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These nourishing quick and easy family dinner recipes take 30 minutes or less to cook and make 4 servings or more. Sitting down to a family dinner is a great way to build lasting memories!
Growing up, my family ate dinner together. Every single night.
My mom thought it was important that we did so. And I’m glad we did because not only do I think it brought us together (literally and figuratively), but now as an adult, some of my favorite childhood memories are of our family dinners.
Like laughing so hard with my sister that we both spit out our milk and got sent to our room. Or stealthfully sneaking our mushy, watery green beans into our napkins so we could head to the bathroom after leaving the dinner table to flush them.
Even though we’re all so busy, I still think family dinners are important. And I also think it’s important to make family dinners doable time-wise so that you’re not stressed about them.
Here are 35 fast family dinner recipes. Each of these recipes serves 4 or more people (or makes 2 servings and is very easy to double), and comes together in 30 minutes or less. That’s less time than it takes to order takeout, and cooking at home is much more budget-friendly! Cheers to sitting down as a family and enjoying a meal together.
Bookmark this post to make your life easier so you can refer back to it for inspiration!
Easy Family Dinners Everyone Will Love
There’s something here for you whether your family likes international flavors or takes a more traditional American approach to mealtime.
If your family is low carb, keto, or gluten free, there are several options given here as well. (And there are also a few paleo dinner recipes!)
And even though all of these dinner recipes take less than 30 minutes to make, there are several that actually only take 15 minutes.
Check out this collection of family 30 minute dinners and find a few new things to try!
Chicken for dinner is always a good idea! It’s versatile, loved by kids and adults, and can be prepared quickly.
Here are a few easy chicken dinner ideas to freshen up your menu. There are global flavors like Thai Chicken Panang Curry and Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo. Low carb ideas, such as Marry Me Chicken and Chicken Caprese Salad. And there are sure-fire family favorites like Orange Chicken and Chicken Enchilada Skillet.
Dive in and discover a few new chicken dinner ideas!
Chicken Panang Curry Recipe
This satisfying Chicken Panang Curry Recipe has a creamy coconut milk base and a delicately balanced flavor profile, and comes together in just 30 minutes!
Lemon Chicken Asparagus Spaghetti is a warm pasta dinner salad with bright flavors that’s quick cooking, nutritious and delicious. It's an ideal weekday family meal!
This chicken enchilada skillet comes together in one pot and is ready in under 30 minutes. This dish has so much bold flavor that your family will never know it only took you minutes to prepare.
This Fiesta Chicken recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes, provides nutrition from every food group, AND cooks entirely in one skillet (including the rice)!
This Chicken Caprese Recipe with Lemon and Thyme transforms a classic Caprese salad into a flavorful meal! It strikes the right balance between being satisfying but not overly heavy.
This one-pan creamy Tuscan chicken orzo is an easy and filling weeknight dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes! With pan-seared chicken breasts, orzo pasta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and fresh basil in a creamy sauce, it'll be your new favorite Italian-inspired meal!
This Marry Me Chicken recipe features juicy pan-seared chicken in a rich savory sauce with garlic, sundried tomatoes, and fresh herbs. It takes less than 15 minutes to make this restaurant-quality meal, and it's naturally gluten free and keto!
Creamy and tomatoey, this Italian dish is full of flavors. Enjoy these Creamy Tomato Chicken Breasts – a beautiful one pan meal your whole family can enjoy.
Turkey dinner doesn’t have to be reserved for just Thanksgiving! From quesadillas, to pasta recipes, to tacos, these recipes will help you switch up your turkey routine.
Instant Pot Ground Turkey Tacos
These Instant Pot Ground Turkey Tacos are ready in 10 minutes, making them perfect for weeknight dinners. Especially Taco Tuesday!
Leftover turkey from Thanksgiving (or rotisserie chicken) helps this rich, creamy 15-Minute Turkey Stroganoff recipe come together quickly for a delicious weeknight meal!
One pot Ground Turkey and Broccoli Pasta is ready in 30 minutes and made with turkey, broccoli, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. It’s a delicious and healthy dinner your family will ask you to make over and over again.
This lean ground turkey quesadilla is a great way to make a healthy dinner a little more exciting! With well-seasoned turkey meat and plenty of melted cheese, these quesadillas will be your family's new favorite!
Turkey and Vegetable Skillet is an easy and healthy weeknight dinner that can be on the table in 30 minutes or less! Full of ground turkey, green beans, zucchini, summer squash, and fire roasted tomatoes.
This super easy, family pleasing Turkey Taco Pie can be on your dinner table in minutes! Made a little healthier by using lean ground turkey and a little heartier by adding pinto beans and fire-roasted tomatoes! Refrigerated crescent rolls make quick work of the yummy crust!.
We all know Buffalo chicken goes well beyond just wings! If you like the classic flavor combo of hot sauce + butter, you are going to love these dinner ideas. The Buffalo Chicken Burgers in this list are so good, they’re part of our regular meal rotation at my house!
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese unites pub food with comfort food in one quick, easy dish!
Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Spicy Blue Cheese Celery Slaw
Buffalo Chicken Burgers are rich and buttery, garlicky, and have a little kick of heat thanks to Frank's RedHot! Spicy Blue Cheese Celery Slaw is the perfect topping to drive home the "buffalo" flavor profile!
These healthy Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes are made in just 20 minutes with 5 ingredients. Packed with protein and flavor, this easy meal or snack is sure to be a favorite in your home.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake is the perfect meal for busy nights when you are craving something comforting and flavorful. This 30-minute meal is full of cheesy goodness and that classic Buffalo wing flavor everyone loves!
Beef, it’s what’s for dinner! No matter what your budget is or how many mouths you have to feed, beef is a good choice for dinner.
Ground beef is affordable and very versatile. You can use it to make everything from Low Carb Egg Roll in a Bowl (aka Crack Slaw), to Ground Beef Stroganoff, to Ground Beef Bolognese.
And the beauty of something like a steak dinner is that you can easily adjust the recipe up or down based on how many people you’re serving. Also, steak is one of those meals that you can dress up for date night or dress down for a family cookout!
Low Carb Egg Roll in a Bowl (aka Crack Slaw)
If you miss egg rolls since going keto, this Low Carb Egg Roll in a Bowl (aka Keto Crack Slaw) will be your new favorite meal. It'll save you from takeout time and time again! It has all the same bells and whistles, but in stir-fry form with much fewer carbs.
Learn how to make a beautiful grilled ribeye steak dinner at home; with this easy method your steak will be perfectly browned and crisp outside, and tender and juicy inside every time!
This rich and creamy Ground Beef Stroganoff recipe comes together in 30 minutes for an easy, delicious weeknight dinner. Serve it on a bed of egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Mongolian Beef Noodles combines tender beef strips marinated in homemade Mongolian sauce with crunchy veggies and saucy noodles. Better and healthier than Chinese takeout!
This 30-Minute Keto Ground Beef Stir Fry Recipe is loaded with nutrition and flavor, and is a great way to get a healthy family-friendly meal on the table fast!
These delicious little Meatloaf Muffins capture all that home-style, old-fashioned meatloaf flavor your family loves in a quick-baking mini! Prep them ahead for a super-fast, comforting dinner on busy nights!
Rich in flavor, this 30-Minute Beef Bolognese recipe has Herbes de Provence and red wine, and is impressive enough to entertain with, but fast enough for weeknight dinner!
This Tender Shaved Beef Fajitas recipe pairs juicy paper-thin sheets of fresh sliced beef with a rainbow of sweet peppers and golden caramelized onions for cooking restaurant level Mexican cuisine in just about 30 minutes at home. This is a single-skillet meal made easy because it can be prepared stove-side or on your outdoor grill.
Continuing on with a few more beef recipes, these sandwiches are quick and easy meal options that will have everyone asking you to make them again! Also, any of thee beef sandwich recipes can be made into appetizers by serving them on sliders instead of full-size buns.
20-Minute Healthy Sloppy Joes
Healthy Sloppy Joes are ready in 20 to 30 minutes using ingredients you likely already have on hand! Serve them up on your bun of choice with any toppings like cheese, pickled onions, coleslaw, and more.
These delicious Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders are made with Hawaiian Rolls and topped with Everything Bagel seasoning. Super delicious and loved by adults and kids alike!
Buffalo is known for its Beef on Weck sandwiches which consist of thinly sliced roast beef piled high on salted and caraway-seeded Kummelweck rolls. This is the best (and easiest!) way to make it outside of the Buffalo area!
Most of us are trying to eat more fish, especially salmon for its health benefits. If you want a few new fish dinner ideas, give any of these a try!
This Air Fryer Salmon is our favorite way to eat salmon at my house, and you can easily make it in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer. Serve it with broccoli and quinoa or rice for a restaurant-quality spa-like meal!
The Pan Seared Cod with Tomato Garlic Sauce on this list is another one I make regularly. Sometimes I’ll serve it with rice or crusty bread, and other times I’ll serve it as-is for a delicious low-carb meal.
There are plenty of delicious choices on this list if you want to add more fish to your diet!
Air Fryer Salmon Recipe
Learn how to cook salmon in the air fryer the easy way! This recipe takes just 10 minutes and the salmon comes out perfect every time. It has a delicious flaky and tender interior, beautiful golden exterior, and the perfect spice blend. Pair it with steamed vegetables for a fast, healthy dinner!
This 30-minute Tilapia Fish Tacos Recipe with Cabbage Slaw has just the right balance of sweet and spicy flavors, topped with a fresh crunchy cabbage slaw!
This pan seared cod recipe with tomato garlic sauce pairs flaky, mild-flavored cod fish with a flavor-packed sauce for a beautiful meal that comes together in just 30 minutes!
Crispy Oven Baked Cod With Panko and Parmesan is an easy 20-minute dinner that's ideal for busy weeknights. It's made with a light and flaky cod fillet topped with a buttery crispy parmesan and panko crust and then oven-baked until golden brown. The panko gives this dish a crispy texture and the herbs, garlic, and lemon zest provide a nice Mediterranean flavor.
One of the things I love about sausage is that it’s well-seasoned without having to add anything to it! It’s definitely a huge time-saver. Another great thing about sausage is that there are multiple types: pork sausage, turkey sausage, hot Italian sausage, sweet breakfast sausage, etc. There’s something for everyone!
Easy Low Carb Meatza Recipe (aka Meat Crust Pizza) with Italian Sausage
This low carb Meatza Recipe (aka Meat Crust Pizza) with Italian Sausage shows that you can get a fully satisfying pizza experience without the crust. In this recipe, the meat IS the crust!
This Easy Sausage and Peppers Pasta is loaded with penne pasta, Italian sausage, colorful bell peppers, and parmesan cheese. It is tossed with store-bought marinara sauce to keep the recipe quick and simple, but still full of flavor.
30-Minute Dinner: Easy Sausage and Vegetable Sauté
Looking for a quick and healthy meal? Make this easy Sausage and Vegetable Sauté in a pinch. Gluten and dairy free, this is the perfect dinner for people with food allergies!
A quick and easy dinner recipe that delivers! This one pan Italian sausage orzo is made with with red bell peppers, onions, garlic, orzo, chicken broth, cream, parmesan, and spinach. It's perfect for busy weeknights — minimal effort and minimal clean up!
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to appreciate a delicious vegetarian meal every so often! Whether you participate in Meatless Mondays, are sticking to a grocery budget, or just enjoy a meat-free dinner once in a while, this list will have something you love.
Kluski z Serem (Polish Pasta with Cottage Cheese Recipe)
Kluski z Serem (Polish pasta with cottage cheese recipe) combines soft, fluffy egg noodles with buttery caramelized onion, cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, and black pepper. It's an easy comfort food meal that’s similar to macaroni and cheese and tastes like classic cheese pierogis.
Quick, easy, and absolutely amazing, this Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes is one of my favorite easy meals! Topped with fresh basil and parmesan, it’s a simple pasta recipe that will quickly become a family favorite!
This spinach tortellini recipe is an easy weeknight meal ready in 20 minutes. Fresh tortellini is served in a delicious creamy sauce made with tomatoes, cream, spinach and parmesan cheese.
A lot of soups are super quick and easy to make. Here are just a few ideas to get you inspired. If you like, pair them with a grilled cheese for a classic cold-weather comfort food combination!
Easy Taco Soup
An easy weeknight Taco Soup recipe that doesn’t skimp on flavor. This simple Mexican beef soup is thrown together in just a half-hour and can make the entire family happy. The best weeknight Mexican dinner that can be put together quickly.
Flavor-packed creamy Instant Pot tortellini soup with sausage and kale is a cozy, nutritous, family-friendly meal that takes less than 30 minutes to make in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.
For those of you who love cozying up to a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, this Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe will become a regular in your dinner rotation! It’s creamy and rich with savory cheesy flavor and the perfect amount of broccoli. The only thing that’s missing are the carbs!
30-Minute Chocolate Chili Recipe with Coffee and Black Beans
With a hint of cocoa powder, espresso, and honey, this unique Chocolate Chili recipe is rich and complex-flavored without being overly heavy. It comes together in 1 pot in just 30 minutes!
This creamy Tom Kha Gai recipe (Thai coconut chicken soup) showcases the magic of Thai cuisine! It’s a perfect harmony of sweet, tangy, and savory flavors with a rich coconut milk base, chicken for protein, and fresh, bright herbs and aromatics. Additionally, the best part is that it whips up in just 30 minutes!
Easy Side Dish Ideas to Pair with These Family Dinner Recipes
A lot of these family dinner recipes are a full meal. But there are a few that you might want to whip up a side dish for, so here are a few side dish ideas to inspire you.
In keeping with our 30-minutes-or-less dinner theme, all these side dishes also whip up in the same amount of time!
Cornbread Muffins – these are a great addition to just about any meal
Paleo Flatbread – it’s gluten free, and like a thick, soft tortilla
Grilled Peppers – if you’re firing up the grill anyway, these are great to throw on as a side dish
Creamy Cauliflower Potato Salad – this is a low carb take on regular potato salad; same flavor profile, but much fewer carbs and pairs well with any number of things
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on March 11, 2015. I updated it with more information on October 3, 2022.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Faith spent a significant amount of time living in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait where she immersed herself in Middle Eastern culture and cuisine. Her first cookbook is a celebration of authentic Middle Eastern recipes made approachable for home cooks.
Wow, this is amazing! I won’t need to buy another cookbook for a very long time!