Looking to change up your meal planning routine? With these 15 dinner night themes and a few extra tips, you’ll never be bored with you family meals again.
Can I confess something to you?
Until a year or so ago, I hated the idea of themed dinner nights. Just the thought of eating the same type of food on the same day, every single week felt so boring.
Where I went wrong with Dinner Night Themes
Let’s face it, when you hardly have time to plan your meals, then it becomes far too easy to make the same exact meal for each theme night. But my least favorite, was taco night.
Sure, the kids loved it, and it was a great way to use up leftover meat and protein. But my husband and I always wanted fresh toppings such as diced tomatoes or onions.
To make matters worse, I felt the need to present the meal on our dinner table in a pseudo-Donna Reed type of perfection. Each filling and condiment was removed from it’s original packaging, and put into a bowl to be passed around the table.
The thought of all those extra dishes still gives me the shudders.
What changed my mind
Eventually, I got rid of that perfectionist ideal. I started plopping down the original containers right on the table, saying “help yourself.”
Or, instead of tacos, I just made a pan of nachos in the oven. Same flavors, same concept, one dish.
That’s when themed dinner nights started to become more interesting, and I looked for more ways to incorporate themes into our meal planning.
How to keep it interesting
I realized rotating a long list of themes over several weeks and months keeps things far more interesting than just making every week Taco Tuesday or Meatless Monday.
Yes, we do have a couple nights each week that are exactly the same (leftovers night is pretty varied on it’s own, and who doesn’t like pizza night on Fridays?)
But, now, I no longer look at themed dinner nights with hatred. Instead, I see them as a fantastic resource when I’m stuck for ideas and there are only three or four meals left to plan for a month!
Add these 15 dinner night themes to your meal planning sessions and you’ll see how much faster your planning goes. Remember, how you use these themes is up to you. You can:
- Choose one or two themes to repeat every week,
- Rotate all 15 dinner night themes over the course of 2-3 months, or
- Use dinner night themes as inspiration when you’re losing steam at the end of your meal planning session.
Just remember to keep it flexible, and have fun!
15 Awesome Dinner Night Themes to Try
Italian Night
Yes, I love pasta, but Italian food goes WAY beyond spaghetti. We love using our copy of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking to help us get out of the red sauce rut.
Leftovers Night
It’s a classic for a reason. No stress, saves money, and less waste!
This list of ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers is full of ideas that can be adapted for nearly any time of year.
Breakfast for Dinner
Use up bread that’s about to go stale and make some french toast. Or finish that pack of eggs that have been sitting in the fridge for the last couple weeks. The options are endless.
Transform Your Leftovers
Turn your leftovers into something completely new just by using the food you have in your kitchen. You just might be surprised at what you can come up with.
This sweet and savory bread pudding was inspired by a nearly empty fridge, leftover cornbread, and leftover bacon. And the results were delicious.
Throwback Thursday
Make a meal that you LOVED as a kid. One of my favorites as a kid was this Johnny Marzetti casserole, but my husband always loves his mother’s Italian meatloaf and peanut soup.
Kids Choice
Give them specific rules (e.g. It MUST include a vegetable), and let the kids plan the meal.
And remember, kids from the age of 9 or 10 can prepare simple dinners, too - even if it's something as simple as cute heart shaped sandwiches.
Sheet Pan Dinner Night
Sheet pan dinners are a great way to get dinner on the table FAST. And they keep dishes to a minimum too, which makes them perfect for busy weeknights.
Soup and a Sandwich Night
Won’t have much time to cook? Plan instead to make some sandwiches (or pull out this freezer friendly loaded stuffed french bread sandwich) and grab a bit of soup.
We love doing this during the cold winter months when you really want something warm and comforting.
Serve Charcuterie or Appetizers
Our kids loved having this heart-shaped charcuterie board for Valentine's Day, but you could also serve appetizers for dinner (a perfect choice if you just hosted a party recently).
Slow Cooker Nights
The Crock Pot is my absolute favorite for nights when I just don't have time to deal with cooking. And with disposable liners, even clean up can be a cinch.
Taco or Nacho Night
Taco night is great, but give sheet pan nachos or mini wonton taco cups a try…you’ll be a convert, trust me.
Meatless Monday
Meatless meals aren't just about pasta and salad. If you’re willing to try something new, you can have SO much fun with this theme.
Take-Out Fake-Out
Whether it's pizza, Chinese food, or even something as exotic as Thai or Indian food, why not make a meal that mimics your favorite take-out food.
The Organized Dream shared this homemade popcorn chicken recipe with us at the Happy Now Link up, and it's sure to be a family favorite.
Something New Sunday
Make a new recipe and try it out as a family. These 15 Thanksgiving recipes made with craft beer are full of ideas sure to inspire you.
Movie Match-Up
Watch a favorite family movie and make a meal that is featured in or inspired by that same movie.
Looking for More Meal Planning Inspiration?
You might enjoy these posts:
- What happens when you switch to monthly meal planning?
- 10 tips to make meal planning so much easier
- Meal Prep for Beginners | 5 Tips to keep it simple
Now I want to know…
Helen Reynolds says
Good ideas! I found this article on Sunday Features! Thanks for sharing.
Heather says
I definitely usually do taco night and leftovers every week, but some of these ideas were new to me. They are all very good, I especially like Something New Sunday.
Kirsty Russell says
Great ideas here – I’ve some new inspiration already!
Clare @ Budget Mums says
Oh I love a good themed dinner night! We tend to do Pasta Mondays, Taco Tuesday (which is actually Mexican Tuesday, but that name just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it), and Pizza Party Friday Night! I love the idea of Something New Sunday.. I wonder if it would help my picky eaters try some new foods? Might have to see. Thanks for the idea 🙂
Pauline Wiles says
There’s plenty of inspiration here, thank you! I adore breakfast for dinner and soup is so comforting too. I also once came across YoYo, where you tell you’re family “You’re on Your Own!” to figure something out.
(Visiting for the first time, from the Hearth & Soul hop)
Pauline Wiles says
…Mortified I messed up “your family” in the comment above. Going too fast, sorry…
Alisa Infanti says
Love these ideas! I have always wanted to do this but the most interesting theme I could come up with was Mexican night where we eat tacos and listen to salsa Ha! Totally going to plan some of these nights.
Tracey says
I struggle with meal planning, so really appreciate this great list of ideas!! Thinking they’ll inspire me to try some new themes at our house.
My current favorite theme is slow-cooker meals. I’ve got two teenage daughters with lots of afternoon/evening events, so having a meal ready when we walk in the door is saving us from too many fast-food dinners!
Mother of 3 says
In the winter we have a soup/ stew night and a casserole/ comfort food night. While my boys and I love breakfast for dinner my husband hates it so we only try that once every other month and typically on a night when he most likely won’t be home.
angie says
I have had themes to my plan ahead meals before. I love this idea and thanks for inspiring me to do it again
come see us at https://shopannies.blogspot.com
Amy - The Rolling Baby says
These sound great. Definitely something to try when my daughter is a little older #fortheloveofBLOG
Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond says
What a great idea to have themed dinner! Thanks for sharing at #BloggersPitStop and have a lovely week.
Kelly Edwards says
Having a theme night is a great idea! Thanks for linking up at #fortheloveofBLOG
Emma T says
I love this idea. I don’t cook much in the week, but it would be great to rotate round at weekends.
Amber says
I got a bunch of great, new ideas here, thank you! How about a “Mediterranean Monday” where the ideas are endless and the dishes are heart healthy! Thanks again for the awesome ideas!
Tara says
Thanks for some great ideas – my kids are much older now, but I still struggle for ideas for meals! We do lots of Mexican themed nights here, and I think we’re getting a bit tired of them! Breakfast as dinner is one of my personal favourites, for sure! Glad to have found this via the Pin Junkie Pin Party 🙂
Of Goats and Greens says
I try to do a Meatless Monday and a Fishy Friday, but they seldom can work out on the planned days! The only time I really do themed dinners is when I join some friends for pot luck, and we agree on a theme ahead of time, usually some cultural cuisine we cook around. Last time it was Fondue with appetizers. I hosted a Mediterranean one. There will be a pie (savory or sweet) one on Pi Day in March. I do like pizza, but it is something more to grab when you don’t have time to cook. I’m certainly not wanting pizza once a week (or at least, my waistline doesn’t!)
Paul says
I a.single and started using meal planning and theme nights for myself. Rather than doing 52 weeks of Slow cooker Sunday I will be switching up somewhere along the way may after 3 months to Sheet Pan Sunday. I may do the same with Taco Tuesday but there are so many Mexican recipes out there. One I do during football and basketball season on Saturday sometimes on Sundays is a tailgate night. Putting a main course in the crockpot that during halftime or between games I can eat. I also have a salad or two plus other kinds of food to snack on during the game.