When moving, you'll want this list of Easy Meals for Moving Week! The move to a new place is far less stressful with the help of meals you can prep ahead of time or cook easily while all your stuff is in boxes.
Before we moved into our first new house, I had plans to prep meals ahead of time so that we wouldn't have to eat out constantly for the first week while we were finding our kitchen items.
That plan didn't work out so well, so I had to figure out easy meals that I could make in our new kitchen. And in our old one too before we headed out to our new place.
These recipes are ones that don't require tons of gadgets and ingredients and a lot of them you can even buy disposable pans to cook in — in case you haven't found your baking dishes yet.
Whether you are moving across town or a farther distance, make sure you do some meal planning when you make your moving checklist, so you have a plan for when you get to the new place.
2022 update: We recently moved again, and I decided to update this list with some tips for cooking with less equipment as well as recipes that are truly easy when all your stuff is hanging out in boxes.
Trust me, I'm not above ordering pizza — or even heating up a frozen pizza — but you can only takeout and frozen meals so many times before you just crave a homecooked meal!
Check out The Best Meals to Bring to Others when they move or have a life event!
Tips for Cooking for a Move
When you're working all day moving boxes or unpacking them, there's nothing better than a nice sit-down meal at the end of the day. It's way better than ordering a ton of pizza, especially if you plan ahead.
- Plan ahead. If you can, pick out a few of the meals below and schedule a grocery delivery or pickup for the day you land in your new spot.
- Use recyclable and/or compostable dishes. Buy a small pack of paper plates that you can recycle or compost until the dishes make their way out of a box. (These should go in your DIY Moving Survival Kit!)
- Buy a set of aluminum cooking pans. For oven cooking, these silver foil pans with lids are great for warming up food, and you can store them right in the fridge after if there are leftovers. You can clean them off and reuse them a few times if needed. A set of plastic food storage containers are great for cold stuff, and you can reuse them later.
- Make a few shortcuts. You don't have to make everything. It's okay to buy rolls, a bagged salad kit or frozen, steamable veggies like broccoli to serve on the side. A rotisserie chicken is also a great meal or salad topper.
- Use your grill. If you've got one, the grill is excellent because you don't have to use or wash many dishes. You can put everything right onto plates if needed. Make sure not to pack the tongs in your moving kit! We loved making Grilled Chicken Thighs to use in tons of moving week meals.
Of course, you're going to be a bit tired from packing and unpacking, but these dinners will rejuvenate your body and give you the energy to continue working hard.
Check out these New Kitchen Pantry Essentials to help you stock your new place once you get there.
And now, let's get into those moving week recipes!
Recipes for Moving Week
These chicken enchilada sliders make for the perfect dinner because they are 1) quick to prep 2) easy to eat on paper plates or even just napkins and 3) delicious. To make the recipe even simpler, substitute store-bought and use if you haven’t found your baking dishes yet.
I’d save this recipe for a few days after move-in day, but it’s sure to fill you up and energize you for unpacking. You can substitute a rotisserie chicken or use your grill to avoid using your stove.
Make-Ahead Egg Muffins are a perfect solution for making breakfast ahead of time for the week. If you are moving across town, they should survive a trip in the cooler if you make them ahead. All they need is a few minutes in the microwave for an easy breakfast.
Liz from The Clean Eating Couple is always cooking up delicious and easy recipes. This pesto pasta is a new favorite of mine, because I cannot resist a good pesto. To make this recipe even easier, use a rotisserie chicken! You can also use regular broccoli and boil it in the same pan as your pasta for easy clean-up.
These easy grilled turkey burgers are so juicy! Make them for a crowd or halve the recipe for a smaller meal. They come together easily on the grill and all the toppings can be store-bought.
Okay, seriously, who WOULDN’T want to eat this any day? These pulled pork tacos make me drool just looking at them and there’s no doubt that they’re packed with ridiculous flavor. Pulled pork is easy to make in the slow-cooker while you unpack all day.
These flavors are anything but bland. I love how easy it would be to whip this up and quickly eat a filling dinner and get back to work. I recommend using microwave rice to simplify the recipe and dishes for this one.
I love this recipe because it’s something we would eat anytime, but the simplicity, yet delicious combination of the flavors makes it a perfect moving day meal. Sometimes when you’re moving, it’s easy to settle for bland food or take out, but this casserole is no joke. You can make it simpler by using microwavable rice and frozen broccoli.
This homemade soup only takes 30 minutes to make and there’s no doubt it’s packed with flavor. If you’re making this while moving or in a brand new kitchen, use a rotisserie chicken! You could also double this soup for lots of leftovers or even double it and freeze half for later.
I can’t even tell you how much we love this recipe. I’ve made this recipe from my pal at The Speckled Palate probably more times than I have made some of my own recipes from my blog, which can be a lot of times! This is a recipe I’ve brought to friends before on different occasions and it is always gobbled up!
I love the idea of slow cooker meals for a new kitchen. You can throw everything in in the morning and have it ready for a quick lunch or dinner. For this one, buy the coleslaw from the grocery store so you can just throw everything together with ease.
This soup is one of our favorite quick meals and it is anything but bland! I love how you can customize this soup easily, too. Add beans if everyone likes them or skip them completely. You can add in your favorite frozen or fresh veggies, increase the spiciness or leave it mild. Another great recipe you can double and freeze for later!
This turkey lasagna is healthy and filling! It’s the perfect way to recover after a long day or a few of moving and unpacking. This would also be the perfect meal to bring to someone that is moving or recently moved! It’s a great way to celebrate a new home with someone!
Spinach Turkey Orzo is a super easy meal that is packed with flavor for a perfect quick dinner option! This orzo dish has ground turkey, spinach, pine nuts, golden raisins and is topped with olive oil and shaved parmesan — but you can skip the toppings and it's still delicious! The complexity of flavors in this dish is amazing, but you don't have to spend a long time getting this dinner together!
These taco lettuce wraps can be pulled off in 15 minutes and give you a hearty meal. The taco blend is also perfect in taco shells or on top of chips. This is another one that can easily be customized as well! It would be a great start to a make your own taco bar.
This is my favorite pulled pork recipe, and it's sooo easy to make in the crock pot. Serve it alongside some easy store-bought sides like steamable broccoli or even tater tots for the kiddos.
These Turkey Sloppy Joe Rice Bowls are made from scratch, so there is no added sugar or extra ingredients, only the ingredients that add tons of flavor to this easy weeknight dinner! Use frozen or steamable rice and frozen veggies for an almost effortless meal.
Moving meals can be healthy! Try this Strawberry Spinach Salad with bagged spinach, topped with walnuts, goat cheese, fresh strawberries and/or apples, and use a store-bought dressing. Top it with rotisserie chicken for an easy and protein-rich meal.
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
Oh, this is BRILLIANT, lady! Making meals when you're in the process of moving is such a challenge, and I am saving this for later! Also, thank you for including my Honey Sriracha Chicken and Rice Bowls!
Susannah // Feast + West says
These look amazing! When I moved in February these meals would have been so handy! And again when our oven broke. It is so tempting to want to pick up to-go food but I'm so glad this list exists to have in my back pocket for our next move. Or you know, anytime, because all of these look amazing.