June Dinner Menu Ideas
Use the seasonal June Dinner Menu Ideas below as inspiration and a starting point for your own family menus using simple, whole foods.
Not sure why to menu plan? Check out all the great reasons here!
Are you starting to bring home fresh produce from your gardens, farmer’s markets and u-pick farms yet?
June usually sees us harvesting lots of lettuce, peas, green onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and fruits like strawberries and rhubarb from our garden.
You can see a full list of seasonal fruits and vegetables here for the month of June (for most of the country), but basically June is the beginning of full-on summertime meals! Lots of grilled foods, salads, and finger foods that can be eaten outside.
Of course here in the Pacific Northwest, every day in the summer holds potential for rain (um, usually when you’re trying to plan an outdoor party, lol), but I’m not about to give up our fleeting grilling season, so we’ve been known to grill in the cold and rain.
At least then it feels a little like summer because we’re eating barbecued food! I also still like to use our slow cooker, though it doesn’t get quite as much use as the grill does because, hello, grilled vegetables!
I still like to have a plan for summer days, even if we toss it out the window sometimes to take sandwiches to the lake, because on the days we don’t have anything planned, life is just easier – and the food budget doesn’t take a hit during this season.
My hope is that you find some seasonal dinner menu ideas below to help you plan your bit-looser family’s menu for June!
June Dinner Menus
Week 1
Grilled Italian Sausages with Addictive Tomato Chutney, salad of orzo, peppers, onions & peas w/fetaĀ tossed with a vinaigrette on bed of lettuce
Chicken-Lime Lettuce Wraps (use rotisserie chicken or slow cooked spiced whole chicken), rice
Cranberry Feta Chicken Salad with Chutney Dressing (using remaining chicken), served either in tortillas or lettuce leaves
Italian Sausage Pasta Primavera (one-dish meal)
Week 2
Tuscan White Bean Salad with Tuna over garden lettuce, grilled Easy Artisan Bread with Tomato Bruschetta Topping
Salmon Patties, green salad with carrots, garbanzo beans, onions & feta with Balsamic Vinaigrette, leftover artisan bread
Slow Cooker Chicken with Artichokes, Dried Tomatoes & Olives over noodles, green salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Beef & Vegetable Stir Fry (without the noodle pillows), rice (make extra for tomorrow)
Grilled pork chops with Mediterranean Spice Rub, Parmesan Rice Cakes (made with leftover rice – can be made ahead and reheated on the grill), green salad with leftover vinaigrette
Week 3
Grilled chicken with Tex-Mex Spice Rub, brushed with Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Spicy Cumin Lime Coleslaw, grilled tortillas
Taco salad topped with Healthier American French Dressing, chips & Easy Pico de Gallo or Salsa Cruda
Frittata with garden vegetables (like chard, onions & peas; with or without meat) topped with Addictive Tomato Chutney, sourdough or artisan bread
Greek Style Pasta Salad with Green Beans & Tomatoes, grilled meat of choice
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili, green salad, chips & salsa
Week 4
Grilled sausages, Easy Grilled Vegetables, Grilled Potato Planks with Homemade Ketchup
Cajun Beef on Potatoes, green garden salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Grilled chicken (grill extra for next meal) with homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Spicy Asian Slaw
Grilled chicken pitas (use easy homemade pitas or store-bought) with lettuce & tomato, Carrot Salad with Feta & Olives
Creamy Pesto Pasta with cooked chicken, green salad
June Dessert Ideas
Celebrate the beginning of blueberry season with one (or all!) of these delicious desserts:
- Easy Blueberry Cobbler with Lemon Honey Sauce
- Blueberry Pie Recipe – No Bake & Low Sugar
- Healthy Blueberry Bars Recipe
What about Saturdays & Sundays?
To make meal planning easier, we have two set menus for weekends (I encourage you to think of something like this to make your weekends no-brainer when it comes to meal planning!):
- Saturdays alternate betweenĀ burgers on homemade bunsĀ (orĀ pigs-in-blankets) & fries andĀ homemade pizza, or my favorite Greek-style chicken pizza. Both are served with cut veggies and any dip we have.
- Sundays are what I call “OYO” = on your own. We choose from leftovers or make salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, or simple charcuterie plates and everyone is in charge of it themselves (for the most part).
For more ideas on menu planning, check out these articles:
- Menu Planning 101Ā (5 Steps To An Easy Meal Plan)
- 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!
I saw two things that inspired me to write to you
1. Pesto. We also grow & eat organically, but can’t afford pine nuts for the Pesto. We use walnuts instead & it is a delicious alternative.
2, I saw your easy way to stir natural peanut butter. We don’t buy it anymore. We buy organic dry roasted peanuts, put them in the Cuisinart, turn it on for about 10 – 15 minutes (only fill about midway up the center post depending on how runny, or chunky you like it.
Good for you KT! I tried pesto with walnuts, but the flavor was a bit too strong for me – I find the sunflower seeds more mild. I do a lot from scratch, but time is of essence now and we go through a lot of peanut butter, so buying it done is best for us now (plus, I really do use the oil in Asian cooking – it’s much cheaper this way). Thanks for sharing your wisdom – I know a lot of people really like fresh ground PB. š