Before your teen heads off for some independence, whether it be flatting, or higher education, or if you simply want them to learn a few new dishes to make at home, ensure they are armed with at least a small repertoire of easy dinners that they can make themselves.

Some of these recipes are a little bit more of a challenge but can also be great for teaching tweens and younger kids with some supervision.

Stir fries

The great thing about a stir fry is it can not only be tailored to your own personal tastes, but it can also be made with basically whatever is in the fridge! That’s great for budget-conscious shoppers.

• Stir-fried pork with green pepper
• Beef chow mein
• Fast hoisin chicken stir fry
• Emergency vegetable stir fry

Omelettes

Eggs are amazingly versatile and nutritious so jump on the omelette bandwagon for a quick and tasty meal. Serve with a green salad for a healthy dinner.

• Basic omelette
• Asian noodle omelette
• Simple spanish omelette
• Tamagoyaki (Japanese egg rolls)

Wraps

Tortillas, burritos, fajitas, wraps – whatever you want to call them – are an easy way to use up bits and pieces left over from other meals. Grab a wrap, pop in some capsicum strips, a couple of tomato quarters, a handful of salad leaves, grated cheese and your favourite spicy sauce or salsa and you’re done.

• Spicy bean burrito
• Teriyaki chicken wrap
• Beef burger fajitas
• Meatball and tzatziki wraps

Burgers

Skip the Maccas and create your own brilliant burger. Serve with some crispy homemade wedges.

• Burger deluxe
• Homemade KFC burgers
• Mushroom pesto burgers
• Healthy Mexican wedges with corn salsa

Baked potatoes

Simple baked potatoes topped with cheese and beans is a great set and forget dish that’s great as a warming meal in winter.

• Stuffed baked potatoes with corn and bacon
• Baked potato with mince
• Stuffed jacket potatoes
• Easy Mexican baked potatoes

Curries

Speaking of winter warmers, nothing beats a curry. Rice is the perfect accompaniment – whether you cook it from scratch or grab a ready-made bag.

• Healthy butter chicken
• Curried mince
• Pumpkin and chickpea curry
• Chicken and vegetable korma curry

Simple pasta dishes

Actually, you would be hard-pressed to find a difficult pasta dish.

• Bacon cheeseburger pasta
• Chicken and cheese pasta bake
• Summer pasta salad
• One pan caprese pasta

The one recipe you can’t do without

There is one recipe that you can use over and over again, creating a multitude of different dishes – bolognaise. If you can make a bolognaise sauce then you can also:

• Serve it over a baked potato
• Add it to cooked pasta, spaghetti or rice
• Spread it on a pizza base, top with cheese and bake
• Top it with mashed potato for a cottage pie
• Wrap it in pastry and bake for a tasty pie
• Use it in tacos or tortillas
• Pile it on top of nachos, add sour cream, cheese, and spring onion
• Stuff capsicums
• Add some red kidney beans, cayene pepper, and BBQ sauce and serve as chilli
• Serve it on toast

What is your child’s favourite dinner to cook either by themselves or with some help?

See more:

• 5 ways to entertain the kids in the kitchen during the holidays
• Recipes you can make with a can of coconut milk
• Quick and easy dinners kids can prepare
• 6 mild curries kids will love

Written by Julie Scanlon

Julie is Editor for Kidspot NZ and our MVP. Her hobbies include laughing uncontrollably at her own jokes, annoying her family by asking questions about movie plots, and never taking anything too seriously. She speaks a little Spanish and a lot of Yorkshire. 

Favourite motto to live by: “It ain’t nothing but a thing”