How to plan a week of family dinners (with a free printable)

Ten minutes on the weekend saves the 5 PM scramble every weekday. Here is a simple way to plan dinners for the week, and a planner you can print.

Plan it in five steps

1. Look at the week first. Mark the busy nights: practice, late shifts, meetings. Those get a quick dinner or leftovers.
2. Keep a list of your family's dinners. Not a recipe book: just the twenty or thirty dinners you actually cook, split into quick and not quick.
3. Use theme nights. Taco Tuesday or pizza Friday takes one decision off the table every week.
4. Spread the variety. Not the same protein two nights in a row; favorites every other week.
5. Write the grocery list from the plan. Go through each dinner and add what it needs, by aisle.

Printable weekly dinner planner

Print this planner

Weekly meal plan ideas

A balanced sample week: Sunday pot roast (slow cooker), Monday chicken stir-fry, Tuesday tacos, Wednesday spaghetti with meat sauce (busy night), Thursday baked salmon, Friday homemade pizza, Saturday burgers on the grill.