Weeknight German Meal Plan: 5 Easy Dinners for Busy Nights

by: Gerhild Fulson  / Oma Gerhild shares German recipes rooted in family tradition.

German food doesn’t have to wait for Sunday. I cook German food about five times a week, and for me, a realistic weeknight dinner needs to be on the table in less than an hour.

Five easy German weeknight meals, from bratwurst and hoppel poppel to abendbrot, red lentil soup, and reisfleisch.

Around 30 minutes is even better. I also don’t want several pans going at once or a sink full of dishes afterward. And on a busy evening, I’m certainly not starting a meal that needs hours of braising or a special trip to find one ingredient.

That’s what this five-day plan is built around. I’ve already worked out the meals and their sides, and I’ll show you the complete Monday-to-Friday plan first. Some of the cooking is intentional too: what you make one night can make the next night easier.

I’ve also kept North American shopping in mind. When a German ingredient isn’t readily available, I’ll suggest a practical substitute only when the meal actually needs one.

How This Weeknight Plan Works

• You’ll see the full five-day plan first, including which side goes with each meal and where cooking a little extra makes another meal easier.
• The shopping list is written for four people, with adjustments for cooking for two or six farther down.

The Complete Monday-to-Friday Plan

Monday: Bratwurst and Sauerkraut with Boiled Potatoes

Why this day: Bratwurst and sauerkraut is more of an occasional meal for me, but it earns a place here because it’s familiar and straightforward. It’s also one of my husband’s favorites.

Bratwurst and sauerkraut with apples, ready for Monday night’s dinner.

Start the week with bratwurst and sauerkraut served with boiled potatoes.

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Brown all 2 pounds of bratwurst together for about 5 minutes. Set aside the 1 pound you’ll use for Monday and continue with the sauerkraut recipe as written.

Leave the other pound in the skillet and cook for another 8–12 minutes, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C). Cool and refrigerate those sausages for Tuesday’s hoppel poppel.

If the skillet is crowded, brown the sausages in batches.

Boil enough potatoes for Monday’s dinner plus the amount you’ll need for Tuesday’s hoppel poppel.

(You’re cooking extra bratwurst for Tuesday, not doubling the sauerkraut recipe.)

Tuesday: Hoppel Poppel with German Cucumber Salad

Why this day: Tuesday is the leftovers-driven night. Monday’s cooked potatoes and bratwurst become a completely different dinner rather than simply being reheated.

Hoppel Poppel turns leftover potatoes and meat into an easy German meal for Tuesday night.

Hoppel poppel is exactly the sort of practical German meal I remember. I recall coming home from school and having it for lunch, so making another meal from leftover potatoes and meat feels very familiar to me.

Serve it with my creamy German cucumber salad for a fresh side that doesn’t add much work.

Wednesday: Abendbrot

Why this day: By the middle of the week, I like having a night that doesn’t require a full cooked dinner. Abendbrot (translates to 'evening bread') gives the week a natural break without feeling as though dinner has been skipped.

Brötchen are a delicious alternative to sliced bread for Abendbrot, topped here with ham, cheese, and tomato.

Set out good bread or rolls with cheese and sliced meat. I usually add tomatoes and cucumber slices. If I have radishes, I put those out too.

This is meant to be a simple German supper, not an elaborate charcuterie board.

Thursday: Red Lentil Soup with Bread

Why this day: This is the lightest cooked meal of the week and one of the genuinely quick choices. It also makes sense to cook enough for lunch the next day.

This quick red lentil soup makes an easy Thursday dinner, with enough left for lunch the next day.

My red lentil soup can be on the table in about half an hour. I like red lentils for weeknights because they cook quickly.

Serve the soup with bread and make the full recipe so there’s enough left for Friday lunch.

Friday: One Skillet German Rice Dinner (Reisfleisch)

Why this day: Reisfleisch is the heaviest meal in this plan, so I like it at the end of the week when something more substantial feels just right. Because it’s a skillet dinner, Friday still doesn’t turn into a big cooking project.

This hearty one-skillet Reisfleisch makes an easy finish to the five-day German weeknight meal plan.

The recipe normally uses canned corned beef, but suitable leftover cooked meat can also be used.

Serve it with creamed Brussels sprouts made from frozen Brussels sprouts. Green beans are another easy choice.

Your Shopping List for the Week

This list is for 4 people. I’ve separated the groceries you’ll probably need from the basics you may already have. I’ve also marked the main ingredients that do double duty during the week.

One organized shopping trip makes this five-day German weeknight meal plan much easier to follow.

Prep & Leftovers at a Glance

Monday: Brown all 2 pounds of bratwurst. Fully cook and refrigerate Tuesday’s portion, then boil enough potatoes for both Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday: Make the full batch of red lentil soup so there’s enough left for Friday lunch.

Friday: Check for suitable leftover cooked meat before opening the corned beef. If there isn’t enough, use the corned beef called for in the recipe.

Leftovers That Make the Next Meal Easier

Leftovers aren’t an afterthought in this plan. When I make extra, it’s because I already know how it will make another meal easier.

Monday into Tuesday: These are planned leftovers rather than a reheated version of Monday’s dinner. The bratwurst and potatoes become hoppel poppel, so Tuesday feels like a completely different meal.

I remember coming home from school and Mutti making hoppel poppel for lunch. Using leftover potatoes and meat this way was simply normal cooking in our house.

Thursday into Friday: The full pot of red lentil soup gives us an easy Friday lunch. One cooking session takes care of another meal without having to plan something new.

Wednesday into Friday: If suitable meat happens to be left after abendbrot, it can be used in Friday’s reisfleisch. I wouldn’t count on that, though, which is why the canned corned beef remains the dependable option.

Cool leftovers and refrigerate them promptly until you’re ready to use them.

A Real Weeknight Abendbrot

On an abendbrot night, I set everything in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves. Abendbrot literally means “evening bread” and is a traditional German evening meal centered around bread, usually with cheese or cold cuts.There’s no cooking involved, and everyone can take what they like.

Bread is the anchor. Homemade is my first choice, but a good German-style rye works nicely when I don’t have any.

Then I put out everyday cheeses such as Emmentaler or Havarti, along with Black Forest ham or salami. Liverwurst is another option when we have it.

Tomatoes and cucumber slices often go on the table too. If I have radishes, I add those. Pickles or German mustard may be nearby as well.

What I especially like about abendbrot on a weeknight is how quickly dinner is ready and how little cleanup there is afterward. Everyone makes their own plate, and that’s really all there is to it.

Abendbrot isn’t a fallback because nobody had time to cook. It’s a normal German evening meal, which is exactly why it belongs right in the middle of this five-day plan.

Cooking for 2 or 6

This plan is written for four people, but you can adjust it without trying to divide every ingredient perfectly or ending up with awkward half-cans.

If You’re Cooking for 2

Keep the Monday-to-Tuesday connection exactly the same.

Buy about 1 pound of bratwurst total. Use about 8 ounces for Monday’s dinner and fully cook the other 8 ounces for Tuesday’s hoppel poppel. Boil extra potatoes Monday too so Tuesday is already partly prepared.

Reduce the other recipes where it makes sense, but don’t feel you have to halve everything. Sometimes making the regular amount is more useful, especially with the red lentil soup because the extras make easy lunches.

If  You’re Cooking for 6

Buy about 3 pounds of bratwurst total. Use about 1½ pounds for Monday’s dinner and fully cook the other 1½ pounds for Tuesday’s hoppel poppel.

You probably won’t need to increase Thursday or Friday. The red lentil soup already makes about 8–10 servings, while the reisfleisch makes 6 servings.

Monday and Tuesday are the meals most likely to need more food. Increase the potatoes as needed on Monday. Make a larger cucumber salad on Tuesday if necessary.

The idea is to adjust what will actually run short rather than automatically increasing every ingredient.

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Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.