September is a busy month for families with children going back to school. With a packed schedule, it can be difficult to keep up with planning dinners every night. That’s why I’ve put together some September dinner ideas to help make monthly meal planning a little easier.
Never tried once a month meal planning before? It’s really not difficult, and I have a post that teaches you exactly how to plan a monthly menu that works for YOU.
Whether you’re looking for quick and easy back to school dinner ideas or something a little more elaborate for slower weekend nights and fall Sunday dinner ideas, I’m sure you’ll find meals on this list that will fit the bill. So don’t let the September rush get the best of you; plan ahead and make your September dining and cooking so much easier.
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Okay, I cannot believe September is already upon us! Did it sneak up on you too?
With my younger son heading back to school and me back to working at my part-time job, there is no way I can go into September without a solid menu plan in place for the month.
There are many nights where deciding what to make for dinner feels like the last thing on my to-do list. I simply don’t have time to think about meal planning every day, so I need to have a master dinner list for the month and it needs to be EASY.
Know what I mean?
So that’s what I have for you this month — a simple September menu plan. Most of these dinners require little prep and don’t dirty too many dishes.
I plan a lot of easy meals, lazy dinners, dump & forget crockpot recipes for fall meal ideas, and also grilled foods for late summer dinner ideas since this hot summer just keeps on going.
September Dinner Ideas Monthly Meal Plan
Although there are 30 dinner ideas on this list to cover the entire month of September, sometimes we’ll make a favorite recipe more than once. In our own family meal plan, I also tend to leave a few open nights for leftovers and restaurant dinners.
Most of these dinners do not have a side dish listed. This is because it’s either an all-in-one dish, or my plan is to serve raw or grilled vegetables with the main course.
1. Grilled BBQ chicken leg quarters — This set of grilling tongs and turner is my husband’s current favorite. He says the tongs have a better grip than some of the more expensive brands we’ve tried in the past.
2. Grilled cheeseburgers
3. Grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs — This is our go-to for fast and delicious; grill plenty of veggies as a side dish.
4. Grilled bratwurst
5. Lexington Grilled Chicken — We ended up making this twice in August, great recipe!
6. Outdoor fish fry, homemade onion rings, sweet potato fries — My husband loves this shaker for doing fish.
7. Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole
8. Cajun Chicken Pasta Casserole — This is super-easy if you prep the chicken ahead of time (think simple weekend food prep) and buy pre-cooked andouille sausage.
9. One-pan roasted smoked sausage, chicken & potatoes
11. Smothered Baked Chicken Burritos — Be sure to use her Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken recipe and add these crockpot “refried” beans
12. Tostadas (or tacos or quesadillas)
13. Nachos
14. Smothered boneless skinless chicken breasts
15. Easy Chicken Parmesan Bake
16. One Pot Spaghetti with Sausage Sauce
17. Paula’s Smoked Boston Butt Roast — This makes a great fall Sunday dinner since it cooks in the oven for quite a while.
18. *crockpot meal* General Tso’s Chicken, fried rice
19. *crockpot meal* Slow Cooker Lasagna
20. *crockpot meal* Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
21. *crockpot meal* Cowboy Casserole
22. *crockpot meal* Crockpot Sausage & Potatoes
23. *crockpot meal* Hobo Dinner in the Slow Cooker
24. *crockpot meal* 3 Ingredient Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
25. Cheesy Ground Beef Pasta — I’m pretty sure that I’ll add extra cheese 😉
27. Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers
28. Homemade Chicken and Dumplings
30. Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Frequently Asked Questions About a Monthly Meal Plan
How do I decide which dinner to make each night?
Just having this month of dinner ideas list eliminates so much decision fatigue. Depending on our schedules, I’ll usually finalize a plan on the weekend. But I’m pretty flexible. As long as there are ingredients in the fridge, we can always shift things around.
✳️ TIP: I use these plastic sheet pan lids as trays in the fridge for thawing meat. I actually have a few of them, because they’re also great for covering sheet pans to store leftovers, desserts, etc. They’ve been through hundreds of cycles in my dishwasher and still work as well as the day I bought them. It’s a lot easier to actually make dinners when you have the food thawed and ready to cook!
How do I make meal planning easy?
First, check out my collection of monthly menu ideas for plenty of ideas.
Next, get the meal planning printables collection. These are the planning and shopping printables I use every month and every week to keep everything organized and EASY.
What does my family eat besides dinner?
Breakfast – Not much. Sometimes I will make a big pot of rolled oats or my husband will make eggs and bacon on the weekend, maybe once or twice a month.
Once in a great while, my son will eat a banana while he’s waiting for the bus. Breakfast just isn’t our thing.
Lunch – Leftovers, pb&j, lunchmeat sandwiches or wraps, crackers & cheese.
Snacks – Fruit, crackers, nuts, tortilla chips.
I usually don’t make desserts. If we’re REALLY craving something, I’ll make rice krispie treats or some chocolate pudding to use up milk.
More Meal Planning Inspiration
How to Grocery Shop for a Month
Hearty Fall Dinner Ideas: 62 Recipes For Savory Meals Without Chicken
October Menu Plan – A Month Of Cool Weather Dinners
February Dinner Ideas For A Month Of Tasty Meals
Concluding Thoughts On Planning Dinners For September
By planning ahead and making use of quick and easy recipes, you can eliminate so much daily stress. Plus, you can enjoy home-cooked meals without spending hours in the kitchen.
So, get inspired by some of these September recipes and monthly meal planning tips and start planning your meals for the month ahead. You’ll be glad you did when dinnertime comes around and you’re not scrambling to figure out what to make.
You’ve got this!
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This post was updated August 24, 2025.
Hi Julie
Quite an interesting idea you have of meal planning! I may have to steal some of your ideas as I’m in England and also go back to work next week ( tomorrow is my last hurrah!)
What’s number 4 on your list? Sounds an interesting name but I’ve not heard of it before.
Thanks for sharing
Hi Jo & Leisa! Bratwurst is sausage. More flavor than hot dogs. 😉
Hi Julie,
Great to see you at Blogger’s Pit Stop last week. It’s nice of you to give out free printables.
Thank you for bringing your post to Blogger’s Pit Stop last week.
Janice, Pit Stop Crew
This is such a great plan – and a lot of info to help people do their own planning. Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up!
Hi Helen! Thanks for visiting! Everyone needs to just make it easy some months, know what I mean? 🙂
Of all the recipes you have share the Chicken Parm jumps out at me, looks delicious! Thank you for sharing on Oh My Heartsie Girls’ #omhgww we love seeing such great ideas and inspiration!!
I hope you have a lovely week and will see you again next week.
So many good dinner ideas here–thank you for this very timely list!
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!