Family Favourites Everyone Will Want

Let’s face it, there’s nothing more frustrating than cooking dinner for the family only to be met with constant moans about what you’ve served up.

But if your family is anything like mine, you’ll have a handful of meals that are guaranteed winners. These are the recipes to keep up your sleeve for those nights when you just need something that works – no stress, no complaints, and hopefully clean plates all round.

These are a selection of tried-and-tested family meals that everyone will eat - perfect for busy weeknights.

Lasagne

This is the perfect comfort food, and while it’s probably not something you’d knock up mid-week when time is against you, it’s perfect for a cosy Saturday night on the sofa with the family.

I tend to use fresh egg pasta sheets as it really reduces the cooking time and these are readily available in most supermarkets. If you can only find dried sheets, that’s fine too – it will just take longer in the oven for them to soften up.

Cottage Pie

I absolutely love a cottage pie; it’s comforting and really simple to make, which makes it perfect for midweek. It’s also universally loved and is a great way to get some extra veg onto the family’s plates (think mixing some sweet potato with the mash or adding extra carrots and peas to the mince). As usual, my two teens can never agree on anything – my youngest hates mash so she has the mince in Yorkshire puddings instead, with veg and gravy on the side.

Chicken with Crispy Noodles

This meal could easily fit into the fakeaway section as it tastes very similar to a chicken chow mein from the takeaway – but it’s midweek friendly and tastes much lighter than the takeaway version.

My daughter isn’t a huge fan of Chinese food, but she absolutely loves this and asks for it at least twice a week! It’s an absolute winner that the whole family will enjoy.

Classic Mac & Cheese

I’d be lying if I said that everyone in our household loves cheese - but aside from that, this classic mac and cheese is a super easy and comforting mid-week meal that you’ll want to make again and again. It also makes for an indulgent side dish to BBQ meats, slow cooked pork or meatloaf.

Spaghetti Bolognese

The only meal that my other half can make! Well, he could probably make other things too, but Spag Bol is his speciality (that and scrambled eggs!).

This is the ultimate midweek meal for good reason: it’s cheap to make, easy to tailor to your tastes (swapping beef mince for turkey mince) and great for using up leftover bits of veg from the fridge too. I usually serve this with some homemade garlic bread for a satisfying meal that’s on the table in under 30 minutes.

There are plenty more family-friendly meals here ready for you to try, so if you’re stuck in a dinner rut, hopefully this gives you a few new ideas to add into the mix. I’d love to know which ones become favourites in your house too.