Back-to-School Dinner Ideas

5 simple ideas for easy, quick home cooked meals as you and your family transition to school-year schedules

It’s back-to-school season, which means new routines, car pick-up lines and even busier schedules. So how do you manage quick, easy, nutritional dinners without resorting to drive-thrus and fast food?

Well, we’ve got a few ideas! From prep-ahead-and-bake-later dishes to crock pot recipes and air fryer ideas, here are some recipes to make the transition a little easier.

Baked Ravioli Casserole

We all love a delicious lasagna, but pulling one together on a weekday evening after a long day at work while helping kids with homework. It’s just not going to happen, right? Thankfully, using ravioli from your grocery store’s refrigerated section can make life a little easier. Boil the ravioli, layer with your favorite sauce and add meat, veggies and cheese as you like. You can even assemble it ahead of time and pop it into the oven the day you’re planning to serve it. Pair it with a simple salad or green beans, and dinner is done! Looking for a recipe? Try this one.

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

“Someone gave my mom this recipe,” says our founder, Mandy Crow, “but I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. But it was a hit!” This is an easy-to-pull together using ingredients you can easily find at the store and probably already have at your house. You just need Texas toast (prepared to box instructions), a rotisserie chicken (pulled off the bone) and a jar of Alfredo sauce. If you’re watching sodium or trying to avoid processed foods, these are all also things you can make using your own recipes. Prepare the toast to instructions, then cube and place in a bowl. Mix together with chicken and Alfredo sauce. Add Italian seasoning to taste, pour into a greased 9X13 casserole dish and top with shredded Mozzarella. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or so and serve!

Air Fryer Burgers and Fries

Enough with the Italian recipes! How about burgers and fries? Make this all-American classic quickly and simply in your air fryer. You can start with homemade or frozen patties, and season as you prefer. It might take some practice to fine tune the cooking time for your tastes, but air frying at 370º for about 6-7 minutes, then flipping and air frying for an additional 3-5 minutes (until beef reaches 160º) is a good place to start. Note that thicker patties and frozen burgers may take a little longer to cook. You can use your favorite bag of frozen fries (prepared according to directions) or thinly slice a few potatoes, toss in oil and seasoning and air fry at 380º in a single layer for about 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. This may also take a little trial and error, but this recipe from Love and Lemons can help.

Breakfast for Dinner

Yes, there are people in the world who don’t love breakfast foods, but we don’t happen to be any of them! Breakfast for dinner is a quick, easy way to whip up a home cooked meal without a ton or prep, mess or time. We’re particularly interested in recipes like these brunch enchiladas (you could switch out the ham for bacon or even sausage, depending on your family’s preferences) and this sausage crescent roll casserole.

Chicken Salad

We certainly love a good chicken salad, but it can be a quick, easy supper to pull together after a busy day—plus leftovers make for a quick easy lunch the next day! Here are some of our favorite chicken salad recipes. There’s also a hot/casserole version, called hot chicken salad by some or baked chicken salad by others. Many recipes top it with crushed potato chips, and it’s a tasty, quick dinner that you can serve alongside a chopped salad, steamed rice and other veggies.

What’s your go-to dinner on busy days or during the back-to-school transition? Share them in the comments!