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25 Quick and Healthy Thursday Night Dinner Ideas
- December 15, 2023
- Last Updated: February 16, 2024
- 0 Comments
- Recipe Roundup
Use these easy Thursday night dinner ideas to use up your groceries, reduce food waste and make it till the weekend. These recipes are ready in 30 minutes or less, and make for fun and healthy Thursday night dinner ideas.
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For whatever reason, Thursday night family dinner ideas can be so challenging. I’m usually at wit’s end from the week, groceries (or what’s left of them) are unpredictable, and energy is low.
Which is why healthy Thursday night dinner ideas are helpful to have – just a list to draw from when I can’t exert any more mental energy.
Or, I resort to my meal prep ebook, which goes back to the basics. Just having a reminder and things printed out for you for easy dinner ideas is so helpful!
I’ve even talked about how to make Wednesday night dinners easy (something about mid-week is when motivation starts to wane), so I figured a post about quick Thursday night dinner ideas would be just as helpful.
Why are Thursday Night Dinner Ideas so Challenging?
Here are my guesses as to why we all need quick Thursday evening dinner ideas. Chime in if you have anything to add!
- Your groceries may be running low or expiring (veggies going bad? How OLD are those leftovers?!)
- You are a day away from the weekend, so you may be forecasting for the weekend but not thinking about a Thursday night meal idea.
- Busy weeknights take a toll.
- You’re exhausted and can’t think about cooking something extravagant from scratch.
- You just feel tired of what you’ve been eating all week and want something different, but see above: no energy.
- You may not have any leftovers “left over” from your week.
- Kids activities taking up your time and energy.
- You have picky eaters at the table – and you’re sick of making specific meals for them or having them not touch what you eat.
I’m sure there are plenty more, too!
Tips for Thursday Night Family Dinner Ideas
I’m the biggest fan of family dinner ideas, but when I’m struggling with putting together some Thursday night family dinner ideas, this is what I always come back to.
These easy Thursday night meals have minimal ingredients and a quick cooking time. We often resort to vegetarian meals and quick vegan meals (30 minutes) too since cooking meat is usually the most time consuming.
We even keep our kitchen stocked with fridge and freezer options from Thrive Market to just reheat, and we hit up Wegman’s hot bar when we need to.
Here are some of my best tips to pull together a healthy Thursday night dinner.
- Choose recipes that have 6 or less ingredients. We don’t want to spend tons of time in the kitchen or buy anything new. Ideally, these ingredients are pantry staples or can be found in our fridge or freezer. No weird ingredients!
- Make sure to utilize some tips for meal prep ideas for the family (lots in this meal prep ebook!)
- Recipes that take 20 minutes or less. Again, easy and things we can make with minimal brain power.
- Less pots and pans to cook with, and less bowls to dirty. Sheet pan suppers come in handy here!
- Throw things together. This is where stir fries, hashes and bowls come in handy to reduce food waste and use up fruits and veggies on their way out.
- Breakfast for dinner is always super easy and quick.
- Enlist the help of helper electronics, like an instant pot, crockpot or air fryer. They get a lot of use in our kitchen! This instant pot tortellini soup is the best weeknight meal, and makes easy leftovers!
- If you have leftovers, like rice or sweetpotatoes, try using them in this butter chicken rice recipe.
- Utilize those canned goods and products – Canned tomatoes and canned beans are great ways to start any meal, like chili, or grain bowls.
- Keep some Butcher Box chicken thighs or ground beef on hand – these are easy meal starters and you can cook double to freeze for later.
- Boil pasta – the easiest simple dish – add tomato sauce or parmesan cheese. You can pair with these baked bison meatballs!
And of course, there’s nothing wrong with relying on meal delivery services too!
The goal is to feed yourself adequately (which means carbs, fat and protein!) so you can move on with your night, whether it’s activities, putting the kids to bed, or just feeding yourself with an enjoyable glass of wine.
This is everything we practice with our performance plates, to make balanced meals.
If some of these recipes are missing a component, think about easy ways to add that in.
- For example, my favorite ways to add a carb are microwaving a sweetpotato (takes just 5-6 minutes), using a microwave pack of rice, or adding a tortilla or toast.
- Easy ways to add protein include canned beans, rotisserie chicken, deli meat, or chicken sausage, which cooks quickly.
- Fats are the easiest to add because you can add olive oil, olives, avocado or cheese to something, plus it makes it more satisfying.
- Here are 55 ideas for healthy sides for chicken tenders, which work as a side for other things, too!
Thursday Night Dinner Ideas
These easy dinner ideas for Thursday night will help make dinner more seamless and easy, so you can get to the weekend quicker!
This Italian Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan Meal is as easy as chicken sheet pan meals can be. Sheet pan chicken sausage and vegetables is healthy, quick, and requires minimal prep and clean up.
Cider glazed chicken breasts are an easy weeknight dinner. Ready in under20 minutes with just three ingredients. Pair with microwaved rice or a quick cooking grain or throw on a tortilla!
This kale and broccoli salad blends the sweet flavors of cranberries, tartness of lemon and savory flavors of vegetables, topped with fresh wild Alaskan sockeye salmon and a honey lemon dressing.
This is the best Bruschetta Chicken Sandwich. It's ready in under 20 minutes, and blends flavors of basil, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and balsamic in a juicy and delicious sandwich.
This kale meatball soup is an easy family meal that's nutritious and delicious. Use any leftover meatballs from the week!
This easy braised cabbage recipe is a quick meal for any weeknight! With a couple fresh ingredients, pantry staples, and canned beans, you can have a balanced meal in no time
This turkey taco quinoa skillet is an easy, delicious weeknight meal that comes together quickly. Made with cheese, quinoa, ground turkey, black beans, veggies, this cheesy taco skillet will be a new favorite!
If you're not a mayo fan, you'll love this recipe for Tuna Pasta Salad Without Mayo. It's quick, easy and nourishing, and great for the family. This recipe blends creamy hummus with olives, peppers, feta cheese and tuna.
Honey Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli Sheet Pan meal is the perfect quick and easy meal for those busy nights. With minimal prep and clean up, it's ready in under 30 minutes, served with a delicious honey ginger shrimp sauce.
This Spaghetti Carbonara recipe is creamy, luscious, and bursting with flavor. Super easy weeknight dinner lifesaver, using only one pot and on the table in 20 minutes!
These zucchini salmon fritters can be made in less than 20 minutes and are high in protein and healthy fats!
This easy chicken and veggie egg noodle stir fry is a pantry-friendly recipe and comes together in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. It's great for a weeknight, kid-friendly, or post workout meal!
This easy Air Fryer Brats recipe shows you exactly how to cook bratwurst in the air fryer quickly and easily in just 15 minutes! Whip them up on a busy weeknight to enjoy with peppers, onions, and sauerkraut or on hot dog buns.
This easy hack for homemade chicken soup gives you a hot family meal in just 15 minutes!
This easy Garlic Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin recipe shows you how to make a deliciously tender and sweet pork dish right in your skillet. Add all ingredients to a skillet and cook until flavorful for an easy dinner that is ready in just 20 minutes!
Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas with bell peppers, onion and fajita seasoning is an easy weeknight dinner packed with tons of flavor and only 15 minutes cook time.
You’ll love this cheesy gnocchi bake! 4 ingredients and 10 minutes prep time make this one-pot dish a great weeknight meal.
This white bean skillet recipe boasts a combination of white beans, tomatoes, veggies and pizza spices giving it a true flavor like its name, Pizza Beans! Ready in 10 minutes and served with a crusty bread.
This Sweet Potato Kale Hash recipe is an easy way to use any veggies you have on hand before they go bad. Mix with chopped potatoes, greens and a can of black beans for a 20 minute recipe.
These Teriyaki Pineapple Salmon Patties are an easy, flavorful weeknight dinner recipe ready in 15 minutes and full of healthy fats, protein and flavor. EJust mix canned or packed seafood with a few spices for great meal prep dinners and leftovers, too!
These easy ground turkey sweet potato burgers come together in 15 minutes and use microwaved sweet potatoes, ground turkey, and a few spices. Quick and delicious!
These sweet potato and zucchini fritters are atasty, vegetarian meal that adults and kids will love! Made with shreddedzucchini, sweet potato, chickpea flour, eggs and cheese, this easy zucchinisweet potato recipe will become a family favorite.
Instant Pot Tortellini Soup is a weeknight staple, full of healthy and nourishing ingredients to fill you up and keep you warm. A great family-friendly winter meal!
Air Fryer turkey burgers are juicy, quick and tasty. Make these to perfection every time!
Don't discount these air fryer pizza bites! Made with pepperoni, peppers, crescent rolls and cheese, these air fryer pizza crescent rolls are a family-friendly, easy and quick meal.
Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken Tenders are a family favorite, and great alongside your favorite dip and grains. Ready in about 20 minutes, they're a weeknight staple, made with only a handful of ingredients!
This Mediterranean Vegan Cold Pasta Salad is a creamy, colorful plant based pasta recipe. Swap out your typical pasta salad recipe for this healthy, roasted vegetable pasta salad.
I hope these Thursday night dinner recipes provide some inspiration for your Thursday night slump!
Sarah Schlichter is a Registered Dietitian with a Master’s in Public Health Nutrition. As a mom of 3, she specializes in family nutrition, sports nutrition and intuitive eating. She also co-hosts the podcast, Managing Mealtime Madness. Learn More About Sarah
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