Cheap Meal Planning

One of the great thing about meal planning with The Resourceful Cook is that you know how much you're going to spend before you get to the supermarket - great if you're on a tight budget.

Selection of Cheap Meal Plans

Meal planning is a great way to keep your spending down, especially if you're trying to save money or if you need to stick to a tight budget. Check out our favourite cheap meal plans below and start saving money today!

“We've got loads of delicious meal plans to help you spend less and save more!"If you're not familiar with how meal planning can help you save money then I recommend you read Hannah's recent blog post: How much money can meal planning save you? It's a great overview of the ways meal planning will help save you money, and you can use the savings calculator to see how much meal planning could save you each year.

We've got loads of delicious and cheap meal plans on the site to help you spend less and save more - we've listed a selection of our favourites below. They have all been carefully designed to use ingredients in clever and efficient ways so that your shopping bill is cheap, but the food is nutritious, convenient and full of flavour! And if you're in need of a bit of extra inspiration check out our blog showcasing some of our favourite cheap recipes.


Our favourite cheap meal plans for 1:

Serves 1

Frugal Favourites 2 - £7 shop for 7 nights.

Seven cheap, tasty and filling meals for under £7. Enjoy!

Recipes: Tuna & Sweetcorn Pasta Bake, Easy Pork Meatballs, Simple Sausage Cassoulet, Bangers & Mash, Spicy Bean Chilli, Spicy Chilli Baked Potato, Chunky Vegetable Chowder. You'll need a basic store cupboard.

Serves 1

Veggie Classics 2 - £8 shop for 7 nights.

Vegetarian. More tried and tested vegetarian classics. Great tasting, filling and cheap.

Recipes: Aubergine Lasagne, Root Veg & Cheese Rosti, Pasta alla Norma, Curried Root Vegetables, Chickpea & Mushroom Tagine, Spicy Chickpea Dhal, Roasted Veg with Salsa Rosa. You'll need a basic store cupboard.

Serves 1

Easy Dinners - £12 shop for 7 nights.

Delicious and diverse dinners ready in 25 minutes or less. Cooking made easy!

Recipes: Creamy Pork Pasta, Roast Salmon with Lemon Sauce, Bangers & Mash, Simple Sausage Cassoulet, Spicy Tomato & Prawn Pasta, Easy Paella, Peppered Steak Stir-fry. You'll need a typical store cupboard.

Serves 1

Vegetarian Specials - £15 shop for 7 nights.

Vegetarian. Vibrant, fresh and full of flavour. Enjoy!

Recipes: Tagliatelle al Funghi, Spinach & Mushroom Gratin, Levantine Meze, Chickpea & Spinach Stew, Chargrilled Vegetable Risotto, Rustic Pizza, Sweet Potato Gnocchi. You'll need a cook's store cupboard.


Our favourite cheap meal plans for 2:

Serves 2

Super Cheap Eats - £15 shop for 7 nights.

The perfect meal plan for anyone cooking on a budget - happy food for tricky times.

Recipes: Toad in the Hole, Sausage & Bean Stew, Bacon & Broccoli Pasta Grill, Loaded Mash, Chilli Pasta Bake, Beef & Aubergine Pasta, Mushroom Stroganoff. You'll need a basic store cupboard.

Serves 2

Super Suppers - £16 shop for 7 nights.

Delicious and diverse suppers full of flavour and easy on the wallet.

Recipes: Aubergine Lasagne, Root Veg & Cheese Rosti, Pasta alla Norma, Curried Root Vegetables, Chickpea & Mushroom Tagine, Spicy Chickpea Dhal, Roasted Veg with Salsa Rosa. You'll need a basic store cupboard.

Serves 2

Lower Calorie Suppers 3 - £22 shop for 7 nights.

Vegetarian. Seven lower calorie vegetarian dinners from around the globe in this great meal plan.

Recipes: Asparagus & Pea Risotto, Pad Thai-Style Noodles, Broccoli & Blue Cheese Bake, Asparagus Quiche, Feta & Pepper Frittata, Spinach & Feta Cannelloni, Spicy Chickpea Curry, Minestrone Stew. You'll need a typical store cupboard.

Serves 2

Great Value Suppers - £26 shop for 7 nights.

Delicious suppers which cleverly use ingredients to maximise taste without adding to the price.

Recipes: Spanish Chicken & Chorizo Stew, Chicken & Coconut Curry, Oven-roast Chicken Breasts, Beef Ragu with Penne, Sausage & Bacon Casserole, Sweet Chilli Sausages, Smoked Salmon Spaghetti. You'll need a typical store cupboard.


Our favourite cheap meal plans for 4:

Serves 4

Great Value Suppers - £26 shop for 7 nights.

Delicious suppers which cleverly use ingredients to maximise taste without adding to the price.

Recipes: Spanish Chicken & Chorizo Stew, Chicken & Coconut Curry, Oven-roast Chicken Breasts, Beef Ragu with Penne, Sausage & Bacon Casserole, Sweet Chilli Sausages, Smoked Salmon Spaghetti. You'll need a typical store cupboard.

Serves 4

Dinners for a Fiver 2 - £29 shop for 7 nights.

More tasty and filling family meals for an average of £5 or less per night.

Recipes: Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Grill, Spicy Sausage Meat Pasta, Easy Chicken Couscous, Spaghetti Bolognese, Vegetable Frittata, Tartiflette, Chilli Con Carne. You'll need a basic store cupboard.

Serves 4

Family Vegetarian - £42 shop for 7 nights.

Vegetarian. Delicious and diverse vegetarian meals the whole family will enjoy.

Recipes: Lentil Roast with Roasted Veg, Borlotti Bean Bake, Mexican Bean Tortillas, Spinach Dhal with Chapatis, Morrocan Tagine with Harissa, Asparagus & Pea Risotto, Bean Burgers & Mango Relish. You'll need a typical store cupboard.

Serves 4

Impress for Less - £52 shop for 7 nights.

Seven delicious and diverse meals which will impress without costing the earth.

Recipes: Bacon & Pearl Barley Stew, Malaysian Beef Curry, Thai Spiced Chicken Patties, Chicken, Tarragon & Leek Pie, Risi e Bisi, Sausage & Bean Cassoulet, Crab & Tomato Linguine. You'll need a cook's store cupboard.


Add a comment

We love to hear from all our users, so why not add a comment below. (You need a Facebook, Hotmail, AOL or Yahoo account to add a comment.)

Share |

Tastiest recipes

  • Ham & Cheese Frittata

    An Italian omelette with potato, ham and Brie served with a simple rocket salad.

  • Tuna & Potato Layer

    Layered potato slices, sweetcorn and tuna with a creamy white sauce, courtesy of the Potato Council.

  • Scaloppine alla Romana

    A Roman dish of pan-fried pork rolled with mozzarella, prosciutto and sage. Served with asparagus and salad.

Latest recipes