What working mom has loads of time to cook? Not one I know. And while it might seem easier to switch to family or dinner mode while working from home, it still takes time and effort. Right? And then there is the possibility of getting into a cooking rut, so you need new easy ideas. I’m sharing 11 quick and easy dinner ideas for working moms like you so you have some new go-to meal ideas.
I will start with the confession that I handed over cooking duties to my husband in early 2018. It was time to better divide household duties. When presented with all the things I thought he might enjoy he chose cooking. I still sometimes cook but it’s pretty rare now. (I do all the baking for our family though.)
These 11 quick and easy dinner ideas for working moms are options we eat and love, both adults and kids, in our house:
- Ground beef/turkey Tex-Mex style. I’m talking tacos, quesadillas, or nachos. Shredded cheese, cut up all the other ingredients like tomato and lettuce. Serve with guacamole. Before you tell me you don’t have time, consider what we call “cheater guac” and our young boys make this. Smash the avocado and add salsa (and maybe a touch of salt). You can use crispt taco shells (consider Fiesta Flats from Ortega or tacos with a straight bottom for littles so they don’t tip over), soft tortillas, chips, or tostadas (you might call these chalupas – they’re a flat crispy taco shell). You can also do Tex-Mex rice bowls and stack the stuff on a bowl of white or Mexican-style rice. It’s a great alternative.
- Ground beef/turkey Italian style. Add spices to your liking (e.g., garlic, onion, oregano, basil, etc). You can do the fresh route or simplify with dried and ground/powdered herbs (e.g., dried basil and garlic). Add the jarred tomato sauce of your liking. And cook your pasta of choice. With littles, short pasta might be a better option. And don’t be afraid to sub pasta for spaghetti squash. It’s a yummy healthy alternative. Our boys will eat it when we add some extra cheese.
- Breakfast for dinner. Eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, or even simple cereal. Whatever your family enjoys for breakfast, do it at dinner. We don’t do this often, but when we do our boys LOVE it!
- Grilled cheese. It’s a warm hug in a sandwich. Talk about comfort food! Add avocado or tomato. You can upgrade to sourdough or another of your favorite breaks and make it fancier with a compote, or some kind of jam matched with an exotic cheese. We love our grilled cheese with a yummy curried butternut squash soup that I make. Healthy option, which my boys devour. And don’t worry, the soup is easy peasy to make. And it freezes really well. You can grab the recipe from my Pinterest pin.
- Meatball pockets. OK, they’re meatball subs but our boys love them more when they’re called meatball pockets. If you want to make the meatballs fresh, you can. If not, you can likely find great options in the freezer section at your grocer. Heat them up with tomato sauce. You’ll need rolls for these. (Again, you can grab them fresh or grabs ones from the freezer section to have them on-hand always.) Cut the roll about 1/3 of the way from the top and take out the doughy filling. Fill with meatballs, tomato sauce, and some parmesan or mozzarella. And get out of the way. My kids will eat their weight in these.
- Chicken Tex/Mex style. You can either bake chicken with simple ingredients like garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Or you can throw the chicken in a slow cooker with a jar of your favorite salsa and shred it. Both versions are good for quesadillas or tostadas. Shredded is much better in a soft taco, though. It’s too hard to get into a crispy taco shell.
- Chicken American style. Grill chicken with whatever seasoning you prefer. Serve butter noodles and your favorite veggie on the side. We always have a lot of veggies to choose from. Grilled asparagus, roasted or steamed broccoli, sauteed squash or zucchini, or sauteed or roasted carrots, to name a few. Don’t have time to cook chicken? Grab a rotisserie chicken from the store. This lasts us a few days. And don’t be afraid to keep frozen veggies on hand too.
- Chicken Italian style. Roast your chicken. You can add things like herbs or add tomato sauce and make it more chicken parmesan style (no breading needed). Serve with pasta or yummy bread (remember, you can keep roles in the freezer). A healthy side for this is sliced zucchini with tomato sauce and mozzarella. It’s like a mini pizza bite. My favorite tomato sauce and nothing else compares is Rao’s. One day I hope to dine at the NYC eatery, but for now, the store-bought version must do. You can find large jars at Costco or Sam’s Club or normal-sized jars at most grocery stores
- Homemade pizza. This is about personalizing your pizza. First, we have definitely been known to keep frozen cheese pizza on hand and simply add the toppings our boys like before popping in the oven. Easy and it makes kids happy to personalize it. We almost always have pepperoni on hand. You can buy dough in the store (some grocery stores have yummy dough you can buy). You can also make the dough. And I’m going to make another suggestion here that might make it feel more special. What about buying dough from your favorite pizza place! Whole Foods has yummy pizza, according to my hubby and kids. (I’m gluten-free so I can’t say this is true, but they rave about it.) You can buy their pizza dough from the part of the store where they prepare pizza.
- Asian-style rice bowls. This is a great option if you’re doing a meatless Monday or trying to add more veggies. You can easily add a protein if you like as well. And that can be chicken, beef, turkey, nuts, or a meatless alternative like tofu or edamame. The trick is to add the veggies your child will like and then add one or two others. Steam, roast, saute, etc. – whatever is easier for you – and then add whatever sauce you want. It can be store-bought, homemade, or a combo. Whatever works. Serve on rice or rice noodles. We often have dumplings from the freezer section as a starter for this meal. Our boys prefer the Kung Fu Panda style, which is more round.
- Picnic at home. This is our version of a personalized charcuterie platter and our boys love it! It’s a great option for lunch or dinner (we also send this in lunch boxes sometimes.). Have the yummy deli options like hard salami (our boys love peppered hard salami), sliced turkey, yummy cheese (Tillamook and Kerrygold Dubliner are our go-to brands). Grab some yummy table water, Ritz, or whatever crackers you have on hand. Or grab yummy bread from the store and cut it into rounds. We will either eat outside on a nice day or in front of the TV and watch a movie (weekends only). We’ll cut up fruit, grab yummy olives, and include anything else in the fridge or pantry that seems like a good option. We even break out the picnic blanket if eating inside. That way I don’t care about the crumbs.
Want more of these types of hacks and tips? Search for meal prep on the blog or you can find other hacks in The Mompowerment Guide to Work-life Balance (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.). The whole concept of meal planning and prep was something that many of the working moms I interviewed for the books talked about when they were asked for tips. Cooking for your family can take up so much time if you’re not looking at ways to maximize your time and effort.
So, there you go! You now have 11 Quick and easy dinner ideas for working moms like you, your sisters, friends, and colleagues. Please feel free to share because we all need new easy ideas for meals.
What are your go-to meals for an easy dinner? What helps you with meal planning and prep?
