Use these dinner ideas in Summer all month long in July! Easy, healthy, fresh meal ideas to feed your family good food all month long. Enjoy meals like Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Soup!
It’s a new month for meals!
I love pulling out my pen, paper and calendar and making up a meal plan. The challenge of balancing what my family loves to eat and staying on track with my frugal grocery budget excites me.
I hope I’m not the only one.
But before I can plan the menu, I need to know what’s going on in our house and on our calendar. It doesn’t make any sense to plan a long involved meal on a night we won’t be home!
That’s one of the initial steps in making a meal plan that works. Because if you don’t start somewhere that makes sense, it’s hard to stick to a meal plan.
With all of that in mind, I bring you a one month meal plan for July. Remember to change it up if you have special plans for the Fourth, vacation, or family visits!
What’s in this one month meal plan
- 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 pork) in another part of a meal (like pork tacos) 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 meat and potatoes people at your table. Having all purpose chicken on hand is a great way to please the meat eaters and keep the budget down!
- This meal plan is what I feed my own family, although I might add a few extra vegetables on the side. If you want a detailed “action plan” of what this looks like in real life – 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 – come join 30 Minute Dinners. Each month I share the behind the scenes on how we make real food on a budget work for my family!
Meal Planning Tips
As you look through the following meal plan, you will see my notes on how I will batch cook and connect the meals. This helps save me time and money in the kitchen!
For example, when I make rice or pasta for one dinner, I will go ahead and make enough for two, three, or even four dinners! If I need it for that week, I’ll just store the extra servings in the fridges. If I don’t need it for another week or two, I’ll freeze it! Use method for freezing pasta so it doesn’t get soggy.
I also try to use similar ingredients within a week so I don’t have to buy as many single use items. This reduces waste and helps us eat up everything in the fridge.
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!
Dinner Ideas in Summer: Week 1
- (S) Grilled Jerk Chicken // Yellow Rice // Pan Seared Broccoli
- (M) Skillet Veggie Pizza Pasta
- (T) Ground Beef Tacos // Homemade Tortillas // Easy Guacamole // Southwestern Corn // Favorite Black Beans
- (W) Chili Cheese Lentils // Yellow Rice
- (T) Southwestern Salad // Man Bread
- (F) Homemade Pizza // Side Salad
- (S) Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup // Man Bread
Meal Plan Notes
- Reserve leftover Jerk Chicken for adding to Southwest Salad.
- Make extra Yellow Rice for serving with Chili Cheese Lentils.
- Make extra tortillas and freeze for later in the month.
- Reserve leftover Favorite Black Beans for adding to Southwest Salad.
- Reserve half the loaf of Man Bread for serving with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.
Dinner Ideas in Summer: Week 2
- (S) Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff – serve over pasta // Steamed Veggies
- (M) Loaded Veggie Quesadillas // Homemade Tortilla
- (T) Mexi-Cheesy Mac – serve over pasta
- (W) BLT Chopped Salad // Dinner Biscuits
- (T) Roasted Tomato Caprese Pasta Salad
- (F) BBQ Beef Sandwiches // Homemade BBQ Sauce // Homemade Buns // Crispy Potato Fries
- (S) Garlic White Bean Soup with Kale // Dinner Biscuits
Meal Plan Notes
- Reserve half of meat from Beef Stroganoff for BBQ Beef Sandwiches. (You can remove the extra beef before adding the stroganoff sauce!)
- Make extra pasta on night one for serving with Mexi-Cheesy Mac.
- If you have extra tortillas in the freezer, use them for Loaded Veggie Quesadillas!
- Make a double batch of Dinner Biscuits for serving with Garlic White Bean Soup.
- Make a double batch of Homemade Buns for serving later in the month.
Dinner Ideas in Summer: Week 3
- (S) Sweet & Sour Chicken // Coconut Rice // Steamed Vegetables
- (M) Spinach and Mushroom Quiche // Artisan Bread
- (T) Chicken Tacos // Homemade Tortillas // Cilantro Lime Coleslaw // Coconut Rice
- (W) Caesar Kale Salad // Homemade Croutons // Marinated Lentils
- (T) One Pot Kale and Feta Pasta // Side Salad
- (F) Sheet Pan Sausage, Peppers, Onions // Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- (S) Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken // Instant Pot White Rice
Meal Plan Notes
- Reserve leftover Sweet and Sour Chicken for Chicken Tacos.
- Make a double batch of Coconut Rice to serve with Chicken Tacos.
- Reserve half the loaf of Artisan Bread to make Homemade Croutons.
- If you still have Homemade Tortillas in the freezer, use them! Or make another double batch and freeze extra for later.
- Make extra Instant Pot White Rice and freeze extra for later.
Dinner Ideas in Summer: Week 4
(S) Slow Cooker Chicken // Sweet Kale Salad // Lemon Butter Asparagus // Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
(M) Marinated Lentil Salad
(T) Chicken Alfredo // Steamed Peas // Side Salad
(W) Baked Potato Bar – top with leftover lentils and your favorite toppings
(T) Cobb Pasta Salad
(F) Best Burgers // Homemade Buns // Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes // Broccoli Salad
(S) Instant Pot Pineapple Curry // Side Salad
Meal Plan Notes
- Reserve extra Slow Cooker Chicken for Chicken Alfredo and Cobb Pasta Salad.
- Make a few extra Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes and use for Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes.
- Reserve leftover Lentil Sloppy Joe filling for topping Baked Potatoes.
- Use extra Hamburger Buns from the freezer or make a batch and use some for Best Burgers.
Breakfast
Most families have a decent routine for breakfast and lunch (even if you don’t realize it!). But I want to give you a few ideas in case you need them.
- Blueberry Oatmeal Bake
- Instant Pot Oatmeal // Fresh Fruit
- Toasted Coconut Banana Sourdough Pancakes
- Strawberry Lemonade Donuts
- Migas
- Breakfast Sausage // Fried Eggs
Lunch
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Homemade Fish Sticks // Steamed Veggies
- Bacon Chicken Caesar Wraps
- Pan Fried Tortellini // Homemade Tomato Sauce
- Spring Vegetable Pasta Salad
Dessert
More Tasty Monthly Meal Plans
Are these printable or would I have to print everything individually?
Hello Kristin,
You can print out the page for the menu and print out the recipes individually. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hello! I am just curious if this meal plan is still $400 for the month even with the recent inflation happening in the grocery store? Also, how much of this meal plan involves organic foods? Like, what items are typically bought organic and which are typically bought conventional?
Thank you for all you do!!
Faith