MealBudgetA $200 a week grocery list for a family of five
$200 a week feeds a family of five at dinner and leaves real room for everything else. The seven dinners below are estimated at $109, about $4 a serving. That leaves about $91 of the $200 for breakfast, lunch and snacks.
Meal planning on a budgetHow to build a grocery list from your budget
Full list
About $109
Pantry already stocked
About $85
Per serving
About $4
Household: two adults and three children, 7 dinners. Children count as about 0.6 of an adult portion. Prices are estimated from average US prices and rounded to the dollar.
The 7 dinners
- Day 1 · 15 min
Tuna and White Bean Salad
A no-cook dinner salad of canned tuna, cannellini beans, red onion, and lemon over greens.
Shares 6 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 2 · 25 min
Baladi Salad with Toasted Pita
Chopped tomato, cucumber and onion with lemon and oil, and torn pita crisped in the oven for crunch.
Shares 8 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 3 · 20 min
Garlic and Chili Oil Spaghetti
The pantry hero: sliced garlic bloomed in olive oil with chili flakes, tossed with spaghetti and parsley.
Shares 4 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 4 · 35 min
Black Bean Burgers
Smoky mashed black bean patties, pan-fried crisp and served on buns.
Shares 6 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 5 · 35 min
Shakshuka
Eggs poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce, eaten straight from the pan with bread.
Shares 9 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 6 · 47 min
Kielbasa, Potato, and Cabbage Sheet Pan
Smoked sausage roasted with potatoes and cabbage wedges until everything caramelizes.
Shares 5 ingredients with other dinners this week
- Day 7 · 20 min
Greek Chickpea Salad with Feta
A big chopped salad of cucumber, tomato, olives, and chickpeas with feta and oregano dressing.
Shares 8 ingredients with other dinners this week
The grocery list
35 items, sorted by aisle. Duplicates across the dinners are merged and every quantity is rounded up to the packages you actually put in the cart.
Produce
About $35- Yukon gold potatoes3 lb bag$3.98
- Roma tomatoes2 × ~1 lb (4-5 tomatoes) · used in 2 dinners$3.96
- Red onion3 × 1 onion · used in 3 dinners$3.84
- Cucumber4 × 1 cucumber · used in 2 dinners$3.56
- Yellow onions3 lb bag (~5 onions) · used in 3 dinners$3.47
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley3 × 1 bunch · used in 4 dinners$3.27
- Cherry tomatoes10 oz clamshell$2.98
- Green cabbage1 head (~2.5 lb)$2.48
- Lemon4 × 1 lemon · used in 2 dinners$2.20
- Spring mix salad greens5 oz clamshell$2.00
- Garlic2 × 1 head (~10 cloves) · used in 4 dinners$1.58
- Red bell pepper1 pepper$1.48
Meat and seafood
About $3- Kielbasa / smoked sausage13 oz rope$3.06
Dairy
About $12- Crumbled feta cheese2 × 6 oz cup · used in 2 dinners$10.00
- Large eggs1 dozen · used in 2 dinners$2.19
Bakery
About $5- Pita bread6-count pack · used in 2 dinners$2.98
- Hamburger buns8-count pack$2.28
Pantry
About $54- Extra virgin olive oil16.9 fl oz bottle · used in 7 dinners$11.15
- Ground black pepperpantry staple3 oz container · used in 3 dinners$4.28
- Canned chunk light tuna3 × 5 oz can$3.75
- Smoked paprikapantry staple2.1 oz jar$3.48
- Red wine vinegarpantry staple16 fl oz bottle$3.26
- Canned crushed tomatoes28 oz can$2.99
- Ground cumin2 oz jar · used in 3 dinners$2.98
- Paprikapantry staple2.1 oz jar · used in 2 dinners$2.68
- Dijon mustardpantry staple12 oz jar$2.68
- Crushed red pepper flakespantry staple1.5 oz jar$2.48
- Dried oreganopantry staple0.75 oz jar$2.48
- Plain breadcrumbspantry staple15 oz canister$1.98
- Canned chickpeas2 × 15 oz can$1.96
- Canned cannellini beans2 × 15 oz can$1.94
- Canned black beans2 × 15 oz can$1.72
- Sliced black olives6 oz can$1.68
- Spaghetti16 oz box$1.28
- Saltpantry staple26 oz canister · used in 5 dinners$1.18
Want this list for your store and your family? Set your own budget and the app plans the week to fit it.
Questions people ask
- Is $200 a week enough for a family of five?
- For dinners, comfortably: this week is about $109. Whether it covers every meal depends on what the other $91 has to stretch over, so plan breakfasts and lunches too.
- How do you cook for five without wasting food?
- Buy whole packages once and use them up across the week. On this list 15 of the 35 items go into two or more dinners.
- Why are some items marked as pantry staples?
- Oil, rice, spices and sauces get bought once and last for weeks. They are $25 of this list. If you already have them, this week costs closer to $85.
- Are these real store prices?
- No. They are estimated from average US prices, not read from your store. A discount grocer will usually come in under them and a city-centre store over them. Use the total as a planning number, not a receipt.
- Can I get a list like this for my own budget?
- Yes. In the MealBudget app you set the amount, the people you feed and anything you will not eat, and it plans the dinners and one shopping list that adds up to it. The first week is free.
Planning the whole week, not just dinners? See how much to budget for food.
Try a free week
Tell MealBudget what you want to spend and who you are feeding. It picks dinners that share ingredients and hands you one list that adds up, before you get to the store.
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- Meal planning on a budget: a week of dinners