25+ Family Vacation Dinner Ideas That Are Surprisingly Simple
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When travelling with kids, there’s a lot to think about and prepare. Making it a challenge as a parent to relax into the holiday yourself. Which is where these easy family vacation dinner ideas and recipes come in.
As a family that loves to travel 1-3 times a year, we’ve learned that pre-planning meals not only makes our trips more enjoyable but also save us money. Which we happily use for other special activities or meals, or put towards more family trips.
We’re excited to share our top 25+ simple yet delicious dinner ideas that are perfect for any family getaway. We’re talking just a little prep, and meals like fresh tacos, pasta salads, quick stir fries. So you can spend more time in the sun & fun and less time in the kitchen.
Whether you’re in a cozy cabin or a seaside rental, these meals are sure to please everyone and keep your vacation budget on track. Let’s dive in!
1. Sheet Pan Tortellini, Sausage and Broccoli
Sheet pan dinners are the easiest vacation meals to make.
This smoked sausage, broccoli, and tortellini dinner is a family favorite, and it takes only 30 minutes to prep and make.
It’s familiar, kid-friendly flavors, one pan, and barely any cleanup, it’s exactly the type of meal you need on vacation.
Get the recipe: Sheet Pan Tortellini, Sausage and Broccoli
2. Easy Italian Pasta Salad
There is something about cold pasta salad that screams summer vacation and lazy days at the cabin or beach. We love how super quick it is to make, especially if you grab your favorite pre-made Italian dressing.
We’ve eaten this for lunch, dinner, snacks as a family, and even the occasional breakfast. We’ve made it camping, for a family reunion & on a road trip or three.
One of the most easy vacation meals the whole family will love.
Vacation meal planning can be fun, with these tasty meals.
Get the recipe: Easy Italian Pasta Salad
3. Salmon Burgers with Avocado Sauce
Salmon Burgers are a great idea if you’re looking for something a little different from your regular burgers.
With the quick avocado sauce, it elevates your vacation meal to something special. Just skip the sauce on the kids burgers if they aren’t too keen & add some french fries.
Get the recipe: Salmon Burgers with Avocado Sauce
4. Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken Wraps
Rotisserie Chicken saves the day! These easy cheesy BBQ chicken wraps are full of flavour, customizable to all tastes, and ready to eat in 10 minutes.
Easy meals for your vacation at a beach house, rental house or even a hotel room in a pinch. This is a fantastic summer dinner or lunch idea.
Get the recipe: Easy Cheesy BBQ Chicken Wraps
PRO TRAVEL TIP: Using store bought rotisserie chicken is our #1 vacation meal hack. The chicken can be used in so many ways to make meals in 15 minutes. Think chicken salad, chicken ceasar wraps, omlettes, & burritos to name a few ideas).
5. Greek Quinoa Salad with Feta
Take a Mediterranean twist on quinoa salad, with a zesty lemon dressing.
This Greek quinoa salad will become your go-to for a refreshing & light vacation meal. Perfect as easy dinners or as leftovers for lunch the next day too!
Get the recipe: Greek Quinoa Salad with Feta
6. Italian Sub Pasta Salad
Quick to toss together and even better cold, this Italian Sub Pasta Salad is everything you want in an easy vacation dinner.
Especially on those extra hot nights, what you can’t even imagine turning on the oven. I’ll often make this the night before, for quick lunches too, but leave out the lettuce and tomatoes until the last minute, so the salad doesn’t get soggy.
Just make ahead, chill and serve.
Get the recipe: Italian Sub Pasta Salad
7. Better Than Bouillon Ramen Noodles
We eat a lot of ramen in our family, and this quick & easy ramen soup recipes is so good!
Plus this recipe is a healthier, homemade take on instant noodles. Add more veggies & your favourite protein for a quick on the go vacation dinner.
Get the recipe: Better Than Bouillon Ramen Noodles
⭐️ Also try our family favourite easy chicken casserole recipes and easy summer pasta salads fun and easy for vacations too!
8. Roast Turkey BLT
So much flavour! Elevate your sandwich game with this Roasted Turkey Avocado BLT.
Packed with turkey, avocado, red onion, and Sriracha aioli, it’s a quick, easy, and delicious twist on the classic BLT, using simple ingredients.
Easy to customize for your kiddos, just skip out on the ingredients they don’t like.
Sandwiches also make great, easy meals for road trips too.
Get the recipe: Roast Turkey BLT
9. Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken and Veggies
If you need dinner on the table in 30 minutes, this creamy one pan chicken dinner is just the thing, especially for vacations.
Tender chicken breasts are covered in a cheesy parmesan sauce, then roasted along side broccoli and potatoes.
It’s a hearty and healthy meal that my kids can’t resist.
Get the recipe: Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken and Veggies
10. Chicken Mozzarella Bake
Cheesy, Italian-flavored comfort food, is an ideal family dinner recipe.
With minimal prep, and only 30 minutes in the oven, you can play card games with the kids while you wait for the Chicken Mozarella Bake to cook.
Get the recipe: Chicken Mozzarella Bake
11. Thai Tuna Salad With Green Beans
A fresh take on a family staple, Thai Tuna Salad on top of a bed of lettuce, or rice is the perfect summer dinner.
Bursting with vibrant veggies, fresh herbs, and zesty Thai flavors it will brighten up your boring salad game. It’s a quick, delightful dish made with canned tuna, you can toss together in 10 minutes.
Get the recipe: Thai Tuna Salad With Green Beans
12. Tex Mex Sheet Pan Quesadillas
These Tex Mex Sheet Pan Quesadillas are crispy, cheesy, and loaded with bold southwest flavor that can be made quickly on vacation.
Seasoned ground beef, peppers, black beans and melted colby jack cheese are baked into golden tortilla squares.
With barely any clean up, it’s one of those easy sheet pan dinners everyone will love to eat.
Get the recipe: Tex Mex Sheet Pan Quesadillas
13. Cheeseburger Sliders
Cheeseburger Sliders don’t have to be just for game days! They make tasty picnic dinners on the porch of your vacation rental too.
Even if you have picky eaters, you can adapt the toppings to one’s they’ll love.
Get the recipe: Cheeseburger Sliders
14. Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes Dinner
This sweet and spicy Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes dinner is perfect for vacation nights when you want something easy but still really satisfying.
The sticky glazed chicken and roasted potatoes cook together on one pan, so there’s barely any cleanup in a rental kitchen. And it only takes about 45 minutes, with the oven doing most of the work.
It’s a simple family dinner idea that feels fun and flavorful after a long day of travel or sightseeing.
Get the recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes Dinner
15. One Pot Rice With Pork And Veggies
A one pot rice dish is good to have on your vacation meal rotation. And this Pork Belly, Rice & Veggies is a one-pot wonder that’s like an Asian-style paella.
You could also use thick cut bacon in a pinch.
It’s deliciously easy and perfect for getting kids to eat their veggies. Great for vacation dinners and tasty leftovers for your vacation breakfast or lunch.
Get the recipe: One Pot Rice With Pork And Veggies
16. Roasted Broccoli & Blue Cheese Pasta
What could be easier than this 3 ingredient Broccoli & Blue Cheese pasta?
It’s as simple as roasting your broccoli and then adding in cooked pasta and blue cheese. That’s it! Mix it up with different types of pasta or blue cheese.
If you’re thinking blue cheese & kids don’t mix, my daughter will eat this pasta, but no way would she eat blue cheese normally.
Get the recipe: Roasted Broccoli & Blue Cheese Pasta
17. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Enjoy quick, delicious vacation dinners with these Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos. Filled with black beans, sweet potatoes, corn, cilantro, green onion & red pepper, plus a lime garnish.
The sweet potato chunks are microwaved to speed up cooking time. A flavorful, speedy treat.
Don’t forget the spicy salsa.
Get the recipe: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
18. Jamaican Style Pepper Steak
Savor the flavors of the Caribbean with this Jamaican-Style Pepper Steak. A vibrant stir-fry with beef, bell peppers, and exotic spices, all in a ginger-garlic-soy sauce.
Delicious over steamed rice or with crusty sourdough bread. It may become a new family favorite.
Get the recipe: Jamaican Style Pepper Steak
19. Easy Baked Salmon over Orecchiette Pasta
An easy baked salmon recipe over cute pasta and an herbed olive oil & tomato sauce. Fresh, light, and tasty. Everything you want in a vacation rental dinner meal.
Salmon & pasta are two of our youngest’s favourite things to eat, we had to include this recipe of the two together.
Get the recipe: Easy Baked Salmon over Orecchiette Pasta
20. Simple BBQ Chicken Thighs
Sometimes simple is best, and these BBQ Chicken Thighs with a tasty BBQ sauce, are done just right.
We love being able to BBQ, especially on summer vacation with those hot summer nights. Keep the heat out of the house.
Get the recipe: Simple BBQ Chicken Thighs
21. Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
Indulge your taste buds in this Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, which blends your beloved Caesar salad with classic pasta salad.
Packed with chicken, veggies, parmesan, and a homemade dressing, it’s ideal for easy meal prep, a light dinner, or a tasty side dish.
Also portable to take with you, on your day’s adventures.
Get the recipe: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
22. Greek Salad Wraps With Chickpeas
When you’re tired of heavy meat meals, try this crunchy, zesty, Greek Salad with chickpeas wrap. A complete meal, that just requires just a bit of chopping and mixing so family vacation friendly.
The salad is even delicious without the wrap.
Get the recipe: Greek Salad Wraps With Chickpeas
23. Rice & Corn Casserole
While we personally don’t eat a lot of casseroles while on vacation, I can see the appeal. Especially with this versatile, easy Rice, Corn & Ground Meat Casserole.
Pop it in the oven, and there will be enough cheesy, meaty & rice goodness to feed your hungry crowds.
Get the recipe: Rice & Corn Casserole
24. Hot Honey Chicken Thighs
Get ready for a flavor explosion with the Hot Honey Chicken Thighs.
Juicy, crispy, and coated in a sweet-spicy hot honey sauce, these chicken thighs are the ultimate vacation rental dinner.
Get the recipe: Hot Honey Chicken Thighs
25. Easy Taco Salad
Taco Salad is one of my favourites for a quick family meal that’s full of veggies. Perfect for a busy travel day. Try out different salad dressings.
If we’re having beef burritos, I’ll often just eat it as a taco salad without the wrap. The younger kids usually like it wrapped, so I recommend having some tortillas on hand if they aren’t into it as a salad.
Get the recipe: Easy Taco Salad
26. Baked Chicken Tacos
Taco Night! The ultimate Baked Chicken Tacos to easily feed a crowd.
Stuffed them with creamy refried beans, spicy rotisserie chicken, green onions, and oodles of melted cheese in crispy shells.
A family-friendly dinner delight, ready in a breeze – just 30 minutes to taco heaven. Make with store bought rotisserie chicken & a taco spice pack to make it even easier on vacation.
Get the recipe: Baked Chicken Tacos
27. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
I love that this Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta can be made as a one-pan meal, & prepped ahead if you want. Less stress & clean up = happy parents!
Plus if you cover the broccoli with the cheesy sauce, the kids might actually eat it.
Get the recipe: Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
28. Areyas (Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pitas)
Dive into the flavors of Lebanon with Arayes, a beloved street food Spiced, savory ground beef stuffed in pita bread, fried & then baked to golden perfection.
Pair it with toum (Lebanese garlic sauce), or tahini, yogurt, or sour cream for a delightful taste experience.
Get the recipe: Areyas (Lebanese Meat Stuffed Pitas)
29. Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
Enjoy this twist on a better than takeout version of the Sesame Chicken Stir Fry. Sweet, spicy, and bursting with flavor. Eat it over rice.
Get the recipe: Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
30. One Pot Turkey & Lentil Soup
Soup lovers, get ready for a cozy treat! This one-pot Ground Turkey and Lentil Soup is easy, nourishing, and absolutely delicious.
Ideal for chilly days, busy vacation meals, or a large group. It’s a low-maintenance comfort food in a bowl.
Get the recipe: One Pot Turkey & Lentil Soup
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Final Thoughts:
As we wrap up our journey through easy Family Vacation Dinner recipes, we hope you’ve found inspiration to spice up your meal planning for your next family trip. No need to eat hot dogs every day.
These easy recipes are designed to minimize your time in the kitchen while maximizing fun with your entire family. By preparing your own meals, you not only save precious vacation time but also get to explore a world of flavors.
Whether you’re looking for quick meals to energize your adventures or simply seeking alternatives to dining out every night, these ideas offer a perfect blend of convenience and taste. And who knows? They might even give some local restaurants a run for their money!
Remember, a memorable family trip is made of moments shared over delicious meals. Happy cooking and safe travels!
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