Coming up with dinner every.single.day. can be such a struggle. Many people have a hard time coming up with dinner ideas for one night let alone a whole week.
These weekly dinner plans are created to help you get one thing off your to-do list. Shop once for the week with the convenient grocery list and you’ll have the ingredients and meal choices ready to go for the week.
Visit the WEEKLY DINNER PLANNER archive for more meal planning ideas!
Table of Contents
👇🏻 SCROLL DOWN for Recipe Links, Tips & Additional Info 👇🏻
How To Use the Meal Plans
People are typically put off by commitment but if you give yourself a guideline with the flexibility and permission to make changes as needed, you’ll be more likely to stick to it. That’s why flexible meal plans work.
I give you 5 suggestions and you pick 3-5 meals for your week. Each week I scour through my collections of recipes from a variety of amazing food bloggers, recipe sites, cookbooks and personal recipes to thoughtfully create a weekly dinner plan that is easy and delicious. Pick 3-5 of them for your week based on what works for your schedule and include days for eating out, leftovers, etc.
Use the order of the meals as a guideline. You’ll notice dinners are not listed as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. and that’s on purpose. I don’t want you to feel restricted. That sense of “I HAVE to do this” is what makes people stop meal planning. Keep things flexible and be realistic with your expectations and schedule.
Make mindful adjustments as needed. Sometimes, you need to consider foods (i.e. meats) that need to be used by certain days. For example, if you planned on making steak fajitas on Tuesday, but now it’s Tuesday and you can’t or don’t want to, think about your ingredients for a minute. Check your steak, if the date is good til tomorrow then just make sure you make that meal tomorrow. Otherwise, throw it in the freezer and plan to make it on Friday instead (just take it out the day before to thaw.) This will become second nature as you continue meal planning.
Grocery shop for the week. Get all your groceries for the week so you have everything on hand. This will save you so much time and extra money spent on impulse purchases. If you’re subscribed to my emails, you’ll get a super convenient grocery list for that week’s dinners. (And it’s color coded because I’m just a nerd like that.) Subscribe below if you haven’t already:
Dinner Plan #6
Meal Prep Tips
| Easy Meatball Subs | If you opt to make fresh meatballs, you can make them ahead of time to have an even quicker dinner! Better yet, double or triple your batch and freeze for future dinners. |
| Creamy Chicken Ramen Soup | • Shred/chop all your chicken for both Dinner #2 and #4. • Chop onion and peppers. • Cut carrot if you didn’t buy pre-cut matchstick carrots. |
| Korean BBQ Beef & Rice Bowls | • Make the sauce for the beef ahead of time by combining the 6 ingredients (except the steak), blend, and store in refrigerator. • **If making Dinner#5, reserve about 1/4-1/3 cup of the sauce in a separate container. • Make the yum yum sauce, if not using store-bought sauce. • Shred carrots if you didn’t buy pre-cut matchstick carrots. |
| Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Chicken | • Shred/chop all your chicken for both Dinner #2 and #4. |
| Glazed Salmon, Basmati Rice & Edamame | • Make or Reserve about 1/4-1/3 cup of the sauce from the Beef bowl recipe. |
Recipe Links, Side Suggestions & Additional Info
Easy Meatball Subs
FYI:
- Easy basic dinner where you can use frozen cooked meatballs, pre-formed raw meatballs, or make your own meatballs.
- I suggest sliced Mozzarella or Provolone, but you could use shredded, or even a shredded Italian cheese blend.
SIDE SUGGESTIONS: (not included in shopping list)
- Salad
- Carrot sticks/chips and Ranch
- French fries
- Chips
Print
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Pour your marinara sauce into a large pot along with your cooked/frozen meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until warmed through, approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Place 4-5 meatballs in each sliced sub roll
- Top each with two slices of cheese and place on a baking sheet
- Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly
- Top with a sprinkle of some parm cheese, oregano, and red pepper flakes to taste!
Creamy Chicken Ramen Soup from Delish
FYI:
- This recipe calls for Coconut Oil. If you don’t think you’ll ever use coconut oil for anything else, or just don’t want to get it, don’t worry! It honestly doesn’t make much of a difference in flavor. EVOO will work just fine as a substitution.
- Get 1 large or 2 small rotisserie chickens for both the soup AND the pesto alfredo dish. Depending on the size, if it ends up being too much you can always use extras for lunch or freeze for another time.
- You don’t have to shred the chicken for the pesto alfredo. You can cut the breasts and cube them (about 1.5-2 cups of chicken), and then shred the rest of the chicken for the soup.
- You can also easily boil and shred fresh chicken if you prefer.
Korean BBQ Beef & Rice Bowls from Pinch of Yum
FYI:
- THIS RECIPE REQUIRES 30 MINUTES MARINADE TIME.
- I swap ginger paste for the fresh ginger and canned pear halves for the bosc pears. This ginger paste from Gourmet Garden is awesome and perfect to always have stocked in the fridge!
- When making the sauce for the steak, rather than making the paste separate and then adding the other ingredients after, combine all 6 ingredients and blend together in the food processor.
- Reserve about 1/3 of a cup of the sauce for your salmon meal, if making it. Pour the remainder over the steak and marinade for 30 minutes.
- I prefer to buy store-bought yum yum sauce or spicy mayo instead of using the recipe mentioned in this dish simply to make prep easier and quicker. If you want to make your own, go for it!
- DON’T SKIP THE OVER-EASY FRIED EGG.
Pesto Alfredo Pasta with Chicken
FYI:
- This is a quick, basic meal that can be easily customized to your liking. This is a good one to use up leftover veggies or pantry items.
- Uses pre-cooked chicken (shredded or cubed) though you can always saute fresh chicken if you prefer and then add your sauces and remaining “Add-Ins”
- Use your favorite jarred Pesto Alfredo sauce – OR – mix 1 jar of Alfredo with 1/3 cup shelf-stable or refrigerated pesto.
ADD-IN SUGGESTIONS: (* = INCLUDED in shopping list; others are not, update as needed.)
- Spinach*
- Sliced Roasted Red Peppers*
- Julienned Sun Dried Tomatoes*
- Artichoke Hearts
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Sauteed Mushrooms
- Peas
- Asparagus
SIDE SUGGESTIONS: (not included in shopping list)
- Side Salad
- Garlic Bread
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Balsamic Tomato Salad
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- In the meantime, in a large saute pan with high sides, add your alfredo and pesto sauces and bring to a low simmer. Add your cooked chicken, spinach, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and any other “Add-Ins”. Stir to combine. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and everything is warmed through.
- YOU CAN WARM THE SAUCE AND ADD-INS IN THE PASTA POT ONCE THE PASTA IS DRAINED TO MAKE THIS A ONE-POT MEAL. OTHERWISE, USING A SEPARATE PAN SAVES ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF COOK TIME.
- Once pasta is done, drain and add to pan with sauce. Stir to combine. Serve, topped with fresh parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to taste.
Glazed Salmon, Basmati Rice & Edamame or Veggie Mix
FYI:
- You’ll be using a small portion of reserved sauce from the Beef & Rice bowls earlier in the week. If you forgot to reserve the sauce and don’t have the ingredients on hand to make more, here and here two other great recipes you may have the ingredients for.
- I like this Asian Medley from Birds Eye and often do both this and the edamame as sides since the bags are a bit small for a larger family.
Directions
- Make Rice according to package directions. I prefer Basmati but you can use Jasmine, White, or Brown rice too.
- Warm Edamame and/pr Veggie mix according to package directions. Sprinkle edamame with salt once ready.
- OVEN:
Preheat to 475°F. Line baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with non-stick spray or olive oil. Place salmon filets skin side down (if bought skin-on.) Spread a layer of the pear-ginger sauce onto each filet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until preferred doneness.
AIR FRYER:
Preheat to 400°F. Rub/spray bottom (skin side) of salmon with olive oil. Spread a layer of the pear-ginger sauce on top of each filet. Place filets into pre-heated basket being sure not to overcrowd. Cook 7-9 minutes, using a fork to check for preferred doneness.
Hope this helps make dinner time less stressful for you this week! If you have questions or feedback let me know in the comments or email me, I’d love to hear from you 💜
SAVE / PIN THIS POST
SAVE THIS POST TO REFER BACK TO THROUGHOUT THE WEEK
Copy & Paste the URL into your fave notes app:
https://momentsandmeals.com/weekly-dinner-plan-6/
-OR-
Click to Pin the image to your Pinterest board.
GET THE GROCERY LIST
Save Yourself Time! 🙌
Get an organized grocery list for this week’s meals emailed to you.
Print or save to your phone for your convenience.
You’ll also get new meal plans and recipes emailed to you so you don’t miss out!
