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The Dinner Plan — Arts
The Dinner Plan

Figuring out what to make for dinner can be exhausting. The Dinner Plan helps you start every week with fresh cooking inspiration, thanks to Maggie Hoffman and a roster of top cookbook authors. You’ll get dinner ideas for every season, advice on how to make weeknight meal planning easier, smart budget cooking and grocery shopping tips, and easy dinners to make when you’re short on time and energy. Guests on The Dinner Plan include experts like Molly Baz, Melissa Clark, Justine Doiron, Hetty Lui McKinnon, J. Kenji López-Alt, Hailee Catalano, and more. Guests answer questions like: What store-bought shortcuts make your weeknight dinners more flavorful? How do you meal prep or ingredient prep without getting bored? What weeknight dinner recipes would you text to a friend? Where do you find dinner ideas when you don’t feel like cooking? To get each guest’s cookbook recommendations, plus a free recipe of the week from that guest’s latest book, subscribe to The Dinner Plan newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com—that’s also where you’ll find our list of 99 dinner ideas you didn’t have to think of.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Margaret Hoffman

Latest Episodes:

Grocery Prices Are Wild. The 99% Cooking Club Can Help. Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Steel Russell started The 99% Cooking Club after walking out of the grocery store with a single bag of food that cost $150. He focuses on tips for making easy, cheap meals taste complex and flavorful, and shares recipes for family dinners that stretch your grocery budget. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, we talk through the best budget-friendly ingredients to buy right now, and how to think about meal planning when you're trying to save money.

We’re all in this together, Steel reminds us. "I wanted to be able to show people how to make good food for cheap, but I also wanted to find a way to give people a place that they can come to and not feel isolated," he says. "I think we need to be reminded that, you know, my neighbor is going through the same thing I'm going through right now. On the other side of my house, they're going through the same thing I’m going through right now, but we don’t talk about it."

Steel gets into the backstory that inspires this work. Trigger warning: addiction.

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Check out this week’s sponsors:

Find Ajinomoto at your local grocery store, and stocked in bulk at your nearest Costco.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
MaraBela: Find Marabela Alcohol-Free Sparkling Tea at MaraBelaTea.com
Straus Family Creamery: Find Straus organic ice cream at Whole Foods nationwide or at strausfamilycreamery.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex MacLaren’s 10-Day Grocery Strategy Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

When you ask cookbook author Alex MacLaren how to save money on groceries, her answer is simple: don't go to the store for as long as possible. The author of We Use What We Have is known for making family dinners on a budget, thanks to smart substitutions and a lot of flexibility. Sometimes, you just gotta let things run out. In this episode, Alex explains why she doesn't think about meal plans until after she's already shopped, how she gets her kids to eat leftovers even when they claim to hate leftovers, and how she stretches a small amount of meat into a full meal. If back-to-school dinners are feeling overwhelming for you right now, you'll want to listen for Alex's easy dinner ideas and practical advice for cooking for kids.

Get Alex MacLaren's recipe for honey garlic slow-cooker ribs on our newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com ➡️

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Discounts for you from this week's sponsors:

Dirty Labs: Use code THEDINNERPLAN to get 15% off your first order at DirtyLabs.com.
Michele's Granola: Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off your order at MichelesGranola.com
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Find CookShelf on iOS and Android, and use the code DINNERPLAN for 25% off your first year.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pierce Abernathy’s Peak Summer Dinners Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Pierce Abernathy is my go-to source for summer vegetable inspiration, and he's exactly the recipe developer I turn to when I want to make the most of summer corn and tomatoes in every dinner I cook before the season ends. But Pierce's new cookbook, Every Leaf, Every Stem, goes beyond the pretty produce that gets all the attention and aims to help you fall in love with celeriac and rutabaga, mushrooms and squash. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, we talk about the best way to cook corn, Pierce's dream low-stress end of summer dinner party menu, and the way he'd meal plan for a week of eating more vegetables every day.

Get Pierce's recipe for the ultimate tomato toast with corn compound butter on The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Find CookShelf on iOS and Android, and use the code DINNERPLAN for 25% off your first year.
Dirty Labs: Use code THEDINNERPLAN to get 15% off your first order at DirtyLabs.com.
Massican Wines: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off at Massican.com. Must be 21+
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Chambers Needs Even Quicker Dinners Now Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

Caroline Chambers knows how to make easy dinners easier, and the mother of four needs quick weeknight recipes now more than ever. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Caroline shares a bit of her behind-the-scenes chaos and her strategy for meal prep that won’t leave you bored. She says everything that’s going on has made her an even better recipe developer, because her mindset is "if you’re putting any effort into it, it better freaking be good! Or else just get pizza!" Caroline's new book, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, is full of quick dinner ideas that you can fit into busy back-to-school season. Get a preview recipe over at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Straus Family Creamery: Find Straus organic ice cream at Whole Foods nationwide or at strausfamilycreamery.com.
Row 7: Get 10% off Row 7’s chef-prepared tinned vegetables using code DINNERPLAN10 at Row7Seeds.com
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Massican Wines: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off at Massican.com. Must be 21+

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Omi Hopper Cooked Through the Hardest Year of Her Life to Get Here Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Next Level Chef contestant Omi Hopper has published a new cookbook full of essential Puerto Rican recipes—the ones that feel like a welcome home to the folks who follow her on Instagram and TikTok. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, she shares her story. She was working as a makeup artist when her husband was laid off; she worried about how they'd pay for groceries. Find out how she ended up cooking on TV and writing her own cookbook, Cooking con Omi, plus learn what she cooks for parties and how she stays creative in the kitchen. For Omi's recipe for stewed beans, head to our newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Une Femme Wines: Use code DINNERPLAN for 20% off at UneFemmeWines.com. Must be 21+
Straus Family Creamery: Find Straus organic ice cream at Whole Foods nationwide or at strausfamilycreamery.com.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Check out Food Friends on Substack, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Serena Wolf’s Easy Summer Dinner Ideas Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Serena Wolf hosts a big pool party every year, and in this episode of The Dinner Plan, she's sharing her go-to bbq menu and the mac and cheese trick that always impresses her guests. Her new book, You Do You, is full of easy dinner recipes, all including advice on simple ingredient swaps. She offers meal planning advice that's really helpful, too. Quick summer dinners shouldn't be stressful, and Serena's tips will make you feel more confident in the kitchen, whether you're hosting a dinner party with friends or figuring out what to make with melon or nectarines for dinner at home tonight.

Get recipes and cookbook links from Serena on The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com ➡️

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Find Ajinomoto at your local grocery store, and stocked in bulk at your nearest Costco.
Une Femme Wines: Use code DINNERPLAN at unefemmewines.com for 20% off. Must be 21+
Bubbies Mochi Ice Cream: Find Bubbies at Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Albertsons, and other grocers nationwide.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recipes for College Cooks and First Apartments from Claire Thomson Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Getting your kid ready to go to college includes a lot of tangible stuff, like dorm setup. But they might also be cooking dinner for the very first time in their first apartment or a university-housing kitchen, and chef Claire Thomson has all the advice they need for that. Her new book, Dear Grace, is full of quick dinner recipes and meal planning advice for new cooks, including ways to cook on a budget—even when you're feeding friends after a night out. In this episode, Claire shares some of the most important cooking advice she'd give to first-time cook: how to make the most of cheap pantry staples, how to lean on your freezer for dinner ideas, and the most important part of meal planning: how to adjust a batch-cooked meal to eat other versions throughout the week. Get Claire's recipes for Creamy Tomato Pasta With Sausage and her Roast Sweet Potatoes With Black Beans and Spiced Pumpkin Seeds at our weekly newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. While you're there, enter The Dinner Plan's Big Summer Giveaway by July 29, 2026.

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Thanks to today's sponsors:

Trimona Yogurt: Find Trimona's A2A2 Bulgarian-style yogurt at TrimonaFoods.com and stores near you.
McEvoy Ranch: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off at McEvoyranch.com
Bubbies Mochi Ice Cream: Find Bubbies at Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Albertsons, and other grocers nationwide.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tuscan Summer Cooking: Giulia Scarpaleggia’s Vegetable Playbook Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

This episode highlights so many Italian vegetable recipes: ideas for cooking eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and all the other produce that's at its peak right now. Your expert guide: Tuscan cooking teacher and cookbook author Giulia Scarpaleggia, whose most recent book is Vegetables the Italian Way. Tune in to learn why you should salt your eggplant even though modern versions aren't as bitter, what to make with tomatoes that aren't fantastic, and the most important steps to making pesto.

Recipes and links, plus our big summer giveaway: TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Find Massican Wines at your local wine shop or Massican.com (21+ only)
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relaxed Summer Entertaining With Mélanie Masarin Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

Mélanie Masarin wants you to feel less stressed out about hosting. She says that her rule with friends is: “If I’m home, you can come over.” Her pantry is stocked with tinned fish and olives, and other little snacks to serve—but her ideal setup for a dinner party is prep-ahead recipes like ratatouille that can be served at room temperature. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Mélanie shares a behind-the-scenes look at her new cookbook, Riviera, and her advice for making homemade aioli to eat with crunchy vegetables. This episode is full of seasonal recipes that are more about assembly than actual cooking.

Get the aioli recipe and the ratatouille recipe on this week's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Row 7: Get 10% off Row 7’s chef-prepared tinned vegetables using code DINNERPLAN10 at Row7Seeds.com
Find Lido: Recipes and Stories from Italy’s Beach Clubswherever you buy books.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Listen to Bitefully with Claudia Sandoval on your favorite podcast app.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

King Arthur Baking’s Secrets for Better Pizza at Home Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Want to make better pizza at home but not sure how to start? Today's guest, David Tamarkin of King Arthur Baking Co., is the co-author of The Book of Pizza. This episode of The Dinner Plan podcast is packed with advice, sharing how to hack your oven for better pizza crust, how to choose toppings depending on the style of pizza you're making, and how to fit pizza-making into a weekday schedule. Why is your pizza soggy? David has the answer to that, too.

Get the recipe for King Arthur's Weeknight Detroit Pizza at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Straus Family Creamery: Find Straus organic ice cream at Whole Foods nationwide or at strausfamilycreamery.com.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Need another pizza book for your collection? Tara Jensen's Pizza Practice is available on Amazon, Bookshop, or wherever you buy books.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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