18 Back-to-School Dinners Moms Swear By

Bookmark this one! This casserole has chicken, cheese, pasta, and a few sneaky vegetables. You can use store-bought rotisserie chicken to save time and assemble it a day advance or freeze it for a future reheat.

Get Ree’s Chicken Spaghetti recipe.

SHOP CASSEROLE DISHES

You know what’s faster than ordering pizza? Making your own version with bagels! And since they’re individual servings, no one will fight over which toppings they want because you can customize each.

Get the Pizza Bagels recipe.

Instead of using the frozen kind, you can make crispy chicken tenders and use your air fryer to speed up the process. They’re healthier this way, but don’t worry, you don’t have to tell the kids that.

Get the Air Fryer Chicken Tenders recipe.

Another takeout classic that your kids probably love and you can actually make in the time it takes you to order and have a restaurant deliver. It’s much healthier, too!

Get Ree’s Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry recipe.

If you have the kind of kids that don’t mind their veggies (first of all, lucky you!), then this is the kind of meal for you. Just sling a bunch on a sheet pan with gnocchi and let the oven do the work for you.

Get the Sheet Pan Gnocchi recipe.

“If your kids are like mine and enjoy any sort of saucy, beefy, cheesy pasta, they’ll positively love this hamburger casserole,” Ree says. You can assemble it the day before and just add the crispy onions right before you bake.

Get Ree’s Hamburger Casserole recipe.

One-pot meals are easy to prep and save on dishes. All you need are a few easy ingredients and you can get dinner on the table in just 25 minutes.

Get the Lemon Pasta recipe.

Yes, you can skip the frozen fish sticks and make your own crispy, golden “fried” fish with your air fryer instead. No messy oil splatter, no processed additives, just a tasty kid-friendly meal in 30 minutes.

Get the Air Fryer Fish recipe.

SHOP AIR FRYERS

The kids might get a little sloppy, but making these is anything but. It takes just 20 minutes of prep these and then the slow cooker make them all saucy.

Get Ree’s Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes recipe.

Think you’re too busy to make chicken parm on a weeknight? Think again! Put a jar of store-bought marinara to work and use your air fryer to get it on the table in just 30 minutes.

Get the Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan recipe.

Hamburger soup is an excellent way to fill up their bellies and sneak in a lot of vegetables without them noticing. This soup is very forgiving, so you can use basically anything you’ve got in the fridge.

Get Ree’s Hamburger Soup recipe.

Another way to turn canned or jarred sauce into an easy masterpiece is doctoring it up a little bit with cream, onion, and garlic. You can add chicken, shrimp, or veggies, too.

Get Ree’s Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce recipe.

Burgers are a no-brainer! You can make them any which way and they’ll be done in about 15 minutes. Try turkey, chicken, or pork to mix it up! Serve them with an easy veggie side and dinner is ready.

Get the Turkey Burgers recipe.

Frozen store-bought dumplings make it incredibly easy to get dinner on the table. Five minutes of prep and 15 minutes in total is all you need to make it.

Get the Dumpling Soup recipe.