20 Kid-Friendly Recipes That Will Save Your Weeknights

As a mother of three, restaurateur and cookbook author Ayesha Curry knows a thing or two about getting her little ones to eat vegetables. For her line of Homemade meal kits, she’s replaced the cream and some of the cheddar in this mac ’n’ cheese lookalike with a velvety butternut squash purée.

Thomas McNaughton, the chef and co-owner of Flour + Water and several other restaurants in San Francisco, named this hearty, well-structured lasagna for its biggest fan—his baby daughter, Lucie. It’s also an ideal make-ahead dish, since it tastes even better when assembled the day before.

This dish illustrates the principle that, as chef Mark Peel says, “It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.” The meatballs have three kinds of meat for flavor; they’re made carefully and not overworked; and the sauce is clingy.

“The Neo Margherita was one of the first pizzas I created at Pizzana,” Naples-born, California-based chef Daniele Uditi says. “While I’ll always love a classic margherita, I wanted to play with tradition and find a way to reinterpret it for an entirely new experience. The basil crumb topping ensures that every bite has an infusion of basil flavor, and we invert the construction so the tomato ‘sauce’ is actually a reduction featured on top of each slice.”

Everyone loves chicken potpie, but it takes two hours to make. We’ve traded from-scratch pie dough for homemade croutons, creating a great potpie in half the time.

Serve a delicious vegetarian chili recipe for your next low-key gathering or family dinner for a hearty meal.

Like a Monte Cristo, only better. The parmesan crust is pure genius.

Poultry burgers have a reputation for being dry and bland, but jazzed up with sharp cheddar, parmesan, and garlic—and then topped with crisp bacon, juicy tomatoes, and lettuce—they’re boldness in a bun.

Tasty and convenient for busy evenings: You can find most of the ingredients for these quick and delicious sandwiches pre-prepped at the grocery store.

With several toppings, including caramelized onions, bacon, and barbecue sauce, these can be customized for a range of diners, from those who like their dogs plain to those who want them fully loaded and hearty enough to fuel a day out on the range.

These are daintier, fluffier versions of those carnival behemoths, but they still go great with mustard and ketchup.

Cookbook writer and cooking teacher Andrea Nguyen gives these tofu fries an Indian twist—the gingered ketchup.

You may want to make extra, because leftovers are fantastic for lunch the next day.

Former food editor Elaine Johnson said she gets this dinner going while she grocery shops for the week:

“On my mark: I toss a flank steak (very thin and therefore fast to cook on a hot fire) in a ridiculously easy marinade, dump charcoal in a chimney, alert husband to light the fire, and call children to set the table. Get set: I’m off to the market, where I careen through aisles, piling food into the cart. Back home, go! Toss meat on grill. Zip in house to make sauce from marinade. Warm up bread. Pile watercress in bowl. Slice meat. Sit down with happy family. ”

These creamy noodles are a crowd pleaser, and you can easily change out the tofu for chicken if you like.

Fresh ginger gives this soup its big, bright flavor.

Packed with fresh crab, these indulgent appetizers are a step up from the rangoons (deep-fried dumplings) often sold at Chinese restaurants. They can be made ahead and frozen, then cooked before dinner. Set out several dipping sauces, as everyone seems to have a favorite.

Who doesn’t love burritos? Bonus: It’s easy to customize toppings or spice level for pickier eaters.

“These quesadillas are even tastier than the usual kind because they’re stuffed with cheese and fluffy scrambled eggs,” writes Berkeley author Carolyn Federman, who contributed this recipe from her book New Favorites for New Cooks.

The ultimate crowd-pleaser, nachos were invented in 1943 by a maître d’ in Piedras Negras, Mexico (just south of the Texas border). Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya, working a solo shift at the Victory Club restaurant, cobbled together a pile of tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and pickled jalapeños for a group of U.S. military wives in for a snack. His creation became hugely popular, paving the way for massive concession-stand revenues across America.