If meal planning gives you a headache, incorporate themed dinner nights. You've heard of Taco Tuesday & Meatless Monday. But we're only getting started!!!
As a busy mom of four, I like to keep meal planning as simple as possible with effective, minimalistic strategies. Here's how theme meal planning works. Basically, you use a pre-planned dinner theme as inspiration for that night of the week.
When you're stuck in a meal planning rut, this meal planning hack will totally get you moving.
So let's get started....here's my big daddy list of themed meal planning ideas, complete with recipe suggestions from my own kitchen!
Themed Dinner Nights Ideas
Meatless Monday
Taco Tuesday
Admittedly, this is my favorite day of the week. Of course this list includes my fav, homemade tacos. But let's get beyond the shell here and expand this taco themed meals like:
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Crockpot Mexican Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Taco Quesadillas
- Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken Tacos
Tex Mex Night
- Chile Verde Pork Burritos - Instant Pot
Instant Pot Night
Pasta Night
Stir Fry Night
Salad night
Soup night
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Best Minestrone Soup
- Hearty Beef & Vegetable Soup
- Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Corn Chowder
Sandwich Night
Egg Night
- Low Carb Breakfast Casserole with Bacon Broccoli and Cheddar
- Egg Omelet Muffins
- Instant Pot Egg Bites
- 63 Delicious Answers to What Can You Make with Eggs?
Pork Night
- One Skillet Pork Tenderloin with Apples (can be made int the slow cooker, too!)
- Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs with Pineapple
- Pork Stir Fry with Cabbage and Apples
More Themed Dinners for Nights of the Week
The beauty of planning meals this way is that you can assign these dinner themes to any night of the week. Here's more!
Italian night
Breakfast for dinner
- Pumpkin Spice Pancake Recipe
- Breakfast Burritos
- Honey Butter Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches
- Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Slow Cooker Night
Chili Night
- yes, chili gets it's own night because there are SO many ways to mix it up here!
- Pulled Pork Chili (Instant Pot and Slow Cooker)
- White Chicken Chili
- Classic Chili Recipe for a Crowd
- One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Skillet Meal Night
Burger Night
Grilling Night
Leftovers night
don't go hating on leftovers quite yet. I mean, they're a fact of life!
Kids favorite night
Sheet pan supper
Asian night
Pizza night
I hope these themed dinner night ideas make mealtime just a little more simple in your world! Bon Appetite!
