28 Day Pescatarian Meal Plan

Here’s a monthly pescatarian meal plan! It’s got lots of recipes and inspiration, planning ideas, and a meal planning calendar download.

Need healthy pescatarian recipes to cook this month? We’ve got answers. Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I have spent years devising how to eat healthy meals every day. We made it our MO, wrote a cookbook called Pretty Simple Cooking, and have devoted our careers to helping connect people to healthy recipes. But how to do you do it…every day?

Here’s our new 28 day pescatarian meal plan, designed to do exactly that! The goal of this plan is to help you make a sustainable practice of cooking and eating healthy food at home. We hope you’ll become inspired and find a handful of pescatarian recipes you’ll make again and again. (If you like: Subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly recipes.)

Want all our meal plans? Go to Meal Planning Ideas.

Is this pescatarian meal plan right for you?

This pescatarian meal plan is right for you if you eat a variety of foods but want to focus on eating lots of vegetables. This meal plan includes fish, shellfish, vegetarian, and plant based / vegan recipes. If you eat exclusively vegetarian or vegan, choose from one of the following:

• 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan
• 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan
• 28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan

If you have a very specific diet or health condition, consult a medical professional to understand whether these recipes are right for you.

What makes our pescatarian meal plan different?

A problem with many meal planning calendars and weekly meal plans is that they offer little flexibility. Many meal plans call for cooking something new every day of the week. They’re overwhelming with the amount of food prep! They also don’t account for your schedule: what if Monday nights I have a weekly meeting where I eat dinner? Or this Friday night I’m going out with friends?

Here’s what makes our pescatarian meal plan different:

• It focuses on dinner ideas. Dinner is the main meal where Alex and I cook and get the majority of our nutrients for the day. Our approach is this: Go big on dinner. Go super simple on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom of the meal plan you’ll find lists of healthy breakfast ideas, snack ideas, and lunch ideas.
• The approach: Pick 3. Each week, we offer 3 healthy pescatarian dinner ideas. You can make them on any day that week! This lets you customize the ideas based on your schedule and particular tastes, and make sure to eat up leftovers.
• Repeat your favorites! Offering only 3 dinner ideas encourages you to make dinner ideas you liked from previous weeks.

What if this meal plan doesn’t work for me?

It’s possible this pescatarian meal plan might not work for you – and that’s ok! This meal plan might provide too much flexibility. There might not be enough options. Or, you might not like the style of these recipes. This meal plan is not for everyone, but it’s an outline of how Alex and I cook on a weekly basis.

Run out of pescatarian dinner recipes? We’ve got hundreds! Here are some places to browse:

• 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan
• 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
• All Dinner Recipes
• Seafood Recipes and Fish Recipes 

Download: Meal plan spreadsheet

To make our Pescatarian Meal Plan tangible, here’s a downloadable meal planning calendar! The Meal Plan spreadsheet lets you copy in your meal planning ideas for each week. Simply download the spreadsheet and then copy in the links to the recipes you want to make for each week below. Here’s the download!

Pescatarian Meal Plan

Before you start: here’s how to use our Pescatarian Meal Plan!

• Pick at least 3 dinner ideas. You don’t have to cook every night! Think about making enough for leftovers and re-purposing them into new meals. For this meal plan, just pick 3 days that you want to cook dinners. Fill in the other days with eating leftovers, “clean out the fridge” meals, or allowing for meals out. If you need more pescatarian dinner ideas for that week: pick another one of our other Dinner Recipes, or go our 28 Day Healthy Meal Plan and 28 Day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan for ideas.
• Fill in easy breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Keep breakfast, lunches, and snacks SUPER simple. If possible, things that don’t use recipes are great: like carrots and hummus, English muffins with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit. Do this and you can save your cooking energy for dinner.
• Copy the links into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet makes things much more tangible! Once you’ve taken stock of what nights you’ll have time to cook, fill in your dinner ideas accordingly. Try doing this on a weekend: Sundays seem to be good for many people).
• Read the meal prep planning notes. Below each week of dinner ideas, we’ve included some meal prep planning notes to help with ways to make ahead or prep in advance.

Dinner Ideas Week 1

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 1! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

1. Quick Shrimp Tacos (30 minutes)
2. Mediterranean Couscous Bowls (30 minutes)
3. Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo (25 minutes) + Easy Arugula Salad
4. 5-Minute Seared Ahi Tuna (5 minutes) + leftover couscous & veggies
5. Leftovers from above*

*Meal Prep Plan Notes

• Shrimp Tacos: If you’re using frozen shrimp, throw it in the refrigerator the night before to thaw it. Make the shrimp taco sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving.
• Couscous Bowls: You can make the tahini sauce and chickpeas in advance and refrigerate until serving. You could make the couscous in advance, but it cooks so fast that it’s easy enough the day of. For gluten-free, substitute quinoa or rice. You could make a big pot of quinoa or couscous and use extras to go with the Ahi Tuna.
• Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo: Make the sauce in advance and refrigerate until serving. Reheat and serve with fresh cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal. Make the salad while the pasta boils.
• Ahi Tuna: It literally cooks in 5 minutes! Add leftover couscous or quinoa, and then saute up any leftover vegetables, like this amazing Sauteed Spinach.

Dinner Ideas Week 2

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 2! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

1. Teriyaki Salmon (30 minutes) + BEST Steamed Broccoli
2. Lentil Sloppy Joes (30 minutes)
3. Nicoise Salad (40 minutes)
4. Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1
5. Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

• Salmon: If using frozen salmon, make sure to refrigerate the night before. Make the teriyaki sauce and reheat to room temperature before painting on the salmon. The broccoli comes together quickly and you can make it while the salmon bakes. Instead of red onion and feta, top with sesame seeds and a sprinkle of soy sauce.
• Lentil Sloppy Joes: Cook the lentils in advance, then make the sauce the day of. Even better, make the entire filling in advance (it tastes better as it sits). If you’re serving with Pickled onions, make those in advance too.
• Nicoise Salad: This classic French salad has lots of components, but they can all be made ahead! Make the hard boiled eggs, beans, potatoes, and lemon vinaigrette in advance and refrigerate until serving. Make sure to let the dressing come to room temp before serving.

Dinner Ideas Week 3

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

1. Poke Bowl (30 minutes)
2. Best Damn Lentil Soup or Curry Lentil Soup (45 minutes)
3. Best Chickpea Burgers (40 minutes)
4. Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1 or 2
5. Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

• Poke Bowl: You can whip up the entire ahi tuna 1 day prior and let it marinade overnight; just stir and add salt to taste before serving. Or, whip it up and eat it with no marinading time: it also tastes great! You can make the rice or quinoa in advance and reheat prior to serving. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
• Lentil Soup: You could make the entire soup in advance and refrigerate: it saves well. (Leftovers also freeze well.) Or you could chop the veggies in advance to speed up prep.
• Chickpea Burgers: These save well! Make the entire burger in advance and refrigerate or freeze until serving. Consider making a double batch. You can also make the shiitake bacon in advance. For gluten-free, serve without the bun or on a salad with tahini sauce drizzle.

Healthy Dinner Ideas Week 4

*Pick at least 3 dinners to cook at home and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet on the days for Week 4! On days you’re not cooking, use up leftovers or do “clean out the fridge” meals, and allow for meals out.

1. Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil (45 minutes)
2. Easy Chickpea Curry (20 minutes) + Basmati Rice
3. Tuscan Soup with White Beans (30 minutes) + crusty bread
4. Make again! 1 or 2 favorite dinner ideas from Week 1, 2 or 3
5. Leftovers from above*

Meal Plan Prep Notes

• Shrimp Boil: If using frozen shrimp, make sure to refrigerate the night before to thaw it. You can cut the potatoes and store them in water (refrigerated) and prepare the corn in advance.
• Curry: This one is quick to put together, but you could chop the veggies in advance and refrigerate. Make the Basmati Rice in advance. To reheat: place in a pan with a splash of water and simmer until it’s heated through and moist.
• Tuscan Soup: This soup is pretty quick to whip up, but you could chop the vegetables in advance and refrigerate to save a few minutes on prep.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas Weeks 1-4

Here are lots of simple ideas for healthy breakfasts! Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Meal Plan spreadsheet. We’ve offered quite a bit of options to account for your breakfast tastes and style. Do repeats as much as you’d like!

• Peanut butter or Nut butter on multigrain toast or English muffin
• Best Oatmeal or DIY Instant Oatmeal (or Instant Pot Oatmeal)
• Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
• Cinnamon Pecan Muesli with almond milk (made in advance)
• Avocado Toast with Egg 
• Apple Oatmeal Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins or Vegan Blueberry Muffins (made in advance)
• Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (made in advance)
• Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
• Pesto Arugula Breakfast Sandwich
• Strawberry Smoothie, Banana Smoothie, Berry Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Blueberry Smoothie, or Honeydew Smoothie
• Acai Bowl

Healthy Snack Ideas Weeks 1-4

Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet.

• Green Pea Dip & crackers (as minimally processed as possible)
• Easy Stuffed Dates
• Dark Chocolate Hummus or Cinnamon Yogurt Fruit Dip & fruit
• Hummus, Green Hummus or Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip & veggies
• Healthy Banana Bread Muffins with peanut butter
• Healthy Chocolate Snack
• Crispy Roasted Chickpeas or Crispy Roasted Black Beans
• Kale Chips
• Classic Tuna Salad with crackers
• Plain yogurt (with a splash of maple syrup) with granola or berries
• Roasted almonds and dried cherries
• Popcorn (Homemade or purchased without flavoring)

Healthy Lunch Ideas Weeks 1-4

Lunches can be hard, especially if you’re eating at your desk! Again, our philosophy for lunches is: keep them very simple, without a recipe if possible. Pick any of these to eat throughout the week and copy them into your Pescatarian Meal Plan spreadsheet.

• Leftovers from any of the dinners!
• Simple Chickpea Salad
• Peanut Butter Dip with green apples
• Veggie Mini Frittatas (made ahead & refrigerated or frozen)
• Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich
• Ultimate Hummus Sandwich
• Easy Cannellini Beans, Easy Black Beans or Easy Chickpeas
• Hummus, Green Hummus, or White Bean Dip, veggies and crackers, cheese slices
• Famous Tomato Dip with crackers
• Classic Tuna Salad, Tuna Salad with Egg, or Avocado Tuna Salad
• Mediterranean Loaded Veggie Sandwich
• Hummus and Veggie Roll Ups or Mexican Pinwheels
• Seasoned Brown Lentils (with Greek yogurt or cashew cream and pita wedges)
• Avocado Toast or Ricotta & White Bean Fancy Toast
• Classic Egg Salad or Hard Boiled Eggs
• Mexican Quinoa, Black Bean Salad, Lentil Salad, or Vegan Italian Pasta Salad

Did you like this pescatarian meal plan?

We’d love to hear your feedback on this pescatarian meal plan: let us know in the comments below (or click the heart below). And let us know if you have any questions!

For more recipes like these: try our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking!