20 No-Fail Dinner Ideas

Bri DeRosa

5 days ago

Planning and cooking meals for a family is hard work. How are we supposed to continually come up with good ideas that are fast, easy, inexpensive, and relatively nutritious? And what about changing food preferences, picky eaters, and busy schedules that take time away from family dinner? It’s a lot to manage, which is why we advocate having a list of “fallback” or “no-fail” dinner ideas on hand.

What are no-fail dinners? They’re the things you can easily whip up with items you can readily keep on hand. They’re also things you can empower other people in your household to make, so the primary cook gets a night off. And they’re things that can largely be made to fit into the kind of on-the-go lifestyle familiar to many families, where evening commitments, sports practices, and multiple competing priorities make it hard to find time for cooking and cleanup.

Many of these ideas are flexible and adaptable, many are no-cook or low-cook, and almost all of them could be made by a teenager or a responsible tween. You can use convenience foods, as suggested, or plug in homemade versions of things like pasta sauces and soups as you prefer. In other words, these twenty ideas are a template to help you keep thinking of more and more simple, stress-free dinner ideas you can pull out when you need quick meal inspiration. (Which, for most of us, is all the time.)

20 No-Fail Dinner Ideas

Big salad with chicken (any flavor): Grab a bag or two of your favorite dressing-included salad kit, and add shredded rotisserie chicken for the fastest complete meal ever.
BBQ or Buffalo chicken sliders: Toss shredded rotisserie chicken with bottled barbecue sauce or buffalo wing sauce, and warm gently in the microwave or a saucepan. Serve the chicken on Hawaiian dinner rolls and add favorite toppings — pickles or prepared coleslaw for BBQ chicken, ranch or blue cheese dressing and crunchy romaine lettuce for Buffalo chicken.
Avocado toast: Toast slices of bread, add mashed avocado and a pinch of salt, and offer people other topping choices as you like. Hard boiled eggs, cheese, tomato, greens, black beans, salsa, everything bagel seasoning…you’re only limited by your imagination! Add fruit or raw veggies on the side to round out the meal.
Snack board: A fast family dinner classic you can make as fancy or basic as you like. Set out a big board or platter and fill it with deli meat, cut up hot dogs, or shredded chicken; cheese; fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, or dried); crackers or bread or pretzels; and any fun additions you can think of!
Hummus rollups: Spread flour tortillas with hummus, fill with vegetables of your choice, and add your favorite cheese if you like. Consider serving with yogurt and fruit.
Pita/English muffin/bagel pizzas: Top your “crust” of choice with a few spoonfuls of pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and any meat or veggie toppings you like. Pop them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bottom is slightly crispy.
Oatmeal bar: Who says oatmeal is just for breakfast? You can use overnight oats, slow cooker oats, single-serve microwave packets, or make a pot of oatmeal using your favorite method. Set out fun toppings like fruit, nuts, coconut, peanut butter, cinnamon, even chocolate chips, and let everyone enjoy making their own oatmeal creations.
Nugget parm: Make a shortcut “chicken parmigiana” using your favorite frozen chicken nuggets or tenders. Pop them in a baking dish, add a cup or two of jarred spaghetti sauce, and top with a layer of shredded cheese. Bake according to the package directions on the nuggets, covering with foil if the cheese gets too brown before the time is up. Serve with salad and, if you’re feeling ambitious, garlic bread or pasta.
Fish finger tacos: Cook frozen fish fingers according to package directions, then wrap in tortillas with avocado and bagged slaw mix. Get creative with your favorite toppings, like fruit salsas or Mexi-ranch dressing.
Potsticker bowls: Cook frozen potstickers according to package directions, drain, and add thawed edamame and sesame seeds. Offer soy sauce, hoisin, chili crisp, sriracha, sweet chili sauce, or other bottled sauces your family likes for flavoring.
Bagel board: Fill a board with sliced bagels, different flavors of cream cheese, nut butters, smoked fish, hard-boiled eggs, fruits and vegetables. Let everyone make their own sweet and savory bagel creations.
Rice bowls: Cook rice (you can even use microwave rice packets). Divide into bowls and offer a pre-cooked protein (shredded chicken, tinned or smoked fish, beans or lentils) + chopped vegetables (avocado, corn, scallions, cucumber, tomatoes, etc) + sauces and condiments (soy, salsa, honey mustard, Caesar dressing) + cheeses and extras as preferred (croutons, tortilla chips, wonton strips) to make quick bowls with different flavor profiles.
Caprese sandwiches: Split a baguette or long Italian loaf down the middle horizontally. Layer on fresh mozzarella cheese slices, sliced tomatoes, and basil leaves or some prepared pesto. You can add cooked chicken, deli turkey, or Italian cold cuts if you like, or dress it up with balsamic vinaigrette.
Pasta with pesto or jarred spaghetti sauce: It’s never the wrong time to cook a pot of pasta, toss it with your favorite prepared sauce, and serve it alongside a basic salad. Jazz things up by choosing ravioli or tortellini in interesting flavors.
Eggs, toast, and fruit: You can vary this in any number of ways, from making “eggs in a nest” to creating veggie scrambles with whatever you have in the fridge. To keep kids away from the stove, you can use our savory mug cake recipe, which is really just a way of making microwaved omelets.
Baked potato bar: Make shortcut baked potatoes if need be, by scrubbing and piercing the potatoes with a paring knife before microwaving for 10-12 minutes, until the potato is cooked through and fluffy on the inside. Let everyone top their own potato with choices like cheese, bacon bits, steamed broccoli, shredded chicken, prepared chili, sour cream, salsa, or whatever your family likes best.
Soup and crackers (or grilled cheese): Keep your favorite pre-made soups on hand — there are lots of good options available at grocery stores these days if you don’t have time to make and freeze your own. Heat up some soup, set out some crackers or make some sandwiches, and dinner’s done.
“Cold supper”: Start with chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, or chickpea salad as the basic protein. Add sliced bread or crackers, some salad or raw sliced vegetables like tomatoes and carrot sticks, and some fruit. Let everyone make their own plate and assemble as they like.
Quesadilla bar: Set out flour tortillas, shredded cheese, some vegetables, and beans or cooked chicken or turkey. Let each family member decide what to put into their quesadilla. Cook in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat until the cheese is melted and the quesadilla is golden brown on each side, flipping once.
Waffle/pancake bar: Toast your favorite brand of frozen waffles or pancakes. Let your family add yogurt, nut butters, fruit, syrup, or other favorite toppings to make fun breakfast for dinner creations.