Dinners for a Week at the Lake House

Every summer, since I was born, we spend a week at a lake house in Minnesota. We have perfected the art of the “lake house meal plan”. We’ve learned the one thing you don’t want to do is spend every afternoon stuck in the kitchen. The trick to a relaxed lake house week is to plan your dinners before you ever leave home. You want to keep the meals easy, possibly make ahead friendly (many options below) and a combo of homemade and store bought. That way you can enjoy a coffee on the deck, a whole afternoon on the boat, and a drink on the dock before dinner.

Below you will find my 5 tips for planning lake house dinners, a quick pantry checklist, and 7 nights of menus you can mix and match. 

Jump to:

• 4 Tips for Lake House Dinner Planning 
• Stocking The Lake House Basics
• Lake House Breakfast and Lunch Supplies 
• Lake House Dinner Menus
• Burgers Galore
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4 Tips for Lake House Dinner Planning 

1. Plan ahead, but only for dinner:  Sit down a week or two before your trip to the lake house and assign one menu to each night. Just dinner, keep breakfast and lunch loose and self serve. Stock the basics (see the pantry list below) and let people fend for themselves until dinner. 

2. Make it semi homemade: This is the key to actually enjoying your vacation. Plan on some store bought items wherever it saves you time without sacrificing flavor and quality. A rotisserie chicken, a bagged Caesar salad, frozen meatballs, or a great loaf of bread from a local bakery. The rule is roughly 50/50; half the meal homemade and half from the store. 

3. Use hands-off cooking methods:  The grill, the slow cooker, and the Instant Pot are your three best friends at the lake. Anything you can throw in the slow cooker before the morning boat ride, or onto the grill while you finish your drink on the deck, is a win. Save your one stovetop heavy night for when the weather is rainy or someone actually wants to cook. 

4. Plan a leftover night:  Your last night should ALWAYS be a leftover night. You don’t want to drag a cooler of half eaten food home, and honestly the buffet of everything you ate all week is sometimes the best meal of the trip.

Stocking The Lake House Basics

Pack these items or buy on arrival so you are not running back to town or to the store all week: 

• Salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, non stick spray
• Fresh garlic and onions
• Garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and basil 
• Coffee, creamer, sugar, coffee filters if needed 
• Lemons and limes (if you are cocktail ppl) 
• Mustard, ketchup, mayo
• popcorn, chips, cookies, brownie and/or cake mix
• Foil, parchment, ziploc bags, paper towels 
• Charcoal or propane plus matches if needed
• Disposable foil pans for dinner
• Paper plates!

Lake House Breakfast and Lunch Supplies 

Like I said up top, don’t plan breakfasts and lunches for lake time. Just stock the kitchen with a mix of these and let people figure out their own meals.

Lake House Dinner Menus

On to the main event… the reason you are here reading this article! Below I am giving you 7 nights of dinners for the lake house, including a leftover night. Pick one from each category, make your grocery list and get everything prepped!

Night 1: Grill and BBQ 

• Grilled Burgers: make ahead friendly, prep the burgers and refrigerate or freeze with parchment between the patties. Serve with bakery buns, sliced cheddar, favorite burger toppings, store bought deli potato salad, Green Beans with Bacon, kettle chips, watermelon wedges 

• BBQ Chicken Skewers: make ahead friendly, marinate and skewer the chicken cubes before leaving. Serve with sweet potato fries (frozen), pasta salad, corn on the cob, watermelon wedges 

• Grilled Steak Tacos: make ahead friendly, place in the marinade the night before you go to the lake. Serve with tortillas, Mexican street corn salad, store bought refried beans , Mexican rice, chips and salsa, fresh pineapple 

Night 2: Instant Pot 

• Instant Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches: make ahead friendly, just reheat with the au jus when it’s time for dinner. Serve with sweet potato fries, tortellini pasta salad, fruit salad, and store bought giardiniera

• Instant Pot Pulled Pork: make ahead friendly, just reheat when it’s time for dinner. Serve with buns, pickles, bbq sauce, store bought coleslaw or homemade coleslaw, kettle chips, and corn casserole

• Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage: buttermilk cornbread, store bought cold deli salad (cucumbers and onions), and sliced watermelon

Night 3: Pasta Night 

• Spaghetti with Meat Sauce: make ahead friendly, make the sauce and store in the fridge. However I would make the spaghetti right before dinner. Serve with bagged Caesar salad kit, frozen garlic bread, grated parmesan, garlic green beans, assorted olives

• Lasagna Skillet: bagged Italian salad, easy garlic bread, oven roasted fennel

• Easy Meatball Subs: serve with bagged store bought salad, pasta with pesto or store bought pasta salad, and ambrosia fruit salad 

Night 4: Taco Night 

• Tilapia Fish Tacos: chips and salsa and guacamole, slaw for fish tacos, cilantro rice, favorite fish taco toppings

• Chicken Enchilada Suiza: make ahead friendly, fill and roll the enchiladas then cover and store in the fridge, make the sauce and store separately. Assemble and bake when it’s time for dinner. Serve with cilantro and avocado for topping, store bought black beans, cilantro lime rice, chips and salsa and sliced mango

• Beef Enchilada Casserole: favorite toppings like white onion and avocado, chips and salsa, homemade Mexican rice (or store bought), 15 minute refried beans , pineapple

Night 5: Asian Night  

• Easy Teriyaki Chicken: jasmine rice, oven roasted broccoli, edamame, and Asian marinated cucumbers 

• Grilled Bulgogi Burgers: make ahead friendly, prep the burgers and refrigerate or freeze with parchment between. Serve with sweet potato fries, quick pickled cucumbers, brussels sprouts with dipping sauce 

• Asian Marinated Grilled Salmon: jasmine rice (microwave packets work great), crispy ramen slaw, edamame with salt

• Glazed Asian Meatballs: make ahead friendly, either prep the meatballs and cook when you are at the lake or cook them ahead of time and reheat. Serve with jasmine rice (microwave packets work great), roasted brussels sprouts, cucumber and onion salad

Night 6: Breakfast for Dinner 

• Overnight Ham and Egg Breakfast Casserole: fresh fruit salad, vanilla yogurt, bakery muffins or banana bread, orange juice 

• Pancakes and Bacon: boxed pancake mix or make your own mix, real maple syrup, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh berries 

• Biscuits and Gravy: make ahead friendly, make the gravy and refrigerate, reheat when it’s time for dinner. Serve with scrambled eggs, broccoli bacon salad (prep ahead), fresh fruit

Night 7: Leftover Night 

Save the last night for leftovers. You are not hauling half a casserole home, you do not want to pack up another cooler, and honestly a buffet of everything you ate all week is one of the best meals of the trip. Here are 3 ways to make it feel intentional. 

• Leftover Buffet: set everything out, reheat what needs reheating, add a bagged salad, fresh bread, and chips and salsa to round it out 

• Leftover Remix: turn yesterday’s protein into a new format; grilled chicken becomes quesadillas, pulled pork becomes nachos, leftover pasta gets baked with mozzarella on top

•Charcuterie Plus Leftovers: arrange the odds and ends with cheese, crackers, fruit, olives, pickles, and any leftover proteins into a grazing board 

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