9 Dinners That Work When Everyone Wants Something Different

Family Fresh Meals’ air-fryer chicken bites are simple and the food version of a blank slate. Toss them in buffalo sauce and put them over an Easy Mac cup for one kid. Throw them in a quesadilla with cheese and taco sauce for the other. Finally, toss them into a salad for your and your partner. You could make them boneless wing-style, too.

Much like the chicken bites, turkey meatballs like Budget Bytes’ are versatile. Throw them over pasta, into a rice bowl, or onto a sub. Everyone can choose their carb and sauce and go from there.

This Cobb salad from Family Fresh Meals happens to have a lot of components that can be made into other meals. Not only can everyone decide what goes into their own salad, they could also easily whip up a BLT, chicken burrito bowl, or a wrap from what you’ve already made.

Again, we’re going for versatile building blocks here. Entirely Emmy’s southwest chicken bowls look delicious as is, but could easily pop these components into a tortilla as a burrito or quesadilla, over tortilla chips to make nachos. For the pickiest kids, pull out the chicken and pair it with ketchup, fruit, and corn chips on the side.

This recipe is Averie Cooks’ take on the viral sweet potato, cottage cheese, and ground beef bowls that were all over our social media feeds earlier this year. Healthy bowl dinner recipes are a great way to feel like you’re eating grown-up meals while also being able to separate the ingredients for kids who maybe aren’t that into avocado yet.

Is there anything more versatile than shredded chicken? Toss it in barbecue sauce for sandwiches, put it in a wrap, or throw it over mashed potatoes with gravy — it’s good any which way, and everyone can get what they want out of it. Entirely Emmy’s recipe will teach you a trick for keeping it super moist and tender.

Damn Delicious’ recipe will teach you how to make delicious homemade pizza dough. Whether you follow it or buy dough from the grocery store, pizza is a great way to make enough food for the whole family while allowing everyone to customize their half of the pie. White mushroom pizza for me, zucchini corn pizza for you, plain cheese for them...

If the plan is taco potatoes a la Princess Pinky Girl’s recipe, then great — they look delish. You could also obviously pivot to tacos or baked potatoes loaded with whatever is in the fridge, depending on your family’s whims today.

If you’re going to make something everyone likes, why cook anything at all? Compile a massive charcuterie board of fruit, veggies, cheeses, whatever proteins you have lying around, and various chips, crackers, and spreads. Dude That Cookz’ guide to making a charcuterie board at home will give you lots of ideas for jazzing up what’s already in your fridge.