What to Make for Dinner: Stop the 5 O’clock Dinner Planning!

With this easy-to-follow guide, you’ll know exactly what to make for dinner every night, even if you don’t have a ton of time or home-cooked meals stress you out!

What to Make for Dinner Tonight

Listen, I get it. It’s not a walk in the park to get dinner on the table every night. There are certainly evenings where calling in pizza delivery or popping a frozen-box meal into the oven are the only option. Life’s crazy, days are long, and kids aren’t always the easiest, we’ll say, to feed.

I’m right there with you! With five little mouths of my own to feed, plus two adults, mealtime can feel like a hectic, uphill battle many days of the week. Or maybe you’re just trying to make it through the next hour until the end of the day, and by 5 p.m., it finally hits you there’s one more meal to crank out before you can hit the hay. Toddler mamas, you’re most likely in the thick of this “one hour at a time” season, and I know it well.

What if I told you I have the fix to mealtime planning chaos? It’s not a fairy godmother or a miracle, and it requires a bit of foresight and planning, but this system has absolutely transformed how I approach family meal prep. It takes the guesswork out of prep work and the nightly 5 o’clock panic out of making dinner. The easy answer? Make a master list! And here’s how.

1. Pick Your Plan

Pick a main dinner plan (see plan options listed below), and then pick 7-plus sub-categories, one for each day of the week.

Dinner Plan 1: By Cuisine Type – Examples of different categories: Comfort food night, Italian night, meatless dinners, soup, breakfast for dinner, Mexican, pizza night, grill, ethnic, or slow cooker. This is the dinner plan that I personally do.
Dinner Plan 2 : Meat-Based – Chicken, hamburger, seafood, red meat, or pork.
Dinner Plan 3: Grain-Based – Rice, pasta, bread, corn, potatoes, beans, or lentils.

2. Make a Master List

Write all 7-plus of those genres on a piece of paper, and write down all the meals that you can think of that fit into each category. Pick recipes and meals that you know that you like and have made before.

Example- Category: Soup

• Simple Cream of Tomato Soup
• Tortellini soup
• Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
• Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Homemade Butternut Squash Soup
• Healthy 30 Minute Alphabet Soup
• Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup

Example- Category: Mexican/Tex-Mex

• Shrimp Fajitas
• Sweet potato and black bean enchiladas
• Smothered burritos
• Quinoa stuffed bell peppers
• Tamale pie
• Crunchy Baked Chicken Tacos
• The Best Chicken Tacos Ever
• Ground Beef Enchiladas
• One Pan Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Example- Category: Breakfast for Dinner

• Easy Egg and Potato Breakfast Casserole
• Breakfast Pizza Sticks
• Classic Belgian Waffle Recipe
• Scrambled Eggs with Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
• Easy Egg and Potato Breakfast Casserole
• Healthy Roasted Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos
• Banana Waffles
• Homemade Pancakes: traditional, whole wheat, blueberry, and chocolate chip

Example- Category: Italian

• Spaghetti and Easy Homemade Meatballs
• Creamed Pasta with Bacon and Vegetables
• Classic Homemade Lasagna Recipe
• Garden Vegetable Pasta
• Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
• 30 Minute Simple Roasted Tomato and Sausage Pasta
• One Pot Pasta Primavera

Example- Category: Ethnic

• Easy Pumpkin Cauliflower Curry
• Simple Lentil Curry with Butternut Squash
• Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Curry (meatless)
• Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry
• Orange Chicken with Stir-Fry Veggies
• Shrimp Stir Fry
• Chopped Asian Peanut Salad with Homemade Peanut Dressing

Example- Category: Pizza Night

• Quick and Easy Flatbread Pizzas
• Calzones
• DIY mini pizzas
• Deep Dish Skillet Pizza
• Stromboli
• Homemade Pizza with Chicken and Bacon
• Supreme Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
• 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
• How to Make Pizza Dough (Easy Pizza Dough Recipe!)

Example- Category: Comfort Food

• Homemade Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Chicken “nuggets”
• Easy Stove Top Chicken and Rice
• How to Make Homemade Noodles
• Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
• Bop’s Favorite Meatloaf Recipe
• Shepherd’s Pie

Example- Category: Super Easy

• Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
• Baked Potatoes (with simple toppings)
• Cornbread Waffles with Chili; 15 Minute Dinner
• 20-Minute Roasted Zucchini, Corn, and Black Bean Tacos
• 20 Minute Easy Cheesy Pizza Sticks
• Easy Grilled Salmon Recipe
• Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese

Example- Category: Slow Cooker Dinners

• Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Pork Chops
• 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs
• Garlic and Herb Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot
• Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin and Potatoes
• Easy Slow Cooker Chili
• Creamy Slow Cooker Potato Corn Chowder with Ham
• Perfect Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Example- Category: Meatless Dinners

• Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Curry (meatless)
• Cilantro Rice and Bean Bake (vegetarian enchilada casserole)
• Veggie and Lentil Burgers
• Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
• The Best Mushroom Tacos
• Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

Example- Category: Instant Pot Dinner

• The Best Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup
• Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Classic Ham and Bean Soup (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker recipe)
• Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
• Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
• Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Cajun Beans and Rice Recipe
• Easy Crispy Instant Pot Pork Taco Recipe

NOTES: The possibilities are endless! The goal is to write down things that you know how to make and are comfortable making, and that aren’t new to you. New recipes can have their own spot; make it its own day of the week, and make a category list of new recipes you would like to try. This list-making process will streamline your meal planning so much, so don’t skip it. This is what makes it easy, too! Don’t feel like you have to only choose seven categories to make lists for either, you might want to have 9 to 10 master lists to draw from. It’s up to you!

This is your master list. Don’t lose it! I recommend saving it on your computer under a very easy title so you can look it up. I also print out a copy and tape it to the inside of my cabinet, and keep a second copy in my planner (where I make my shopping list) for easy reference.

3. USE Your New List

At the start of a a new week or when you need to, check out your list, pick a few meals you know how to make, make a grocery list, and dinner is done! Half of the effort of making dinner is PLANNING what to make. You just made that easier on yourself by taking all of the “thinking” part out of the planning! Just look at your list.

Want to take your meal planning to the next level?

Use your list to plan a MONTH at a time! Here’s how!

With this easy-to-follow guide, you’ll know exactly what to make for dinner every night, even if you don’t have a ton of time or home-cooked meals stress you out!