When you’re on a budget, creating weekly meal plans can make a world of difference to your stress and your savings. Great budget meal planning should help you eat well pay less so you can confidently save money.
This one week budget meal plan for a family is for for 3 adults or 2 adults + 2 young children, 3 meals per person per day.
Use it as is, adjust it to your needs, or rewrite it with your favourite go-to weeknight meals. If you don’t mind eating the same thing every day, why not batch cook on Sunday for lunches that last the whole week?
Things to keep in mind:
- We’ve listed everything you need in the shopping list, including ingredients you might already have in your pantry. So if you already have some ingredients, enjoy the extra savings that fortnight! The only things we haven’t included are oil, salt, pepper and water.
- This meal plan is designed to serve three adults at each meal, or two adults and two children. We’ve adjusted the quantities in the shopping list, but you’ll need to adjust the quantities in each recipe for the number of people you’re serving.
- We’ve incorporated “leftovers” into your meal plan to give you time off from cooking, make sure you use up leftover food that might otherwise get thrown away, and ensure you don’t buy fast food or cafeteria food for lunch while at work (which will add to your overall food spend).
- We’ve included baby spinach, almonds and cranberries to create a simple side salad for any dish that isn’t easily multiplied. This helps your meals go further!
Week 1 meal plan
Sunday
Breakfast: Mini brunch frittatas This recipe serves six, so you can whip together a batch on Sunday morning and have leftovers for Monday.
Lunch: Chicken quesadillas (or Leftovers) If you have dinner leftovers, lunch is the best time to eat them! Cooking three times a day can get tedious. Of course, if you don’t have leftovers, we’ve included this tasty quesadilla recipe with a few easy changes: Use the same spices as the Peri Peri chicken (smoked paprika, cumin, chilli flakes). Use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. Use creme fraiche instead of sour cream.
Dinner: Roast vege tart Cut this roast vege tart into six slices and serve it with a simple side salad of spinach, almonds and cranberries.
Lunch: Chicken quesadillas (or Leftovers) If you have dinner leftovers, lunch is the best time to eat them! Cooking three times a day can get tedious. Of course, if you don’t have leftovers, we’ve included this tasty quesadilla recipe with a few easy changes: Use the same spices as the Peri Peri chicken (smoked paprika, cumin, chilli flakes). Use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste. Use creme fraiche instead of sour cream.
Dinner: Roast vege tart Cut this roast vege tart into six slices and serve it with a simple side salad of spinach, almonds and cranberries.
Monday
Breakfast: Mini brunch frittatas Eat your Sunday leftovers cold, or reheat in a sandwich press!
Lunch: Leftover roast vege tart Sunday’s roast vege tart will keep wonderfully in the fridge, or in a lunch box with an ice pack, until lunchtime. Enjoy it cold!
Dinner: Mexican fiesta bowl This recipe serves two, so we’ve multiplied it by three to ensure there’s plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. Use frozen corn instead of canned, and serve with spinach instead of lettuce.
Lunch: Leftover roast vege tart Sunday’s roast vege tart will keep wonderfully in the fridge, or in a lunch box with an ice pack, until lunchtime. Enjoy it cold!
Dinner: Mexican fiesta bowl This recipe serves two, so we’ve multiplied it by three to ensure there’s plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. Use frozen corn instead of canned, and serve with spinach instead of lettuce.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Very berry smoothie Smoothies are an easy breakfast on a work day — no cooking, just throw everything into a blender and go.
Lunch: Leftover Mexican fiesta bowl Be sure to remove the avocado and spinach before microwaving, or just enjoy this dish cold.
Dinner: Prawn and chicken laksa Multiply this recipe by three to ensure it feeds three adults for dinner and lunch.
Lunch: Leftover Mexican fiesta bowl Be sure to remove the avocado and spinach before microwaving, or just enjoy this dish cold.
Dinner: Prawn and chicken laksa Multiply this recipe by three to ensure it feeds three adults for dinner and lunch.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Perfect microwave porridge We’ve included extra bananas in your shopping list, so you can each have some banana sliced on top of your porridge.
Lunch: Leftover Prawn and chicken laksa Microwave your laksa covered for about two minutes to heat through.
Dinner: Cottage pie The recipe serves four, so we’ve multiplied the ingredients by one and a half to get six servings.
Lunch: Leftover Prawn and chicken laksa Microwave your laksa covered for about two minutes to heat through.
Dinner: Cottage pie The recipe serves four, so we’ve multiplied the ingredients by one and a half to get six servings.
Thursday
Breakfast: Very berry smoothie Alternating between smoothies and porridge, or any breakfast, helps keep your mornings feeling fresh. Of course, you can also sub in any smoothie recipe you enjoy.
Lunch: Leftover Cottage pie Just a few minutes in the microwave will warm this through, or enjoy it cold.
Dinner: Corn and prawn fritters Fritters are a great way to use up any leftover ingredients — try adding anything you have in your fridge. Use onions instead of shallots, and serve with a side salad.
Lunch: Leftover Cottage pie Just a few minutes in the microwave will warm this through, or enjoy it cold.
Dinner: Corn and prawn fritters Fritters are a great way to use up any leftover ingredients — try adding anything you have in your fridge. Use onions instead of shallots, and serve with a side salad.
Friday
Breakfast: Perfect microwave porridge For a twist on this microwave porridge, try adding some of your frozen berries!
Lunch: Leftover Corn and prawn fritters Keep your fritters in the fridge, or in a lunchbox with an ice pack, and enjoy them cold.
Dinner: Slow cooked beef stroganoff Prep your stroganoff at the start of the week, by freezing your ingredients together in a large snaplock bag. Then, just throw the stroganoff in the slow cooker on the Friday morning and come home to a delicious dinner. Use creme fraiche instead of sour cream.
Lunch: Leftover Corn and prawn fritters Keep your fritters in the fridge, or in a lunchbox with an ice pack, and enjoy them cold.
Dinner: Slow cooked beef stroganoff Prep your stroganoff at the start of the week, by freezing your ingredients together in a large snaplock bag. Then, just throw the stroganoff in the slow cooker on the Friday morning and come home to a delicious dinner. Use creme fraiche instead of sour cream.
Saturday
Breakfast: Banana pancakes Your remaining bananas should be nice and ripe — perfect for pancakes. With no extra sugar, these pancakes are also great for a healthy family.
Lunch: Leftover beef stroganoff Give your stroganoff a few minutes in the microwave at lunch time.
Dinner: Peri Peri roast chicken A roast chicken is a great way to feed a family, and you’ll easily get leftover chicken and veggies for Sunday lunches.
Lunch: Leftover beef stroganoff Give your stroganoff a few minutes in the microwave at lunch time.
Dinner: Peri Peri roast chicken A roast chicken is a great way to feed a family, and you’ll easily get leftover chicken and veggies for Sunday lunches.
Week 1 recipes
Some of the deliciously simple recipes from our week 1 meal plan.