How to Get Dinner on the Table in the Summer

For most of the year I have a regular routine when it comes to meal planning and getting dinner on the table that it goes something like this:

• I plan our meals and grocery list on Saturday morning
• I go grocery shopping on Sunday morning before the crowds form
• Each evening, I start preparing dinner sometime between 5:45 and 6:15 and dinner is on the table at 6:45

This system works well for me because it spreads out the burden of planning, shopping, and prep throughout the week so it never feels overwhelming.

During the summer, however, our schedules get much more fluid and flexible, which can make planning, shopping, and meal preparation more of a challenge. Sometimes it’s a fun weekend activity that means I can’t get the planning or shopping done. Other times it’s a trip to the pool or a hang out with friends that goes later than expected, which means the dinner prep window gets smaller (although the hungry bellies don’t get any less intense). Sound familiar? If so, I wanted to share how I shift things so that I am able to get dinner on the table in the summer as smoothly as possible.

A Looser Plan

When I sit down to make a meal plan for the week in the summer I still look at our schedule for the upcoming week to figure out what days might require planning around an evening meeting or event, but I don’t lock things in as concretely as I do during the school year.

For example, normally, I might put down a specific main dish and set of side dishes to go with it, such as “spaghetti and meatballs and a green salad with cucumbers and tomatoes,” but this week one of my days had the plan: “pasta and salad.” This was because I wasn’t sure what kind of pasta sauce I was going to have time to make that evening, so I left it more open. As it turned out, I had very little time to get dinner on the table, so instead of a richer, more time consuming sauce, I went for a quick skillet sauce that I could make in the time it took to cook the pasta. In addition, I put so many vegetables into the sauce that it turned into a one dish dinner because veggies were more than covered in the sauce, saving that salad for another night.

Depend on Simpler Meals

When a late arrival home means a later dinner, simple meals can make the difference between a happy family meal and a full on meltdown by tired and hungry kids (or, let’s be honest, adults). So, I’m a big fan of depending on easy meals that are ready as quickly as possible.

Some of my favorites to fall back on in the summer include sandwiches, both cold and hot, and omelets or scrambled eggs. These can be accompanied by salads, vegetable sticks with dip, or even just fresh fruit.

If you want some specific ideas, check out our e-cookbook 10 Meals Ready in 15 Minutes or Less or use our recipe search tool and select Super Scramble Express in the Meal Type drop down menu.

Depend on Delicious Seasonal Produce

One of my favorite tricks to get dinner on the table in the summer is to depend on the amazing flavors of all of the produce that is in season. Here are some fun ideas to help you get started:

• throw together a hearty salad with loads of different fresh vegetables topped with some proteins of choice (e.g., hard-boiled eggs, diced cheese, diced deli meat, leftover grilled meat, canned tuna, chickpeas, or black beans are all great options)
• grill zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and/or corn
• make a gazpacho (cold summer vegetable soup)
• whip up a pesto sauce with fresh herbs and greens to use on pasta, meat, or in grilled cheese sandwiches

I love to use the flavors of summer as a centerpiece for the meal, especially since summer vegetables can usually be cooked so quickly.

Stay Flexible 1

The other day, my friend Jessica Levinson posted on Facebook about a night when she had planned to make a pasta dish for dinner, but her girls had been having so much fun with their friends at the pool, that she decided to let them have more time and let go of her plan completely.

So, instead of the pasta meal, she resorted to a meal made up of odds and ends—some leftover lunch, a fried egg, a quick sandwich, some fruit, etc. As she pointed out, everyone got fed, and everyone was happy.

This is a perfect example to me of how flexibility can help to get dinner on the table in the summer. Sometimes we can get locked into our plans and ideas of what “should” happen, but if we can just live in the moment and enjoy the time in front of us, the meal will come together.

Stay Flexible 2

The other way that flexibility can help to get dinner on the table in the summer is to move your meal plan around. Just because a meal was planned for Monday doesn’t mean it has to happen on that day.

For example, this past week I had planned on roasting a chicken on Sunday night, but our summer afternoon plans shifted and I ended up not having the time. Instead, I made the meal I had planned to make on Friday (homemade pizza) on Sunday and roasted the chicken Monday night.

Later Dinners, Earlier Showers

While bedtime routines can feel sacred to many families, especially when kids are younger, as my kids have gotten older, I have found more flexibility here. So, having later dinners and earlier showers has become an approach that I depend on more and more to get dinner on the table in the summer.

When we get home late, but I still need to make dinner (usually because none of the other options above will work or I have already fallen back on them in a crazy summer week), I will send the boys up to shower while I get dinner ready. This helps to make sure that they can get to bed at a reasonable hour, keeps them distracted from their hungry bellies, and buys me a little time to get dinner on the table.

Use the Slow Cooker or Instant Pot

While we tend to think of the slow cooker and Instant Pot as kitchen tools that are ideal for winter stews and casseroles, they are actually phenomenal in the summer as well. Not only because they buy you more time to enjoy activities outside of the house, but also because they won’t heat up your home on hot days. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Depend on No Cook Meals

No cook meals come together quickly and easily, don’t heat up your house, and often are a great option to bring with you on a picnic, so you don’t even need to be home for dinner. Here are some of our favorite no cook meals.

There is so much to value about summer—the time outside, the longer daylight hours, the adventures we can have with friends and family, and the fact that there is no homework that needs to get done are just a few of the reasons that I love about this season. So, as you soak up those memories, laugh with friends, and take just one more dip, maybe one of these tricks will help you to enjoy that time just a little bit more.

Do you have ways to get dinner on the table in the summer? I’d love to hear about them in the comments! And if you would like more dinnertime inspiration, sign up for a free trial of our online meal planning service to see how simple getting dinner on the table can be!

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