It’s time to start thinking about your meal plan for next week. From a 15-minute pasta to a super quick beef stir fry, we’ve got five weeknight dinners that will get you through the week ahead. So grab a pen, make your shopping list, and stock up before the weekend’s over. And if it’s easier for you to do that from your inbox, be sure to sign up for our weekly meal plan emails.
Top: Creamy Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp and Linguini at Cafe Delites | Lime Beef and Basil Stir-Fry at Sweet Peas and Saffron
Related: How to turn salad into a family-friendly dinner: 5 must-have tips.
I typically avoid zoodle recipes on these meal plans, because not everyone has a spiralizer. But many of you do have them and I’ve been seeing pre-made zoodles at a lot of markets these days, so I think it’s safe to assume that this super simple recipe for Butternut Squash Noodles with Brown Butter and Kale at Snixy Kitchen is doable. At least I hope it is, because it’s pretty much the only way that my kids will eat squash. If not, you can easily adapt this recipe using spaghetti and our simple method for making brown butter.
This 30-minute Lime Beef and Basil Stir-Fry at Sweet Peas and Saffron looks irresistible and brings home Thai flavors quicker than more-involved traditional Thai recipes and healthier than take-out.
What can top a 30-minute meal? How about this 15-minute dinner?! The Creamy Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp and Linguini at Cafe Delites pulls together simple, kid-friendly ingredients to make a dinner with big, bold flavor that grown ups will love too.
Related: 5 genius ways frozen vegetables can save weeknight dinners.
We’re big fans of protein-rich quinoa and believe that if you cook it correctly (using our tutorial on how to cook quinoa properly), it will come out fluffy, mild, and delicious. Or you can just bake it up with taco fixings and cheese like in this recipe for Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet at Spoonful of Flavor. Because that works too.
Friday calls for pasta. Friday also calls for bacon. Put them together and Friday calls for this Baked Gnocchi with Bacon, Tomato, and Mozzarella at Simply Delicious. Fret not that the recipe is written in grams: You’ll need about 1 pound of gnocchi, a half pound of bacon, a 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, and 3.5 ounces of mozzarella, along with all the other ingredients. See? Now you have no excuse not to make this!
