Meet the System
that makes
Weeknight Dinners
easier.
A simple, step-by-step dinner system anyone can follow, even if you don’t know how to cook.
Memberships start at $3/week (less than a side of fries)
Since 2010
Making dinner easier
2M+
Facebook followers
Cancel anytime
From your dashboard
How it Works
Pick your meals
Choose five meals from our diverse menus
Shop once
Get one organized grocery list or send it to Instacart
Prep in an hour
Prep 5 DINNERS in under 1 HOUR! We’ll walk you through it step-by-step
Cook and enjoy
Enjoy a week of dinners and less time in the kitchen!
Recipes are everywhere…
A system that actually helps you
get dinner on the table?
That’s different.
Tested recipes, done-for-you planning and less to figure out when your week is already full.
We do more, so you can do less
Your membership removes the repeated decisions that make dinner feel exhausting.
Recipes ready now
Get immediate access to a large collection of delicious, tested and family-approved recipes.
Fresh recipes monthly
New choices arrive every month, so your family doesn’t get stuck eating the same meals.
Custom grocery lists
Ingredients of your selected meals become one organized list, ready to print or use with Instacart.
Waste less
Meal plans use ingredients efficiently, helping reduce forgotten produce and duplicate purchases.
Save family favorites
Build a personal collection of meals your family asks for again and again.
Cancel without hassle
Manage your membership from your dashboard. No emails, hidden fees or hoops.
You know next week will be busy.
Make dinner one less thing to figure out.
You don’t need more time, you just need a better system.
Family Favorite Meals
“My kids actually get excited for dinner now! The Favorites Folder lets me save our go-to recipes, so I never have to hunt for them. Dinner time is stress-free and fun.”
— James L., dad of 2
Choose what fits your family
One system. Three ways to use it.
Every plan includes:
Family Combo Membership
Includes both Classic and Clean Eating Recipes
plus 170 lunch recipes
40 recipes added each month
Less Waste, More Savings
“We used to throw out so much food. Now everything is organized, prepped, and ready. Our grocery bill is down, and I feel like a kitchen superhero.”
— Karen T.
Join Our Facebook Community
Come hang out with 77,000+ friends talking all things dinner—sharing ideas, tips, inspiration, and helping each other make dinner a little easier.
The story behind the system
Created by a busy mom who didn’t love to cook
Michelle Dudley
Founder, 5 dinners 1 hour
I am a wife, mother, blogger, menu planner, and food lover (eater not cooker). I created this service to help busy moms like me get dinner on the table quickly, and easily so we can finally ditch the need for those unhealthy drive-thru dinners!
The idea came to me back in the Fall of 2010 when we were eating yet another greasy $29.00 dinner out of a paper sack. We were all tired of fast food dinners, but that was the best I could do on a busy weeknight. Fast food was a staple in our diet out of pure necessity to keep everyone fed in the short amount of time I had between hockey, volleyball, tutoring… you know that constant on-the-go, “how in the world am I going to feed these people” mode. The struggle is real!
I began experimenting and searching to find a way to feed my family nutritional home-cooked meals but being totally transparent here, I do not like to cook. There, I said it……. that felt good. I know we are “supposed” to prepare meals the way our mothers and grandmothers did but I didn’t have the time they did or the energy.
Years ago when my kids were very small, I did large freezer batch cooking and I knew I liked the concept but again, it was too time-consuming so I found a way to streamline that concept to make it more manageable and doable. I could squeeze in the 45 minutes to 1 hour a week to get this done if it would save me 3-4 hours the rest of the week. That was a trade-off I was willing to make. Not to mention, my wallet got a break from all the fast food and take-out. I was SAVING money and TIME! This was huge for my family. Life-changing!
After many weeks and months of trial, error, tweaking, and more tweaking, I came up with a system for a healthy, fast meal prep that worked and it worked so well I started blogging about it. We now have over 77,000 people in our Facebook Community and over 1 million followers on Facebook sharing photos, tips, ideas, and encouragement to others that are looking for dinner-time solutions.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. It should only take you about an hour. You will need to have all your ingredients and tools out before you start. Be sure to get everyone out of the kitchen unless they are helping. If you are lucky enough to have a helper, it should take less than an hour. Follow the directions as close as possible and always store perishables in the refrigerator. We have laid out everything in step-by-step easy-to-follow instructions to help you get prep done as efficiently as possible.
Yes. I shop at Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts, and Walmart.
For the gluten-free and clean menus, I shop at Kroger and Sprouts. Walmart is starting to carry GF items but not as many as Kroger.
Recipes are adaptable and you can easily swap chicken or beef for almost any recipe.
We have hundreds of members that feed their picky eaters from our menus every week. The recipes are so easy to tweak that they are able to adapt to fit their needs. One fun fact is that many have opened up the door to new foods their picky eaters are now loving. We love that!
That is correct, you can get recipes for free online. People pay for a lot of services they can do themselves but they love the convenience of not having to. What you are paying for is not just recipes but a service that brings you 20 new recipes per month with sides (per plan), allows you to customize your menu and compiles a grocery list for you. And the biggest thing we offer that no one else does is the prep ahead format that EVERY one of our recipes is written to accommodate. This is a meal prep system, not just recipes.
I typically spend about $65.00-$125.00 for the ingredients for 5 dinners (that feed 6) including sides. If you watch for sales, you can spend less. Some weeks I only spend $40.00. It all depends on what I have on hand. Most of the time, I only need fresh produce and meat because I stock up on pantry and freezer items when on sale.
Log into your account and click on MEMBER DASHBOARD » MANAGE MY ACCOUNT » SUBSCRIPTIONS » CANCEL. You can always email our support team and they can cancel your account for you anytime.
Anyone Can Do It
“If you can read, you can do this. The recipes are so simple — dump, bake, set the timer, and dinner is done. I can’t imagine going back to our old routine!”
— Emily R.
