Aldi Meal Plan: 7 Dinners for under $50 for a Family of 5

This budget one week Aldi Meal Plan gives you everything you need to feed a family of five for just $50!  It even includes a printable shopping list to make things super easy for you!

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I’ve been a fan of Aldi for years and even shared some of my favorite Aldi grocery favorites with you.

So it only made sense to create a meal plan that was exclusively for items that could be purchased at Aldi!

After all, menu planning and shopping at Aldi are two of the easiest ways to save money on groceries!

Free Aldi Meal Plan: What’s Included

• 7 days worth of dinners (main dish and a side) that will cost less than $50
• Recipes that should feed at least 5 people
• Simple, easy, family-friendly recipes
• Recipes that take 50 min. or less total time, with most taking 15 min. prep time.
• Breakdown of the cost of each recipe
• A helpful shopping list

Helpful Things to Know

• If you prefer to skip the sides or choose to do other foods for your side dishes, the cost of just the main dishes by themselves is under $35.

• This menu plan will cost you under $50 for the foods you eat. However, your actual cost of the groceries you purchase will be more than that! That’s because many of the items, such as the chicken breast, come in packages bigger than the amount that you need.

• The cost of this menu was under $50 at the time that I created it. Obviously, prices will continue to rise, so the total menu plan cost may end up costing you more than $50. However, it will still be quite frugal.

• I have tried to include helpful tips on what you can do with the extra food to make things easier for you!

• The calculated prices will likely be on the high side for many of you.  My prices are based on Pennsylvania prices and from my experience, prices in this area are higher than many parts of the country.
  
  For instance, 1 gallon of 2% milk costs $4.29 and whole milk costs even more. So there’s a good chance that it will cost you even less than what I calculated. But of course, I know you won’t mind that!

• I do not include breakfasts and lunches. From my experience, most people have quite varied preferences and needs for these meals (ie: some family members eating on the go or at work). So I chose to not add those to the plan.
  
  We typically eat Baked Oatmeal or Homemade Granola for our breakfasts. Lunches vary a lot, but things like this 5 Minute Refried Bean Dip or these White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches can be great options.

• The amounts for the side dishes are on the generous side, particularly the vegetable sides. I just wanted to mention that in case your family has some members that aren’t big vegetable eaters and you want to adjust the amounts that you purchase.

• If you don’t already use them, I recommend checking out the Ibotta and Fetch Rewards apps. You can use these apps to save a bit more on your grocery purchases!

• Instacart now does Aldi grocery delivery! If you prefer to save time by not going shopping yourself, this is a great option and super convenient!

One Week Aldi Meal Plan: Shopping List

This shopping list includes the vegetable and fruit sides that I paired with each dinner.

I realize though, that people’s preferences vary greatly and your family might not enjoy the sides that our family does.

Each item on the shopping list that is a side dish item is noted with ** at the beginning.  If you prefer to choose your own sides, simply don’t purchase these items.

Items You Probably Already Have
If you don’t have these items, you’ll want to add them to your grocery list.

• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Dried Basil
• 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• ½ tsp. Ground Cumin 
• 3 Cloves Garlic 
• 2 tbsp. Flour
• ¼ c. Mayonnaise
• 1 Egg
• ½ c. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Produce

• 3 lb. Onions
  – You’ll only need 3 onions + 2 Tbsp. minced onion, so you’ll have about half a bag of onions leftover.
  – If you are concerned about the onions spoiling, you can always chop them up and freeze them.  This works super well and is so handy to pull out whenever you need some to saute for a recipe.
• Bunch Green Onions
• 5 lb. Potatoes
  – You will have about 3 lb. potatoes leftover.
  – An idea for using them: bake them and serve them for a lunch. 
• **2 Little Salad Bar Caesar Salad Kit
  – Using a salad kit is not the cheapest way to make a salad, but it was the easiest way for me to calculate costs and keep things simple.  But you can definitely save more if you purchase the ingredients individually and then make your own.  
• **1 bag Baby Carrots
  – It’s cheaper to buy regular carrots as you can get a 2lb. bag for just $0.50 more.  So if you don’t mind peeling and cutting them and if you will eat more than 1 lb. before they spoil, this is an easy way to save a bit extra!
• **1 lb. Grapes

Pantry 

• 5 lb. Jasmine Rice
  – You will only need 3 c. of rice.
• 46 oz. Tomato Juice
  – You will only need 3 c. so you’ll have about 2 ¾ c. leftover.
  – Tomato juice freezer really well.  If you don’t know what to do with the leftover juice, I recommend freezing it and then thawing it another week to make this recipe again.  
• **3 cans Fruit Cocktail
• 1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
  – This is something that I personally make from scratch.  If you are interested in doing the same, here’s my Homemade Cream Soup Mix recipe.
• 32 oz. Chicken Broth
  – You will only need 3c. of the broth and will have 1 c. left.
  – You can freeze the leftover chicken broth.
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cans Black Beans
• 24 oz. Marinara Sauce
• 2 (15 oz.) jars Alfredo Sauce
  – You will have about ½ jar leftover.
  – You can freeze the leftover Alfredo sauce.
  – An idea for using it up: use it to make a Chicken Alfredo Pizza.  You would need to buy or make a pizza crust, then use this sauce in place of tomato sauce on the pizza, top it with some cooked shredded chicken and then finish it off with the leftover cheddar and mozzarella cheese that you’ll have as well.  So easy and delicious!
  – This is something that I personally make from scratch since I find the homemade Alfredo Sauce to be tastier and less expensive.  
• 24 oz. Salsa
  – You will have 1 c. leftover.
  – You can freeze the leftover salsa.
  – Or if you have wiggle room in your budget, you can grab a bag of tortilla chips and enjoy some chips and salsa.
• 16 oz. Penne Pasta
• 16 oz. Rotini Pasta
• 1 box All Purpose Baking Mix
  – In case you aren’t familiar with this, it’s the same thing as Bisquick.
  – You will only need 2 cups worth so you’ll have some leftover.
  – Alternatively, you can make your own Homemade Bisquick Mix.  It might not be any cheaper, but it’s definitely healthier!

Refrigerated

• Milk
  – You will only need 1 ¾ c.
• 2 (8 oz.) Blocks Cheddar Cheese
  – You will have 4 oz. leftover.
  – You can shred the extra cheese and freeze it.
  – Or you can use it for Chicken Alfredo Pizza as I mentioned above under the Alfredo sauce.
  
• 2 (8 oz.) Blocks Mozzarella Cheese
  – You will have 4 oz. leftover.
  – Blocks of cheese are cheaper than shredded cheese, which is why you are buying it and then shredding it yourself.
  – You can shred the extra cheese and freeze it.
  – Or you can use it for Chicken Alfredo Pizza as I mentioned above under the Alfredo sauce.
  
• 16 oz. Sour Cream
  – You will have 1 ½ c. leftover.
  – You can use the leftover sour cream to make a vegetable dip for the baby carrots.
  – An idea for using it up: Use it to top your Poor Man’s burrito bowls.  We often add a bit of sour cream and it makes it extra tasty!

Meat

• 1 lb. Bulk Mild Italian Sausage
• 1 lb. 80% Lean Ground Beef
  – Aldi ground beef comes in packages that are larger than 1 lb.  So you will need to freeze whatever is more than 1 lb.
• 5 lb. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  – You will have some chicken leftover. 
  – I recommend taking out the 2 chicken breasts that you need for the Chicken Parmesan Pasta and then cooking up the rest of the chicken.  Whatever you don’t use in the other recipes that you will make that call for cooked chicken, you can always freeze and use another week in soups or any recipe that calls for cooked, diced chicken.

Frozen

• **3 (12 oz.) Frozen Mixed Veggies
  – You will need 1½ c. for the Easy Chicken Pot Pie.  The rest you will enjoy as a side dish.
• **2 (16 oz.) Frozen Peas
• **2  (12 oz.) Frozen Broccoli

Free Aldi Meal Plan Printable Shopping List

No need to write the shopping list down by hand!  I created a free printable shopping list that conveniently includes everything that you will need.

 Access the Free Printable Shopping List here!

7 Day Aldi Meal Plan: Dinners

Creamy Sausage and Potatoes serve with 2 bags Mixed Veggies
Main dish: $5.08 total cost | 5 servings | $1.01 per serving
Side dish: $1.70

Don’t forget you’ll also have a bit of mixed veggies leftover from the third bag that you used from for the Easy Chicken Pot Pie!  You may want to add them to your side dish for this meal.

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground sausage ($2.95)
• 1 med. Onion ($0.50)
• 4 to 4 ½ c. potatoes, diced ($1.31)
• 2 tbsp. Flour ($0.02)
• 1 ½ tsp. Salt ($0.01)
• ¼ tsp. Pepper ($0.02)
• 1 c. milk ($0.27)

Speedy Spanish Rice and Ground Beef serve with 1 lb. Baby Carrots
Main dish: $4.17 total cost | 5 servings | $0.84 per serving
Side dish: $1.05

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef ($1.99 – use ½ lb.)
• 1 large onion, diced ($0.50)
• 1/2 c. diced bell pepper (optional- did not include in shopping list)
• 1 tsp. Salt ($0.01)
• 1 c. Jasmine or long grain rice, uncooked ($0.44)
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper ($0.02)
• 2 c. tomato juice ($0.48)
• 2 c. water
• 1 c. shredded cheese ($0.73)

Easy John Wayne Casserole serve with 2 bags of Frozen Peas
Main dish: $3.90 total cost | 5 servings | $0.78 per serving
Side dish: $1.70

INGREDIENTS

• ½ lb. ground beef ($1.99)
• 2 Tbsp. onion, chopped ($0.06)
• ½  c. sour cream ($0.30)
• ¼  c. mayonnaise ($0.14)
• ½  c. shredded cheddar cheese ($0.37)
• ¼  tsp. garlic powder ($0.01)
• 1 c. Bisquick ($0.24)
• ¼  c. cold water
• 1 can diced tomatoes ($0.79)

Easy Chicken Pot Pie serve with 3 cans Fruit Cocktail
Main dish: $2.85 total cost | 5 Servings | $0.57 per serving
Side dish: $3.15

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ c. mixed vegetables ($0.85)
• 1 c. cooked chicken ($0.83)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup ($0.55)
• 3/4 cup milk ($0.21)
• 1/2 tsp. Salt ($0.01)
• 1/8 tsp. Pepper ($0.01)
• 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.04)
• 1 cup Bisquick Mix ($0.25)
• 1 egg ($0.10)

One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta serve with 2 bags Caesar Salad
Main dish: $5.28 total cost | 6 servings | $0.88 per serving
Side dish: $4.38

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts ($1.44 – use two)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced ($0.50)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced ($0.15)
• 16 oz dried short-cut pasta ($0.89- use penne pasta)
• 24 oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce ($0.95)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese ($0.73)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese ($0.51)
• salt and pepper, to taste ($0.04)
• fresh parsley and/or basil, minced (not necessary and didn’t include in grocery list or cost)

Dump and Bake Chicken Alfredo Pasta Casserole serve with 2 bags Frozen Broccoli
Main dish: $6.34 total cost | 6 servings | $1.05 per serving
Side dish: $1.98

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 oz.) Rotini Pasta, $0.89
• 1 (22 oz.) Alfredo Sauce, $2.77
• 3 cups chicken stock, $1.02
• 2 cups diced chicken ($1.41)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella ($1.45)

Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls serve with Grapes
Main dish: $4.62 total cost | 6 servings | $0.77 per serving
Side dish: $1.75

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice ($0.88)
• 1/2 tsp salt ($0.01)
• 2 (15oz.) cans black beans ($0.90)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.02)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.01)
• 1 (16oz.) jar salsa ($0.66)
• 6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese ($1.09)
• 1 bunch green onions ($1.05)
• 1 jalapeño (optional)

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