip. ...
  • The Best Burger in Oz. ...
  • Kangaroo Casserole. ...
  • Sausage Casserole. ...
  • Nanna's golden sausage casserole. ...
  • Quiche Lorraine. ...
  • Turkey and Pumpkin Lasagne.

What is the cheapest meal you can make at home? ›

65 Easy And Cheap Dinner Ideas That You'll Want To Make On Repeat
  • Sweet Potato And Black Bean Burritos. tasty.co. ...
  • Barbecue Beer Can Chicken. tasty.co. ...
  • Zucchini Noodles with Kale Pesto. ...
  • One-Pot Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta. ...
  • Chicken Alfredo Penne. ...
  • Avocado Quinoa Power Salad. ...
  • Tofu Scramble. ...
  • Egg Pizza With Scallions.
Dec 21, 2023

What foods do low income families eat? ›

Lower-income households purchase more cereals, pasta, potatoes, legumes, and fatty meats. Their vegetables and fruits are often limited to iceberg lettuce, potatoes, canned corn, bananas, and frozen orange juice.

What shall I feed the kids tonight? ›

Top kids' dinner ideas
  • 2) Easy salmon curry. ...
  • 3) Swedish meatball burgers. ...
  • 5) Chicken pasta bake. ...
  • 6) Homemade fish fingers. ...
  • 7) Air-fryer jacket potatoes. ...
  • 8) Creamy chicken stew. ...
  • 9) Veggie toad-in-the-hole. ...
  • 11) Fish pie mac 'n' cheese.
Mar 19, 2024

How do you feed a busy family? ›

Get your kids involved in coming up with meal ideas and writing out the meal plan. When they are old enough, get them to make one meal a week, or contribute to baking. Once a week, at the dinner table, bring a pen and paper and get everyone to vote for meals and snacks they would like.

What are the meals for simplicity parenting? ›

Next, simplify what's for dinner by creating a recurring menu—Monday pasta, Tuesday rice, Wednesday soup, and so forth. Predictable meals are simpler and easier to prepare, everyone eats the same thing, and the regularity will have rooting effects on your children.

Which meal is easiest to skip? ›

05/5​It is easier to skip dinner

Research suggests that fasting in the evening and overnight, then eating early in the morning is the better way to follow this diet to lose weight. Having your dinner early also prevents you from late-night snacking and Improves digestion.

What are the easy meals for seniors? ›

Allman also has a few go-to meals that typically meet nutritional needs for seniors:
  • Citrus salmon with baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli.
  • Hummus veggie wrap.
  • Chicken and veggies with whole grain pasta and pesto. ...
  • Roasted Veggie Couscous.
  • Curry Egg Salad lettuce wraps.
May 25, 2022

What are 5 small meals a day? ›

Five meals a day equals breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. To do this right, you need to plan what you'll eat every day for each “meal.” And you need to schedule eating every 2 to 3 hours.

What is lazy cooking? ›

It means making smart or clever adjustments that make cooking quicker and easier. Think of it as pandemic cooking 2.0—good, healthy food made convenient. It's all about sheet pan dinners, pressure cookers and any meal you can make in one vessel. It likely involves fewer steps and fewer ingredients.

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