Next Week's Meal Plan

Next Week’s Meal Plan: 5 Vegetarian Family-Friendly Recipes

Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the…read more
updated May 29, 2019
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(Image credit: Joe Lingerman/The Kitchn)

One of my strategies for keeping our budget in check is to have about a 50/50 mix of meaty and meatless dinners each week. But when I’ve busted my budget — say, after moving into a new house and splurging on a new dining table — a week of meatless dinners can save me.

This week’s meal plan is full of new-to-us vegetarian recipes that use inexpensive staples to keep our grocery budget low. Each recipe is hearty enough for cool fall weather and will satisfy both adults and kids alike.

Welcome to This Week’s Meal Plan

Planning my weekly meals is a habit I enjoy. Since I’m frequently asked by friends and family what I’m cooking for dinner each week, I thought it’d be useful to share my weekly meal plan here. Whether you’re just learning to meal plan and looking for a real-life example of how this works or you’re an old pro on the hunt for inspiration, here’s a peek at how I’m feeding my family this week.

New to meal planning? Start here.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

I mean, come on! It’s cheesy lasagna! Who cares if there is no meat in it? My kiddos certainly won’t. We’re having a shredded romaine and grated carrot salad that my oldest kid loves to make and eat on the side.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

We usually do a meatless black bean and sweet potato taco on meatless weeks, so I’m very excited to try this mushroom version. For the kids, they’ll get the same smoky roasted mushrooms but served inside a cheesy, melty quesadilla, which is easier for my 3-year-old to eat.

(Image credit: Coco Morante)

Wednesday: Red Lentil Soup

Red lentil soup is my coziest craving that needs to be satisfied immediately. Luckily this version is soup-er (get it?) mild and we’ll jazz up adult bowls with yogurt and oil-soaked red chili flakes. I’ll serve with apple slices and bread for dipping on the side for my little diners.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

This is the second time in about a month’s time that this frittata has been on our meal plan. Last time I wasn’t sure if it’d pass — my daughter claims she’s an onion hater, but she devoured this and asked for it again.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Okay, can we discuss how ingenious this polenta pizza crust is? Polenta cooks up super quickly, but you could easily get the pre-cooked polenta tubes and slice them into rounds for mini pizzas too!