10 Filipino Food Recipes for Your Meal Plan

Making your own meal plan for the week isn’t difficult, but it’s also not easy, especially if you’re new to it. So, if you came here hoping to make your life in the kitchen a little easier as a result of it, you’re already well on your way. Every time you go through the meal planning process, you learn what not to do, where to better next week, what you may skip, and how to tailor the entire exercise to your specific needs. Continued practice will only make you better.

Sample Meal Plan for a Week at Home

Monday

• Breakfast – Corned beef with potatoes
• Lunch – Adobong pusit
• Dinner – Ginisang sayote with pork

Tuesday                               

• Breakfast – Tocino, egg with fried rice
• Lunch – Kangkong with tokwa in oyster sauce
• Dinner – Pork nilaga

Wednesday

• Breakfast – Tortang talong, sauteed Ampalaya with pork giniling
• Lunch – Fried chicken
• Dinner – Pinakbet

Thursday

• Breakfast – Champorado with tuyo
• Lunch – Chicken Tinola with malunggay
• Dinner – Beef broccoli

Friday

• Breakfast – Ham, Bacon and fried rice
• Lunch – Fried or smoked fish with monggo
• Dinner – Menudo

Saturday

• Breakfast – Scrambled egg with sardines
• Lunch – Chopsuey
• Dinner – Sinigang na bangus

Sunday

• Breakfast – Hotdog, fried eggs
• Lunch – Ginataang isda with malunggay
• Dinner – Adobong manok

Pinakbet

The pinakbet is a traditional stir-fry meal that makes use of fresh, local veggies and seasonings. Talong, ampalaya, sitaw, kamatis, and okra are the traditional veggies in every pinakbet meal, but you can simply substitute other vegetables.

The bagoong is what makes this dish special in a simple vegetable recipe like this one. The flavor will be the distinguishing flavour you will appreciate with each bite, whether you use bagoong alamang or Balayan bagoong (bagoong isda).

Pick your favorite bagoong to throw the vegetables in, and this pinakbet recipe will be a hit every time.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/2 kilo pork, cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 pieces ginger, thinly-sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 4 pieces eggplant
• 2 pieces bitter melon (ampalaya), cut in half
• 1/2 bundle string beans (sitaw), cut into 2-inch length
• 8 pieces okra, cut in half
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup anchovy sauce (bagoong isda)

How to cook Pinakbet

1. Saute pork in a preheated pot with cooking oil. Render the fat then add garlic, ginger and onion.
2. Put in the anchovy sauce and wait for the mixture to boil.
3. Add the vegetables: okra, bitter melon, eggplant, string beans, and tomatoes.
4. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Adobong Pusit

This Filipino squid dish uses the adobo method, which is cooking meat in a soy sauce-and-vinegar mixture. The squid is simmered until the liquid becomes a savory-sour sauce. It’s a well-loved dish for a reason: it’s easy to make plus it has all the familiar sweet, sour, and savory adobo flavors we love. Bookmark this recipe and serve the dish on your next big family meal. 

It’s easy to overcook the squid: remember to let it simmer just until the squid is cooked through.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 kilogram squid (pusit), sliced with squid ink set aside
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons vinegar
• salt, to taste

How to cook Adobong Pusit

1. Saute garlic and onions in a wok with cooking oil.
2. Add the sliced squid along with the squid ink and water. Boil until the squid is cooked through, around 2 minutes. 
3. Add the soy sauce and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Let it simmer for up to 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is thick.

Tinolang Manok

A comforting bowl of tinola always hits the spot. This tinola or chicken stew recipe is made of ginger, green papaya, fish sauce, dahon ng sili and chicken. Make and share this classic Filipino dish in seven easy steps!

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 1/2 piece green papaya, cut into wedges
• 3 cups water
• 1 table spoon garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 thumb ginger, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
• Salt

How to make Tinolang Manok

1. Sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger.
2. Put in the chicken and cook until color turns light brown.
3. Add the fish sauce and mix well.
4. Pour the water and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add the green papaya / sayote wedges and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add the hot pepper leaves.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

Sinigang na Baboy

There’s no need to make a simple dinner recipe more complicated. It has all the essential ingredients to make it delicious. There are many ways to make a pork sinigang recipe delicious, but even we have to admit that this basic sinigang recipe will always be a well-loved version. It would be a nice addition to one of your dishes in making a meal plan for the week.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 500 grams pork, sinigang cut (large chunks)
• water, for boiling
• 1 medium tomatoes, quartered
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 cup gabi (taro root), cubed
• 3 to 4 tablespoons sinigang na gabi mix
• 1 piece green chili (siling tagalog)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
• 1/2 cup green beans (sitaw), sliced into 2-inch sticks
• 1/4 cup radish (labanos), sliced
• 1/2 cup okra
• 2 cups kangkong (water spinach) leaves, washed and trimmed
• salt, to taste

How to cook Sinigang na Baboy

1. Place pork, tomatoes, and onions in a pot with enough water to cover pork, bring to a boil then lower the heat to simmer for 1-1 ½ hours or until pork is tender. Skim top from time to time to get rid of impurities. More water may be added if necessary.
2. After 30 minutes of cooking pork, add the gabi cubes. Once pork is tender, add sinigang mix, and green sili and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sitaw, radish and okra then simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Season to taste with patis then add the kangkong leaves and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Adjust seasoning according to your taste. Serve while hot. 

Ginisang Sayote

This easy veggie recipe can either be served as a side dish or as a main dish!

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, crushed
• 1/4 kilogram pork, sliced thinly
• 3 pieces chayote, peeled, seed removed, and sliced
• 1 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

How to make Ginisang Sayote

1. Heat the cooking oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic and onion.
2. Add pork and then cook for 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add the chayote. Stir. Cover. Let simmer for 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Add salt and ground black pepper, to season. Stir and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve.

Kangkong with tokwa in oyster sauce

Delicious, healthy, and budget-friendly. Learn how to cook this easy recipe of kangkong & tokwa (water spinach & tofu) in oyster sauce!

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 bundles kangkong leaves (water spinach)
• 5 squares tokwa (tofu), cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pc medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (60g) oyster sauce
• cooking oil

How to make Kangkong with tokwa in oyster sauce

1. Heat cooking oil in a pan. Add the tofu then fry until it turns light brown. Remove from heat. Drain excess oil then set aside.
2. Heat about 3 tbsp of cooking oil in a pan. Add the garlic then sauté until light brown.
3. Add onion then sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add the kangkong leaves, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir and cook the kangkong leaves for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the oyster sauce then stir.
6. Finally, add the fried tofu. Stir then remove from heat.
7. Transfer to a serving plate/bowl. Garnish with toasted garlic if desired.
8. Serve and enjoy your kangkong and tokwa in oyster sauce

Read Also: 6 Must try Kapangpangan Foods

Tortang Talong

Tortang talong is a Filipino eggplant omelette made with eggplant, eggs, fish sauce, pepper and oil. This eggplant omelette heavily charred eggplant enveloped in egg batter and then pan-fried to perfection and is low in calories but will make you full and satisfied when served with hot rice and banana ketchup!

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

• 4 eggplants
• 4 eggs
• salt or fish sauce to taste
• black pepper to taste
• oil (for frying)

How to make Tortang Talong

1. Grill, boil or bake your eggplant to remove the skin easier. To grill, place a wire mesh above your stove and place your eggplants. Roll them gently to grill all parts. Transfer to a plate.
2. Peel the eggplant skin while it is still hot. Dip your hands in water once in a while to handle the heat.
3. Open the eggplants using two forks. Remove any damage or black seeds if any.
4. Crack an egg in a shallow plate and season with salt and pepper. Add one eggplant and flatten it more using a fork to coat with the eggs well. Do these steps with the rest of the ingredients. Use 1 egg for every eggplant.
5. Heat some oil in a pan using medium heat. Add the egg-soaked eggplant and spread it. Pour the rest of the eggs. Cook until golden brown. Flip to cook the other side.
6. Transfer the tortang talong to a paper towel to drain excess oil.
7. Put the tortang talong in a serving plate and serve with some hot steaming rice and your favorite dipping sauce! Enjoy!

8. Beef with Broccoli

Beef with broccoli is a classic beef dish that’s easy to put together. This version requires lesser ingredients but no less delicious.

• Ingredients (4 servings)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1/2 kilo beef sirloin, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt
• pepper
• 1/2 kilo broccoli florets, sliced into 1-inch pieces

How to cook Easy Beef with Broccoli

1. In a medium-sized pan, heat cooking oil and saute garlic until golden brown. Add the onion and saute until transparent.
2. Add the beef and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. Add the broccoli and cook for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
4. In a medium-sized pan, heat cooking oil and saute garlic until golden brown. Add the onion and saute until transparent.
5. Add the beef and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
6. Add the soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. Add the broccoli and cook for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

9. Chopsuey

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable cooking oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sized white onion, chopped
• 1/2 kilo pork, sliced thinly
• 1 cup green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 small cauliflower, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup carrot, sliced
• 1 piece chinese cabbage (baguio pechay),, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup snow peas (sitsaro)
• 1 table spoon oyster sauce
• 1 table spoon soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Salt

How to make Chopsuey

1. Saute the onion and garlic in a preheated pan with cooking oil.
2. Stir in the pork and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Add the green and red bell pepper, cauliflower, carrots and cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the Chinese cabbage and snow peas.
5. Stir in the oyster sauce and soy sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt.
6. Dilute the cornstarch in ¼ cup of water then pour mixture in the pot. Mix well and simmer for a few minutes. Serve.

10. Adobong Atay Ng Manok

Those who love chicken liver and heart will enjoy this unique adobong atay recipe. This has all the ingredients a typical adobo recipe would have, but instead of chicken pieces, pork chunks, or even vegetables, this chicken liver adobo recipe uses atay or chicken liver and chicken heart.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 1/2 kilo chicken livers with hearts
• 1/4 kilo chicken breast fillets, cubed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled, whole (optional)
• 2 small laurel leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

How to cook Adobong Atay Ng Manok

1. In a medium bowl, place chicken livers and hearts, chicken chunks, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Stir to mix. Cover and marinate overnight. 
2. In a wok over medium heat, heat oil. Add livers and heart in one layer, and cook until seared on one side. Use tongs to flip each liver over to sear the other side. Remove from the pan, and set aside. Repeat with chicken chunks.   
3. Add the marinade to the wok and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 minute. Return the cooked chicken livers, hearts, and chunks to the wok. Stir fry until all the chicken pieces are cooked through. Remove from the heat and serve hot with steamed rice.  

Start doing your meal plan with these easy Filipino food recipes and enjoy the benefits of meal planning.