Fall Meal Plan: 7 Cozy Autumn Dinners
The short answer
This fall meal plan leans on warm, slow-cooked comfort food for cooler evenings: slow cooker beef stew, turkey chili, white chicken chili, lentil soup, baked ziti and roasted chicken thighs with potatoes. Several make leftovers for lunches, and the stews and chilis freeze well for later in the season.
- 7 dinners
- About 14 min of prep a night
- 53 items on one grocery list
- 2 meatless
Best for: Anyone ready for soup season.
Puts these dinners on next week's calendar and builds the grocery list. Free account, no credit card.
The week
- MondaySlow Cooker Beef Stew
Tender beef, potatoes and carrots in a rich gravy that's thickened with cornstarch, so it's naturally gluten-free.
8h 20m - TuesdayWeeknight Turkey Chili
A lean, hearty chili with two kinds of beans that comes together in under an hour and tastes even better the next day.
50 min - WednesdaySheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
Crisp-skinned chicken thighs roasted over potatoes and carrots, which soak up the drippings. A Sunday-dinner feel on a Tuesday.
55 min - ThursdaySlow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup
Pantry lentils, carrots and tomatoes turn into a thick, protein-rich vegetarian soup for well under a dollar a serving.
6h 15mVegetarian - FridayEasy Baked Ziti
Pasta, marinara, ricotta and plenty of mozzarella baked until bubbling. Assemble it ahead and bake when you walk in the door.
50 minVegetarian - SaturdaySlow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Chicken, white beans and green chiles in a creamy, mildly spiced broth — high in protein and easy to scale for a crowd.
5h 10m - SundaySheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables
Smoked sausage roasted with potatoes, green beans and onion. Fully cooked sausage keeps this fast, cheap and nearly foolproof.
40 min
Grocery list for the week
Every ingredient from all seven recipes, combined and sorted by store aisle. Check your pantry for oils, salt and spices before you shop.
Produce
- 1 1/2 lbbaby potatoes
- 3 cupbaby spinach
- 1bell pepper
- 11carrots
- 2celery stalks
- 2 tbspfresh basil
- 1/4 cupfresh cilantro
- 12 clovesgarlic
- 12 ozgreen beans
- 2lemon
- 1lime
- 1red onion
- 4yellow onion
- 3 lbYukon Gold potatoes
Dairy & Eggs
- 4 ozcream cheese
- 1egg
- 3/4 cupgrated Parmesan cheese
- 15 ozricotta cheese
- 1 cupshredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cupshredded mozzarella cheese
Meat & Poultry
- 2 lbbeef chuck roast
- 8bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 lbboneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lbground turkey
- 14 ozsmoked sausage
Bakery
- 1crusty bread loaf
Grains & Pasta
- 1 lbziti pasta
Canned Goods
- 3 cupbeef broth
- 1 canblack beans
- 2 canscannellini beans
- 4 cupschicken broth
- 1 cancrushed tomatoes
- 1 candiced green chiles
- 1 candiced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cupdried brown lentils
- 1 cankidney beans
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 6 cupsvegetable broth
Condiments & Sauces
- 1 jarmarinara sauce
- about 3/4 cupolive oil
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
Spices & Seasonings
- 1 tspblack pepper
- 2 tbspchili powder
- 2 tspdried oregano
- 2 tspdried thyme
- 2 tspgarlic powder
- 1 2/3 tbspground cumin
- 2 tspItalian seasoning
- 2 1/2 tbspkosher salt
- 2 tspsmoked paprika
Baking
- 2 tbspcornstarch
Frozen
- 1 cupfrozen corn
- 1 cupfrozen peas
Prep ahead
- Brown the stew beef on Sunday night so Monday morning is just loading the slow cooker.
- Make the turkey chili on the weekend; it is better on day two.
- Freeze leftover stew or chili flat in bags for a future busy night.
Questions
Which of these dinners freeze well?
The beef stew, turkey chili, white chicken chili, lentil soup and baked ziti all freeze for up to 3 months. Potatoes in the stew can soften a little after freezing.