Quick and Easy Monthly Menu for October
October is finally here! This quick and easy monthly menu for October is a guide to help with planning weeknight meals so you can enjoy this wonderful month.
This menu is intended to help you get your weeks planned for easier weeknights. Most of these weeknight dinner ideas are 30-minute meals (or less). Enjoy!
What is a Monthly Meal Plan?
Here is the monthly meal plan and recipes for the month of October. This menu plan includes main dish recipes for easy dinners with a few mentions of side dishes for the entire month. Â
I do my menu planning for weeknights only, and Friday nights are usually something quick and easy. All you need to do is add in the sides, and you are set. I hope this guide is helpful for you and your whole family.
I also send out reminders of the weekly menus each Monday in my weekly newsletter. If you would like to receive these reminders, along with other recipes and information, please join here.
Menu Tips
Tips for Using This Monthly Menu:
- Print or take a photo of the meal plan and keep it visible.
- It is a great idea to keep certain staples on hand (baking items, seasonings, etc.)
- Buy in bulk when possible.
- Look at the monthly meal plan and make a grocery list of all items you can get in advance. If possible, buy all of these items once instead of making multiple grocery trips. (Grocery Delivery is wonderful too!)
- It is a good idea to keep a master list of the main grocery items you use on a regular basis. Having a ready made grocery shopping list can save you time, and help you remember items you need to purchase.
- Set aside time at the beginning of the month for meal prep, to prepare food (cut vegetables, divide bulk items and freeze when necessary, etc.)
- Look at your weekly meal plan over the weekend, and write out your weekly shopping lists so you can make one trip to the grocery store or farmers markets to get fresh produce and other items you will need.
- Remember that this is just a guide with recipe ideas – use what you want and skip the rest.
Monthly Menu for October
This full month of ideas includes some of our favorite meals. Enjoy these delicious recipes!
| Date | Meal | Information or Link |
|---|---|---|
| 10/1 | Turkey Goulash | Ground Turkey, Macaroni, Rotel, and Tomato Sauce |
| 2 | Pork Loin w/Vegetables | Make extra pork loin for the Frito pie on Friday. |
| 3 | Cilantro Chicken | Link to the Recipe |
| 4 | BBQ Frito Pie | Fritos, Ranch Style Beans, Shredded Pork Loin, BBQ Sauce |
| 5 | Weekend | |
| 6 | Weekend | |
| 7 | Breakfast for Dinner | |
| 8 | Pan Fried Tilapia | |
| 9 | White Bean Chicken Chili | Link to the Recipe |
| 10 | Beef Tips & Rice | |
| 11 | Frozen Raviolis | |
| 12 | Weekend | |
| 13 | Weekend | |
| 14 | Red Beans & Hot Links | This Cornbread Recipe is the best! |
| 15 | Fajitas | |
| 16 | Chicken Pot Pie | Link to the Recipe |
| 17 | Taco Salad | Use leftover fajita meat if you have it. |
| 18 | Turkey Sloppy Joes | |
| 19 | Weekend | |
| 20 | Weekend | |
| 21 | Shrimp Scampi | Link to the Recipe |
| 22 | Pork Chops in the Crock Pot | |
| 23 | Tostadas | Prepare extra taco meat for the nachos on Friday. |
| 24 | Tortellini Soup | Link to the Recipe |
| 25 | Nachos | |
| 26 | Weekend | |
| 27 | Weekend | |
| 28 | Baked Salmon | Make extra salmon for the salmon bowls on Wednesday. |
| 29 | Chicken Spaghetti | |
| 30 | Salmon Bowl | |
| 31 | Chili | |
| 11/1 | Chili Cheese Tater Tots | Use chili from last night. |
Favorite Cooking Products for These Meals
This is my new favorite item. It is actually not new, but I found a new use for it.
One of my biggest issues is freezing meat and forgetting to take it out of the freezer in time to cook it. That happened here, but this meat chopper (I call masher), did the trick! Just the edges had thawed when I put it in the skillet. This tool chopped it up so it could cook. LOVE IT!!!
Click here for the link to this cooking miracle utensil. 😂
The links in brown will take you directly to the item.
Here are some of my other favorite items to use in the kitchen:
There are such a wide variety of meals and ideas on Pinterest. I have found so many wonderful new recipes this way and have pinned many of them on Pinterest boards. If you are looking for other ideas, here is a link to my:
Main Meals Board
Side Dishes Board
I hope you enjoy these recipes in the monthly menu for October, and that they help you save precious time each night. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
If you have other quick and easy meals that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.
Related Post
Here is one of my favorite pumpkin desserts – Pumpkin Delight Cobbler. Enjoy October!
Until next month…
disclosure: Amazon affiliate advertising program (affiliate links) are used on this page. Thank you for supporting Home with Grace and Joy. When you purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure and privacy policy on the website.
“Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.” Genesis 9:3
I always enjoy looking at your monthly menus, Susan. they introduce me to new recipes and ideas which as a picky eater I definitely need. Big hugs, CoCo
Thank you CoCo. Have a great month of cooking!