Is a croissant every morning a problem?

A croissant is mostly butter and white flour, so it uses a big share of a small calorie budget without much protein. Keep it for weekends and have an omelette or tartine on other days.

What makes a French salad filling enough for lunch?

Protein and some starch. A niçoise has tuna, egg and potatoes; a lentil salad has lentils and cheese. A bowl of leaves with vinaigrette on its own won't last until dinner.

Cuisine Meal Plan

French meal plan: a week of French home cooking

This French meal plan is home cooking rather than restaurant food: an omelette or a tartine in the morning, a composed salad or soup at lunch, roast chicken or fish with vegetables and lentils in the evening, and a small piece of cheese or fruit to finish.

You'll find the full week, a sample day with every ingredient weighed and its calories and macros worked out from USDA data, and tips on butter, cheese, bread and wine, which are where French meals become heavy.

Updated October 22, 2026

Sample day

1,560 kcal

Protein

113 g · 28%

Carbs

146 g · 37%

Fat

61 g · 35%

What a balanced French week looks like

Eat at the table, in courses. A starter of soup or crudités before a smaller main is a habit that makes a meal feel complete without a large plate.
Use butter and cream as seasoning. A knob of butter to finish vegetables is French; a cream sauce on every dinner is restaurant food. The plan uses butter once a day.
Keep cheese to a small piece. A 25 g slice of brie is about 85 calories by USDA values, so a bite after a meal fits easily; half a wheel does not.
Rely on vegetables and lentils. Ratatouille, haricots verts, salade de lentilles and soupe au pistou make up a large share of French home cooking.

Your 7-day French meal plan

Day 1 is the sample day worked out below. Leftovers from one dinner become the next day's lunch where it makes sense.

Day 1
breakfast
Herb omelette with whole-grain bread and an orange
lunch
Salade niçoise
snack
An apple and a little brie
dinner
Roast chicken with ratatouille and green lentils
Day 2
breakfast
Yogurt with fruit and muesli
lunch
Leftover ratatouille and lentil salad with a boiled egg
snack
Pear
dinner
Baked salmon with haricots verts and new potatoes
Day 3
breakfast
Tartine with fresh cheese and tomato
lunch
Soupe au pistou with bread
snack
Grapes
dinner
Chicken basquaise (chicken with peppers and tomato), rice
Day 4
breakfast
Boiled egg, toast and fruit
lunch
Croque monsieur (one) with green salad
snack
Yogurt
dinner
Moules marinières with a small portion of frites or bread
Day 5
breakfast
Overnight oats with apple
lunch
Salade lyonnaise (lighter on bacon) with a poached egg
snack
Orange
dinner
Coq au vin made with chicken breast, steamed potatoes
Day 6
breakfast
Omelette with mushrooms
lunch
Quiche (a slice) with a large salad
snack
Apple
dinner
Cod en papillote with fennel and courgettes
Day 7
breakfast
Tartine with fruit
lunch
Lentil, carrot and goat cheese salad
snack
Small piece of cheese
dinner
Pot-au-feu (beef and vegetable stew)

A sample day with calories and macros

Day 1, weighed ingredient by ingredient. Rice, pasta, beans, lentils and meat are cooked weights.

Breakfast: Herb omelette with whole-grain bread and an orange

370 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Eggs	100 g	143	12.6	0.7	9.5
Butter	5 g	36	0.0	0.0	4.1
Parsley	3 g	1	0.1	0.2	0.0
Whole-wheat bread	50 g	126	6.2	21.4	1.8
Orange	130 g	61	1.2	15.3	0.2
Meal total		367	20.1	37.5	15.5

Lunch: Salade niçoise

440 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Tuna, canned in water	100 g	86	19.4	0.0	1.0
Eggs	50 g	72	6.3	0.4	4.8
Green beans, cooked	80 g	28	1.5	6.3	0.2
Potatoes, boiled	120 g	103	2.1	24.0	0.1
Tomatoes	80 g	14	0.7	3.1	0.2
Black olives	20 g	23	0.2	1.2	2.2
Lettuce	60 g	9	0.8	1.7	0.1
Olive oil	12 g	106	0.0	0.0	12.0
Red wine vinegar	10 g	2	0.0	0.0	0.0
Meal total		443	31.0	36.7	20.5

Snack: An apple and a little brie

180 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Apple	150 g	95	0.3	22.8	0.3
Brie	25 g	84	5.2	0.1	6.9
Meal total		178	5.5	22.9	7.2

Dinner: Roast chicken with ratatouille and green lentils

570 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chicken breast, cooked	130 g	215	40.3	0.0	4.6
Aubergine, cooked	100 g	35	0.8	8.7	0.2
Courgette, cooked	100 g	15	1.1	2.7	0.4
Red pepper	60 g	16	0.6	3.6	0.2
Tomatoes	100 g	18	0.9	3.9	0.2
Onion	40 g	16	0.4	3.7	0.0
Olive oil	12 g	106	0.0	0.0	12.0
Lentils, cooked	130 g	151	11.7	26.2	0.5
Meal total		571	55.9	48.8	18.1

Day total: about 1,560 kcal, with 113 g protein, 146 g carbs and 61 g fat (28% / 37% / 35% of calories). To fit your own target, multiply every amount by your daily calories divided by 1,560; the macro calculator gives you that target.

Figures are estimates calculated from per-100 g values in USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Brands, recipes and cooking change the real numbers, so treat them as a guide, not a label.

French staples to keep in your kitchen

Green lentils (lentilles vertes, such as Puy)
Eggs
Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar for vinaigrette
Herbes de Provence, thyme, bay and parsley
Aubergine, courgette, peppers and tomatoes
Butter and olive oil
A small block of a cheese you love
Whole-grain or country bread

Vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian versions

vegetarian

Swap the tuna in the niçoise for extra egg and white beans, the chicken for a lentil and mushroom stew, and the fish for a vegetable gratin or a goat cheese salad.

vegan

Ratatouille, soupe au pistou without cheese, lentil salads and vegetable tians are naturally vegan. Use olive oil instead of butter and add tofu or beans for protein.

pescatarian

France has plenty of fish dishes: swap the chicken for cod, salmon or mussels, and keep tuna and sardines in the cupboard for quick salads.

Allergens to watch in French cooking

Dairy: butter, cream, cheese and crème fraîche are everywhere in French food, including sauces that look dairy-free.
Gluten: bread, pastry, quiche, croque monsieur and sauces thickened with a flour roux.
Shellfish: moules marinières, bouillabaisse and many fish soups contain mussels, prawns or crab.

In Meal Planner Pro you can exclude nuts, lactose, gluten, shellfish and soy. If you have a severe allergy, always check the labels of the products you buy.

How Meal Planner Pro plans French meals

Choose "French" as one of your cuisines in the quiz. Each day of your plan is cooked in one of the cuisines you pick, and they rotate through the week.
Each day is built around a different main protein, and no dish repeats within the week.
Your allergies and any health condition you select always come before tradition: a dish is adapted rather than served with an ingredient you've excluded.
Your country is used to choose ingredients that are easy to buy where you live.
Daily calorie and macro targets come from your age, height, weight, activity and goal. You can swap any meal you don't fancy, and the week's ingredients become one grocery list.

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet. Our editorial policy

Get your own French week

Meal Planner Pro builds a 7-day plan in the cuisines you choose, sized to your calorie target, with recipes and a grocery list.

Create My Meal Plan

Plans from $8.99/week. No free plan or trial. See pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, if the total calories over the day fit your target. French home cooking has plenty of vegetables, lentils and fish; the calories come mostly from butter, cream, cheese, bread and pastry, so measure those.

French recipes with calories and macros

Salade Niçoise 360 kcal per serving Ratatouille 200 kcal per serving Chicken Basquaise 340 kcal per serving French Lentil Salad 330 kcal per serving

Sources: USDA FoodData Central records used

Eggs: Egg, whole, raw, fresh (FDC 171287)
Butter: Butter, without salt (FDC 173430)
Parsley: Parsley, fresh (FDC 170416)
Whole-wheat bread: Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared (FDC 172688)
Orange: Oranges, raw, all commercial varieties (FDC 169097)
Tuna, canned in water: Fish, tuna, light, canned in water, drained solids (FDC 173709)
Green beans, cooked: Beans, snap, green, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC 169141)
Potatoes, boiled: Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt (FDC 170440)
Tomatoes: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC 170457)
Black olives: Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large) (FDC 169094)
Lettuce: Lettuce, green leaf, raw (FDC 169249)
Olive oil: Oil, olive, salad or cooking (FDC 171413)
Red wine vinegar: Vinegar, red wine (FDC 172240)
Apple: Apples, raw, fuji, with skin (FDC 167793)
Brie: Cheese, brie (FDC 172177)
Chicken breast, cooked: Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted (FDC 171477)
Aubergine, cooked: Eggplant, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC 169229)
Courgette, cooked: Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC 169292)
Red pepper: Peppers, sweet, red, raw (FDC 170108)
Onion: Onions, raw (FDC 170000)
Lentils, cooked: Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC 172421)