Back to School Weeknight Dinner Ideas

With Back to School being such a busy time for everyone, I wanted to put together a list of our favorite, quick and easy recipes that are perfect for busy families. There is a little bit of everything in this list of recipes, because it takes all kinds to make it work, depending on your circumstances on any given day. I hope this list of recipes and ideas inspires you, and I hope your family loves them as much as ours!  (A special thanks to rock star blogger and mom of 4, Michaela, from An Affair From The Heart, for contributing two of her busy family’s favorite, easy weeknight recipes.)

Back to School Weeknight Dinners

Smoked Sausage Penne Alfredo – This is an absolutely delicious dinner that is on your table in under 30 minutes.  A quick weeknight meal that feels like a weekend treat!

Slow Cooker Steak Tacos – This wonderful meal is prepped in 5 minutes then cooks in your slow cooker for 8 hours!  Perfect for a long day when you know you will be way too exhausted to even make a sandwich when you get home!  You won’t be tempted with the drive-thru when you know this delicious dinner is ready and waiting!
*Bonus* Your house will smell like a Tex-Mex heaven when you walk in the door!

{5 Ingredient} Chicken Parmesan Ravioli Bake – This recipe is one of the most kid pleasing recipes I have created!  Not only is it delicious, it only calls for 5 ingredients, and dinner is ready in under 30 minutes!  This is also a great one to prep ahead of time.  Just refrigerate until ready to bake!

Stuffed Bell Peppers – I can not tell you how many countless times I made this recipe during nap time when my kids were babies.  It is one of my favorite recipes on my site, and while it takes about 30 minutes to prep, you can even prep it a couple of days in advance! Just pop it in the oven whenever you are ready to bake it!

Porcupine Meatballs – Classic Southern comfort food at it’s finest!  These meatballs take about 10 minutes to prep, then bake in the oven in a delicious sauce.

Italian Wonder Pot – One Pot, 20 minutes, dinner is done.  You don’t even have to drain your noodles.  You won’t believe how easy and delicious this is!

Pork Chop & Garden Vegetable Rice Bake – This is our favorite recipe we had this Summer.  It is from scratch with about 15 minutes of hands on time, but then the whole meal bakes together in the oven for an hour!

Brown Sugar Lemon Chicken – This is the most hands on recipe in this list.  I included it because it is my absolute all time favorite chicken recipe and because, hey, some weeknights we DO have a little extra time.  Right?  TOTALLY WORTH IT!

I would love to hear some of your favorite weeknight meals – share them in the comments! I hope your kiddos have a wonderful school year!

You Might Also Like…

More Kid-Pleasing Recipes on RCM
Back to School Guide for North Alabama

This article was originally published in 2014 and has been updated with current info.