If you’ve ever sat there thinking—what can I make for dinner when I’m tired? Then this article is for you!
In this article, I cover some quick and easy dinner recipes so that you can meal plan and meal prep for your family.
This list certainly isn’t exhaustive, but I hope it serves as some cool inspiration for you as a starting basis.
Quick Easy Meal Ideas For Busy Moms
Instant pot recipes are great for busy moms! Slow cookers are such an easy way for busy moms to create healthy meals. I love that I can prepare my healthy dinner in the morning, and let it marinate in the instant pot all day whilst I get on with chores and looking after the kids.
Here are a few different slow cooker ideas, combined with other mealtime ideas for a bit of variety…
1. Chilli Con Carne Crock Pot
Chilli Con Carne crock pot is a cheap and easy meal to make, and it’s delicious too! This makes a lovely weeknight dinner for your family, and it also works well as a freezer meal for those busy days when you don’t have the time or energy to cook.
This meal can be served with rice, pasta, or bread depending on your preferences.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of olive oil
18oz of ground beef mince
1 finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 finely chopped celery stick
1 sliced red pepper
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 can of black beans
1 can of chopped tomato
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
Salt and pepper to season
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Turn on the slow cooker and set it to low heat. Heat half of the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic on medium heat until golden and cooked through. Then place this into the slow cooker.
Step 2: Add the rest of the oil into the frying pan and brown the rest of the chopped vegetables until they’re softened.
Step 3: Add everything into the slow cooker, stir well, and allow it to cook for 6 to 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with pasta, rice, or bread. Delicious!
2. 2-Step Slow Cooker Mac ‘n’ Cheese Pasta
This recipe is often a favorite with picky eaters because most kids love pasta and cheese! Not only that, it’s a favorite with mamas because it is so easy to make!
Ingredients
12oz of macaroni pasta
21 fl oz whole milk
2oz of diced butter
2oz of soft cheese
3.5oz shredded cheese
1oz of shredded cheese to serve
Salt and pepper to season
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Pop everything into the slow cooker, and stir well. Add salt and pepper to season. Cook on low heat for one hour. Stir, and cook for another 30 minutes.
Step 2: Once the pasta is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened and reduced you can add more milk if you wish, or simply serve it with extra cheese. Et voila. Easy and tasty!
3. 2-Step Chicken, Sweet Potato, And Black Bean Instant Pot
This delicious chicken dinner is one of my favorite recipes. It’s an easy recipe and makes a really healthy meal, so it’s well worth adding to the list for variety.
Chicken and black bean instant pot is great comfort food, it’s high in protein from the chicken and the black beans, and is a really wholesome meal.
A clinical review into nutrients and protein noted that adequate protein is vital for optimal health during growth and aging.¹ So you want to be adding lots of healthy protein sources into your family recipes because it’ll benefit both you and your kids!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
32oz of chopped chicken breast
1 cup of vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season
1 finely chopped onion
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 can of black beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 finely chopped sweet potato
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Turn on the slow cooker to low heat. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken breast, onion, and garlic until golden and cooked through.
Step 2: Add everything to your slow cooker and stir well. Allow to cook for 6 to 8 hours and serve on its own or with rice or bread. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Homemade Chicken Nuggets
If your little ones are anything like mine, then they’re going to love these homemade chicken nuggets. I personally love this recipe because it makes a common but naughty treat way healthier because you’re using high-quality chicken!
If you prefer you can also oven-bake these chicken nuggets instead of deep frying them.
A clinical review by Food & Function into the cooking methods of chicken nuggets noted that different cooking methods can alter the nutritional quality of foods.²
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts cut into small chicken nugget-sized pieces
1 cup of all-purpose or gluten-free flour
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 large eggs
2 cups of breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Cooking Directions
Step 1: You’ll need three separate bowls for this recipe. Mix the flour, herbs, and seasoning into one of your bowls. In the second bowl, mix your eggs with two tablespoons of cold water. And place your breadcrumbs in the third bowl.
Step 2: Piece by piece coat the chicken pieces in the flour mix, then in the egg mix, and lastly into the breadcrumb mix.
Step 3: Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the chicken pieces until golden and cooked through and serve with ketchup or french fries—or both.
5. Veggie Fried Rice
Veggie fried rice is a great way to add variety. This delicious meal can help to get your little ones eating their vegetables. It is super tasty, easy to make, and full of vitamins.
Tip: You can make this recipe a whole lot easier by using frozen mixed vegetables.
Ingredients
2 cups of cooked white or brown rice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 diced carrot
1 diced pepper
Half a cup of peas
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
Salt and pepper to season
1 large egg
Salt and pepper to season
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Fry the olive oil, garlic, and onion until golden. Add the cooked rice and fry on high heat until the rice is browned. Put this all to the side in a bowl.
Step 2: Whether you’re using frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables, boil or steam until they’re cooked through.
Step 3: Then add the vegetables, rice, and soy sauce together and fry until golden and cooked through. Whisk in the egg until cooked and scrambled and serve!
6. Chicken And Mashed Potato
This is a lovely hearty meal and can be made with white potato or sweet potato.
Ingredients
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 finely chopped onion
2 large white or sweet potatoes
2 diced chicken breasts
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
1oz of butter
Half a cup of milk
2oz of shredded cheese
Cooking Directions
Step 1: Heat the olive oil, onion, and garlic in a frying pan until browned. Add the chicken breast and fry on medium heat until cooked through.
Step 2: Boil the potato until cooked through, and strain. Add the salt, pepper, butter, cheese, and milk—mash until super creamy.
Step 3: Serve your cooked chicken and potato mash with boiled or steamed vegetables for some added freshness and vitamins. Yum!
7. Fresh Fruit Platter
Sometimes we get caught up with healthy eating and what meal plans ‘should’ be. But the truth is, they can be whatever suits you and your family at the moment.
A fresh fruit platter can be a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal.
If you’ve had a big breakfast or lunch, then a fruit platter can serve as a great light dinner meal. Fruit is a great source of vitamins, minerals, and healthy sugars.
It’s so quick and easy to make and is delicious too. You can make your fruit platter a bit more exciting by squeezing lime onto the fruit to add some sour notes to complement the sweetness.
Or you can add peanut butter or nut butter into the mix too. Peanut butter and nut butter really complement bananas and help to add healthy fat and a good dose of healthy energy to the meal.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed these easy recipe ideas for quick and healthy meals for moms and families!
Are there any recipes that you think should be added to this list of quick healthy meals for moms? Let me know in the comments.
If you want to make sure that you and your kids are getting enough fresh fruit and vegetables, then why not try out my free habit tracker?
And with all the extra time you’ve saved from meal planning and meal prepping, you can enjoy some of my favorite self-love and self-care treats in this blog!
Or if you’d like some health and wellness tips for busy moms, then be sure to check out my article here.
Good luck with your meal planning mama!
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