Mediterranean diet meal plan for four
This healthy meal plan contains recipes for a week’s worth of delicious, family-friendly dinners for four people.
Designed using the principles of the Mediterranean diet, it focuses on vibrant veggies, whole grains, beans and lentils, with small portions of meat and fish. Eating this way has been shown to help heart health and overall wellbeing.
We worked with dietitian Laura Tilt and recipe writer Helen Upshall to create this meal plan, which is intended to take the stress and time out of planning healthy dinners. We’ve even written the shopping list too.
Day 1: Lamb burgers
Lamb and lentil burgers with Greek salad
These easy burgers make lamb mince go even further with the addition of lentils
Day 2: Spinach and ricotta lasagne
One-pot spinach and ricotta whole wheat lasagne
A lentil ragu adds protein and fibre to this easy vegetarian one-pot lasagne
Day 3: One-pan chicken and vegetables
Chicken, roasted vegetable and bulgur wheat traybake
An all-in-one traybake dinner that's packed with vegetables, fibre and protein
Day 4: Baked eggs
Italian-style baked eggs with tuna, olives and capers
Baked eggs, family style! Serve with multi-grain bread to add fibre and turn this into a filling dinner
Day 5: Butter bean pilaf
Carrot and butter bean bulgur pilaf with feta
Nutty bulgur wheat is delicious in this easy vegetarian pilaf that's packed with flavour and protein
Day 6: Chicken flatbreads
Greek-style chicken with yoghurt flatbreads and tzatziki
A simple marinade transforms chicken thighs and the flatbreads are surprisingly simple to make
Day 7: Pesto-crusted cod
Pesto cod with crispy potatoes and charred sweetcorn salsa
Use up leftover pittas to make a flavoured crust for cod and serve with crispy potatoes and an easy sweetcorn salsa
Shopping list
Fruit and vegetables
□ 600g/1lb 5oz cherry tomatoes
□ 100g/3½oz cucumber
□ 9 large garlic cloves
□ 3 red onions
□ 2 onions
□ 3 lemons
□ 500g/1lb 2oz carrots
□ 1 large celery stick
□ 2 courgettes
□ 1 cucumber
□ 400g/14oz spinach
□ 65g/2¼oz salad leaves (we used rocket)
□ 3 red peppers
□ 1 green pepper
□ 1 large avocado
□ green salad leaves (optional)□ bunch basil
□ bunch flatleaf parsley
□ bunch rosemary
□ bunch mint
□ bunch thyme
□ bunch fresh oregano
□ 750g/1lb 10oz new or baby potatoes
□ 250g/9oz pomegranate seeds
Tins, packets and jars
□ jar sun-dried tomato pesto
□ 2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes
□ 2 x 160g tins sweetcorn
□ 400g tin chopped tomatoes
□ 400g tin green lentils
□ 150g/5½oz pitted black olives
□ 400g tin butter beans
□ 160g tin tuna
□ jar capers
□ 550g/1lb 4oz bulgur wheat
□ 200g/7oz wholemeal lasagne sheets
□ 350g/12oz wholemeal self-raising flour
Cooking ingredients
□ 3 vegetable or chicken stock cubes
□ garlic granules
□ onion granules
□ ground cumin
□ cumin seeds
□ coriander seeds
□ ground cinnamon
□ dried mixed herbs
□ dried oregano
□ sweet smoked paprika
□ fennel seeds
□ olive oil
□ balsamic vinegar
□ runny honey
□ 100g/3½oz pine nuts
□ tomato purée
Dairy, eggs and chilled
□ 200g/7oz feta
□ 4 tbsp milk of your choice
□ 500g/1lb 2oz ricotta
□ 4 large free-range eggs
□ 50g/1¾oz Parmesan (or vegetarian hard cheese)
□ 625g/1lb 6oz natural yoghurt
Meat, fish and poultry
□ 250g/9oz lamb mince
□ 500g/1lb 2oz chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in
□ 450–500g/1–1lb 2oz chicken thigh fillets
□ 4 chunky skinless cod fillets, around 160g/5½oz per fillet
Other
□ 6 wholemeal pittas
Originally published May 2025
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