Coming up with new meal ideas for every night in the week can be exhausting—especially in these shorter, colder days leading into winter. You find yourself leaning toward prepared meals or takeout options for the ease of it, but know that a home-cooked meal made with fresh ingredients is better both in terms of nutrition and also for your budget.
We hear you. Meal planning is hard. That’s why we came up with this convenient 7-Night Winter Meal Plan to help you prep for an entire week’s worth of meals. It includes seven creative dinner recipes along with bonus meal prep tips for future lunch and make-ahead ideas. Plus—at the bottom of this post, you’ll find two printable resources: a Shopping List with everything you’ll need for these seven recipes and a Recipes Printable that you can follow along each day as you prepare your meals.
Enjoy!
Week Overview:
This week is full of meals that are both comforting and convenient—from sliders to salad to soups and stews. Plus, they incorporate your favorite seasonal flavors, like rosemary and sage, to accompany the festive holiday atmosphere.
Here’s a preview of the week’s meals. Click on any day to skip straight to that recipe.
- Day 1: Pull-Apart Roasted Chicken Sliders
- Day 2: Fig and Manchego Salad with Herbed Croutons
- Day 3: Chicken Corn Chowder Bread Bowls
- Day 4: Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup Bake
- Day 5: Classic Beef Stew
- Day 6: Slow Cooker Balsamic Steak Sandwiches
- Day 7: Cauliflower Butter Bean Soup
Note: All recipes are for 4 servings, unless otherwise noted; adjust recipes as needed to fit your family.
Day 1: Pull-Apart Roasted Chicken Sliders
Serves: 8-12
Savory oven-baked sliders with lemony herb mayo, hearty rotisserie chicken, and melty mozzarella cheese. These pull-apart buns using Martin’s Party Potato Rolls let every member of the family select a portion size to suit his or her own appetite. Even with 2-3 sliders per person, you’re sure to have plenty left for future meals.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/holiday-pull-apart-roasted-chicken-sliders
Meal Prep Tips
#1: Pack leftover sliders for tomorrow’s lunch; at 3 sliders per person, there’s enough for everyone to have seconds!
#2: Shred extra rotisserie chicken and store it in a sealed container in the fridge in preparation for Day 3’s dinner.
Day 2: Fig and Manchego Salad with Herbed Croutons
Serves: 4
A simple yet flavorful salad of mixed baby greens, fresh figs, shaved Manchego cheese, homemade honey-dijon vinaigrette, and an accent of garlic-herb triangle croutons made with Martin’s Potato Bread.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/fig-and-manchego-salad-with-herbed-croutons
Meal Prep Tips
#3: Use 8 of the remaining slices of Martin’s Potato Bread, along with leftover greens and some deli meat, to prep sandwiches for the whole family for tomorrow’s lunch. Try these Ham, Apple, & Honey Sandwiches, swapping out the goat cheese for your leftover Manchego, and mixing some chopped rosemary into the honey drizzle to get that flavor tie-in.
#4: Remove your Dinner Potato Rolls from the bag and let sit out overnight or beginning first thing tomorrow morning, to ensure they will be slightly firmer for tomorrow’s dinner.
Day 3: Chicken Corn Chowder Bread Bowls
Serves: 4-6
Comfort food in an edible cup—these mini Dinner Potato Roll bread bowls are filled with a hearty chowder of rotisserie chicken, potatoes, bacon, corn, red bell pepper, onion, and savory chicken broth. You can easily adjust this recipe to suit your family’s needs; save any extra dinner rolls and leftover soup for later on in the week.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/creamy-chicken-corn-chowder-bread-bowls
Meal Prep Tips
#5: At 2 bread bowls per person, you should still have 4 Dinner Potato Rolls left over. Save these for a side dish alongside Day 5’s stew, using this Rosemary-Thyme Dinner Roll Glaze recipe to add a seasonal flavor upgrade.
#6: Pack everyone a half-sandwich on your 4 remaining slices of Potato Bread and a cup of leftover chicken corn chowder for tomorrow’s lunch.
Day 4: Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup Bake
Serves: 6
The classic comfort food combo of tomato soup and grilled cheese is always a good option on a chilly night. This recipe combines both into a delicious cheesy casserole flavored with an infusion of basil. A 13×9” baking dish will make 6 servings, but you can also use one or two 9×9” dish(es) if you’d like to reserve ingredients or have leftovers from the meal.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/grilled-cheese-tomato-soup-bake
Meal Prep Tips
#7: If you increase the above recipe to make 8 servings, you can serve the remaining 4 baked sandwiches for lunch tomorrow, or cube them and pack into mini ramekins as single-serving savory tomato soup bread puddings.
#8: If you decrease the above recipe to make 4 servings, you can use 8 remaining slices of Butter Bread to make plain mozzarella grilled cheeses for tomorrow’s lunch (maybe even with a side of leftover tomato soup mixture for dipping).
Day 5: Classic Beef Stew
Recipe By: The Modern Proper
Serves: 8
There’s nothing like a hearty bowl of beef stew to fill you up on a cold winter’s day. We particularly love this recipe because it also incorporates warm seasonal flavors like cinnamon, cloves, and thyme, along with a hefty helping of meat, potatoes, and an assortment of veggies. We suggest serving up a bowl alongside these Rosemary-Thyme Glazed Dinner Potato Rolls.
Get the recipe: https://themodernproper.com/posts/classic-beef-stew
Meal Prep Tips
#9: Serve the remaining 4 portions of stew in tomorrow’s lunch. Store in insulated thermoses if packing for on-the-go lunches.
#10: Chop up some extra carrots ahead of time to serve with tomorrow’s dinner or future lunches. You can also use the remaining potatoes in Day 7’s soup to cut down on the items on your shopping list.
Day 6: Slow Cooker Balsamic Steak Sandwiches
Serves: 4
With ingredients like sirloin steak, baby portabellas, balsamic vinegar, beef broth, and provolone cheese, this recipe packs a punch of umami flavor (great for lifting those winter blues). Plus—the use of a slow cooker makes this a perfect easy dinner option for busy weeknights; just throw the ingredients together in the morning and be on your way.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/slow-cooker-balsamic-steak-sandwiches
Meal Prep Tips
#11: This recipe should make enough for seconds; reserve the leftover steak and mushrooms for tomorrow’s lunch—served either on Hoagie Rolls, or atop a bed of fresh salad greens with a simple vinaigrette.
#12: Use up the “heels” or remaining slices of your Potato Bread and/or Butter Bread loaves from earlier in the week, to make a half-portion (4 servings) of this decadent Pecan Pie Bread Pudding for dessert.
Day 7: Cauliflower Butter Bean Soup
Serves: 4
You’ll love this creamy and heart-warming soup of cauliflower, potatoes, and butter beans, with an added flavor boost from ingredients like onion, garlic, thyme, vegetable stock, and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve alongside warmed and buttered Martin’s Dinner Potato Rolls or your choice of lightly toasted Martin’s bread or rolls.
Get the recipe: https://potatorolls.com/recipes/cauliflower-butter-bean-soup
Meal Prep Tips
#13: Double this recipe so you can enjoy it again for tomorrow’s lunch or a future dinner.
#14: Looking to start all over with another full week of fresh, new recipes? Check out our Warm and Cozy Dinners blog post for another 7-night meal plan!
Companion Recipes (great for leftovers!):
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| Rosemary Ham, Apple, & Honey Sandwich | Rosemary-Thyme Dinner Roll Glaze | Pecan Pie Bread Pudding |
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