Earlier this year, I started a new feature here on Family Food on the Table with my January meal plan and February meal plan followed by meal plans for March, April, May, June, July, August and then the September meal plan, each one giving you an entire month’s worth of recipe ideas for easy, healthy family dinners. I myself love to menu plan and schedule out our meals. It does not feel like a chore at all, and I really do enjoy it. I think it’s the type A scheduler in me coming out in full force. If you’re interested, I’ve got a whole post of my official guide to meal planning, with all my tips and tricks. And previously, I’ve shared a list of 30 easy healthy family dinner ideas that could work for any month of the year. But today, I’m trying to make it easy on YOU by giving you another full month’s worth of ideas for healthy family dinner ideas. This will carry you through the entire month of October. I’ve included the photo of the meal plan here if you want to pin it, but there’s a free printable PDF link at the bottom as well, so you can easily save and print. So let’s dive right in.
October Meal Plan Notes:
Each day has its own recipe idea, complete with sides if needed to make a full meal. (Some things like tacos are more all-inclusive, though you could add sides if you like.) You can make easy swaps to suit your family’s tastes. Use whatever vegetables are your favorite to steam, make mashed potatoes instead of baked potatoes, choose white or brown rice, etc. Customize to your heart’s content. Saturdays are blank. This is intentional and meant to be reserved for either using up any leftovers from the week or ordering dinner in or going out to eat. Cause we all need a break!
Speaking of, you can totally use some cheater substitutions. See how orange chicken is on the menu? You can make it from scratch or buy a frozen version at the store. (Trader Joe’s has one we really love.) Same for mac and cheese. I love my stovetop mac and cheese and it’s ready in about 15 minutes. But I won’t tell if you make yours from a box. No judging here. It’s all about what works for you. Also, the calendar and meal plan are ideas for prompts to get you started. If you also need specific recipes, I’ve got some included below. You can also grab recipes from your own collection, your favorite cookbooks, or from Pinterest or Google. (Many of the recipes below are from my site, but I’ve also included recipes from others.) Oh, and I included these ideas in order from October 1 on the calendar to October 31, with the date listed too, which will hopefully make things easier to find throughout the month.
October Recipes:
1 - Turkey tacos and homemade taco seasoning 2 - One pot harvest chicken skillet 3 - Classic baked mac and cheese 6 - Maple mustard pork tenderloin 7 - Quick and easy vegetarian curry 8 - Fajita chicken pasta 9 - Mexican baked eggs 10 - Salmon and leeks 11 - Cajun chicken pasta 13 - Easy chicken noodle soup 14 - Sausage and kale stuffed spaghetti squash 15 - Kale apple salad with cheddar and pecans 16 - Beef barley soup 17 - Healthy orange chicken 18 - Loaded chicken nachos 20 - Spaghetti dinner 21 - Veggie lovers flatbread pizza 22 - Healthy chicken burrito bowls 23 - Apple and brie stuffed chicken 24 - Sheet pan harvest chicken and vegetables 25 - Microwave baked potatoes or Air Fryer baked potatoes 27 - Slow cooker Mexican chicken stew 28 - Mediterranean orzo salad 29 - Chicken enchiladas 30 - Ranch seasoned pork chops 31 - Southwest turkey chili or vegetarian pumpkin chili OK then, hopefully are you all set now! Last thing, I would really appreciate your feedback. If this monthly meal plan is helpful, please leave me a comment below. Or if there’s things you wish I would change or add or do differently, let me know that, too! I want this to be a useful resource for YOU, so let me know how I can make it even more helpful. I hope you have a wonderful - and delicious - month!
October meal plan PDF
(You can download and print the October calendar from that link, or save this page to come back to. Whatever is easy for you. And if you’re looking to get ahead, here’s the November meal plan.) XO, Kathryn
