This budget menu plan is full of meal ideas that are easy to prepare, made with simple ingredients and, of course, delicious too! Perfect for anyone trying to save money while still feeding their family well.
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Everyone seems to be talking about the rising cost of groceries. But with an average 10% increase in prices over the last year, it really does have a big impact!
To be honest, I thought I’d need to increase my budget by now, but so far I’ve been able to manage to stay within budget simply by getting more creative.
For example, instead of buying boneless chicken to cook and dice for recipes that call for cooked chicken, I have been buying a whole chicken. Not only is this cheaper, but I can also then use the carcass to make delicious, nutritious bone broth too.
I’ve switched to making my own hummus instead of buying ready made. I’ve started buying frozen chicken breasts instead of fresh. I’ve been buying larger bags of peppers (which are much cheaper) and then I slice and freeze half of them to use on pizza, to saute with eggs etc.
Instead of buying the smaller bags of shredded mozzarella that I liked because they reseal, I’ve been grabbing the larger bags that are less expensive but don’t have that handy resealable top.
In short, it’s been good for me to reassess my buying habits again and I kind of like that it’s forced me to rethink things and get creative.
NEW TO MY MENU PLANS?
It might be helpful to know a few things before reading further.
- The size and ages of our family.
Our family of six consists of two adults, a 14 1/2 year-old boy, an 11 year-old girl, an 8 1/2 year-old girl and a 6 1/2 year-old boy. All of our kids have hearty appetites and tend to be big eaters.
- Having a stockpile saves me money.
If an item that we use goes on sale, especially if it’s a particularly good sale, I try to stock up whenever possible. Sometimes the saving seems small- it may only be $0.25 an item. But doing that with multiple things does add up rather quickly! Then when I plan my menus, I first look at what I have in my cupboards, fridge and freezer and try to plan as many meals around that as possible.
- I use my freezer a lot.
I freeze so many foods to extend their shelf life- everything from cottage cheese to zucchini to onions! Another thing I like to do is cook up extra meat, rice and even things like soup and then freeze them to save time later. Both of these things help save me time and money too.
- I cook almost totally from scratch.
That means when I bake a cake, I make it from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups, homemade Bisquick and pie crusts. Making our own food is typically less expensive and healthier too.
- We eat simple, filling breakfasts.
Typically we have either Homemade Granola, Chocolate Granola or Baked Oatmeal, and occasionally some store-bought cereal and fruit too. I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but the simplicity of it works well for us. I also have a homemade iced latte, homemade frappe or some other fun beverage like Warm Vanilla Custard every afternoon.
- We rarely snack.
By eating hearty food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunchtime. And our lunches are big enough that we usually are fine until dinner time. When we do need a snack, I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe No Bake Energy Bites. We don’t always do it perfectly though, and sometimes end up having chips or cookies instead.
A little side note: I occasionally get asked why I only do a two-week menu plan instead of four weeks. To be honest, it’s mainly for my own convenience.
Keeping track of everything we eat gets to be a little tedious. So only doing it for two weeks helps me not get bogged down with it.
Get my FREE $50 Aldi Meal Plan here! It has 7 easy dinners for a family of 5.
WEEK ONE
Sunday
- Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Skillet; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
- Toasted Tuna Salad Sandwiches; Homemade Popcorn; 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie
Monday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Apples; Bananas
- Creamy Sausage and Potatoes; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Easy Apple Dumpling Dessert
Tuesday
- 5 Minute RefriedBean Dip with Tortilla Chips; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Apples; Grapes
- Super Easy Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole; Green Beans; Leftover Apple Dumpling Dessert
Wednesday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Grapes; Oranges
- Easy Vegetable Beef Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Leftover Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins (had frozen)
Thursday
- Jelly Sandwiches (made with homemade Apple Butter); Greek Yogurt with Honey; Bananas; Canned Peaches
- Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce served over rice; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Monster Cookie Bars
– I doubled the sauce part of the chicken recipe so that it would work nicely to eat over rice.
Friday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Oranges; Apples
- John Wayne Casserole; Blackened Broccoli; Green Beans (for those that don’t like broccoli); Leftover Monster Cookie Bars
Saturday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Grapes; Apples
- Various Leftovers; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Icing
WEEK TWO
Sunday
- Eggs- scrambled with peppers, onions and mushrooms; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch Dressing; Leftover Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Icing
- Pizza Breads; Homemade Popcorn; 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie
– I used ciabatta and rolls that I got marked down because they were close to their sell-by date and spread a bit of pizza sauce on top of them, added pepperoni and cheese and then baked them until they were lightly toasted and the cheese was melted. So easy!
Monday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Fresh Pineapple; Bananas
- Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Rhubarb Pudding Cake served with Milk (made with frozen rhubarb from our garden)
Tuesday
- Super Easy Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Apples; Fresh Pineapple
- Easy Ground Beef and Potato Skillet; Peas; Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
Wednesday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Clementines; Bananas
- Creamy White Chicken Chili; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
Thursday
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (used homemade jam given to us by a friend); Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Clementines; Grapes
- One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Molasses Crinkle Cookies
Friday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Clementines; Apples
- Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken served over rice; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Molasses Crinkle Cookies
Saturday
- Meat and Cheese Sandwiches; Homemade Hummus and Carrots; Potato Chips; Kiwi; Apples
- Various Leftovers; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Brown Sugar Pecan Pie
Angela Schaefer
The chicken with mustard and cream sauce sounds wonderful. It is just my husband and I. Are son is 25 years old and is engaged. They have beautiful 2 year old Everly. But I can freeze some of it. Or send food to my kids. Thank you so much.
Lydia Beiler
You could always just make half a recipe too, Angela. But I’m sure your kids would be thrilled with the extra. I know I would! 😉
Chris
You are truly amazing! My husband and I are reading this and figuring we should be able to do better on our budget too! There is just us two, you are inspiring us also to EAT more healthy! Your family is blessed!
Lydia Beiler
Aw, thanks for your kind words, Chris! I’m so grateful that it could inspire you as that is my goal with these menu plans. All the best as you figure out ways to lower your grocery budget!