Looking for frugal meal ideas? This menu plan shows exactly what my family of 6 has been eating on a $350/month grocery budget. Lots of easy recipe ideas and meal inspiration!
One of the things that I’ve done to try to help reduce my decision fatigue and just simplify things overall is to have certain things about our meals “set in stone”.
For example, every day at lunch we have yogurt and fruit. And nearly every Sunday evening we have either tuna toasts or tuna quesadillas with smoothie and popcorn for dinner.
It means there is one less thing for me to need to plan and decide. And it just makes my life a little bit easier and less stressful.
I realize that this way of doing things isn’t for everyone, but it works for us!
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 12 ½-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl and a 4 ½-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, whenever possible I try to stock up. 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 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. - We eat simple, filling breakfasts.
Typically we have either Homemade Granola or Baked Oatmeal, and occasionally some 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 coffee, homemade frappe or some other fun beverage like Warm Vanilla Custard every afternoon.
A little side note: I occasionally get asked why I only do a two weeks 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.
Frugal Family Menu Plan
WEEK ONE
Sunday
- Instant Pot Creamy Ziti; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Tuna Toasts; 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie; Homemade Popcorn
– For the tuna toasts we just butter homemade sourdough bread, put it on a baking sheet, sprinkle the bread with shredded cheese and bake it until it’s a bit toasted and the cheese is slightly browned. Then we make homemade tuna salad and eat it on top of the toasts. So good!
Monday
- Leftover Tuna Toasts; Hummus with Carrots; Organic Yogurt; Grapes; Apples
- Speedy Spanish Rice and Ground Beef Skillet; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Homemade Chocolate Brownies
Tuesday
- Peanut Butter and Homemade Plum Jam Sandwiches; Organic Yogurt; Grapes; Oranges
- BBQ Chicken served over Rice; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Rhubarb Crisp with Milk
Wednesday
- Peanut Butter and Homemade Apple Butter Sandwiches; Hummus with Carrots and Peppers; Organic Yogurt; Oranges; Apples
- Various Leftovers; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Rhubarb Crisp with Milk
Thursday
- 5 Minute Refried Bean Dip with Tortilla Chips; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Pears; Apples
- Beefy Tomato Pasta Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the freezer)
Friday
- Peanut Butter and Homemade Plum Jam Sandwiches; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Canned Peaches; Apples
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Classic Blueberry Buckle with Milk
Saturday
- Zucchini Fritters; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Canned Peaches; Apples
– I can’t find a recipe quite like the one that I use for the Zucchini Fritters. But if you Google, you’ll find lots of recipes that are similar that I think you’ll enjoy too. - Various Leftovers; Green Beans (for the kids); Roasted Broccoli (for my husband and I); Leftover Blueberry Buckle with Milk
WEEK TWO
Sunday
- Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup; Store-Bought Onion Rings; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Sourdough Lemon Cake with Glaze
- Tuna Toasts; 3 Minute Frozen Fruit Smoothie; Homemade Popcorn
Monday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches; Hummus with Carrots and Peppers; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Canned Peaches; Apples
- Cheeseburger Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Lemon Cake
Tuesday
- Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas; Organic Yogurt; Plums; Bananas
- Breakfast Wraps (eggs, bacon, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and peppers and sour cream in a tortilla); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Homemade Oreo Milkshakes
Wednesday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches; Hummus with Carrots and Peppers; Organic Yogurt; Bananas; Grapes
- White Chicken Skillet Lasagna; Green Beans (for the kids); Roasted Broccoli (for my husband and me); Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies
Thursday
- Refried Bean and Cheese Quesadilla (used my homemade refried beans); Grapes; Clementines
- Easy Ground Beef and Rice Skillet; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies
Friday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Frozen Cherries; Apples
- Various Leftovers; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing and Homemade Ranch; Leftover Chocolate Chip Zucchini Brownies
Saturday
- Meat & Cheese Sandwiches; Hummus with Carrots, Peppers and Cucumbers; Greek Yogurt with Honey; Fresh Pineapple; Apples
- Ground Beef Skillet Enchiladas; Peas; Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
You might also enjoy these money saving articles:
Leave a Reply