10 Back to School Dinner Recipes


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10 Back to School Dinner Recipes- 10 recipes that are child-friendly and easy to make for weeknight dinners, including some vegan and gluten free recipes.

We're headed towards Back to School season. How did that happen so quickly? At the end of July, the 6 weeks stretch out before you and then, poof, gone!

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of meal planning most of the time. I need to be organised and be prepared for the days when I'm not going to have a lot of time to cook dinner. But, in the school holidays, I stop doing my meal planning board and fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes, shock horror, I decide what's for dinner about 20 seconds before I make it, ha! That just doesn't work for me during term-time though, so it's time to start preparing to be more organised.

With all that in mind, I have gathered together 10 easy dinner recipes that should become staples on your back to school meal plans. Take a look!


10 Back to School Dinner Recipes



1. Tuna Macaroni Bake

by Neil's Healthy Meals

Cooked Tuna Macaroni Bake in a white casserole dish

Most people have made tuna pasta bake at least once in their lives, because it's delicious and easy to make- always a crowd pleaser with the kids. This version is made with skimmed milk and low fat cheddar as well as the addition of peas so you've got a full meal all in one serving.

2. Spanish Beans with Tomatoes

by Veggie Desserts

Cooked Spanish Beans with tomatoes in a black skillet

Vegan, Gluten free

This dish is just a bowl full of health, packed with fibre, protein and iron, and more importantly, flavour. Taking just 20 minutes to make, you can knock this up at a moment's notice if you need to, and serve with some crusty bread and butter to mop up those juices.

3. Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Thighs and Sweets Potato

by Recipes from a Pantry

Cooked Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potato on a baking tray

Gluten free

I LOVE traybake recipes; they are just a weeknight meal dream, aren't they. Prepare, put on baking tray and cook. This chicken traybake recipe is so easy and is a simple as marinating some chicken with spices and then throwing in to bake with some sweet potato and veg. Ticking all the boxes for me!

4. Asian Salmon with Noodles

by The Improving Cook

Cooked Asian Salmon on a pile of noodles and vegetables

This is a super-quick dish to cook. It includes a marinade which you can put on 2-3 hours before. But in the name of being quick, if that won't work for you, even 10 minutes will add flavour. Pack as many veggies as you like into the noodle stir fry to maximise the health factor.

5. Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole

by Baking Queen 74

Ingredients for slow cooker sausage casserole in slow cooker

Sausage Casserole is such a comforting dish- perfect for the upcoming Autumn evenings. This slow cooker version means that you can put it on in the morning and 8 hours later- ta da! Plus, as Lucy suggests, it's a great way to make good use of any veg you have lying around. I would serve this with mash and my husband would be all over it, for sure.

6. Cheesy One Pot Chicken Lasagne

by Living Sweet Moments

Spoon lifting cheesy one pot chicken lasagne from a dish

I'm a big fan of lasagne; it's such delicious comfort food. I very rarely make it because it's such a lot of faffing about. This twist on a lasagne however, is quick and easy to make using left-over roast chicken a jar of pasta sauce and SO MUCH cheese! When you're looking at the recipe, you need to click on the metric converter to get the UK measurements. You'll also notice in the ingredients that it mentions oven-ready lasagne noodles. 2 things to note here- lasagna noodles are what lasagna sheets are called in the US and also, oven-ready ones are not something we have here. The UK alternative would be fresh lasagne sheets.



Cooked oven baked garlic mushroom rice in a white bowl

Vegan, gluten free

This oven baked mushroom dish is genius because for one thing, it's all cooked in one pot in the oven and for another it's low calorie and super nutritious. A win-win recipe. 



Close up of cooked Beef Mince Hot Pot

One of my favourite back to school meals. Really easy to put together and has veg included in the meat mixture, so it's a meal all in one portion. Nothing to stop you popping an extra portion of veg on the side though!



Cooked healthy mac and cheese in a white bowl on a wooden table

Vegetarian

Like macaroni cheese? Like cauliflower cheese? Well this recipe cleverly merges them and uses yoghurt, instead of bechamel sauce, to make a healthier version of the classics.



A spoon lifting one pot chicken and pasta from a skillet

Another one pot dish- this chicken pasta recipe is essentially a pasta bake cooked on the hob in one large frying pan, which means you get to skip about 5 of the usual 'making a pasta bake' steps and have it ready in half and hour.



So there you have it, 10 recipes for when the kid are back to school. Stick them on your menu plan for September!

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Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing all these quick midweek meals! It's so hectic when the kids go back to school. And also thanks for including my Spanish Beans recipe.

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  2. My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures. It is so needed to have quick meals when going back to school.

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  3. This will be so useful when my kids go back to school next week. Pinning for reference! Thanks too for including my sausage casserole recipe.

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