Cheap Weekly Meal Plan for a Family of 4

In Nutrinity, setup asks for a budget per person, per meal, with three tiers: $5–8, $9–15 and $16+. The plan becomes one list with an estimated total for the store you pick. Below is a sample cheap week of dinners for 4 that we wrote, with its grocery list.

How do I meal plan for a family of 4 on a budget?

1. Pick a weekly number and turn it into a per-meal number. Nutrinity’s setup has three budget tiers per person, per meal, and none under $5: $5–8, $9–15 and $16+. $150 a week for 4 people and 21 meals is about $1.79 for each person at each meal; $200 is about $2.38. Both are under the lowest tier, so in the app you would pick $5–8 and expect the estimated total to come out above your weekly number. Get the most from that tier by leaning on your pantry, letting meals repeat and favoring cheap staples.
2. Choose two proteins for the week, not seven. Cook one of them twice in different ways.
3. Use cheap staples. Rice, dried pasta, potatoes, oats, eggs, canned beans and canned tomatoes.
4. Plan leftovers on purpose. Cook extra on Monday and it becomes Thursday’s dinner.
5. Check the pantry, then make one list. Shop one store from that list.

The budget meal planner guide has a table for other budgets and household sizes.

What does a cheap week of family dinners look like?

This is an example we wrote to show ingredient reuse. It is not a plan generated by Nutrinity, and quantities are for about 4 servings.

What goes on the grocery list?

Grouped by store section. Cross off anything already in your pantry before you go.

• Produce: onions (3 lb bag), carrots (2 lb), potatoes (5 lb bag), 3 bell peppers, garlic
• Meat: chicken thighs (about 4 lb), ground turkey (2 lb)
• Dairy and eggs: eggs (1 dozen), shredded cheese (16 oz)
• Pantry: long-grain rice (2 lb), spaghetti (1 lb), 3 cans black beans, 2 large cans crushed tomatoes, salsa, flour tortillas (10), chili powder, cumin, soy sauce, cooking oil
• Frozen: peas (1 lb)

We left prices off because they vary a lot by store and region. In Nutrinity the list shows an estimated total for the store you pick. Prices in store may differ.

How does Nutrinity help a family stick to a budget?

• A budget tier per meal is part of setup ($5–8, $9–15 or $16+ per person), and the plan is built around it.
• One list for your store, with an estimated total, so you know roughly what the plan costs before you shop.
• Pantry items stay off the list. See the pantry-aware planner.
• Swaps. If today’s dinner won’t work for your kids, swap it and see the calories of each option.

For a picky eater, read meal planning for picky eaters. To see how the list is built, read how the grocery list works.