What to Cook This Week

Weekly Meal Plan: Crispy Chicken, Coconut Shrimp, and an Easy Pantry Pasta

A 5-day meal plan for a family of four, complete with grocery list and prep-ahead tricks.
Spanish frittata in a woodhandled white skillet with a slice on a plate.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi

This week's meal plan is all about simple meals that are truly doable on a weeknight. On Monday you'll set yourself up for success by making crunchy chicken thighs and roasted carrots while also prepping a batch of chicken to eat later in the week. The meals that follow include crispy baked coconut shrimp, a warm chicken salad with potatoes and asparagus (so easy and good), a creamy, fridge-clearing frittata, and a crowd-pleasing pantry pasta.

But first, here's the grocery list:

Pantry

  • 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • Dijon mustard
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour (or substitute all-purpose flour)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Sea salt (or substitute kosher salt)
  • 1 (13-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut aminos (or substitute soy sauce)
  • White or brown rice
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 pound linguine or other long pasta
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • 6 oil-packed anchovy fillets
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
  • Dried oregano
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
  • 6 ounces oil-packed tuna

Produce

  • 1 small bunch thyme
  • 1 pound medium carrots
  • 1 pound green beans
  • 2 pounds baby new potatoes
  • 1 small bunch dill
  • 4 lemons
  • 2 pounds asparagus
  • 1 (10-ounce) container baby arugula or watercress
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 1 head garlic
  • 2 shallots

Dairy

  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
  • 8 large eggs

Butcher's Counter

  • 16 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Seafood

  • 1 pound wild-caught shrimp, preferably cleaned and deveined

Bakery

  • 1 loaf crusty bread (for Friday's dinner; place in freezer at the beginning of the week)

Monday:Crispy Chicken Thighs With Roasted Carrots

Start the week off with an impressive but easy sheet-pan dinner ofpanko-crusted chicken thighsseasoned with mustard and thyme and served with roasted carrots. Make the recipe as directed, but take the remaining 8 chicken thighs and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Arrange the chicken skin side up on a second baking sheet and cook until chicken skin is crisp and browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted near bone registers 165°F, about 25-30 minutes. Set aside the extra chicken thighs for Wednesday night's dinner.

Photo by Jennifer Davick

Tuesday:Baked Coconut Shrimp

First things first: get some rice going on the stove or in a rice cooker and preheat the oven to 400°F. Then whisk together the coating for thesecrispy coconut shrimp: coconut flour, shredded coconut, garlic and onion powders, salt, and pepper. Don't have coconut flour and don't care about avoiding gluten? Use all-purpose flour instead. Stir together the liquid coating: a blend of coconut milk andcoconut aminos. (Coconut aminos, a blend of aged coconut sap and sea salt sold in health food stores, can also be swapped out—just use soy sauce instead.) Dip and bread the shrimp and bake until golden brown. (A turn under the broiler at the end will ensure extra crispiness.) Serve with rice and steamed green beans.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

Wednesday:Warm Chicken Salad With Asparagus and Creamy Dill Dressing

Thislovely recipeis a genius way to use up leftover chicken (it can also be made with rotisserie chicken). Double the amount of potatoes and asparagus you steam and set aside half—you'll need them for tomorrow night's frittata. Get those chicken thighs you roasted on Monday night, pull the meat off the bones, and slice or shred it before quickly rewarming in the steamer. Don't skimp on the dilly, creamy dressing—it absolutely makes the dish. Got a picky eater in the family? Each component—chicken, potatoes, asparagus—can be served separately instead of as a composed salad.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi

Thursday:Spanish Frittata With Herby Yogurt, Asparagus, and Potatoes

The beauty ofthis frittatais the ribbon of garlicky yogurt running through it. For best results, follow the instructions and don't completely incorporate the yogurt into the beaten eggs—you want it to be distributed unevenly so you get little bites of creamy flavor with each forkful. Instead of greens, chop the steamed asparagus you set aside last night and add to the frittata. Serve with a simple side salad.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

Friday:Pantry Pasta Puttanesca

It's Friday and you're out of fresh groceries? Doesn't matter! Every single ingredient in thisclassic pasta—like canned tomatoes, capers, olives—is sourced from your pantry. Make sure to use good oil-packed tuna in this dish (here are a few of our favorites)—the water-packed stuff just isn't going to cut it here. Take that loaf of crusty bread out of the freezer and stick it in the oven while the pasta cooks. You'll want it to sop up every last bit of the sauce.