April Dinner Menu Ideas

Use this seasonal April dinner ideas menu as is or as inspiration and a starting point for your own family menus. These recipes are family approved, simple, and all real food.

Not sure why to menu plan? Check out all the great reasons here, plus get a free seasonal menu planning eBook with shopping lists and more here.

April is such a month of hope and looking forward, don't you think?

I can't help but think about the garden lettuce, peas, and spinach we may soon be eating - and then all the other treasures of the coming gardening season.

I swear I can almost taste the fresh tomatoes when I look at my little tomato seedlings! Luckily, because I still have a few jars of canned salsa, rotel-style and regular diced tomatoes, and frozen roasted tomato sauce I can get some of that good flavor in our April dinners.

During this first full month of spring I find myself hovering between lighter fare like shrimp and asparagus and hearty things like soups and stews, which pretty much reflects the changeable weather!

You'll see this played out in the menu ideas below - as always, I've provided side dish ideas where appropriate. I hope this helps you with dinner ideas to plan for the month!

April Dinner Ideas

Week 1

Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast, Garlic-Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, green salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Sausage-Chard Frittata, Easy Artisan Bread, Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Stir-Fry Chicken & Vegetables, rice

Roasted Root Vegetable Hash with Eggs, Bacon & Feta, Orange Almond Green Salad, leftover artisan bread

Cheesy Baked Pasta, green salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Week 2

Creamy Pesto Tortellini with Red Peppers, green salad

Homemade Tomato Soup, Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, cut carrots & red peppers

Sausage and Lentil Stew, salad, leftover dinner rolls

Slow Cooker Spiced Whole Chicken, Baked Tasty Rice, Baked Lemon-Garlic Grated Carrots

Chicken-Pesto Greek Style Homemade Pizza (using leftover chicken)

Week 3

Turkey sausage meatballs, Carrot Salad with Feta & Olives, Rustic Hummus made with Sesame Seeds, Easy Whole Wheat Pita

Slow Cooker Spiced Whole Chicken, Tasty Rice, steamed broccoli

Easy Thai-Style Chicken & Vegetable Curry (made with leftover chicken), brown rice

Baked Ham, Slow Cooker Cheesy-Garlic Scalloped Potatoes, green salad with Creamy Feta Dressing

Delicious Ham-Bone Soup, Skillet Pesto Twist Bread, vegetable platter with Feta Dip

Week 4

Shrimp & Asparagus over White Bean Puree, Sourdough Artisan Bread, green salad

Individual Cheesy-Crust Ham Pies (use leftover ham from last week), spinach, cranberry & feta salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken & Vegetables, slaw, leftover artisan bread

Quick Homemade Pigs in a Blanket, cut carrots & vegetables with ranch dip

Quick Corn & Sausage Chowder, Amazing Whole Wheat Flaky Biscuits, green salad with ranch dressing

Note: Our family menu always have a couple of standards: Saturdays alternate between burgers on homemade buns (or pigs-in-blankets) & fries and homemade pizza; Sundays are mostly on-your-own leftovers (if nothing is available, a quick pasta is made using our frozen roasted tomato sauce or pesto).

If you need more, you can always check out these articles in our archives for lots more on menu planning:

• Menu Planning 101 (dinners)
• 5 steps to frugal menu planning
• Seasonal cooking through the year
• Monthly dinner menus

I hope you enjoy and are able to use some of these favorite family meals of ours. You can follow me on Pinterest for even more simple, seasonal and from scratch dinner ideas!