7-Day Meal Plan: Quick & Healthy Dinners for Summer
Ready in about 30 minutes, the recipes in this meal plan use simple ingredients and easy cooking techniques to create incredibly flavorful, healthy dinners in a flash. With delicious summer ingredients, like plump tomatoes, colorful peppers and fresh, flavorful herbs, these dinners are perfect for a warm summer night. You'll be using the grill quite a bit, which helps to keep your kitchen nice and cool on those hot summer days.
See More: Quick & Easy Summer Dinners
Day 1: Grilled Salmon with Cilantro-Ginger Sauce
Prep time: 25 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes
Grilled Salmon with Cilantro-Ginger Sauce: Ginger, fish sauce and honey combine to create a delicious basting sauce in this easy grilled salmon recipe. Look for Thai red chiles in the produce section of your grocery store, or use a green or red jalapeño instead. Not only is this salmon dish delicious, it also takes just 25 minutes to prepare, making it the ideal centerpiece for a healthy weeknight dinner. Serve with pre-cooked brown rice and Grilled Summer Squash, Onions & Tomatoes to round out the meal.
Day 2: Tomato & Smoked Mozzarella Sandwiches
Prep: 15 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes
Tomato & Smoked Mozzarella Sandwiches: Take a classic combination like fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, add a couple flavor-packed ingredients like olives and sun-dried tomatoes, put it between two pieces of crusty bread and you'll have an easy and satisfying warm-weather dinner. Serve with the Fresh Sweet-Corn Salad to round out the meal. While the tomatoes are soaking for the sandwiches, you can prep the corn dish in a quick 10 minutes.
Day 3: Chicken & Veggie Fajitas
Prep: 25 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes
Chicken & Veggie Fajitas: These versatile skillet chicken fajitas are designed to work with whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. The key is to slice all the veggies to approximately the same size so they cook evenly. Sautéed in a skillet alongside chicken strips and some simple spices, this veg-heavy fajita filling is ready in a quick 7 minutes. Tuck into a tortilla and top with guac, a dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh lime juice and dinner is done.
Day 4: Tomato, Cucumber & White-Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Prep: 25 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes
Tomato, Cucumber & White-Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette: This no-cook bean salad is a delicious way to use summer's best cherry or grape tomatoes and juicy cucumbers for a light veggie-packed dinner. Fresh basil elevates an easy vinaigrette recipe ready in a few minutes that dresses up this simple salad into something extraordinary. Serve with a side of Grilled French Bread topped with thick slices of mozzarella cheese.
Day 5: Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Corn & Basil
Prep: 20 minutes
Ready in: 20 minutes
Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto, Corn & Basil: Store-bought pizza dough is one of the easiest ingredient shortcuts that guarantees a delicious dinner every time. In this easy 20-minute grilled pizza recipe, the dough gets topped with garlic, mozzarella, prosciutto, corn and fresh arugula greens. Thawed frozen corn works in place of fresh; just pat it dry before sprinkling it on the pizza. If you have time to spare, you could let the dough stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to make rolling it out easier.
Day 6: Steak & Pepper Tartines with Arugula Salad
Prep: 30 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes
Steak & Pepper Tartines with Arugula Salad:These open-face, knife-and-fork steak sandwiches are topped with Gruyère cheese to make them reminiscent of a Philly cheesesteak. If you can't find shaved sandwich steak in your grocery store, try slicing a flank steak very thin. Served with a quick arugula salad, this 30-minute dinner is an easy favorite you're sure to love.
Day 7: Greek Turkey Burgers with Spinach, Feta & Tzatziki
Prep: 30 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes
Greek Turkey Burgers with Spinach, Feta & Tzatziki: Creamy tzatziki and crisp sliced cucumber add a refreshing twist to this easy Greek-inspired burger recipe loaded with feta, spinach and Mediterranean spices. No tzatziki? No problem! Make your own at home by combining plain Greek yogurt with a squeeze of lemon, dill and finely chopped cucumber. As impressive as these burgers look, it only takes 30 minutes, from start to finish, to get this dinner on the table.
WATCH: How to Make Greek Turkey Burgers with Spinach & Feta