Weekly Theme Meal Planning | 25 Ideas
I have got several ideas for weekly theme meal planning for you today. Having themed dinner nights once, twice, or even every day of the week is a great way to make meal planning your family dinners easy peasy. These go way beyond Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday, here are 25 themed nights you can do that the whole family will love.
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Making your weekly menu has never been easier than when you go for themed dinners to make up your weekly meal plan. These theme ideas are a great way to branch out, try new recipes, and also incorporate some of your family favorite dishes.
Here are some dinner themes to get your creative meal planning juices flowing-
Weekly Theme Meal Planning Ideas
1. Italian/Pasta Night
Think pasta, pizza, or any italian style dishes. Some of these can come together pretty quickly making them perfect for week nights. You could do this a few nights a week and do a pasta one night and a pizza night on another.
2. Mexican Fiesta
Think Taco Tuesday on steroids. On this night, make any Mexican food- think enchiladas, Mexican pizza, homemade crunch wraps, fajitas, and more if you are ready to branch out from the tacos.
3. Comfort Food Classics
For this night, keep it all about comfort foods. Think mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese, and the meats that go well with those. Plus, homemade vegetables. This would be a good Sunday idea.
4. Asian Fusion Night
Think stir fry, sushi, or even Thai inspired dishes. This would be the night to make your own hibachi at home, homemade Chinese restaurant favorites, homemade Pho, and more!
5. Mediterranean Delights
Think Greek, Lebanese, or other Mediterranean dishes that you love. This one provides a great opportunity to get creative!
6. Breakfast for Dinner
Self-explanatory, on this night have breakfast for dinner, whatever breakfast dishes you love are perfect. Waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, even breakfast casseroles are a great idea.
7. BBQ Night
This is the night to grill or smoke some barbecue, or to use whatever cooking method you prefer. Pulled pork, ribs, even barbecue chicken are great ideas.
8. Fresh and Healthy Night
On this night make salads- they don’t have to be all veggie- find a pasta salad that your family loves that comes complete with protein and everything you need for a fresh and healthy dinner.
9. Seafood Sensation
Cook up some seafood on this night. Shrimp or your favorite fish would be delicious, or you could do something fancier. Our favorite seafood dinner is Shrimp Boil Packs in the oven.
10. Soups & Stews
Make a soup or stew on this night. You may want to skip this one in the Summer, but the rest of the year this is a great idea to fill in one of your nights with an easy to make soup or stew. Our favorites are taco soup, potato soup, white chicken chili, and lasagna soup!
11. Tastes of India
Homemade curries, biryani, and chicken tikka masala, are all great ideas, just be sure to serve them with a side of delicious Naan bread.
12. Slow Cooker Night
For this night, whip up dinner right in your slow cooker. These meals are usually easy, you set them and forget them in the slow cooker for a super easy weeknight meal. This one is perfect if you have busy nights because of sports and activities.
13. Around the World Night
For this theme, each week you pick a different place in the world to create some traditional dishes from that region. You could even do this for a take out night as a way to encourage your family to try different restaurants and different types of food.
14. One Pot Wonders
Also perfect for weeknights, on this night plan a super easy one pot meal.
15. Comforting Casseroles Night
Not everyone loves casseroles, but if your family does, this idea is perfect for a meal planning theme. Whip up one of your favorite casseroles.
16. Southern Comfort Night
For this theme, think Southern-style dishes like fried chicken, anything with biscuits, or even gumbo!
17. Street Food Festival
Create your favorite food truck dishes at home on this night!
18. Coastal Seafood Night
Another seafood night idea, but for this one, stick to seafood you find in the ocean!
19. Spice Route
Discover the flavors of India, Morocco, and the Middle East. Find some fun ideas to recreate yourself at home.
20. Takeout Makeover Night
For this night, recreate your favorite takeout dishes at home!
21. Grilling Night
This one is easy- we’re cooking dinner on the grill this night. Perfect for a Friday night or Saturday. This idea is also great in the Summer months so you don’t heat up your home using the oven.
22. Over the Fire
Another fun meal idea if you have a fire pit, cook things like hot dogs that everyone can make for themselves over the fire!
23. Fend For Yourself Night
On this night everyone has sandwiches, soup, cereal, or anything they can whip up themselves because it is time to fend for yourself!
24. Leftover Night
The perfect night to have after a big meal the night before that has lots of leftovers.
25. Rotisserie Chicken Night
For this night, make any meal that you can whip up using rotisserie chicken, this will save time and energy in the kitchen!
We hope you try some of these different ideas for weekly theme meal planning and that they help you overcome decision fatigue when it comes to making dinner- again. These themed meals will help you meal plan quickly and easily and give you lots of new meal ideas to add into your regular rotation. What other fun theme nights would you add? Tell us in the comments! Being responsible for meal planning for every single night of the week can be a lot of work. Next time use these ideas as a starting point to come up with lots of different ideas to add. Pinterest is one of my favorite resources for new dishes or dinners that we aren’t familiar with, there are so many great recipes you can find on there.
Here are more helpful tips-
Keep a recipe book (or a recipe box) with all of your family’s favorite recipes that you can easily reference for quick ideas.
Make meal planning super easy with our fun and flexible Sticky Note Meal Planner printable.
Do a monthly meal plan instead of a weekly one so you only have to make these decisions once a month!
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You might also like these other meal planning tips and tricks-
3 Meal Planning Hacks for Busy Moms
How to Meal Plan for the Week in 5 Minutes