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Your family dinner week · a place to start

Five-Day Meat-Free Family Dinner Plan

Five evenings built around vegetables, beans and pasta, with a different finish each night. Roast a mushroom tray, simmer chili, make pesto macaroni, fill shells and toast quesadillas. Choose the days that give the oven and the more hands-on meals a comfortable place in the week.

5 dinners · Household of 4 · Dinner only · 0 planned sides

One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner — serving inspiration
Illustrative serving idea.

Five meat-free dinners for four, with varied cooking formats and clear dairy ingredients.

Dinner quantities and the combined grocery list are set for 4 people.

Review calendar dates, portions and pantry items before confirming.

Estimating…
Estimating…

5 dinners · 4 people per dinner

Your dinner schedule

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

  1. Day01

    Mushroom and potato traybake

    Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

    • Scaled for 4
    • Prep 15 min
    • Cook 45 min
    • Total 60 min
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes
    • 2 tablespoons Olive oil · Divided.
    • 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
    • 1/4 tsp Salt
    • 1/2 tsp Black pepper · Freshly cracked; divided.
    • 4 each Portobello mushrooms · Four large caps; wipe clean and remove gills.
    • 3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons Brown sugar
    • 1 tbsp Soy sauce
    • 2 cloves Garlic · Minced.
    • 1/4 tsp Dried thyme
    • 1 bunch Asparagus · Chopped.
    • 3 oz Grape tomatoes
    • 1/2 each Lemon
    Full recipe & method
  2. Day02

    Bean chili with cheddar

    Dice onion and pepper.

    Weeknight bean chili — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Weeknight bean chili

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 30 oz Black beans
    • 28 oz Canned tomatoes
    • 1 each Onion
    • 1 each Bell pepper
    • 1/2 cup Cheddar
    Full recipe & method
  3. Day03

    Creamy pesto macaroni

    Thaw the spinach in the microwave, squeeze out the excess water, and set it aside.

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

    • Scaled for 4
    • Prep 15 min
    • Cook 15 min
    • Total 30 min
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 1/3 cups Uncooked macaroni
    • 1 1/3 tablespoons Butter
    • 1 1/3 tablespoons All-purpose flour
    • 1 1/3 cups Whole milk
    • 1/3 cup Grated Parmesan
    • 2 2/3 tablespoons Basil pesto
    • 1/3 tsp Salt
    • To taste Freshly cracked pepper
    • 5 1/3 oz Frozen spinach · Original: 1/2 lb for six servings. Scaled exactly to four servings: 8 oz × 4/6 = 5 1/3 oz.
    Full recipe & method
  4. Day04

    Spinach and cheese shells

    Heat oven to 375°F.

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 12 oz Jumbo pasta shells
    • 15 oz Ricotta
    • 4 cups Spinach
    • 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella
    • 24 oz Marinara sauce
    • 1/4 cup Parmesan
    Full recipe & method
  5. Day05

    Black bean quesadillas

    Drain and rinse beans.

    Black bean quesadillas — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Black bean quesadillas

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 15 oz Black beans
    • 8 each Tortillas
    • 1 cup Cheddar
    • 1 each Bell pepper
    • 1/2 cup Salsa
    Full recipe & method

One list for the schedule

Combined grocery list

Ingredient requirements for all 5 dinners, adjusted to 4 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

  • 8 each Tortillas

    Black bean quesadillas

Dairy & eggs

  • 1.333333 tbsp Butter

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 1.5 cups Cheddar

    2 uses · Weeknight bean chili · Black bean quesadillas

  • 0.333333 cups Grated Parmesan

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 1.5 cups Mozzarella

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 0.25 cups Parmesan

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 15 oz Ricotta

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 1.333333 cups Whole milk

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Frozen

  • 5.333333 oz Frozen spinach

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Pantry & other

  • 1.333333 tbsp All-purpose flour

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 2.666667 tbsp Basil pesto

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 45 oz Black beans

    2 uses · Weeknight bean chili · Black bean quesadillas

  • 0.5 tsp Black pepper

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 1.5 tsp Brown sugar

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 28 oz Canned tomatoes

    Weeknight bean chili

  • 0.25 tsp Dried thyme

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • To taste Freshly cracked pepper

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 0.25 tsp Garlic powder

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 12 oz Jumbo pasta shells

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 24 oz Marinara sauce

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 0.5 cups Salsa

    Black bean quesadillas

  • 0.583333 tsp Salt

    2 uses · One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner · Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

  • 1 tbsp Soy sauce

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 1.333333 cups Uncooked macaroni

    Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Produce

  • 1 bunch Asparagus

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 2 each Bell pepper

    2 uses · Weeknight bean chili · Black bean quesadillas

  • 2 cloves Garlic

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 3 oz Grape tomatoes

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 0.5 each Lemon

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 1 each Onion

    Weeknight bean chili

  • 4 each Portobello mushrooms

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

  • 4 cups Spinach

    Cheese and spinach stuffed shells

  • 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes

    One Pan "Mushroom Steak" Dinner

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

Follow the traybake’s staged additions: potatoes begin first, mushrooms join next, and asparagus and tomatoes go in last.

A little look ahead 2

The chili thickens with mashed beans. Quesadillas use a filling with half the beans mashed before folding.

A little look ahead 3

The pesto sauce comes off the heat before adding Parmesan and pesto. The shells instead bake under sauce and mozzarella.

The grocery overlap to check first

Bell pepper

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

Black beans

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

Cheddar

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

A few details for this menu

Use ingredients across dinners

Black beans, cheddar and bell pepper are shared by chili and quesadillas.

Both pasta dinners use Parmesan and spinach, but macaroni specifies frozen spinach and the shells list spinach prepared by wilting. Keep their listed forms separate.

Make the plan work for you

The pesto-macaroni publisher permits kale or sun-dried tomato pesto instead of basil pesto. Check cheese and pesto labels if you require vegetarian rennet or have other dietary restrictions.

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 4 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.

Keep dairy products refrigerated and follow their package dates; a meat-free menu still contains perishable ingredients.

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

USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety · Budget Bytes: Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Collections featuring recipes from this plan