• Recipes Index
  • About
  • Contact

Real Life Dinner

Recipes your real life family will love!

  • Dinners
  • Desserts
  • Seasonal
  • Slow Cooker / Instant Pot
  • Quick and Easy
  • $10 Dinners
  • Maria’s Favs
Home
  • Recipes Index
    • Dinners
    • Desserts
    • Seasonal
    • Slow Cooker / Instant Pot
    • Quick and Easy
    • $10 Dinners
    • Maria’s Favs
  • About
  • Contact

September 9, 2024 Leave a Comment

35+ Back to School Dinners

6-photo picture collage of sheet pan fajitas, chili Mac, sloppy joes, ground beef and peppers over rice, Mexican chili chicken casserole with corn chips and a green salad, and loaded pepper jack Mac and cheese. The words "35+ Back to School Dinners" are overlaid on the picture collage.

 It’s that time of year–back to school. The fun, lazy days of summer are over. The kids have new classes, homework, and after-school activities. If you are anything like me, having a list of go-to recipes for weekly menu planning is a lifesaver. Check out this list of 35+ Back to School Dinners that are easy, kid-tested, and perfect for weeknight dinners.

Once you’ve got kids throughout middle school and high school, the busyness factor seems to go up exponentially. I’m finding that making dinner is harder than it has ever felt, especially with four kids doing sports. So I am falling back on the simplest and easiest dinners and ones that are always a hit with kids.

With my background and degree in nutrition, I can’t help but make balanced meals. They may not always be the healthiest in the world, but my kids get the nutrition and balance they need.

Even if you aren’t in the throws of back to school and just like having simple dinner ideas, this list is a great resource for doing menu planning.

Asian

a blue bowl full of rice, veggies and chicken, chop sticks are taking a bite out. There is also a dishcloth in the back ground.Chicken Fried Rice
Sticky Teriyaki Baked Chicken Thighs
Easy-Ham-Fried-Rice-Easy Ham Fried Rice
A peacock patterned Polish pottery bowl of Spam and Rice with sriracha sauce, mayonnaise, and chopped green onions. On the left of the bowl is a spoon sitting on a striped kitchen towel.Spam and Rice

Breakfast for Dinner

A 9-inch glass pie dish of Quiche with a white kitchen towel with blue stripes.Easy Quiche Recipe
An egg, ham and potato burrito with a bite taken out on a blue dinner plate with sliced strawberries and orange slices.Ham, Potato and Egg Breakfast Burritos
Four pancakes stacked on top of each other with syrup drizzled on them with a dollop of butter on top sitting on a white plate. Syrup surrounds the pancake on the bottom. The words "Copy cat Diner Style Pancakes" are in the upper right corner. In the left upper corner is a partial picture of a stack of pancakes on a white plate.Copy Cat Diner Style Pancakes {no buttermilk needed}
A square slice of crustless quiche on a small white plate.Crustless Quiche Egg Casserole

Casseroles

A dinner plate with a serving of pizza casserole, two slices of bread, and a green salad. On the left is a fork sitting on a tea towel.Easy Pizza Casserole
Cowboy casserole in a glass 9x13 baking dish.Cowboy Casserole
A pastel blue plate with a serving of creamy beef green chili casserole with a fork held diagonally from the left inserted into the casserole. Faded in the background is a white and blue striped kitchen towel with a fork on it next to edge of a 9x13 glass dish of the beef and green chili casserole.Creamy Beef and Green Chili Casserole
A blue plate with a serving of cabbage roll casserole and a dinner salad on a table with a blue and white tableclothCabbage Roll Casserole

Mac & Cheese

The_Best_Instant_Pot_Macaroni_and_CheeseThe Best Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese
A glass 9x13 baking dish of Loaded Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese sitting partially on a white and blue flannel patterned kitchen towel.Loaded Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese
A pot of chili and medium shell noodles mixed together and topped with melted cheese.Chili Mac

Mexican

A dark blue patterned Polish pottery plate with tortilla chips, Spanish rice, and Mar's burrito with a bite taken out of it.Mar’s Burritos
Bite-size chicken taco meat in a nonstick skillet with a wooden spatula inserted on the right.Easy Skillet Chicken Taco Meat
Ground Beef Baked Taquitos on a baking sheet.Ground Beef Baked Taquitos
A partial picture of fajitas sitting on a cookie sheet with a metal tong with rubber tips about to take a scoop of fajitas.Sheet Pan Fajitas

A glass pie dish of South of the border pie with cherry tomatoes scattered on the right and the left and the head of a pie server in the upper left corner.South of the Border Pie
Sheet-Pan-Smothered-BurritoSheet Pan Smothered Burrito
A serving of green salad with slice tomatoes and cucumbers with a scoop of Mexican chili chicken casserole, all on a dinner plate.Mexican Chili Chicken Casserole
five chicken taquitos on a turquoise plate . you can see the open ends with the chicken mixture showing.Easy Baked Chicken Taquitos

"Sandwiches"

A close-up photo of a cheesesteak, orange slices, and cucumber slices sitting on a blue plate.Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
A partial photo of classic cheeseburger pie in a deep-dish pie pan with a slice taken out.Classic Cheeseburger Pie
A sloppy Joe sandwich on a plate with potato chips and sliced celery. Overlayed at the top of the photo is the text: World's Easiest Sloppy Joes.Ketchup Sloppy Joes {15 minute meal}

Skillet/Stovetop

A dinner plate of ground beef broccoli with shredded carrots served over white rice.Easy Beef Broccoli with Ground Beef
Green Curry with Chicken and PotatoesGreen Curry with Chicken and Potatoes
Sausage and Peppers with Egg Noodles in a peacock patterned Polish pottery bowl with a blue tea towel laid loosely on the left side of the bowl.Sausage and Peppers with Egg Noodles
A serving of ground beef and peppers over rice on a dinner plate.Beef and Peppers Skillet over Rice

Slow Cooker

Rice topped with green curry with chicken and potatoes in a dark blue bowl with white polka dots with a blue dot in the middle. A spoon is on the left of the bowl.Slow Cooker Green Curry with Chicken and Potatoes
A dinner plate with barbecue chips, sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots, and a slow cooker Mississippi pot roast sandwich with melted cheese.Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Chili Chicken CasseroleSlow Cooker Chili Chicken Casserole
Easy-Slow-Cooker-Hobo-Dinner-1Slow Cooker Hobo Dinner

Soups & Breadsticks

Egg and spaghetti soup in a blue with a grey napkin on the left side of the bowl. A spoon is sitting on top of the grey napkin on the left.Poor Man’s Egg and Spaghetti Soup
a polish pottery blue plate staked high with baking powder breadsticks ready to eatEasy Baking Powder Breadsticks
homemade chicken noodle soup in a pot with a ladle taking out a big scoop of soup. You can see carrots, celery and chicken in the soup along with the homemade noodles.Classic Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles
broccoli-cheese-soup-Broccoli Cheese Soup

Asian, Breakfast, Casseroles, Cooking Method, Dinners, Instant Pot, Italian, Main Categories, Mexican, More, Pasta, Recipes, Sheet Pan, Skillet, Slow Cooker, Soup/Stew/Chili
35+ Back to School Dinner Ideas, 35+ Back to School Dinner Recipes, 35+ Back to School Dinners, Back to School Dinner Ideas, Back to School Dinner Recipes, Back to School Dinners, Easy Back to School Dinner Recipes, Easy Back to School Dinners, Easy Back to School Meals
Leave a Comment

Like it? Share it!

Yum

Subscribe & never miss another recipe!

Sign up above and receive delicious family-friendly recipes directly in your email inbox!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome friends!

Hi, I'm Maria. A mom of five and a total foodie. My superpower is taking ordinary recipes and making them DELICIOUS. Your family will LOVE these meals! Come cook with me, I promise it will be amazing! Get started here or search my archives below.


When you start your Amazon shopping here, I receive a small percentage of the sale. Thank you for supporting Real Life Dinner.

Housekeeping

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Meet Maria

Hi, I'm a professional recipe developer, with a degree in teaching and a minor in nutrition. I love helping busy families, like mine, "eat good" despite their crazy schedules...join the fun! Start here

TEST

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER DELICIOUS FAMILY-FRIENDLY RECIPE

The Best of the Season

Classic-Broccoli-Salad-RecipeFresh-Strawberry-Jam-Recipe-made-with-sure-jell-less-sugar-recipe---Mediterranean-cous-cous-salad-recipe-with-chickenAmazing Strawberry Cheesecake Pastry Bites. Only four ingredients and Soooo Delicious! side bar-Old-bay-potato-salad

Recent Posts

  • Broccoli Slaw Salad
  • Easy No-Egg Banana Bread
  • Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
  • How to Make Easy Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent
  • Chocolate Zucchini Bread
  • Stuffed Zucchini Soup
  • Oven Baked Dutch Oven Potatoes
  • Simple yet “Fancy” Christmas Eve Dinner Ideas for Busy Families

Copyright © 2025 Real Life Dinner  •  All Rights Reserved  •  Privacy Policy  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs