5 Dinner Ideas For Family

In my family, growing up, eating dinners together was a constant. I didn’t realize until I was older how rare this was, and I invited friends over for dinner often in high school.

Personally, I think the kitchen and the dinner table can be great places for learning and bonding. I know this isn’t true for everyone, but it was in my household, and I know family meals went a long way in shaping who I am today.

You might be surprised by what your kitchen and dining room have to offer your family:

You can build your culinary skills, learn about new cuisines together, air your grievances, become closer, and maybe even share something delicious at the end of the exercise.

Sound good to you? Here are 5 family dinner ideas that will help to get you started, setting you on the right path to serving healthy, delicious meals that involve everyone.

Start a new tradition

All of us have busy lives, and it can be hard to squeeze in opportunities for family time. Start a new tradition where you make a healthy meal together every Friday night. If that seems too difficult to schedule, aim for once a month instead.

Homemade fast food = health(ier)

Sure, takeout and fast foods taste great, but more often than not they’re packed with sugar, salt and fat. Take the reins and make healthier versions at home instead that are more nutrient dense, lower in calories, just as flavorful, and made with love!

Let the kids suggest favorite foods or look to your old takeout standbys for inspiration. A quick Remember Stuff search will reveal tons of recipes that feature tips for making homemade versions of your favorite restaurant meals and junk foods.

Beware: some homemade restaurant copycat recipes still pack in the salt and calories. Focus on healthier versions and add nutrients wherever you can, in the form of vegetables and whole grains.

Build skills in the kitchen

If you’re not already a family that cooks together, or if you feel like your skills in the kitchen are less than expert, remember not to be too hard on yourselves.

The kitchen is a space where you can learn new skills together, like pasta making or bread baking. But you don’t have to start there.

Setting up a make-your-own taco station or a big garden salad is far simpler, but just as fun and delicious.

Your first attempts might not be perfect, but you can be proud of making something together, and everyone will enjoy the satisfaction of sitting down to a meal that they actually made themselves.

Enjoy each other’s company

Everybody loves to kick back and relax for a few days once school and work are over on Friday, but who says cooking can’t be relaxing? A shared activity like prep of the Friday night family meal provides an awesome opportunity to find out what’s going on in the lives of your loved ones.

Listen to music together, talk about your favorite and least favorite moments that happened throughout the week, and don’t be afraid to get messy and maybe even a little bit silly.

Just remember – the kitchen cleanup is a shared family activity, too!

Homemade can still be super convenient

Though making your own Friday night meals might cut into your weekly sitcom marathon just a tad, there are lots of ways to cut down on the time you’ll be clocking in the kitchen, if that’s important to you.

To save time, consider choosing recipes early in the week and assigning a specific (age- and skill level-appropriate) job to each family member. Prep ingredients like vegetables earlier in the week, and have them ready to go in the fridge.

Meal delivery services like Blue Apron can be fun and help to save you time as well. Sign up for delivery of a surprise selection of recipes based on your family’s dietary preferences. You’ll receive all of the ingredients you need, plus detailed directions. They even provide instructional videos that you can watch online for help with every recipe!

My husband and I received a few weeks of readymade grocery delivery complete with recipes as a wedding present, and we really enjoyed the excitement of opening up the box to see what we’d be eating that week.

Making family meals together can be a great opportunity to make memories, to get a healthier meal plan going, and to devote some time each week to truly getting to know each other, check in with each other, and enjoy each other’s company. What will you make for dinner together this week?