Last updated on April 19th, 2024
Do you struggle to get dinner on the table at witching hour with kids begging for something to eat as you burn the onion and juggle a pan of roasted potatoes?
I hear you. I am a mom living in Italy and it’s hard to get dinner on the table day after day without some element of stress. While we can plan as much as we like, the pre-dinner hour brings its own unpredictability that no amount of pre-planning can account for.
Although tough, I have nailed down some solid tactics to get my kids through this difficult window and get dinner on the table without sacrificing my sanity and our family’s nutritional values. Read on to learn how I do it and how you can easily implement these tricks into your daily routine while making a wholesome Italian dinner for your family.
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10 Italian Dinner Ideas For Easy Weeknight Meals
All of these Italian dinner recipes below are dishes I serve often in my home in Tuscany. Many of these can be in part prepped ahead of time, if not all together or made in a crockpot. Others are recipes that I make once and serve several times.
The biggest element that makes our weekly diet different and varied is seasonal produce. Many of these recipes can either be accompanied by or made with what is available and accessible at the moment. Use these recipes as base points to add what you like (for example, use asparagus for a spring frittata or potatoes in the winter for a heartier version).
Italian Lentil Soup
Italian lentil soup is a vegan soup made with either dried or canned lentils and tomatoes, flavored with garlic and herbs, easily prepared ahead of time or right on the spot.
Italian lentil soup freezes well or can be made in bulk to eat for lunch all week for working parents.
Get The Recipe: Learn how to make this easy Italian lentil soup.
Peposo
Peposo is a rich Italian beef stew made from just six ingredients: stewing beef, peppercorns, olive oil, garlic, salt and Chianti wine. It’s cooked low and slow in the oven or crockpot, creating a fork tender beef cooked in a peppery wine sauce. Serve with nothing more than bread to fare la scarpetta, the Italian term to describe the action of cleaning your plate by mopping up the remaining sauce with a crust of bread and simple vegetables such as frozen peas or spinach.
Get The Recipe: Cut the pepper in half for a less spicy version of my recipe for Brunelleschi’s Peposo: The Easiest Italian Stew to Learn to Make at Home.
Carbonara
Considered by many as one of the most iconic Italian pasta dishes, carbonara is a classic Roman dish made with eggs, guanciale or pancetta (or bacon), parmesan and black pepper, ready in no time.
This is one of those pasta recipes that comes together in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta al dente.
Use spaghetti for older kids but stick to pasta corta or short pasta such as penne or mezze maniche for toddlers, which will be much less messy and easier for them to eat.
Frittata
A frittata is a vegetable Italian omelet made with seasonal produce made by cooking scrambled eggs in a pan with whatever cooked vegetable you have on hand (or leftovers such as roasted potatoes, rice and peas, even pasta!). When the omelet is golden on one side, flip it over and brown on the other side.
My family’s favorite frittate are made with artichokes in the winter, asparagus in the spring and zucchini in the summer.
Minestrone
Italian vegetable soup or minestrone is a chunky soup made with fresh, seasonal produce. Minestrone is one of our regular weeknight dinners no matter what time of the year because every season brings new flavors.
By adding various ingredients such as pasta, rice, white beans or chickpeas, I turn this boring vegetable soup into a hearty, filling meal.
Tip: Try pureeing the soup, drizzling with olive oil and serving with a small pasta such as orzo and parmesan cheese for picky eaters.
Get The Recipe: Learn how to make Italian minestrone no matter what you have on hand in Italian Recipe for Minestrone Soup – That Your Kids Will Actually Want to Eat!
Chicken Marsala
Chicken marsala is a simple chicken dish made from slices of chicken breast pan cooked in Marsala wine, butter, and sometimes mushrooms or olives (depending on the recipe and region in Italy).
This is a meal my kids enjoy served with steamed rice and crusty bread to mop up all the extra sauce.
Pasta with Meat Sauce
Originally from Bologna in Emilia-Romagna, authentic bolognese (Italian meat sauce) is made from either ground beef, pork or a combination of the two, cooked slowly with soffritto, tomatoes and wine, creating a rich sauce for polenta (ideal for gluten-free kids) or cooked pasta.
My family makes huge batches of ragù, freeze it in portioned out containers and dinner is ready in 20 minutes! This is my go-to family lunch on Saturday or Sundays.
Risotto
Risotto is a creamy rice dish made with whatever is in season for you such as asparagus, peas, squash, zucchini or mushrooms. Risotto does take a bit of active time but there is lots of chopping for kids to help with while older kids can stir the risotto (which must be stirred often!).
What I like best is that I tailor it to what I have on hand, serving it also to kids in bianco or with just butter and parmigiano, for upset stomachs.
Best For: Vegetarian nights that will keep your kids full.
Roman Chicken Cacciatore
Sometimes called white chicken cacciatore, this Roman stewed chicken recipe is characterized by vinegar and anchovies (don’t be afraid of them – you won’t even know they are there!).
Kids love this chicken and it can be made with any kind of chicken pieces your family prefers: breast, thighs, just legs or a mix.
Get The Recipe: Learn to make my Roman Chicken Cacciatore or check out the original version in Authentic Chicken Cacciatore – My Tuscan Family’s Recipe.
Cannellini Beans and Sausages
Fagioli all’olio is a simple Italian dish made by cooking dried cannellini beans with olive oil, sage and garlic and serving with Italian sausages.
In Tuscany, these beans are a staple as the local cuisine is based on la cucina povera, the concept of preparing hearty, delicious and inexpensive meals with local and seasonal ingredients.
Cannellini beans are most commonly served with grilled meats such as la bistecca fiorentina and grilled sausages. For this idea, swap out sausages for any grilled meat and dinner is really simple to vary each week.
Get The Recipe: To make these beans, follow my instructions in Homemade Tuscan White Beans Recipe (Tuscan Fagioli all’Olio) or consider my tomato version in Tuscan Cannellini Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic (Fagioli All’Uccelletto).
Keeping Hungry Kids Happy While You Cook
The time that you are cooking is usually when kids are the most hungry and thus, the most unpleasant and cranky. The biggest thing I have noticed is that it’s hard to start a new habit but being tough for a couple of weeks really pays off.
- When you do your weekly grocery shopping, stock up on several pounds of carrots. I dish these out every night (or fennel pieces too) while I cook. The kids get to munch without ruining their appetite.
- Get kids involved in the kitchen. Give them simple, age appropriate jobs, which makes them feel good. My youngest simply moves chopped pieces of food into the pan or pot. That’s enough to keep her happy.
- My older boys peel things or get to stir simple foods on the stovetop such as soffritto.
- Assign age appropriate chores related to dinner such as setting the table, filling up water glasses, etc. My three year old puts out our napkins which he can identify by our different napkin rings.
- Give little kids fruits and vegetables to “wash” in the sink. Give them a sponge and fill up the basin partway with water. Add a spoon and a cup and they will wash your vegetables for a good 15 minutes.
- Always have music on. This generally helps with the mood.
Foods To Feed Your Kids That Won’t Ruin Appetites
These are foods I always let my kids eat while we are cooking together. It won’t ruin their appetite and it’s also a great source of vitamins:
- carrot sticks
- pieces of fennel
- stalks of celery
- apple slices
- dill pickles
- olives
- pickled vegetables
- walnuts
Offer all of these with limits. I don’t let my kids eat a bag of sliced apples before going to the table but I will cut up 1 which they share along with carrot sticks and other vegetables.
Tips For Making Stress Free Dinners
Batch Ingredients and Steps
If you are planning your meals and notice you will need the same ingredient more than once or a recipe has similar steps, do it once, not twice and save time. For example, if you have two recipes that start with a soffritto, sauteed onion, carrot and celery, make up a big batch and then use it for your current recipe and the next one you will be making three days from now. You can also freeze soffritto, which is amazing for speeding up recipes.
Double Recipes
Doubling recipes is one of the best tricks to lighten the load during the week. I try to do this once a week, making the next week less hands on (beef stew, soups and pasta sauces are all great for this).
Cook Once, Eat Twice (Or Three Times!)
Cook recipes that can be recycled into completely new recipes for a second meal. For example, roast two chickens instead of one with double the potatoes. Eat one roasted chicken and potatoes the first night. Use the leftover chicken to make a chicken noodle soup, using the chicken carcass for the broth. Use the leftover potatoes for a third meal in an Italian omelet, a roasted potato frittata served with a side salad.
Another example is to make Italian vegetable soup, minestrone with white cannellini beans. Use the leftover beans to make fagioli all’uccelletto and serve with grilled pork chops, sausages or various crostini for an easy weeknight meal.
