If you are struggling for inspiration for family meal ideas, firstly, let me tell you that you are not on your own. There are so many of us that have fussy children, lack time or inspiration to find family meals that everyone will enjoy. This doesn’t mean that you are failing with the dinners, it just means like me, you are after a little help getting some new meals on the menu.
I always mention in the meal plans that we are trying to introduce new meals into our family meal plans, simply because I am bored of eating the same thing over and over. With a family that eat different things, it is a little annoying trying to find meals that we all like.
For those in the same boat, here are 15 family meal ideas from a selection of amazing bloggers, each recipe has been tried and tested on their own families and is a big hit. Hopefully, it will provide you with a little inspiration for upcoming meal plans:
Pasta family meal ideas
- Tomato and Mascapone Sauce for pasta – Sometimes midweek you are after a family meal that takes minimal effort and this is the perfect recipe for that. This simple but tasty pasta sauce is sure to be a big hit.
- Kale, sausage and tomato pasta – If you are looking for a pasta recipe without cheese, this is the dish for you. What is even better is the fact the sauce keeps well too, so you can use it for lunch later in the week if you fancy something different.
- Bacon Macaroni Cheese – I like macaroni cheese but find it a little boring at times, with the addition of bacon to give it that extra flavour, this one will be back on the meal plan soon!
Meat-free family meal ideas
- Mushroom Mac and Cheese Recipe – If you are looking for a mac and cheese recipe with a twist but are after a vegetarian version, this is the recipe for you. The mushrooms add a real earthy flavour to give you a dish the whole family can enjoy.
- Sun Dried Tomato Cob Loaf Dip – I often see cob loaves on Pinterest but have never given them a try, this recipe though sounds delicious and is the perfect choice for when we are having one of our picky style dinners. The kids will love it as they love cheese and bread!
Family meal ideas that contain meat
- Hambread – I love the look of this recipe, I have never seen anything like it and can imagine it is a big hit with the kids. It is going to be on one of our upcoming meal plans.
- Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe – Last year we invested in a pressure cooker however we don’t use it anywhere near as much as we should. This curry recipe would be perfect for us as Ethan likes curry but not when it is too strong.
- Sausage and Herby Dumpling Pie – This recipe sounds amazing, everything that our household enjoy, all in one dish. It is the perfect comfort meal.
- Mini toad in the hole – Without a doubt a winner in our household, toad in the hole is one recipe that everyone loves and the mini version is perfect for busy weeknights.
- Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb – Lamb is one of my favourite treats and this delicious roast shoulder is a real treat, if you have any lamb leftover it would go perfect in this leftover curry.
- Sharing Steak with Next level Salsa Verde – I have never thought of cooking a large steak for the whole family but with the summer here, I may be giving this one a go on the BBQ!
- Minced Beef Pie -Pie is something I love but don’t cook very often, this recipe though sounds delicious and will change that.
- Really Easy Homemade Beef Burgers – We have a household of burger fans, these really easy beef burgers are the perfect midweek meal winner.
- Spaghetti Bolognese – Everyone loves spaghetti bolognese? Well everyone but Ethan, anyway, this is an easy recipe to make and packs lots of flavours. I love it just so we can throw in any veg that may be going past its best before.
- Slow cooker pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce -This is a huge hit in our house every time we make it, very minimal effort is required but you enjoy the rewards at the end. It is the perfect dish for a busy day, just pop it in and leave it to do its thing.
Hopefully, some of these recipes will give you a little inspiration when it comes to your family mealtimes. If you are looking for some more family meal ideas, we always have our weekly meal plan up on the blog which includes links to some amazing recipes.
Granted, it doesn’t always go to plan, however, we try and stick to it as much as possible. I’m sure one day we will be able to look back at our meal plans and laugh at just how fussy our kids were!
