15 Family Friendly Recipes You Can Make in Your Vacation Rental
When you’re on vacation with your family, what do you want in a recipe? I know what I’m looking for — a few ingredients, even fewer dishes, and the ability to feed family or friends who stop by to visit or vacation with us. The challenge, of course, is that there’s no telling what your vacation kitchen will or won’t be equipped with.
Here are 15 family favorites that don’t call for any special gear or much fuss whatsoever. In fact, most of them only call for one pot, one bowl, or one baking sheet.
Hearty egg, hash brown, and sausage casseroles are my vacation jam. Not only do they feed a crowd with minimal effort, but they also taste just as good warm as they do at room temperature — perfect for those guests who can sleep in on vacation.
This one-pan wonder does double duty as breakfast or dinner fare. Serve with tortillas and that local salsa you found at the farmers market.
Blueberry breakfast casserole, how do I love you? Let me count the ways. You walk the line between breakfast and cake, while being an acceptable vehicle for butter and syrup whether we eat you for breakfast or as leftovers at afternoon snack time.
Frittatas forever, my friends. Like a unicorn of recipes, you can throw almost anything into a frittata and pop it in the oven. It cooks quickly; serves a crowd for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; and travels well.
This is another example of a one-pan meal that plays well for dinner, breakfast, or lunch. Serve with apple slices, grainy mustard, and delicious beer for the adults.
File this recipe under “perfect vacation lunch.” A no-cook, leftover-leaving salad is ideal for afternoons running between the beach and the rental, and also packs well for picnics. Not a fan of tuna? Ask your local fishmonger to steam some shrimp for you and toss those in instead.
Forever my favorite, my grandmother built these deep-dish sandwiches for our lake trips every summer. Slice it up before you leave the vacation rental and enjoy easy eating on the beach, boat, or zoo trip.
What I love about this soba noodle bowl is that it isn’t super spicy like some soba recipes (which scares off my children), but it’s super satisfying for kids and adults alike. Serve the vegetables on the side and let every guest build their own bowl.
My family has a tradition of making pizza every Friday night, vacation included. This keeps me from making pizza dough when I’d rather be reading or solving puzzles.
This cold, hearty pasta salad makes the most of summer produce and grocery store shortcuts too — buy some local pasta and pesto to make it taste even more like vacation.
I’m a big fan of sheet pan dinners for vacation, and these vegetarian fajitas are no exception. Partner with some chips and salsa for an easy, low-cleanup dinner.
One of our favorite vacation destinations has locally caught shrimp that is out-of-this-world delicious. Not wanting to futz too much with its freshness, roasting is my favorite trip from dock to plate. You can serve this with rice, pasta, or hearty bread on the side to round out the meal.
Think of this as an easier version of carbonara. This pasta is one of those things you can quickly pull off when you first arrive at your vacation rental and everyone is famished. It’ll quickly give you stock of how equipped the rental is, without being too reliant on things that might be lacking.
This one-pan chicken skillet is my favorite rainy-day vacation dinner. Feel free to mix up the vegetables called for here for whatever is in season or bits of this and that leftover from other vacation meals.
How to be a vacation hero? Stock the freezer with ice cream sandwiches when you arrive! No need to mix up cookie dough — buy the pre-made stuff and some good vanilla ice cream for instant success.