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Five-Day Chicken Dinner Plan for a Family of Five

Use chicken through the week without giving it the same job every night. There are skillet tacos, oven fajitas, Caesar wraps, rice bowls and a creamy rice skillet. Check which dinners begin with raw chicken and which use cooked chicken before making the shopping list.

5 dinners · Household of 5 · Dinner only · 0 planned sides

Chicken tacos — serving inspiration
Illustrative serving idea.

A five-dinner chicken plan for five people, with quantities that can be adjusted for a different household size.

Dinner quantities and the combined grocery list are set for 5 people.

Review calendar dates, portions and pantry items before confirming.

Estimating…
Estimating…

5 dinners · 5 people per dinner

Your dinner schedule

Move days to suit your week. Each recipe below is portioned for the same household size.

  1. Day01

    Skillet chicken tacos

    Slice chicken, peppers and onion into strips.

    Chicken tacos — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Chicken tacos

    • Scaled for 5
    Ingredients for 5 people
    • 1 1/4 lb Chicken breast
    • 10 each Tortillas
    • 2 1/2 each Bell pepper
    • 1 1/4 each Onion
    • 1 1/4 cups Cheddar
    • 5/8 cup Salsa
    Full recipe & method
  2. Day02

    Sheet-pan fajitas

    Heat oven to 425°F.

    Sheet-pan fajitas — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Sheet-pan fajitas

    • Scaled for 5
    Ingredients for 5 people
    • 1 1/4 lb Chicken breast
    • 10 each Tortillas
    • 3 3/4 each Bell pepper
    • 1 1/4 each Onion
    • 1 1/4 each Lime
    Full recipe & method
  3. Day03

    Cooked-chicken Caesar wraps

    Wash and dry lettuce, slice tomatoes and prepare the bread, rolls or tortillas.

    Chicken Caesar wraps — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Chicken Caesar wraps

    • Scaled for 5
    Ingredients for 5 people
    • 1 1/4 lb Cooked chicken
    • 5/16 cup Caesar dressing
    • 5/16 cup Parmesan
    • 5 each Tortillas
    • 5/8 head Lettuce
    • 2 1/2 each Tomato
    • 5/16 cup Mayonnaise
    Full recipe & method
  4. Day04

    Chicken rice bowls

    Cook rice in water according to its package ratio and time.

    Chicken rice bowls — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Chicken rice bowls

    • Scaled for 5
    Ingredients for 5 people
    • 1 1/4 lb Chicken breast
    • 1 7/8 cups Rice
    • 2 1/2 each Bell pepper
    • 6 1/4 oz Spinach
    • 2 1/2 cloves Garlic
    Full recipe & method
  5. Day05

    Creamy chicken and rice skillet

    Use a deep, oven-safe skillet with a 3-quart capacity.

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

    • Scaled for 5
    • Prep 5 min
    • Cook 45 min
    • Total 50 min
    Ingredients for 5 people
    • 1 1/4 each Onion · Yellow onion, diced.
    • 2 1/2 tablespoons Butter
    • 5/6 lb Chicken breast · Approximately one boneless, skinless chicken breast; cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
    • 1 1/4 cups [uncooked] Rice · Long grain white rice, uncooked.
    • 5/8 tsp Dried thyme
    • 5/16 tsp Dried sage
    • 5/16 tsp Salt
    • To taste Freshly cracked pepper
    • 3 3/4 cups Chicken broth
    • 10 oz [frozen] Peas and carrots · Frozen; do not thaw.
    • 5/12 cup Heavy cream
    • 5 oz Cheddar · Shredded.
    Full recipe & method

One list for the schedule

Combined grocery list

Ingredient requirements for all 5 dinners, adjusted to 5 people per dinner.

Compatible measurements are combined. Different measurement types and amounts that need interpretation stay separate.

Check your pantry before shopping. These are ingredient amounts used by the plan; package sizes and what you already own can change what you need to buy.

Bread & bakery

  • 25 each Tortillas

    3 uses · Chicken tacos · Sheet-pan fajitas · Chicken Caesar wraps

Dairy & eggs

  • 2.5 tbsp Butter

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 1.25 cups + 5 oz Cheddar

    2 uses · Chicken tacos · Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.416667 cups Heavy cream

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.3125 cups Parmesan

    Chicken Caesar wraps

Meat & seafood

  • 4.583333 lb Chicken breast

    4 uses · Chicken tacos · Sheet-pan fajitas · Chicken rice bowls · Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 1.25 lb Cooked chicken

    Chicken Caesar wraps

Pantry & other

  • 0.3125 cups Caesar dressing

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 3.75 cups Chicken broth

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.3125 tsp Dried sage

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.625 tsp Dried thyme

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • To taste Freshly cracked pepper

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.3125 cups Mayonnaise

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 1.875 cups + 1.25 cups [uncooked] Rice

    2 uses · Chicken rice bowls · Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 0.625 cups Salsa

    Chicken tacos

  • 0.3125 tsp Salt

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

Produce

  • 8.75 each Bell pepper

    3 uses · Chicken tacos · Sheet-pan fajitas · Chicken rice bowls

  • 2.5 cloves Garlic

    Chicken rice bowls

  • 0.625 heads Lettuce

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 1.25 each Lime

    Sheet-pan fajitas

  • 3.75 each Onion

    3 uses · Chicken tacos · Sheet-pan fajitas · Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 10 oz [frozen] Peas and carrots

    Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

  • 6.25 oz Spinach

    Chicken rice bowls

  • 2.5 each Tomato

    Chicken Caesar wraps

Review calendar dates, portions and pantry items before confirming.

A little planning before the week begins

Set yourself up for the week

A little look ahead 1

Keep the chicken and vegetables in a single layer for fajitas; the recipe calls for extra pans for larger groups.

A little look ahead 2

Purchase cooked chicken for Caesar wraps or use chicken already safely cooked using a separate suitable recipe. The wrap recipe does not supply a raw-chicken cooking step.

A little look ahead 3

Use package instructions for the rice bowls. The creamy skillet uses long-grain white rice cooked in broth and has its own method.

The grocery overlap to check first

Chicken breast

Used on day 1, day 2, day 4, day 5. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Bell pepper

Used on day 1, day 2, day 4. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Onion

Used on day 1, day 2, day 5. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Tortillas

Used on day 1, day 2, day 3. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Cheddar

Used on day 1, day 5. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Rice

Used on day 4, day 5. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

A few details for this menu

Use ingredients across dinners

Tacos, fajitas and rice bowls share chicken breast and bell pepper. Tacos, fajitas and wraps also use tortillas.

Rice is used in two dinners, but the bowls cook it separately while the creamy skillet cooks it with chicken and broth.

Raw chicken breast and cooked chicken stay as separate shopping ingredients; neither is automatically counted as a leftover from another day.

Make the plan work for you

For the creamy skillet only, the original source allows fresh peas and carrots in place of frozen; add fresh vegetables with the broth as the source directs.

Do not substitute brown rice directly in the creamy skillet. Its instructions use long-grain white rice, and brown rice needs different liquid and cooking time.

A couple of everyday questions

Can I move the dinners around?

Yes. Put the meals on the days that suit your week, and plan purchases or freezing around those dates. Moving the same dinner keeps its ingredient needs; changing the recipe changes the shopping list.

What does this plan cover?

There is one dinner for each of 5 days, planned for 5 people. Any named sides belong to their listed dinners. Add breakfast, lunch and snacks separately; extra leftover portions are not assumed.

If you save a cooked portion

Keep the storage details close.

Raw chicken needs cooking or freezing within 1–2 refrigerated days; buy or thaw it for its scheduled dinner.

Chill cooked leftovers promptly in shallow containers; use within 3–4 days. Reheat cooked leftovers to 165°F.

USDA FSIS: Chicken from Farm to Table · USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety · Budget Bytes: Creamy Chicken and Rice Skillet

Collections featuring recipes from this plan