Noodles are so versatile: you can serve them plain, bathe them in sauce – they even heat up nicely for leftovers. Even better, kids love noodles. To make noodles into a main dish, try these family dinner ideas that are made to feed a crowd. You won’t need hamburger buns to make the cheeseburger noodle casserole or tacos to mix up the taco noodle bake. If you have extra chicken, dice it up to make chicken egg noodle divan casserole or Thai peanut chicken and noodles. For a real cooking adventure, try making homemade noodles. Need another reason to make these recipes kids love in March? It’s National Noodle Month!
Homemade Noodles
Sure there are plenty of noodles to choose from at the store. But for something fun, make noodles from scratch with your kids. This recipe from Better Homes & Gardens for homemade noodles gives you two options: making noodles with a machine or by rolling it out. You can boil and eat the noodles right away, refrigerate them for up to a week, or freeze them for longer.
Cheeseburger Noodle Casserole
Capture all the flavor of gooey, meaty burgers with this cheeseburger noodle casserole from Marzetti Kitchens. Noodles are mixed with cooked ground beef, sweet Italian sausage, onion and garlic. Next, add in cottage cheese, cream, nacho cheese soup and diced tomatoes. Put everything in a casserole dish and then top with shredded cheddar cheese before baking.
Chicken Divan Egg Noodle Casserole
Chicken, broccoli, cheese – that’s the base for this chicken divan egg noodle casserole by Rachael Ray. Boil the noodles and broccoli together and then gently simmer chicken with quartered onions and bay leaves. Cut the chicken into pieces once cooled. Make a white sauce to add to the mix with milk and butter whisked with flour. The sauce is stirred in with the chicken and noodles before adding it to the casserole dish, panko crumbs make for a crisp topping!
Taco Noodle Bake
Forget the shells you won’t need them to make this taco noodle bake from Taste of Home. Mix cooked noodles with ground beef, tomato sauce, green chiles, and one envelope taco seasoning. After you bake the dish, serve each portion topped with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and olives.
Baked Lasagna Casserole
Simplify the time it takes to make this classic Italian dish by following this recipe for baked lasagna casserole from Simple Bites. There’s no need to layer all the lasagna ingredients into one dish—instead mix them altogether with noodles and bake them in individual portions.
Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles
Noodles are a staple in many Asian dishes. Your kids may be more willing to try this Thai peanut chicken and noodles recipe if they know there’s peanut butter in the sauce. Finish off the sauce with red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and grated fresh ginger. Mix with stir-fried chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, and bell pepper. The finishing touch? Chopped dry-roasted peanuts.