Dinnertime is a challenge for most families. From picky eaters to just planning a full meal – it can be a challenge!

We all know that dinnertime can be stressful, but there are ways to make it easier and more fun! Dinner time should be a chance to spend quality time with your family, so why not plan a themed dinner?

Themed dinners are the perfect solution-they’re easy, fun and help you get out of the rut of eating the same thing every night. Whether you want to try something new or just add some extra spice into your life, we’ve got tons of great ideas for themed dinners here. From Mexican food themes to Italian cuisine themes-we have what you need! Here are my favorite themed dinner nights and recipes you need to try!

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What is a themed dinner night?

Before we get into specific themed dinner nights, let’s talk about what makes a themed dinner night different from just picking up food or cooking at home.

Themed dinners are when you choose a theme for that night’s menu. It can be as simple as focusing on one particular cuisine during your meal, or as complex as planning a full-out party with themed activities and crafts (this can be really fun for little ones!).

Benefits of themed dinner nights

A themed dinner night is a great way to add some extra fun to your mealtime, and the whole family will love it. Plus, it makes meal planning and shopping easy because you have a plan of what you’re going to make.

Before I started doing themed dinner nights I would get so overwhelmed with recipes and planning the week. Since adding themed dinner nights to my family’s meal plans, it’s made life so much easier because it takes some of the planning out. I used to get so overwhelmed going through recipes and finding what to make but with themed dinner nights, I now have a plan!

How to Plan

The first step to planning a themed meal is picking 7 themes – one for every day of the week. You can keep the same themes every week, or you could mix them up as much as you want.

Picking a theme doesn’t have to be complicated! Some of the themes you could do are ones like leftover night or freezer night, where you can use up your leftovers or cook double so you can freeze half. If you need some theme ideas, scroll to the bottom of this post for 30 of my favorite themes.

Once you have your themes picked out, it’s time to plan the menu! The menu can be as easy or complicated as you want. I’m a busy mom so I like to make things as easy as possible, so I’ll usually stick to only 1-2 recipes to make a week and then the rest are freezer options or quick easy to make kits from the grocery store.

30 Themed Dinner Night Ideas

Here are 30 of our favorite dinner theme nights:

Mexican

Italian

Asian

Vegetarian

Breakfast for Dinner

Sunday Brunch

Mediterranean

Greek/Middle Eastern Dinner Night

Pizza Night

Taco Tuesday

Tortellini Night

Sushi Night

Seafood Night

Burger Night

Sheet Pan Dinner Night

Instant Pot Night

Crock Pot Night

Soup Night

Appetizer Night

Sandwich or Panini Night

Grill Night

Kabob Night

Meatless Night

Casserole (or as we say in Minnesota, Hot Dish) Night

Leftover Night

Salad Night

Stir Fry Night

Pasta Night

Foil Packet Dinner Night

Protein Bowl Night (Make Your Own Buddha Bowls)

Example Schedule and Recipes

Need some inspiration? Here’s my family’s current themed night schedule and some of our favorite recipes:

Sunday: Slow Cooker or Instant Pot

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday: Burger Night

Thursday: Fish Night

Friday: Pizza Night

Turkey Pepperoni “Cupcakes”

Saturday: Sheet Pan Night

Final Thoughts

Themed dinners are a great way to shake up the monotony of your meal planning and to have some extra fun with your family. In addition, it can be a great way to try out different cuisines that you may not normally eat or to use up any leftovers you have from previous meals. While themed dinner nights should be fun and easy, they should also be family-friendly. Make sure that any recipes you choose are ones that your whole family will enjoy!

Happy Eating!

How to Create a Themed Dinner Night Menu

Yield: 1 menu

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Themed dinner nights are a great way to make meal planning for your family easy! Here's an easy guide on how to get started and 30 of my favorite themes

Materials

Paper
Pen

Tools

None

Instructions

Pick 7 themes from the theme list - one for every night of the week!
Plan recipes around each of the theme. To make it easy, you can either do a recipe or a mix of premade options from the grocery store.

Notes

Here are 30 of our favorite theme nights