A Week of Amish Meals: 7-Day Old-Fashioned Menu Plan (With Recipes and Grocery List)
The short answer
A typical Amish week of meals is hearty, thrifty and planned around the household’s work: a big cooked breakfast, the largest meal at noon (“dinner”), and a lighter evening “supper.” Common dishes include baked oatmeal, egg casseroles, chicken and noodles, yumasetti (a hamburger-noodle casserole), soups, homemade bread, pickles and pie. Below is a full 7-day menu, 4 recipes, a grocery list and a simple make-ahead plan.
On this page
- How Amish families plan their meals
- The 7-day Amish menu
- Recipe: Yumasetti (Amish hamburger-noodle casserole)
- Recipe: Ham and bean soup
- Recipe: Creamy potato soup
- Recipe: Amish breakfast casserole
- The weekly grocery list
- The make-ahead plan
- Amish meal planning tips
- Common questions
- Keep reading
- Sources
If you’ve ever wished someone would just tell you what to cook this week, this is for you.
Amish kitchens run on routine. The same kinds of meals come around every week, leftovers become the next meal, and the oven is put to work once to feed the family twice. It’s restful, thrifty and surprisingly easy to copy in an ordinary home.
Here is a full week of meals in the Amish style, with the recipes you’ll need, a grocery list and a simple plan for when to cook what.
Pin this for later. Save it to your meal-planning board so next week’s menu is already done.
How Amish families plan their meals
A few habits shape the whole week:
- Dinner is at noon. The biggest meal of the day comes in the middle, when farm and shop workers need it most. Supper in the evening is lighter: soup, sandwiches, leftovers or breakfast foods.
- Cook once, eat twice. A roast chicken becomes Sunday dinner, then chicken and noodles, then soup.
- Bake ahead. Many families set aside a day for baking bread, pies and cookies for the week.
- Use what you have. Garden vegetables, home-canned goods, eggs and potatoes fill in around the main dish.
- Something sweet and something sour. Pickles, relishes and a dessert round out most meals.
Many Amish households also keep an old rhythm to the week: Monday is wash day, Saturday is baking and cleaning day, and Sunday is for church and visiting. The menu below follows that rhythm, with easy meals on the busy days.
The 7-day Amish menu
| Day | Breakfast | Dinner (noon) | Supper (evening) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday (wash day) | Baked oatmeal | Yumasetti casserole, green beans, applesauce | Ham and bean soup, cornbread |
| Tuesday | Fried eggs, fried potatoes, toast | Leftover yumasetti, coleslaw, pickles | Creamy potato soup, bread and butter |
| Wednesday | Amish breakfast casserole | Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn | Chicken sandwiches, pickled beets |
| Thursday | Pancakes with syrup, sausage | Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, peas | Leftover soup, bread and apple butter |
| Friday | Leftover breakfast casserole | Meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans | Toasted cheese sandwiches, tomato soup |
| Saturday (baking day) | Cornmeal mush or oatmeal | Ham and bean soup, fresh bread | Hamburger patties, fried potatoes, chow-chow |
| Sunday (church day) | Coffee cake, boiled eggs | Simple cold meal: bread, cheese, pickles, beets, sliced meat | Popcorn, apples, leftover pie |
Desserts for the week: one pie (shoofly, apple or pumpkin), one batch of cookies for the jar, and fresh fruit or applesauce. That’s enough for a family to have something sweet after dinner most days.
Recipe: Yumasetti (Amish hamburger-noodle casserole)
Yumasetti (also spelled Yamasetti or Johnny Marzetti) is a classic Amish potluck and wedding casserole: noodles, browned hamburger and a creamy sauce, baked under buttery bread crumbs. It feeds a crowd and tastes even better the next day.
At a glance: Serves 8 · Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound wide egg noodles
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups soft bread cubes
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9×13-inch pan.
- Cook the noodles until just tender. Drain.
- Brown the beef with the onion, salt and pepper. Drain the fat.
- In a large bowl, stir together the soup, sour cream and milk. Add the noodles, beef, peas and half the cheese, and mix well.
- Spread in the pan and top with the rest of the cheese.
- Toss the bread cubes in the melted butter and scatter over the top.
- Bake 45 minutes, until bubbly and the bread is golden.
Tip: Make two pans and freeze one before baking. Thaw overnight in the fridge and add 15 minutes to the baking time.
Recipe: Ham and bean soup
A thrifty soup that turns a ham bone and a bag of beans into two meals.
At a glance: Serves 8 · Soak overnight · Simmer 2 hours
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy or great northern beans
- 1 meaty ham bone or ham hock, or 2 cups diced ham
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 10 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Rinse the beans, cover with water and soak overnight. Drain.
- Put the beans, ham bone, vegetables, water and bay leaf in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for about 2 hours, until the beans are very soft.
- Lift out the bone, pull off the meat and stir it back in. Remove the bay leaf.
- Mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Season with salt and pepper.
Tip: Add salt at the end. Salted water can keep dried beans firm.
Saul’s monthly letter
Enjoying this? There’s more in the letter.
Once a month, Saul sends a short letter with new guides from the blog, a seasonal recipe and answers to the questions readers send him. It’s free, there’s no spam, and you can leave any time.
Recipe: Creamy potato soup
Simple, filling and made from what’s in the pantry. A good Tuesday-night supper after a busy day.
At a glance: Serves 6 · Ready in 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth or water
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Chopped parsley or shredded cheese, for serving
Method
- Simmer the potatoes, onion and celery in the broth until tender, about 15 minutes.
- In another pan, melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened.
- Stir the white sauce into the potatoes. Mash a few potatoes to thicken the soup.
- Season with salt and pepper. Serve with parsley or cheese on top.
Recipe: Amish breakfast casserole
Eggs, bacon, potatoes and cheese, mixed the night before and baked in the morning. It makes breakfast for two days.
At a glance: Serves 8 · Bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled (or 1 pound sausage, browned)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1½ cups small-curd cottage cheese
- 9 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Method
- Butter a 9×13-inch pan. Spread the hash browns in the pan and top with the bacon, onion and cheddar.
- Whisk the eggs, cottage cheese, milk, salt and pepper, and pour over everything.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, or bake right away.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until set in the center and golden on top. Let it rest 10 minutes before cutting.
More recipes for this menu: You’ll find full recipes for baked oatmeal, chicken and noodles, brown butter mashed potatoes, chow-chow, pickled beets and homemade bread in 10 Classic Amish Recipes Every Home Cook Should Know, and ten cookies for the jar in 10 Old-Fashioned Amish Cookie Recipes.
The weekly grocery list
Amounts are for a family of 4 to 6. Check your pantry first; many of these keep for months.
| Section | What to buy |
|---|---|
| Meat | 1 whole chicken, 3 lbs ground beef, 1 lb bacon, 1 lb sausage, ham bone or 2 cups ham |
| Dairy and eggs | 2 to 3 dozen eggs, 1 gallon milk, 1 lb butter, cheddar, cottage cheese, sour cream |
| Produce | 10 lbs potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, apples |
| Pantry | Flour, sugar, brown sugar, oats, cornmeal, egg noodles, dried beans, rice |
| Canned and jarred | Cream of chicken soup, tomato soup, green beans, corn, applesauce, pickles |
| Frozen | Peas, hash browns |
| Bakery (or bake it) | Bread, pie crust |
The make-ahead plan
This is how to get the whole week done with only a few busy hours:
- Saturday (baking day): Bake two loaves of bread, one pie and a batch of cookies. Soak the beans overnight.
- Sunday evening: Assemble the yumasetti and the breakfast casserole. Mix the baked oatmeal and refrigerate it.
- Monday: Bake the oatmeal in the morning and the yumasetti at noon. Start the bean soup in the afternoon. Wash day stays easy.
- Wednesday: Roast the chicken. Save the bones and broth for Thursday’s chicken and noodles.
- Every day: Leftovers from dinner become the next day’s supper or lunch pail.
Amish meal planning tips
- Make soup twice a week. It stretches a little meat into a lot of meals.
- Keep a full pickle shelf. Pickles, beets and chow-chow turn plain meals into complete ones.
- Never waste bread. Stale bread becomes bread filling, crumbs or bread pudding.
- Plan “breakfast for supper.” Pancakes or fried mush are an Amish supper favorite on busy nights.
- Cook from the garden first. Build the week around what’s ripe or what’s in the jars.
Common questions
What do Amish people eat for breakfast?
Hearty breakfasts: eggs, fried potatoes, sausage or bacon, oatmeal or baked oatmeal, pancakes, cornmeal mush, toast with apple butter, and sometimes pie.
Why do the Amish call lunch “dinner”?
In farm households, the main meal has long been eaten at noon and called dinner. The evening meal is supper.
What do the Amish eat on Sunday?
On church Sundays, families often eat a simple meal so there’s little cooking on the day of rest. After the church service, the congregation shares a light meal of bread, spreads, pickles, cheese and coffee.
Is Amish food cheap to make?
Usually, yes. Meals are built from inexpensive staples like potatoes, noodles, beans, eggs and homemade bread, and leftovers are always used.
Can I freeze these meals?
Yes. Yumasetti, ham and bean soup and the breakfast casserole all freeze well. Potato soup can turn grainy when frozen, so it’s best eaten fresh.
Save this menu for later: pin the image below to your meal-planning board.
Keep reading
- 10 Classic Amish Recipes Every Home Cook Should Know
- 10 Old-Fashioned Amish Cookie Recipes That Stay Soft for Days
- What’s for Supper in an Amish Home
- Amish Frugal Living
Join the conversation
What’s your family’s favorite weeknight supper? Share it in the comments, and pin this menu so next week is already planned.
Ask Saul a question · Get the monthly letter · Share your story
Sources
- Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner and Steven M. Nolt, The Amish (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013).
- William Woys Weaver, As American as Shoofly Pie: The Foodlore and Fakelore of Pennsylvania Dutch Cuisine (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013).
