If you are in back-to-school mode, or if you feel super pumped and ready to tackle the upcoming fall season, this roundup of delicious and easy weeknight dinners is for you. 

Each recipe is simple, quick, and perfect for busy school nights.

From Takeout Style Orange Chicken and Pizza Shop Pizza, to French Onion Tomato Soup and Semi-Homemade Chicken Sandwiches, there is something on this list for everyone.

Make sure to save this page and use it as a resource in the coming weeks.

 

1. Chicken Fillet in a Jiffy from the Nitra Cookbook

This chicken dinner will take just about an hour to prepare and is not too fussy. The ingredient list is very short, but you can certainly add your favorite seasonings

2. Quick and Easy Teriyaki Salmon from the Dining In Cookbook

Easy sweet and sour fish with a slightly Oriental flavor. Nice served with some greens on the side.

3. Lemony Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner by Molly Hagler

There is nothing better than a sheet pan dinner. This is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It comes together quickly and comes out delicious!

4. Meatball Sliders by Sara and Yossi Goldstein

Classic meatballs simmered in Knorr Shakshuka Sauce. This recipe lends great flavor to dinnertime! You can serve these in buns, as shown, for neat finger food, but these would also be delicious with rice, quinoa, or your favorite grain.

5. Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese by Bassie Parnes

You can adjust the amounts of vegetables based on your personal preferences, and you can adjust the seasoning when you blend it. If you like a thinner soup, add more broth, and if you like it creamier, add more cream.

6. One-Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce by Mushka Pinson

Make only one pot dirty and get a whole meal!

7. Takeout Style Orange Chicken by Michal Frischman

Chinese-takeout inspired, this would be great over some white rice. Don’t see yourself juicing mandarins? Use orange juice with pulp from the carton and skip the zest. Still good!

8. Sheet Pan Harvest Chicken by Ally Mawhirter

This delicious dish combines all of my favorite fall flavors onto one sheet pan! This Harvest Chicken is a beautiful mix of colors, textures, seasonal herbs, and hearty protein. Serve over your favorite steamed grains or salad greens for a perfectly balanced meal.

9. Cream Cheese Alfredo Pasta Sauce by Chani Salzer

Two words to sum up this classic pasta recipe? Quick and easy. Need I say more?

10. Easy Italian Meatballs by Tamar Teitelbaum

I wanted to offer you an easy recipe that can be made with simple pantry ingredients. Easy Italian Meatballs is the answer. Enjoy in good health! For this recipe, I highly recommend using Italian flavored breadcrumbs. You can use plain bread crumbs, but the meatballs won’t have that herbaceous flavor inside. If you are using plain breadcrumbs, add some basil and oregano to your meat mixture to boost the flavor of the meatballs themselves. The sauce will take over the rest.

11. Spaghetti Casserole by Erin Grunstein

This baked spaghetti casserole is inspired by a dish I grew up eating as a child; we called it square spaghetti – I don’t know why – but it was so delicious!

12. Crispy Mexican “Cheese Dogs” by Chavi Feldman

Quick and easy… check. Kid friendly… that’s two checks… and in my seven-year-old’s words, “Seriously heaven!” These adorable, fried meal-in-ones get supper on the table fast. For those with a less sophisticated palate (as in, most of the Feldman kids), you can swap out the Mexican flavors for a simple grilled cheese filling or whatever foods your family enjoys.

13. Semi-Homemade Chicken Sandwich by Michal Frischman

When Chanie assigns me a set on the “real recipes I make for my real family barbecues,” my response is a raised eyebrow (a raised eyebrow emoji, if we’re being real, which I feel like we are). The good people who read Family Table have no interest in hearing about me putting chicken into store-bought sauces and grilling them, I say. She begs to differ, and she’s usually right about all things. These are highly customizable, so you can make them exactly how you like them.

14. Sizzling Steak by Chayie Schlisselfeld

Tender beef, perfectly cooked and coated in a sauce of your favorite Asian flavors. Sizzling steak and broccoli is very likely to become your most-requested supper.

15. Easy Weeknight Pasta by Sara and Yossi Goldstein

This weeknight pasta dish is beyond easy. Dinner in 1-2-3!   Find more quick, easy, and delicious weekday meals here.

16. Chicken Breast Baguette Sandwich by Mighty Sesame Co.

A few minutes on the stovetop and you’ll have yourself a hearty, filling chicken sandwich.   Featuring Mighty Sesame.

17. Baked Cauliflower Burgers bu Lukas Volger

Here, capers and Dijon mustard highlight mellow cauliflower’s subtle flavor. Serve with a slice of cheese for something richer; or for a lighter lunch, season with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkling of sea salt, and a few grinds of black pepper and serve on a big, fluffy kaiser roll.

18. Sloppy Joe Pita Sandwiches from the Nitra Cookbook

This dinner is packed with protein and super kid-friendly, covering all the bases and coming through in a pinch.

19. Rorie’s Pizza Shop Pizza by Rorie Weisberg

This healthy pizza is extremely quick and easy to make. The dough is very easy to work with and rolls out beautifully. The dough will puff up, so keep that in mind when rolling it out. Play around with the toppings to create your own personal pizza shop in your home!

20. Miracle Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry by Nealy Fischer

Some of the best recipes are born from a flop, a mishap, or a problem that you’re forced to solve. Enter: Making a stir-fry without stir-frying at all. Say what? One day when we were craving Chinese comfort food, my stovetop broke down (great timing, huh?)—so I improvised. I baked this baby in about forty minutes, and it turned out better than Chinese takeout! Ditch the idea of standing at a wok and frying your next Chinese meal. This one-pan wonder makes prep and cleanup a breeze.

21. French Onion Tomato Soup from the Dining In Cookbook

There are soup lovers who would give a fortune for this recipe. You don’t have to, so dig in and enjoy!

22. Shake ’n Bake Chicken Poppers by Tanya Ohana

Who doesn’t love a good SHAKE’N BAKE chicken recipe? These chicken poppers are the perfect easy, delicious, crowd-pleasing dinner! The best is that they’re baked.

23. Crispy Fried Cod with Fresh Tartar Sauce by Chaya Raskin

24. Falafel Platter by Brynie Greisman

Why make falafel if you can easily buy it? First of all, these taste amazing, and are healthier. Second, it costs a fraction of what it costs in the stores, and finally, it’s a really fun activity for a family dinner. What’s more — these mini falafel patties freeze well, but you probably won’t have any left! Thanks, HD.

25. Sushi Party by Chayie Schlisselfeld

If your family is anything like mine, you can relate to this. Some like their “sushi” with just rice and cucumbers, while others like just plain kani, and then we have the real ambitious ones that will take some salmon and mango slices. I like to make a big sushi platter to serve for a supper that will make everyone happy. Keep the components separate so everyone can choose.

26. Pulled Chicken Tacos by Sara and Yossi Goldstein

Two-ingredient pulled chicken served in tortillas with your favorite fresh toppings!

27. Low Carb Spinach Mushroom Quesadillas by Batsheva Kanter

These do not need a dipping sauce because all the flavor is inside the quesadilla. These are also great at room temperature, so they’re perfect for a school lunch for discerning taste buds.

Originally published August 2021. Updated and improved August 2025.