A Month of Healthy Family Dinner Recipes

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Updated on November 29, 2023

Reviewed by Dietitian

Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

a collage of recipe photos from A Month of Healthy Family Dinners

These healthy dinner ideas are perfect for any age. Whether you're feeding young kids or teenagers, every family member will love these satisfying and delicious meals. So the next time someone asks, "What's for dinner?," you can respond with tasty recipes like One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta, Taco Lettuce Wraps and Spinach & Tuna Noodle Casserole.

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One-Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta

This chicken Parmesan pasta uses the one-pot pasta method to cook your noodles, chicken and sauce all in one skillet for a fast and easy dinner with minimal cleanup.

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Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas

Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas

One sheet pan is all you'll need to whip up these zesty chicken fajitas. They're quick and easy to make, and cleanup is even faster!

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Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

Two of our favorite comfort-food sandwiches join forces in these family-friendly dinner sandwiches. We found that softer buns make this easier to eat, and it's all the better when wrapped takeout-style in a sheet of foil.

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20-Minute Creamy Chicken Skillet with Italian Seasoning

20-Minute Creamy Italian Chicken Skillet — Jason Donnelly

Chicken cutlets cook quickly and are highlighted with a creamy sauce made with tomatoes, zucchini and Italian seasoning. This recipe is sure to become a new weeknight favorite the whole family will love. Serve it with whole-wheat pasta or rice to make it a meal.

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Mini Meatloaves with Green Beans & Potatoes

This healthy meatloaf recipe and side dishes are all made in the oven on two sheet pans so that everything's ready for the dinner table at the same time. The potatoes go into the oven first to start roasting while the mini meatloaves and green beans are prepped and added to the oven partway through.

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Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole — Katie Webster

Casseroles make perfect meal-prep dinners, and this enchilada version is no exception. The whole casserole can be built and left to hang out in the refrigerator for up to three days—just bake it off on a busy night and you have a healthy, easy dinner on the table in no time. The quick homemade enchilada sauce in this recipe is great when you don't have any of the canned sauce on hand; just season crushed tomatoes with spices and salt for an instant enchilada sauce.

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Taco Lettuce Wraps

Don't limit yourself to lettuce for this low-carb, gluten-free taco lettuce wrap recipe—any fresh green sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.

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Healthy Oven-Fried Pork Chops

These whole-wheat panko breadcrumb-coated pork chops get just as crispy as fried chops, but they're baked. Serve with steamed broccoli and baked sweet potato for a satisfying, healthy weeknight dinner.

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Spinach & Tuna Noodle Casserole

Homemade mushroom sauce kicks the can of soup out of the picture in this veggie-centric, healthy riff on a classic tuna-noodle casserole recipe. Serve with steamed green beans.

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Cheeseburger Casserole

a recipe photo of the Cheeseburger Casserole — Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco

If you love a classic cheeseburger with all the fixings, you’ll love this family-friendly cheeseburger casserole. Rotini pasta picks up all the flavors of this comforting dish, but any shape pasta you have in your pantry will work well. We love the crunch shredded fresh lettuce offers, but feel free to mix it up with another green like spinach or kale, or top your casserole with Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms for a different spin.

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Baked Fish Tacos with Avocado

Instead of deep-frying, the fish fillets in this quick-and-easy five-ingredient recipe are coated with a flavorful seasoning blend and baked. Several varieties of flaky white fish can be used for these tacos. When you go to the market to purchase fish, the best strategy is to be flexible and choose the variety that looks freshest that day.

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Mom's Chili

Mom's Chili

This healthy basic beef chili recipe is well worth doubling so you can throw a batch in the freezer. Serve topped with diced red onion, sliced scallions, shredded cheese and your favorite hot sauce.

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Lemon-Garlic Chicken Casserole

a recipe photo of the Weeknight Lemon-Garlic Chicken Casserole — Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf

This chicken and rice casserole packs in the protein plus offers plenty of fiber from brown rice and broccoli for a well-rounded meal in one pot. Chicken thighs are meaty and tender, but feel free to swap them out for chicken breast if you prefer.

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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Rotisserie Chicken

Creamy-Chicken-Noodle

This creamy chicken noodle soup recipe has a delicious potpie feel to it. We call for rotisserie chicken to streamline your prep time—look for a nice big one with lots of breast meat on it. Pair this comforting soup with a green salad.

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Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan

This cheesy baked eggplant Parmesan has no breading, which means it's easier to make than the traditional version. There's no dredging or frying—instead, the eggplant is roasted until tender before being layered in the casserole dish with a tangy homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. And without breading, this satisfying eggplant Parmesan is also gluten-free!

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Black Bean Tacos

Mixing mashed canned beans with whole beans and seasonings makes an incredibly simple taco filling from your pantry. Top these speedy five-ingredient tacos with lettuce, tomato and salsa or any of your favorite taco toppings.

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Creamy Mac & Cheese Soup

Creamy Mac & Cheese Soup

A package of frozen pureed winter squash adds sweetness and good nutrition—namely vitamin A, potassium and fiber—to this soup version of a family favorite, mac and cheese. It also lends its orange color to the soup, making it seem cheesier without actually adding more cheese. Feel free to swap in your favorite shape of medium-size pasta for the elbow macaroni. Using convenience items like frozen squash means that this healthy kid-friendly dinner takes just 30 minutes to prep.

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Air-Fryer 'Fried' Chicken Thighs

Air fryers need a lot less oil to create a deep-fried, crispy crust. Here, chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk and dredged in a simple breadcrumb coating. With the help of a little cooking spray, they cook up nice and crispy with a lot less fat. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or slice them up to top a salad.

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Easy Lasagna

This classic beef lasagna recipe is easy to make and will be ready to eat in just over an hour.

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Pork Chops with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

These seared pork chops are topped with a rich and creamy mushroom sauce that gets flavored with fresh herbs.

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Pizza-Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Pizza Spaghetti Squash

Skip the dough and stuff all of your favorite pizza toppings into spaghetti squash boats for a fun and healthy dinner that'll please the whole family. We love the combination of mushrooms, bell peppers, pepperoni and mozzarella, but feel free to mix it up with your favorite pizza ingredients. You could throw in a bit of chopped cooked broccoli, for example, or add some olives or chopped artichoke hearts. And of course, feel free to omit the pepperoni to make the dish vegetarian. Round out the meal with a simple salad.

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Crispy Baked Ravioli with Red Pepper & Mushroom Bolognese

Legend has it that toasted ravioli originated with a St. Louis chef dropping the pasta in hot oil instead of water. Here, we lighten it up by baking instead of frying and adding a serving of vegetables in the form of a vegetarian Bolognese-style sauce. More good news: This easy vegetarian dinner takes just 35 minutes to make.

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Chicken Parmesan Casserole

We took the best parts of chicken Parmesan—ooey-gooey cheese, crispy breadcrumbs and plenty of tomato sauce—and spun them into an easy, family-friendly casserole.

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Skillet Chicken Potpie

A store-bought pie crust, frozen veggies and precooked chicken simplify the prep for this easy potpie. This healthy dinner recipe is comfort food at its best.

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Cheese Quesadillas with Peppers & Onions

These 15-minute quesadillas are a notch above basic with the addition of sautéed peppers and onions. Let the kiddos load them up with the toppings at the table.

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Alphabet Soup

Homemade Alphabet Soup

Recite your ABCs while you enjoy this kid-friendly soup that you can feel good about serving—it's packed with healthy vegetables. If you can't find alphabet noodles, any small pasta (like orzo) will work.

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Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pasta

If you've ever wanted to make a meal from warm spinach and artichoke dip, this creamy pasta is for you. And here's what's almost as good as the flavor of this comforting dish: the fact that this healthy dinner takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

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Chipotle Ranch Chicken Casserole

Simplify weeknight dinnertime by transforming leftover slow-cooked chicken into an easy, cheesy casserole.

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Fish Nuggets with Seasoned Sweet Potato Wedges

Frozen fish sticks get a makeover with this recipe for oven-baked fish nuggets. To give them that irresistible deep-fried crunch, we rely on panko breadcrumbs with their lighter, flakier texture.

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Salsa-Black Bean Burgers

Salsa and some pantry staples give this vegetarian bean burger recipe tons of flavor. We use crushed tortilla chips to bind the burgers together, making them a great vehicle for using up those crumbs that inevitably fall to the bottom of the bag.

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a collage of recipe photos from the A Month of Healthy Meals for Kids

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