Looking for family dinner ideas without pasta? Chicken and rice bowls, stuffed peppers and golden pot pie give you plenty to work with here.
Most of these ideas skip pasta, though this collection also includes taco pasta with shells and beef noodles as two exceptions.
You can keep things simple with drumsticks and corn or try a baked potato piled with steak. Start with a dinner that catches your eye, then choose a side or a few toppings to make it your own.
Family dinner inspiration for your weekly menu
chicken and colorful peppers
We’re starting off strong with this colorful tray of chicken, peppers and onions. I love the yellow and red pepper strips tucked around the browned chicken pieces.
For your own dinner, serve the chicken and vegetables with rice or tortillas on the side. Keep a few lime wedges handy like the ones shown here.
cheesy taco pasta
This one is for a pasta night rather than a pasta-free dinner. The shells are mixed with ground beef and cheese, with chopped green herbs scattered over the top.
I love how the crumbled filling settles inside the little shells. If you’d prefer a separate pasta-free idea, try a beef-and-cheese rice bowl instead.
teriyaki chicken rice bowls
How pretty are these bowls? The glossy chicken sits beside white rice, broccoli and overlapping cucumber slices.
The sesame seeds and sliced green onions are such a lovely finishing touch.
Try serving the toppings separately if you’d rather let everyone arrange their own bowl.
savory mince over mash
If you love a generous scoop of mashed potatoes, this one is for you. The saucy minced meat sits right in the middle, with peas and carrot pieces scattered through it.
I’d keep the wide border of mash just like this. It leaves plenty of room to scoop up a little of everything.
drumsticks with rice and corn
Don’t want to go all out with toppings? No problem!
This plate keeps things simple with browned chicken drumsticks, rice and a pile of yellow corn. The little green herb flecks across the chicken are a nice detail.
cheesy stuffed peppers
I love these red and yellow pepper halves. The rice and crumbled filling peek out beneath the melted cheese, with little browned patches on top.
For serving, you could add a green salad alongside them. I’d leave the peppers as the main attraction.
beef stew with chunky vegetables
This is the kind of bowl that makes a simple dinner look so inviting. There are big pieces of beef, thick carrot rounds and potatoes sitting in brown broth.
The sliced bread beside the bowl is worth borrowing as a serving idea. Put a few slices on the table for dipping.
veggie-loaded pizza
Who says skipping pasta means skipping pizza? This one has yellow peppers, sliced mushrooms and plenty of green vegetables over red sauce and melted cheese.
Read also: 20 Main Dish Dinner Recipes and Ideas to Inspire Your Next Meal
I love how the toppings reach almost all the way to the edge. For your own version, choose a few favorite vegetables rather than trying to copy every piece.
saucy sliders and slaw
How cute is this slider board? The little buns are filled with saucy shredded meat, with purple and green slaw spilling out around the edges.
Try setting out pickles, tomato slices and onion separately so everyone can choose their extras. Small bowls of sauce would finish the spread.
chicken burrito bowls
This chicken bowl may just be one of my favorites here. I love the separate piles of rice, dark red beans, corn and chopped tomatoes.
There’s avocado tucked in beside the browned chicken too.
Keep that same arrangement if you like seeing all your toppings before mixing them together.
green beans and potatoes
If you like plenty of vegetables with your dinner, take a little inspiration from this combination. Green beans cover much of the meat, with corn mixed into the topping underneath them. Small potatoes sit in the brown sauce below.
Serve the sauced meat, potatoes and green beans together, then spoon a little of the sauce over each plate.
breakfast for dinner
Pancakes for dinner? I’d absolutely choose that.
This plate pairs a pancake stack with scrambled eggs, browned sausages and golden potato chunks.
The strawberry and swirl of white topping make it a little more playful. You can keep your own plate simpler with pancakes, eggs and one savory side.
glazed meatloaf and potatoes
If you’re looking for a classic dinner to build around, go with meatloaf and potatoes. The glossy red glaze and browned potato edges make this tray look so inviting.
For something green alongside it, I’d add steamed broccoli or a simple salad.
salmon and avocado rice bowl
Don’t want lots of different toppings? This bowl keeps things fairly simple.
A browned salmon fillet sits across white rice, with chunky avocado and chopped cucumber on either side.
I especially love the sliced green onions scattered over the top. That’s a little finishing touch worth keeping.
golden chicken pot pie
Look at that golden crust! The cut side shows chicken pieces, peas and carrots in a pale sauce, with thin pastry layers visible along the top.
This is a lovely direction for dinner when you want a pie rather than another rice bowl. I’d serve a slice with a small salad.
beef and broccoli noodles
I love the big broccoli florets and sliced mushrooms in this pan. They’re mixed with beef and wide noodles in a glossy brown sauce, so this is the second exception to the pasta-free options.
For a different dinner without noodles, try serving beef, broccoli and mushrooms over rice. That would be a variation, not the dish pictured here.
sloppy joes with pickles
If you’re in the mood for a sandwich, this one gives you plenty of inspiration. The rounded bun is piled with saucy crumbled filling, with pickle slices on the plate.
No elaborate toppings needed here. I’d add a side of slaw and keep the sandwich just as simple.
cheesy chicken broccoli and rice
I am loving this chicken and rice combination. The broccoli peeks through a generous layer of melted orange cheese, with chicken pieces tucked throughout.
Save this one if you’d rather have everything together than arrange separate toppings in a bowl.
steak-loaded baked potato
This is definitely not a plain baked potato! Browned steak pieces fill the split center, with a pale orange sauce spooned over the top.
The chopped green garnish is a pretty finishing touch. For your own plate, you could add green beans alongside the potato rather than piling on more toppings.
bean and corn soup
Last but definitely not least, we have this colorful bowl of soup. Beans, corn, carrot slices and crumbled meat sit in an orange-red broth, with lime wedges right on top.
I love that little lime garnish. Set extra wedges beside your own bowls so everyone can add a squeeze if they want.
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