FREE Meal Plan #98 {With Printable Grocery List}

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Save yourself some time, money and stress by using this FREE Meal Plan that is full of amazing recipes. Each plan includes 5 dinner ideas, 2 side dishes, 1 dessert and a shopping list making meal planning easier than ever!!

A graphic showing multiple meal plans with printable grocery lists.

WEEKLY MEAL PLAN #98

Each week, I share with you a FREE meal plan that consists of 5 dinner ideas (Monday-Thursday plus one Weekend meal), 2 side dishes, and 1 dessert!

Included is a grocery list with EVERY ingredient you need for all the items on the meal plan.

This is meant to help simplify menu planning, shopping, and cooking so you can more easily enjoy meals with your family throughout the week!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mashed Potatoes are one of our featured sides this week.

These are our top 3 tips for making perfect mashed potatoes:

Always add the cubed potatoes into cold water, then bring it to a boil. This helps create an even cook.
Use room temperature milk so it absorbs more easily.
Don’t over-mix as this will create a gluey texture.

We have even more helpful tips and tricks for making perfect mashed potatoes. Find them HERE!

BENEFITS OF MEAL PLANNING

There’s nothing worse than the dread every time a family members asks, “What’s for dinner??” And your answer is “I have no clue.” Having a meal plan for the week eliminates that completely, which is the number one benefit in my book!

Besides having a game plan in place, there are several other benefits of meal planning, including:

Cost: When you have a plan set in place, and a specific list of groceries, you eliminate cost wasted on impulse items or produce that never gets used.
Decrease Waste: No wasted money, and no wasted food! Having a set grocery list will help to avoid both of those issues.
Variety: Our meal plans specifically include a lot of variety, with Mexican, Italian, Breakfast for Dinner, and so much more! You can expose your family’s palates to all kinds of meals.
No Indecision: Did you know there’s such thing as “indecision fatigue”? The idea is that when you can’t make a decision on something (like what to make for dinner) it actually makes you mentally fatigued. When dinners are already planned out, though, you avoid indecision completely!
Health: When you plan for/anticipate making well-rounded meals, you’re much more likely to actually make them rather than defaulting to convenient boxed meals, or unhealthy fast food!

As you can see, there are so many benefits to meal planning!

And if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!

Monday

Bean Chimichangas

Easy and delicious Bean Chimichangas are filled with beans, cheese and ROTEL and they taste just like the ones at the restaurants!

We always have Homemade Salsa, sour cream and Guacamole with our chimis. We also love a side of our famous Spanish Rice with this meal. Mmmm.

Tuesday

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Easy Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta – a creamy and delicious pasta dish filled with cheese, chicken and bacon all made in one pot! This pasta can’t be beat!

This dish is so filling! We like to eat it with Quick Caprese Salad. It’s light and refreshing and complements this pasta perfectly!

wednesday

Dutch Baby Pancakes

Dutch Baby Pancakes are a super simple, fun, and delicious breakfast that the whole family will love. Similar to German Pancakes (but made in a rounded skillet), these dutch babies are simple and can be topped with powdered sugar, syrup, berries, jam.

Similar to Crepes, you can go sweet or savory with these babies. If you’re wanting sweet, top with fresh berries, Buttermilk Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Lemon Curd, Chocolate Syrup or Whipped Cream. For savory, top with bacon, ham, salsa, avocado, sausage, cheese or scrambled eggs.

Thursday

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe is bursting with tangy pineapples and peppers. It’s an easy, 20-minute version of Chinese takeout.

We like to eat this atop a bed of Cauliflower Rice or Fried Rice. If you love fried rice but are wanting less carbs, try our Cauliflower Fried Rice. It’s low-carb and delicious!

Weekend

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

You can’t go wrong with delicious buttermilk fried chicken! It’s great for picnics, barbecues, holidays and more. Plus – it’s easier to make than you think!!

What goes better with fried chicken than mashed potatoes? It’s one of our featured sides this week and it’s the best mashed potato recipe out there!

Sides of the week

Our Top Two Choices

Simple and Quick Caprese Salad is easy and delicious with pops of mozzarella, tomatoes, avocados and drizzled with a balsamic glaze!

Caprese Salad is delicious in all of its variations. Some of our other favorite twists of this salad are Caprese Kabobs, Caprese Stuffed Avocados, Southwest Caprese Salad and Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad.

These buttery smooth Best Mashed Potatoes are our go-to potato side dish for every dinner and holiday get together. They’re our FAVORITE!!

The only thing that makes these mashed potatoes better is smothering them in our Mashed Potato Gravy If you’re wanting to try some mashed potatoes that are a little more adventurous, try our Baked Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole or Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes.

Dessert of the WEek

Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie is filled with layers of banana encased in a rich, creamy, vanilla custard, atop a flaky pie crust. It’s a family favorite!

For more Banana Desserts, try:

Download the Meal Plan!

Click the link below to download this week’s FREE Meal Plan!

And remember – if you want to create your own menu, be sure to check out all our recipes and visit our recipe pages, including: Main Dish, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers and Breakfast!