Budget Family Meal Plan: 7 Cheap Weeknight Dinners
The short answer
This budget meal plan feeds a family of four for a week of dinners using low-cost staples — dried lentils, canned beans, rice, pasta, eggs and one big batch of slow cooker chicken. Three of the seven dinners are meatless, ingredients repeat across nights so nothing goes to waste, and the combined grocery list below is sorted by store aisle.
- 7 dinners
- About 9 min of prep a night
- 50 items on one grocery list
- 4 meatless
Best for: Families of 4 who want to spend less without eating the same thing every night.
Puts these dinners on next week's calendar and builds the grocery list. Free account, no credit card.
The week
- MondaySlow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Three main ingredients, five minutes of prep, and shredded chicken that works in tacos, burrito bowls or over rice all week.
4h 5m - TuesdayBlack Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos
Roasted sweet potato and smoky black beans make a filling, budget-friendly vegetarian taco night that holds up well as leftovers.
35 minVegetarian - WednesdaySpaghetti with Meat Sauce
The dependable family classic, with a sauce that simmers just long enough to taste like it took all afternoon.
40 min - ThursdayVegetable Egg Fried Rice
The best use for leftover rice: eggs, frozen vegetables and soy sauce turn it into a full vegetarian dinner in 15 minutes.
17 minVegetarian - FridayChickpea and Spinach Coconut Curry
A fragrant, mild coconut curry made almost entirely from the pantry. Vegetarian, gluten-free and ready in about 25 minutes.
30 minVegetarian - SaturdaySlow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup
Pantry lentils, carrots and tomatoes turn into a thick, protein-rich vegetarian soup for well under a dollar a serving.
6h 15mVegetarian - SundaySheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables
Smoked sausage roasted with potatoes, green beans and onion. Fully cooked sausage keeps this fast, cheap and nearly foolproof.
40 min
Grocery list for the week
Every ingredient from all seven recipes, combined and sorted by store aisle. Check your pantry for oils, salt and spices before you shop.
Produce
- 1avocado
- 1 1/2 lbbaby potatoes
- 8 cupsbaby spinach
- 3carrots
- 2celery stalks
- 1/4 cupfresh cilantro
- 1 tbspfresh ginger
- 2 cupfrozen peas and carrots
- 11 clovesgarlic
- 12 ozgreen beans
- 3green onions
- 1lemon
- 3lime
- 1red onion
- 2sweet potatoes
- 3yellow onion
Dairy & Eggs
- 1/2 cupcrumbled feta cheese
- 4eggs
- 3/4 cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Meat & Poultry
- 2 lbboneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lbground beef
- 14 ozsmoked sausage
Bakery
- 8corn tortillas
- 1crusty bread loaf
Grains & Pasta
- 1 1/2 cupbasmati rice
- 3 1/2 cuplong-grain white rice
- 1 lbspaghetti
Canned Goods
- 2 cansblack beans
- 2 canschickpeas
- 1 cancoconut milk
- 1 cancrushed tomatoes
- 2 cansdiced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cupdried brown lentils
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 6 cupsvegetable broth
Condiments & Sauces
- 3 tbsplow-sodium soy sauce
- about 1/2 cupolive oil
- 2 cupsalsa
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cupvegetable oil
Spices & Seasonings
- 2 tspchili powder
- 2 tbspcurry powder
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 2 tspground cumin
- 2 tspItalian seasoning
- 1 2/3 tbspkosher salt
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tbsptaco seasoning
Baking
- 1 tspsugar
Frozen
- 1 cupfrozen corn
Prep ahead
- Cook a double batch of rice on Sunday: half for Monday's salsa chicken, half chilled for Thursday's fried rice (day-old rice fries best).
- Peel and cube the sweet potatoes for Tuesday and store them in water in the fridge.
- Brown the beef for Wednesday's sauce and refrigerate it; the sauce then takes 20 minutes.
- Dice the onions, carrots and celery for the lentil soup so Saturday morning is just loading the slow cooker.
Questions
How do you keep a family meal plan cheap?
Build most dinners on inexpensive proteins (beans, lentils, eggs, chicken thighs or breasts bought in bulk), reuse the same produce across several recipes, and cook rice and beans in batches. This plan repeats onions, garlic, spinach, beans and rice so you buy each once and use all of it.
Can I swap meals between days?
Yes. The only order that matters is cooking extra rice early in the week for the fried rice, and putting the slow cooker meals on days you are out of the house.
How many people does this plan feed?
Each recipe serves 4 to 6. The slow cooker chicken and lentil soup serve 6, which leaves a couple of lunches.