These winter dinner ideas for February will help you feed your family real food meals for a whole month! Save money and eat good food with this one-month meal plan. With delicious meals like Pasta Primavera, Southwestern Salad, and Homemade Hamburger Helper, you can’t go wrong!

How do you feel about February? Are you keeping up with your new year goals? Do you need a re-do of the first of the year?
Keeping up with healthy eating can be a struggle, especially after the newness of the New Year wears off!
I’m here to tell you, you can do it! Every year, every month, every DAY is a fresh start. Use that to your advantage and start working on your goals TODAY.
This healthy meal plan can help you do just that. Whether your goals are financial, losing a few pounds, or even just keeping up with the kids, a meal plan will help.
You’ll know what to shop for, what’s for dinner, and your family will benefit in more ways than one.
A meal plan should help you feel LESS stressed when dinner time rolls around. Yet, it’s easy to feel guilty or stuck when you don’t cook what is on the menu.
I don’t want you to feel that way! Use this meal plan as a guide. Rearrange to fit your schedule. Pick and choose what will work for your family. Feel free to add in your own favorites, too!

30 Minute Dinners Sample Menu
Sign up to get instant access to my 30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan, complete with recipes and step-by-step instructions!Notes on these Winter Dinner Ideas
- This meal plan is based on an average family of 4, costing less than $400 for the month. You may need to tailor the portion sizes to suit the needs of your family size and budget.
- The goal of this meal plan is to feed our family well while wasting as little as possible. You’ll notice that we’re often re-using one part of a meal (like leftover carnitas) in another part of a meal (like BBQ pork sandwiches) in order to meet both of these goals. Keep this in mind if you rearrange the meals.
- This meal plan is mostly plants, with some meat. Viewing meat as a “side dish” is one way we’re able to afford grass-fed and organic meat every month! You can easily add more meat though, if you have a meat and potatoes person in your family.
- Weekdays consist of quick and easy meals, while the meals that require more work are planned on the weekends. Feel free to adjust based on your schedule.
- This meal plan is what I feed my own family. If you want a detailed “action plan” of what this looks like in real like – what I batch cook, what I double, what I freeze for later, how I get the most out of each meal, and when I get it all done – follow me on Facebook and subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Each month I’m sharing the behind the scenes on how we make real food on a budget work for my family!
February Healthy Meal Plan

Winter Dinner Ideas: Week 1
- S – Slow Cooker Carnitas // Lime Crema // Lime Cilantro Slaw // Homemade Tortillas
- M –Delicata Squash Salad // Man Bread (x2)
- T – BBQ Pork Sandwiches (use leftover carnitas, serve on Man Bread) // Crispy Roasted Potatoes
- W –Tortilla Soup (serve with leftover tortillas)
- T – One Pot Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Pasta // Side Salad
- F – Homemade Pizza // Side Salad
- S – Vegetable Fried Rice (use up any leftover vegetables and protein)

Winter Dinner Ideas: Week 2
- S – Creamy Thai Sweet Potato Curry // Instant Pot Brown Rice
- M –Sweet and Sticky Chicken and Vegetables
- T – Taco Bowls (use leftover brown rice) // Spicy Citrus Black Beans
- W –Simple Spaghetti // Side Salad
- T – Southwestern Salad (use leftover beans) // Jalapeno Biscuits
- F – Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers & Onions // Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (x2)
- S – Shepherd’s Pie (use leftover mashed potatoes)

Winter Dinner Ideas: Week 3
- S – Whole Roasted Chicken // Roasted Broccoli // Cloud Dinner Rolls (2x)
- M –Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake // Side Salad
- T – Chicken Salad (serve over leftover rolls) // Homemade Pesto Hummus and Sliced Veggies
- W –Red Lentil Vegetable Soup
- T – Buffalo Chicken Salad // Artisan Bread (2x)
- F – Ground Beef Tacos // Homemade Tortillas // Taco Toppings
- S – Pasta Primavera (use any leftover vegetables and protein)

Winter Dinner Ideas: Week 4
- S – Slow Cooker Pot Roast // Side Salad
- M –Cashew Chicken // Instant Pot Brown Rice
- T – Roasted Vegetable Kale Salad
- W –Mushroom Alfredo Pasta Bake // Side Salad
- T – Instant Pot Tikka Masala (serve over leftover brown rice)
- F – Homemade Hamburger Helper
- S – Easy Minestrone Soup

Most families tend to have good breakfast and lunch routines. But I have a few ideas in case you need to mix it up from your usual. I’m a big fan of batch cooking on the weekend to keep breakfast and lunch easy!
Winter Breakfast Ideas
- Overnight Apple Pie Oatmeal
- Zucchini and Apple Muffins
- Molasses Breakfast Cookies
- Oven Roasted Hash Browns
- Breakfast Sweet Potato Bake
Winter Lunch Ideas
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Homemade Spaghetti-O’s
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Quinoa Crunch Salad
- Sweet Kale Salad
Winter Desserts

30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan
Sign up to get instant access to my 30 Minute Dinners Sample Meal Plan, complete with recipes and step-by-step instructions!For more meal planning ideas, have a look at all of my free meal plans. You’ll find ideas for every kind of meal plan from chicken, beef, slow cooker, no-cook, school lunches, to vegetarian and grilling…and more!
I can’t find the shopping lists that go with the meal plans.
Hi Carol,
When you go to a recipe in the meal plan and scroll to the bottom, you’ll find the ingredient list for shopping. Hope this helps.
That sticky chicken and vegetables looks good! I’m definitely trying that one.
Are the breakfasts and lunches included in the under $400/month budget? Or is that just the dinners listed for under $400/month?
when you make your Carnitas, are you only cooking the portion of meat called for in the recipe and hoping that there is left over, or do you cook a little extra to allow for left over on the meal (pork sandwiches).
Hello Melani,
For this meal plan, you cook the amount of meat that is called for in the recipe and use the leftovers from that meal for your other meal. Hope this helps!