Gathering your family around the table for a meal does NOT need to be stressful, time-consuming, or complicated. Let me help you simplify meal planning with these easy 30-minute recipes — and make sure you download the free printable!
Simple meals are a must for your busy family!
I don’t particularly love meal planning, but my day, my life, and my household run a lot smoother (and my family and I are a lot happier) when I take 15 minutes to plan our meals for the week.
Yup… just 15 minutes of pre-planning saves countless hours of frustration and aggravation later in the week.
Meal planning could transform busy weeknights.
Keep reading to learn how I plan our meals and download a printable of 30+ quick and easy meal ideas you can get on the table in 30 minutes or less!
How I Plan Our Meals
I currently plan 7 easy dinners and breakfasts each week, jotting them down in the top corner of my “planner notebook”.
My goal is to create my meal plan on Sunday afternoon, serving meals I already have the ingredients for on Monday and Tuesday, and assuming I’ll get to the store by Wednesday if we need anything else.
NOTE: Here’s a link to ALL my meal-planning posts — read up if you want more inspiration!
I usually try to plan one dinner from each of the following categories:
- Italian
- Mexican
- Meat & Potato
- Soup, Salad, and/or Sandwiches
- Casserole
- Leftovers or Pizza
- Sunday Night Movie Night = a giant charcuterie board
For breakfast, I double up some of the days as I make enough pancakes and waffles for 2 days, and I always keep a few boxes of cereal in the pantry if we are rushed for time.
Here’s an example of our weekly breakfast menu:
- Baked Oatmeal + fruit
- Pancakes + eggs
- Pancakes + sausage
- Egg McMuffin Sandwiches
- Waffles + eggs
- Waffles + bacon
- Cinnamon Rolls + yogurt parfaits
The benefits of planning easy meals:
Meal planning is far from my favorite weekly to-do, but it’s one I will continue faithfully doing for the foreseeable future as it saves me so much time and sanity (2 of my most valuable resources).
Here are a few more benefits of meal planning:
- It eliminates the need for multiple trips to the grocery store (saving time, money, and stress).
- It drastically reduces wasted food as there is a plan for everything we buy.
- It saves TONS of money and calories on less-nutritious fast food.
- It eliminates that 6:00 scramble to prepare food for hungry people.
- It provides an instant answer to the frequent “What’s for dinner?” question.
- It reduces the amount of time and energy spent wondering what to prepare.
- It allows me to plan ahead for busy days when we might need a slow cooker meal or a grab-and-go meal to eat in the car.
- It brings the family around the table more often — a huge WIN in my book!
30+ Easy Meals to Make in 30 Minutes or Less
To help simplify my meal planning process even more, I created a list of more than 30 EASY meals I can make in 30 minutes or less (all using fairly common ingredients)
These easy dinners are perfect for busy weeknights as many of them can be prepped ahead of time and just shoved in the oven when you walk in the door!
30-Minute Italian Recipes:
I almost always have pre-cooked sausage, ground beef, and shredded chicken in the freezer, so Italian meals are super quick and easy.
Just heat up some sauce with frozen meat while I boil the noodles, add a salad and fruit, and dinner is served!
These easy Italian meals can be on your table in 30 minutes or less!
- Any type of pasta or zoodles with jarred sauce, this semi-homemade sauce, or this vegetable marinara sauce.
- 10 Minute Homemade Lasagna
- Pizza Pasta with Noodles or with Spaghetti Squash
- Frozen Pizza or take-and-bake pizzas from the deli
- Stromboli (you’d have to make or defrost the dough ahead of time to make this in 30 minutes)
- Muffin Tin Pizzas
- Mac & Cheese – this 5-minute slow cooker method or just from a box
SIMPLE SIDE DISH OPTION
- Garlic Bread
- Layered Lettuce Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Reheated Roasted Veggies
- Steamed Veggies
- Fresh or Canned Fruit
- Applesauce
30-Minute Mexican Recipes:
I try to keep a few containers of our favorite slow cooker refried beans and taco meat in the freezer. And I always have a container of this mild taco seasoning ready for quick Mexican meals (something our whole family enjoys).
I also have lots of cheese, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), onions, tomatoes, lettuce, tortilla chips, and our favorite tortillas in the house nearly all the time, so Mexican foods are an easy win when it comes to simple meals on busy weeknights!
You’ll love these easy Mexican meals you can make in less than 30 minutes:
- Refried Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
- Beef or Chicken Quesadillas
- Chipotle Pulled Pork Enchiladas (I often have these in the freezer, so I literally just pull them out, add sauce and cheese, and shove them in the oven)
- Triple Layer Taco Pie
- Taco Casserole
- One Skillet Mexican Rice Casserole
- 3-Ingredient Mexican Chicken
- Fiesta Chicken Salad
SIMPLE SIDE DISH OPTIONS
- Tortilla Chips
- Fresh or Canned Salsa
- Guacamole
- Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
- Lettuce Salad
- Raw Veggies
- Cowboy Caviar
- Rice
- Refried Beans
- Back Beans (canned or frozen)
30-Minute Breakfast-for-Dinner Recipes:
Breakfast for dinner is one of our family’s favorite meals. It’s such a frugal dinner option that’s easy to prepare… and you can eat the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. Win-win!
Here are a few easy breakfast meals you can make in 30 minutes or less.
- Pancakes
- Puff pancakes
- Hearty oat pancakes
- Waffles — we use this Belgian waffle maker
- Omelets — with any meat, cheese, and veggies we have on hand
- Baked Oatmeal
- Baked French Toast Casserole
- Ham, Egg, and Cheese Sandwiches
- Toast, eggs, and any type of breakfast meat we have on hand
- Breakfast burritos
SIMPLE SIDE DISH OPTIONS
- Fried or scrambled eggs
- Sausage (we love these pre-cooked frozen sausages)
- Bacon (I cook a bunch at a time so we just reheat it)
- Fresh or Canned Fruit
- Tatertots or hasbrowns
- Yogurt and granola
- Smoothies
- Whole-Grain Banana Bread
- Blueberry Muffins
30-Minute Soup Recipes:
It has taken a while for my kids to truly start to enjoy soup, but I’m happy to report that soups are now on regular rotation in our weekly meal plans.
These soup recipes are delicious AND quick to make! You can also make them in a slow cooker earlier in the day and let them simmer until you’re ready to eat.
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Ham and Potato Soup
- Taco Soup
- Refried Bean Soup (an older recipe — I now make it with my homemade refried beans)
- BBQ Chicken Chili
- Tomato Soup
- Vegetable Beef Soup
SIMPLE SOUP SIDE DISHES:
- Chips or Crackers
- Homemade Bread or rolls
- Cornbread (here’s a semi-homemade version)
- Fresh or Canned Fruit
- Loaded Baked Potatoes
- Grilled cheese
30-Minute Sandwich Recipes:
If you’re really running short on time or you need a grab-and-go option for extra-busy evenings, these sandwich “recipes” should do the trick.
If you have any leftovers, just pack them for lunches the next day!
Quick and easy sandwich recipes:
- Easy Pizza Sliders
- Grilled Pizza Sandwiches
- Chicken Salad Sandwiches (or wraps or on lettuce)
- BLT sandwiches
- Ham and Cheese Baked Sandwiches
- Chili Cheese Dogs
- Grilled Cheese for a Crowd
- Burgers or brats on the grill
SIMPLE SANDWICH SIDE DISHES:
- Fresh or Canned Fruit
- Raw or Roasted Veggies
- Oven-Baked Potato Wedges
- Baked Beans
- Roasted Veggies
- Layered Lettuce Salad
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Chips
A Free Download for your Pantry!
To help you keep these easy meal ideas on the for-front of your mind when menu planning, I’ve created a really simple FREE download for you to hang in your pantry or on your fridge.
Gathering your family around the table for a meal together does NOT need to be stressful, time-consuming, or complicated. Let me help you simplify it with these easy 30-minute recipes!
What easy meals would you add to my list?
Dee says
Hi Andrea, love this post BUT I have two questions. One, how to you manage the leftovers (assuming there are some)? I find that when there are new recipes/meals for each day, there has to be some sort of leftover. Two, I know you have a large family but I am wondering if you may consider doing a series of smaller meal options for 2 people. I guess I can scale up/down what you have posted but just thought I would ask. Your recipes are fun and easy but there is always so much food! Thank you 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Dee,
We LOOOOOOVE leftovers around our house, so this is not an issue for us. If we have leftovers (which is becoming rarer these days as the kids eat more) Dave and I will look forward to them for lunch the next day. The older kids have microwaves at school, so they will often take leftovers too. If we have lots of leftovers, I’ll put single-size portions in the freezer for quick lunches later in the month.
I would say, the best bet for you would be to make my recipe in TWO separate smaller containers — make one for dinner and put the other one in the freezer for later, when you don’t feel like cooking!
Amy F;) says
Hi! How does the freezing pre-cooked proteins work? Do you just batch cook a big quantity? Do you put the meat into baggies or ? How long does it last in the freezer?
Lauren says
I want to download the printable, but it’s giving me a fetch error 🙁
Andrea says
sorry — not sure what the issue is. I’ve done it successfully dozens of times from different devices ???
i’ll email it to you!
Erin says
I love this post. My family loves your baked sandwiches and broccoli bacon salad. I’m wondering what are YOUR favorite meals? What are your wow meals to serve to guests too? Love your blog
Karen S. says
Thank you Andrea! This post is so invaluable, and much appreciated. I need to get out of my rut of making the same thing over and over.
Andrea says
Thanks Karen — glad to offer a few new recipes to mix into your current rotation!
JJ says
My kids love your stromboli and pizza sliders!!! Your sugar cookie recipe can not be beaten, either!!! My daughter will say, “Is this a recipe from the lady on the blog?” I am eyeballing your marinara recipe. Oh, and they absolutely loved oven roasted sweet potatoes. I did the sheet pan like you shared, and wow! A huge hit with my four kids!
I had collard greens for the first time when I was yesterday years old. We went to a free gardening class, and my kids harvested different vegetables. I did NOT want to try them(I know!), but I found a simple recipe where you roll them up, slice them into ribbons, and saute with olive oil, garlic powder, and fine sea salt. 2 out of 4 kids liked it. I was shocked that I liked them. I’m trying to have a growth mindset when it comes to food. I love that you have an entire compilation of 30 min meals!
Andrea says
oh good — so glad you have a few favorites on my blog 🙂
Also, I tried collard greens a few years ago and surprisingly didn’t hate them like I though I would!
Rhonda Mullin says
I get on a kick to find new recipes once in a while. This week I made a few from Taste of Home (found online): cauliflower soup, slow-cooker jambalaya (used more shrimp, less green pepper, and way less cayenne/pepper sauce, to suit our family’s taste), and slow-cooker lasagna. All of these are easy to reheat during the week, as my kids get into soccer season and have to eat early or late after practices.
Rhonda says
Asian Peanut Butter Pork is another good one I use…from A Year of Slow Cooking online.
Karen S. says
Whaaat??? That sounds so yummy!
Andrea says
these all sound very yummy (and easy!) Thanks for sharing!
Christy says
Quick fettuccine Alfredo… boil noodles… in a large pan melt a stick of real butter. Add garlic and onion(fresh or dried) add Italian seasoning or Cajun seasoning. Add flour for thickening. Add creme or you can use creme cheese, ricotta cheese if you have partial containers opened in fridge. If you don’t have creme. Half n half or whole milk will work. Add Parmesan or Asiago cheese at the end of cooking. Good in some chicken or cooked sausage or leftover reheated steak and any veggie you like
Andrea says
I actually made this tonight (very similar) and put it already cooked chicken and broccoli. It’s one of our kids FAVORITE meals!
Christy says
Easy chicken pie… store bought pie crust. Canned chicken. A little flour for thickening. Salt, pepper, garlic powder onion powder (any seasonings you like) chicken broth. You can add canned, frozen or fresh veggies if you like. Some times I’ve added shreddded cheese and or a little milk.. as a side use the rest of the box of broth with water. Boil and add cut up biscuits for dumplings.
Ron says
Taking over meals because my wife has ALS. Need some guidance.
Andrea says
Hi Ron,
What an amazing husband you are! I think any of my 30-minute meals would be a great place for you to start.
Also, consider making grilled sandwiches (just like a grilled cheese but with meat too) as a standby — we always have sandwich stuff in the house and it’s a quick and easy meal that doesn’t require much prep work or clean up!
Martha says
I mostly make 30 minute or less meals. Once you get a few recipes your family enjoys, put them on repeat and add more recipes as you have time. Never have used a recipe from this site that we all did not love!! Most are super easy and fall within the 30 minute from start to on the table!! Andrea has the best advice for every age and life stage!!!
Andrea says
Aww… thanks so much Martha! And yes, I couldn’t agree with you more — just find a handful of recipes your family loves and continue rotating them with different side dishes or with a few variations.
Jenny says
These are some great ideas! It could see a family through a YEAR, I bet, adding in a few special holiday meals! I’ve never had a problem planning meals or menus, as long as I do it in advance, but waiting to decide and then shopping at the last minute is not a good idea, because everything seems hard, nothing sounds good, and the cost will be so much higher than if planned ahead. Some blogs seem to feature people who eat the same 5-10 or so main courses, over and over, with exactly the same side dishes or they get so fancy that it’s unrealistic. Yours work really great- simple, varied, delicious!
Andrea says
yes definitely — not too many repeats, but not crazy difficult or weird recipes either! Glad you like them!
Debbie says
Love this list! I’ve saved on my Pinterest board.
Andrea says
Thanks so much Debbie!
Brandie Curtis says
THANKS SO MUCH for this!
I bookmarked it so I can reference it easily.
My family and I always LOVE your recipe’s and used them quite often over the years I have followed you!
Andrea says
yay — you’re welcome!
Jill says
I LOVE seeing these kinds of posts! We Momma’s have to share these ideas! Love the “themed” nights idea. I’m thinking a breakfast for dinner will be in my menu plan next week- gonna try the french toast sticks!
Here are my go to meals:
http://jillonthehill.com/2015/02/23/my-go-to-meals/
Meghan says
I pretty much always have to have 3-5 meals I can make at any time. It’s a weird security thing 🙂
Breakfast burritos
Quesadillas with whatever leftovers we have
Hash browns, eggs, and turkey sausage skillet
Spaghetti and meat sauce
Sloppy joes
Turkey kilbasa and Hashbrowns
Frozen ravioli layered with Prego and mozzerella cheese and baked
Hamburgers and baked beans
Pancakes, bacon, and fruit
None of these meals are a first choice, but they are a better alternative to pizza or eating out.
Andrea says
YUM, sounds like some good go-to meals for me!
Aa. says
I myself am in the proccess of making this same list.
My personal favourites are pasta (tuna and tomatoes, clams pasta, pasta with chicken and brocooli, ravioli and carbonara are the fastest and we love them), ranch eggs, breakfast dinner, finger fish with steamed broccoli, sandwiches and a version of chilli that we like.
We always have ingredients for at least 3-5 of these foods and it is a life saver to have them noted on a list so I can look over it when I am short on time.
Carrie says
Your baked ham & cheese sandwiches are DEFINATELY on my “go-to-meals” list. Also, we are getting a Meijer store this year & I’m soooo excited since you have spoken so highly of it. 🙂
Andrea says
yes, we love those too! yay for a Meijer coming to your town. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Erika says
My go to meals are spaghetti and meat sauce, tuna salad sandwiches, fried egg sandwiches, black bean quesadillas, english muffin pizzas, bean tostadas, waffles or pancakes and eggs. Soft tacos or burritos with whatever we have on hand, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Another favorite that we like every week or two is what we call “Squee” brown ground turkey or beef, then add chopped onions and shredded green cabbage and if we have any other veggies we need to use, I’ll add those too-usually peppers or mushrroms. Usually we will eat this over buttered noodles and everyone will season it to there liking. Just make sure you cook cabbage very well or else your tummy will get a little bloaty feeling. 🙂
Andrea says
Your list sounds very similar to ours! And for the record, my all-time FAVORITE go-to meal (since I was a little kid) has always been spaghetti and meat sauce. I could literally eat it for breakfast (and honestly, sometimes I do!)
Roxanne says
I try to keep some thawed chicken breasts in the fridge at all times. They’re so versatile and there’s a lot of different directions I can take them as long as I have at least a half hour to prep them- I can bake them with whatever sauces, seasonings or toppings I have on hand; I can cube them or slice them and use them in pasta dishes, soups and stir-fry; or I can shred them and use them in more ethnic-type dishes. We also always have frozen veggies in the freezer (yay for microwaves!) and if we can slice up some fruit to go with it, then I call it “good enough” and dinner is served 🙂
Tracey says
This is JUST what I needed today…I think you are a mind-reader!!! So often I’m struggling with ash everyday challenge, I check in here, and it turns out you’ve addressed that very thing.
Thank You!!!
Tracey says
“an” everyday challenge!
Andrea says
Happy to help — and extra happy that my tips seem to align with your challenges 🙂
Meg says
Thanks for the ideas! We try to eat as much “real food” as possible, but many of your ideas can be adjusted accordingly. Great, simple way to keep that daily “what’s for dinner???” feeling at bay. 😉
Debbie W. says
Great list Andrea! Some of these are my go-to meals too, but you have several that I never thought of. I think this list will really help me in my efforts to improve my own meal planning/meal prep. Thanks!
Andrea says
glad to add a few more ideas to your list 🙂