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Meal planning on a budget

A week of budget dinners for two adults and a child can cost about $95. Start from the amount you want to spend, then choose dinners that share ingredients. Here 14 of the 31 items go into two or more dinners, which keeps the list short.

How to build a grocery list from your budget

Full list

About $95

Pantry already stocked

About $69

Per serving

About $5

Household: two adults and one child, 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

  1. 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 7 ingredients with other dinners this week

  2. 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 6 ingredients with other dinners this week

  3. 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 5 ingredients with other dinners this week

  4. Day 4 · 10 min

    Egyptian Hummus with Cumin and Lemon

    Chickpeas blended smooth with tahini, sharpened with lemon and dusted with cumin. Ten minutes, and it disappears faster than that.

    Shares 6 ingredients with other dinners this week

  5. Day 5 · 30 min

    Rosemary White Beans on Garlic Toast

    Creamy cannellini beans simmered with rosemary and tomato, spooned over rubbed garlic toast.

    Shares 6 ingredients with other dinners this week

  6. Day 6 · 45 min

    Carrot and Ginger Soup

    A smooth bright-orange soup with a swirl of coconut milk through it and black pepper cracked over.

    Shares 9 ingredients with other dinners this week

  7. Day 7 · 45 min

    Brown Lentil Soup with Lemon

    A cheap, filling lentil soup finished with cumin and a hard squeeze of lemon.

    Shares 7 ingredients with other dinners this week

The grocery list

31 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 $28
  • Yellow onions3 lb bag (~5 onions) · used in 2 dinners$3.47
  • Cherry tomatoes10 oz clamshell$2.98
  • Lemon5 × 1 lemon · used in 5 dinners$2.75
  • Red onion2 × 1 onion · used in 2 dinners$2.56
  • Fresh rosemary0.66 oz clamshell$2.49
  • Celery1 bunch/stalk$2.48
  • Carrots2 lb bag · used in 2 dinners$2.29
  • Fresh flat-leaf parsley2 × 1 bunch · used in 4 dinners$2.18
  • Spring mix salad greens5 oz clamshell$2.00
  • Roma tomatoes~1 lb (4-5 tomatoes)$1.98
  • Garlic2 × 1 head (~10 cloves) · used in 5 dinners$1.58
  • Cucumber1 cucumber$0.89

Bakery

About $8
  • French baguette2 × 1 baguette$4.96
  • Pita bread6-count pack · used in 2 dinners$2.98

Pantry

About $60
  • Extra virgin olive oil16.9 fl oz bottle · used in 7 dinners$11.15
  • Tahinipantry staple16 oz jar$9.08
  • Vegetable broth2 × 32 oz carton · used in 3 dinners$7.58
  • Ground black pepperpantry staple3 oz container · used in 2 dinners$4.28
  • Canned cannellini beans4 × 15 oz can · used in 2 dinners$3.88
  • Ground cuminpantry staple2 oz jar · used in 4 dinners$2.98
  • Ground gingerpantry staple1.6 oz jar$2.98
  • Ground turmericpantry staple1.9 oz jar$2.98
  • Canned chunk light tuna2 × 5 oz can$2.50
  • Brown/green lentils1 lb bag$2.49
  • Crushed red pepper flakespantry staple1.5 oz jar · used in 2 dinners$2.48
  • Canned coconut milk13.5 oz can$1.98
  • Spaghetti16 oz box$1.28
  • Saltpantry staple26 oz canister · used in 4 dinners$1.18
  • Canned diced tomatoes14.5 oz can$1.12
  • Canned chickpeas15 oz can$0.98
  • Tomato paste6 oz can$0.78

Want this list for your store and your family? Set your own budget and the app plans the week to fit it.

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Questions people ask

How do you make a meal plan on a budget?
Set the budget first, then pick dinners that reuse the same ingredients, then write one list in whole packages. Picking recipes first and adding up the receipt after is how weeks go over.
What is a good cheap weekly meal plan?
The seven dinners on this page: Tuna and White Bean Salad, Baladi Salad with Toasted Pita, Garlic and Chili Oil Spaghetti, Egyptian Hummus with Cumin and Lemon, Rosemary White Beans on Garlic Toast, Carrot and Ginger Soup, Brown Lentil Soup with Lemon.
Why are some items marked as pantry staples?
Oil, rice, spices and sauces get bought once and last for weeks. They are $26 of this list. If you already have them, this week costs closer to $69.
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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