Budget meal plan: a week of cheap, filling meals for two from one grocery list
Eating cheaply is mostly about two things: buying ingredients that cost little per serving, and using every bit of what you buy. This plan does both. It's built for two people around the staples that stretch furthest, like dried beans, red lentils, rice, oats, eggs, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and a family pack of chicken thighs, and every ingredient shows up in at least two meals. One pot of black beans cooked on Sunday feeds four meals. Rice cooked on Tuesday becomes Thursday's fried rice. Dinners are made big enough that tomorrow's lunch is already in the fridge, so there's nothing extra to buy for midday. We don't put a dollar figure on it, because grocery prices swing a lot by store and region, but the list leans on the items that are usually the cheapest per serving in any supermarket. Shop once, give Sunday about an hour while the beans simmer, and the weeknights are quick.
For: One or two people who want a week of filling, home-cooked meals from one small grocery list, with leftovers covering lunch and almost nothing thrown away
Want a week like this built around your budget and your kitchen? Tell Cado you're cooking cheaply for one or two, what's already in your pantry and what you won't eat, and it picks recipes that fit, rewrites any recipe on request, and turns the whole week into one grocery list sorted by aisle that you can send to Instacart. When it's time to cook, say "Hey Cado" for the next step or a timer, hands-free.
Get this plan in CadoThe plan
Day 1 (Sunday)
- BreakfastOatmeal with sliced banana and a spoonful of peanut butter
- LunchScrambled egg and cheese breakfast burritos with salsa
- DinnerSheet-pan roast chicken thighs with potatoes, carrots and onion (roast the whole pack; save the extra chicken for Monday's lunch and Tuesday's bowls)
Day 2 (Monday)
- BreakfastFried or scrambled eggs on toast
- LunchLeftover roast chicken, potatoes and carrots
- DinnerRed lentil dal with spinach and tomatoes over rice, with a spoon of plain yogurt (makes four servings; two go to lunch)
Day 3 (Tuesday)
- BreakfastOatmeal with banana and cinnamon
- LunchLeftover lentil dal and rice
- DinnerChicken and black bean burrito bowls with rice, lime cabbage slaw, cheese, salsa and yogurt (cook extra rice for Thursday)
Day 4 (Wednesday)
- BreakfastPeanut butter and banana toast
- LunchLeftover lentil dal and rice
- DinnerSpaghetti with garlicky tomato sauce and white beans, with roasted cabbage wedges (make enough pasta for two lunches)
Day 5 (Thursday)
- BreakfastOatmeal with peanut butter
- LunchLeftover spaghetti with white beans
- DinnerEgg fried rice with peas, carrots, shredded cabbage and soy sauce, using Tuesday's cold rice (make enough for two lunches)
Day 6 (Friday)
- BreakfastEggs on toast
- LunchLeftover egg fried rice
- DinnerBlack bean and cheese quesadillas with lime cabbage slaw and salsa
Day 7 (Saturday)
- BreakfastPlain yogurt with banana and a handful of oats
- LunchPotato, onion and egg hash
- DinnerBaked potatoes topped with black bean and lentil chili, cheese and yogurt (freeze the extra chili for next week)
Grocery list
Produce
- Russet potatoes, 1 (5-lb) bag
- Yellow onions, 1 (3-lb) bag
- Carrots, 1 (2-lb) bag
- Green cabbage, 1 large head
- Garlic, 1 head
- Limes, 3
- Bananas, 8
Meat and eggs
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, 1 family pack (about 3 lb)
- Eggs, 2 dozen
Dairy
- Shredded cheddar, 1 (16-oz) bag
- Plain yogurt, 1 (32-oz) tub (doubles as sour cream)
Bread and tortillas
- Sandwich bread, 1 loaf
- Large flour tortillas, 1 (10-count) pack
Frozen
- Chopped spinach, 1 (10- to 12-oz) bag or box
- Peas and carrots, 1 (12-oz) bag
Pantry
- Dried black beans, 1 lb
- Red lentils, 1 lb
- Long-grain white rice, 1 (2-lb) bag
- Rolled oats, 1 large canister
- Spaghetti, 1 (1-lb) box
- Crushed tomatoes, 1 (28-oz) can (pasta)
- Diced tomatoes, 2 (15-oz) cans (dal and chili)
- White beans (cannellini or great northern), 1 (15-oz) can
- Salsa, 1 (16-oz) jar
- Peanut butter
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Curry powder, ground cumin, chili powder and cinnamon
- Neutral cooking oil
- Salt and black pepper
Prep tips
- Saturday night, cover the dried black beans with a few inches of water and leave them to soak. If you forget, do a quick soak on Sunday: bring them to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat, cover and let them sit for an hour.
- Sunday, drain the beans and simmer them in fresh water with half an onion, a couple of garlic cloves and a teaspoon of cumin until creamy inside, usually 1 to 1½ hours. Salt them near the end. One pound of dried beans gives about 6 cups cooked, enough for Tuesday's bowls, Friday's quesadillas and Saturday's chili. Keep them in their cooking liquid in the fridge so they stay moist.
- While the beans simmer, roast the chicken: heat the oven to 425°F, toss the thighs, potato chunks, carrot sticks and onion wedges with oil, salt, pepper and a little chili powder, and roast skin-side up until the thickest thigh reads at least 165°F, usually 35 to 45 minutes. Thighs stay juicy even if they go a little past that. Pull the leftover meat off the bones while it's warm and refrigerate it.
- Cooking dried beans instead of buying cans is one of the easiest savings in this plan. Weigh it against canned on your store's shelf tags: compare the unit price (price per ounce or per pound), not the sticker price.
- Monday's dal: soften a chopped onion and 3 cloves of garlic in oil, stir in 1 tablespoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of cumin, then add 1½ cups of rinsed red lentils, one can of diced tomatoes and about 4 cups of water. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils fall apart, stir in the frozen spinach and season with salt. The rest of the lentils go into Saturday's chili.
- Tuesday, cook 3 cups of dry rice. Serve some with the burrito bowls, then spread the rest on a plate to cool and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Cold, day-old rice is what makes Thursday's fried rice crisp instead of mushy.
- Make the lime cabbage slaw once on Tuesday: thinly slice about a quarter of the cabbage, toss with lime juice, a little oil and salt. It keeps for 3 days and covers Tuesday's bowls and Friday's quesadillas. The rest of the cabbage goes into Wednesday's roasted wedges and Thursday's fried rice, so nothing is left to wilt.
- Saturday's chili makes more than two people need. Cool the extra and freeze it in portions; that's a free dinner next week.
- Easy swaps that keep it cheap: any dried bean for black beans, brown or green lentils for red (they hold their shape and need about 10 more minutes), whatever frozen vegetable is cheapest for the peas and carrots, and store-brand everything. Cooking for one? Keep the plan as written and freeze half of the dal, the chili and the cooked beans.
Questions
How do you meal plan on a budget?
Check what you already have, then build the week around a few cheap staples, like beans, lentils, rice, oats, eggs and in-season or frozen vegetables, and make sure every ingredient you buy gets used in at least two meals. Cook dinners big enough to cover the next day's lunch, write one grocery list grouped by store section, and buy only what's on it. Compare unit prices on the shelf tags and choose store brands for staples.
What are the cheapest healthy foods to build meals around?
Dried beans and lentils, rice, rolled oats, eggs, potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, bananas and frozen vegetables are usually among the lowest-cost foods per serving in a typical supermarket, and they're filling. Bone-in chicken thighs and whole chickens tend to cost less per pound than boneless breasts. Prices still vary by store and season, so the unit price on the shelf tag is the best guide.
How can I waste less food on a tight budget?
Plan meals that share ingredients, the way one head of cabbage covers four meals in this plan, and use the most perishable foods early in the week. Turn leftovers into lunches, cool and refrigerate cooked food within 2 hours, and freeze anything you won't eat within 3 to 4 days, like extra chili, cooked beans or bread.
Can I use this budget meal plan for one person or a family?
Yes. For one person, cook the recipes as written and freeze half of the dal, chili and beans for the following week. For a family of four, roughly double the grocery list; the rice, beans, oats and lentils scale up cheaply, and you can add a second pack of chicken thighs.
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