Weeknight dinners to make life easier when school's in

Getting a healthy, satisfying meal on the table every night of the week is tough, particularly once the kids are back in school -- here are some easy options the whole family will love!

There’s hockey practice and homework, piano lessons and playdates with friends. So how do you get a healthy and tasty dinner on the table for your kids and still ensure a reasonable bedtime?

We’ve assembled a few of our favourite weeknight-friendly recipes from our guest experts — they’re quick, easy, and full of flavours your whole family will love. Use this page as a cheat sheet next time you’re not sure what to make!

Meatless and delicious: We love making at least one meal a week a meat-free one. These meatless dishes are filling on their own — but it never hurts to add some extra veggies or a salad on the side!

Mexican egg bake

Roasted portobello mushroom burger

Blistered corn, asparagus and pesto pizza

Maple Cheddar Granny Smith grilled cheese on the BBQ

Weeknight roasts: Roasts sound like a Sunday affair, we agree, but that needn’t be the case! The best part about a roast is that most of the work is hands-off, meaning you can help the little ones with homework while the main dish cooks away!

Weeknight roast chicken

Weeknight roast beef with carrots and spuds

One-pan wonders: Can we all agree that the worst part of cooking on weeknights (or any night, really) is the clean-up? You will love these dishes first because they’re delicious, and second because the clean

One-pot chicken with spring vegetables

One-pan pasta with tomatoes and basil

Provencal pan salmon

Making the most of leftovers: Here’s a great case for making too much food one night — the extras can help you get a head-start on the next evening’s meal. Leftover roast chicken, pork, or beef can be made over into a wrap, a veggie-packed dinner bowl, or a simple pasta dish.

Dinner bowl ideas

Chicken pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes

Everyone loves a burger: Your kids won’t argue when burgers are on the menu — set up a station with toppings so that everyone can build their own.

Oven-roasted burgers

Sweet potato and chickpea quinoa burgers

Quick-cooking seafood: Seafood dishes save us when we’re especially pressed for time! Most filets take only 10-15 minutes to cook through, and shrimp are even faster if you can find ones that are already shelled and deveined.

Chili mint shrimp noodle salad

Farfalle with creamy tuna and red pepper

Mahi mahi tacos

On the grill: While the weather’s nice, take advantage of the ease of BBQing. The grill heats up quickly, and also means easy clean-up. We love that we can often grill our main AND our sides!

Grilled salmon with orzo

Grilled shrimp salad

Citrus grilled chicken with pineapple salad

We love to hear your ideas! What’s your favourite weeknight dinner? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.