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Your family dinner week · a place to start

Five-Day Sandwich Dinner Plan with Planned Sides

A sandwich week can still have plenty of variety. Alternate crispy chicken, deli subs, Caesar wraps, hot meatball subs and pulled-pork buns, with the planned sides already counted. Keep the longer pork preparation for a day that suits it, and use the assembly dinners where they help most.

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

Crispy chicken sandwiches — serving inspiration
Illustrative serving idea.

Five sandwich-based dinners for four with explicit sides and consolidated shopping quantities.

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

    Crispy chicken and garden salad

    Bake or air-fry breaded chicken patties according to their package directions; verify chicken reaches 165°F.

    Crispy chicken sandwiches — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Crispy chicken sandwiches

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 4 each Breaded chicken patties
    • 4 each Sandwich buns
    • 1/2 head Lettuce
    • 1 1/2 each Tomato
    • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
    • 8 slices Pickles
    Full recipe & method
    Garden salad — serving inspiration

    Side dish

    Garden salad

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1/2 head Lettuce
    • 1 1/2 each Tomato
    • 1/2 each Cucumber
    • 1/2 each Onion
    • 1/2 cup Salad dressing
    Full recipe & method
  2. Day02

    Deli subs and potato salad

    Wash lettuce and tomato.

    Sub sandwiches — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Sub sandwiches

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 4 each Sub rolls
    • 1 lb Deli meat
    • 4 slices Pepper jack cheese
    • 4 slices American cheese
    • 1/2 head Lettuce
    • 1 1/2 each Tomato
    • 1/2 each Onion
    • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
    • 1/4 cup Mustard
    Full recipe & method
    Deli potato salad — serving inspiration

    Side dish

    Deli potato salad

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 1/2 lb Deli potato salad
    Full recipe & method
  3. Day03

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

    Meatball subs and macaroni salad

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

    Meatball mozzarella subs — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Meatball mozzarella subs

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 lb Frozen meatballs
    • 1 cup Marinara sauce
    • 1 cup Mozzarella
    • 4 each Sub rolls
    • 1/2 head Lettuce
    • 2 each Tomato
    • 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
    Full recipe & method
    Deli macaroni salad — serving inspiration

    Side dish

    Deli macaroni salad

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 1/2 lb Deli macaroni salad
    Full recipe & method
  5. Day05

    Pulled-pork buns and coleslaw

    Place sliced onion in a slow cooker.

    Slow cooker pulled pork — serving inspiration

    Main dinner

    Slow cooker pulled pork

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 2 lb Pork shoulder
    • 1 each Onion
    • 1 cup BBQ sauce
    • 2 teaspoons Paprika
    • 1 tsp Garlic powder
    • 4 each Sandwich buns
    Full recipe & method
    Deli coleslaw — serving inspiration

    Side dish

    Deli coleslaw

    • Scaled for 4
    Ingredients for 4 people
    • 1 1/2 lb Deli coleslaw
    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 Sandwich buns

    2 uses · Crispy chicken sandwiches · Slow cooker pulled pork

  • 8 each Sub rolls

    2 uses · Sub sandwiches · Meatball mozzarella subs

  • 4 each Tortillas

    Chicken Caesar wraps

Dairy & eggs

  • 4 slices American cheese

    Sub sandwiches

  • 1 cup Mozzarella

    Meatball mozzarella subs

  • 0.25 cups Parmesan

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 4 slices Pepper jack cheese

    Sub sandwiches

Frozen

  • 1 lb Frozen meatballs

    Meatball mozzarella subs

Meat & seafood

  • 4 each Breaded chicken patties

    Crispy chicken sandwiches

  • 1 lb Cooked chicken

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 2 lb Pork shoulder

    Slow cooker pulled pork

Pantry & other

  • 1 cup BBQ sauce

    Slow cooker pulled pork

  • 0.25 cups Caesar dressing

    Chicken Caesar wraps

  • 1.5 lb Deli coleslaw

    Deli coleslaw

  • 1.5 lb Deli macaroni salad

    Deli macaroni salad

  • 1 lb Deli meat

    Sub sandwiches

  • 1 tsp Garlic powder

    Slow cooker pulled pork

  • 1 cup Marinara sauce

    Meatball mozzarella subs

  • 1.5 cups Mayonnaise

    4 uses · Crispy chicken sandwiches · Sub sandwiches · Chicken Caesar wraps · Meatball mozzarella subs

  • 0.25 cups Mustard

    Sub sandwiches

  • 2 tsp Paprika

    Slow cooker pulled pork

  • 8 slices Pickles

    Crispy chicken sandwiches

  • 0.5 cups Salad dressing

    Garden salad

Produce

  • 0.5 each Cucumber

    Garden salad

  • 1.5 lb Deli potato salad

    Deli potato salad

  • 2.5 heads Lettuce

    5 uses · Crispy chicken sandwiches · Garden salad · Sub sandwiches · Chicken Caesar wraps · Meatball mozzarella subs

  • 2 each Onion

    3 uses · Garden salad · Sub sandwiches · Slow cooker pulled pork

  • 8.5 each Tomato

    5 uses · Crispy chicken sandwiches · Garden salad · Sub sandwiches · Chicken Caesar wraps · Meatball mozzarella subs

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

Cook the chicken patties using their package directions and the recipe’s temperature check before sandwich assembly.

A little look ahead 2

The Caesar wraps begin with cooked chicken. They do not include a method for cooking raw chicken.

A little look ahead 3

Prepared potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw are purchased sides in these records; their ingredient quantities refer to finished salads.

A little look ahead 4

Schedule pulled pork on a day that fits 8–10 hours on low or 5–6 hours on high.

The grocery overlap to check first

Lettuce

Used on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Mayonnaise

Used on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4. Check the amounts for those dinners together before buying more.

Tomato

Used on day 1, day 2, day 3, 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.

Sandwich buns

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

Sub rolls

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

A few details for this menu

Use ingredients across dinners

Lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise recur across four sandwich dinners; the garden salad adds its own lettuce and tomato quantities.

Sub rolls are used twice and sandwich buns twice. They stay separate from the tortillas used for wraps.

These are newly prepared dinners on each scheduled day; no cooked filling is automatically carried over or counted twice.

Make the plan work for you

The crispy chicken recipe permits baking or air-frying according to the patty package. That changes the appliance choice, not the listed ingredients.

A different dinner recipe needs its own ingredients and instructions; do not exchange raw chicken for the wrap’s cooked chicken without a separate cooking method.

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 deli meat, cooked chicken and prepared salads chilled; follow package dates and buy them for their planned days.

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

USDA FSIS: Refrigeration and Food Safety · USDA FSIS: Chicken from Farm to Table · USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety

Collections featuring recipes from this plan