Cheap Meal Plans: Menu #4

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Do you need to create a menu for your family for this week? I’ve already got you covered! Here’s a simple meal plan with clean foods that you can buy and make for your family of 4 for less than $130.

Below you will find the shopping list, estimated prices (from Walmart, using generic ingredients when available), the meal plan for the week, and the recipes you will need to make. Prices are based on pricing at my closest Walmart store in Wyoming.

To make this meal plan for a family of 2, you can cut everything in half. For a family of 6, add 50% of the ingredients. For a family of 8, double all the ingredients.

You will need extras for sides and snacks this week.

Table of Contents

🛒 Shopping List

Protein

Eggs ~ $8.00 (36ct)
Ground Beef (1lbs) ~ $6.24
Chicken Breasts (~2.5 lbs) ~ $12.18
Bacon (1lb) ~ $6.47
Breakfast Sausage ~ $5.73
Pepperoni ~ $4.96
Mozzarella Cheese (16oz)~ $3.78
Quesadilla Cheese ~ $1.97
Turkey Sausage (2lbs) ~ $8.24
Parmesan Cheese ~ $2.98

🍞 Grains & Breads

2 loaves bread ~ $2.84
Tortillas (1 packs) ~ $1.98
Old Fashioned Oats ~ $2.66
Egg noodles (16oz) ~ $1.62

🥕 Produce

Apples ~$3.88 (3lb bag)
Cabbage ~ $3.32
Onions (3lbs) ~ $2.64
Frozen Fruit (48oz) ~ $6.86
Celery ~ $2.12
Carrots (1lb) ~ $1.32
Zucchini ~ $1.02

🥛 Dairy & Condiments

Mayo (small jar) ~ $2.12
Jam (small jar) ~ $2.66
Vanilla Yogurt ~ $2.72
Milk (half gallon) ~ $2.08

🥫 Canned & Packaged

Brown Sugar ~ $2.22
Canned Corn (2 cans) ~ $1.52
Canned Diced Tomato (2 cans) ~ $1.92
Vegetable Broth ~ $1.50
Chicken Broth (3 containers) ~ $4.50
Canned Green Beans (2 cans) ~ $1.52
Tomato Paste ~ $0.86
Dry White Beans (1lb dry)~ $1.87

🌿 Seasonings & Spices

Cinnamon, celery salt, and various other spices and baking supplies ~ $5.00

Estimated Total ≈ $121.30

📅 Cheap Meal Plan #4: Easy Meals

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Mon	Muffins	Egg Salad Sandwiches	Calzones
Tue	Oatmeal and Apples	Leftover Calzones	Crockpot Chicken
Wed	Smoothies	Vegetable Soup	Breakfast for Supper
Thu	Muffins	Leftover Crockpot Chicken	Taverns
Fri	Oatmeal and Apples	Leftover Vegetable Soup	Homemade Pizza
Sat	Smoothies	Quesadillas	Bean with Bacon Soup
Sun	Eggs and Toast	Use up remaining leftovers (leftover buffet)	Use up remaining leftovers (leftover buffet)

Print a PDF file with the menu plan HERE.

🥪Recipes and Instructions

Breakfast Recipes

Muffins

Use my Homemade Muffin Mix recipe and any addins that you have on hand for various flavors.

Eggs and Toast

This menu plans on 2 eggs and 2 pieces of toast per person plus jam on the toast.

Oatmeal and Apples

Combine 1/2 cup of oats with 1 cup of water per person. (2 cups of oats with 4 cups of water for 4 people). Cook on a low heat on the stovetop until oats are softened. Chop apples and place them on the stovetop with a little brown sugar, water, and cinnamon. Cook until apples are softened and serve over the top of the oatmeal. You will make this recipe twice this week but you should have plenty of oats to make larger servings if needed.

Smoothies

Use a bag of frozen fruit plus some vanilla yogurt and milk to make smoothies.

Lunch Recipes

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Use this recipe for Homemade Egg Salad. Serve with bread.

Vegetable Soup

Use this recipe for homemade Vegetable Soup. Make a large batch for leftovers.

Quesadillas

Just warm a tortilla in a skillet with a little butter or oil, sprinkle on some cheese, add and leftover cooked meat you have, and top with another tortilla. Cook until golden and crispy on both sides, and until the cheese is melted through. Slice it up and serve with salsa, sour cream, or whatever toppings you have on hand.

Supper Recipes

Calzones

Get the recipe on our YouTube Channel on this video.

Crockpot Chicken

Use this recipe for 4 Ingredient Chicken. Use milk in the sauce and add any spices you have on hand to flavor. Serve over egg noodles.

Breakfast for Supper

Make 2 eggs plus breakfast sausage per person. Serve either with pancakes or toast and jam, your choice. For pancakes, use my Pancake Mix recipe.

Taverns

Use my recipe for Taverns here. You will also need to make buns. There is a link to bun recipes on the post, otherwise add a package of buns to your shopping list.

Homemade Pizza

This is our favorite Pizza Dough recipe. I’ve included the ingredients to make a pepperoni pizza in this week’s shopping list.

Bean with Bacon Soup

Use my Bean with Bacon soup recipe here. Use carrots instead of butternut squash.

Helpful Tips on Meal Planning

You can, of course, get these prices down even further if you already have some of these items on hand such as the pantry staples. My menu assumes you at least have flour, sugar, salt, and pepper on hand.

There will be items leftover from this menu that you can use next week if you need to or you can add into some of these meals to bulk them up.

You could also make some of these items from scratch to save even more! If you have flour and yeast you can make your own bread for less. You could also make things like dinner rolls to add to these recipes to bulk them up. Here are some tips on making frugal meals stretch and more filling.

Keep all the recipes in a Meal Planning Binder.

Happy Meal Planning!