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This budget-friendly meal plan covers a week's worth of dinners for four adults and two children, coming in at under £38 in total. All the recipes are flexible too, so you can swap in different ingredients to make the most of leftovers and supermarket deals, bulk out portion sizes for bigger appetites and appease picky eaters.

More budget meal inspiration

• Budget meal plan for four
• Budget vegetarian meal plan for four
• Budget recipes and advice

How we costed our recipes

We have stuck to a strict ingredient budget for this meal plan, meaning each portion is well under £1 on average.

We’ve based most of our costs on the smallest available pack size, meaning even if you don’t use a whole jar or packet, the entire cost is still included in the budget.

Meanwhile, store cupboard items like oil, salt, pasta and rice are costed according to the quantity you use, as they tend to have long shelf lives or be purchased regularly as part of a standard family shop.

The recipes

Day 1: Budget barbecue-style chicken drumsticks

A cheap and easy way to serve up barbecue-style chicken, even when it’s raining. Using a cheaper cut like drumsticks helps keep the costs low, and any leftovers can be eaten hot or cold as part of a packed lunch the next day. A kilo-sized pack contains roughly 9–11 drumsticks, but if you think your family will eat more just buy a second pack and freeze the excess – you will still be within budget for the week.

Day 2: Cheesy turkey and broccoli spaghetti

A delicious, creamy pasta supper that will feed four people very generously but easily stretches to six if you have younger children around the table. Turkey always makes an economical choice, so think about swapping it in for chicken breast in your favourite dishes.

Day 3: Budget beef tacos

Serve this in the middle of the table and let everyone dig in, building their own tacos. You can swap the soft tortillas for crispy taco shells if you prefer – they'll just cost a few pence more.

Day 4: One pan fish and chips

A fun family traybake that’s bound to be popular with the kids. Cooking everything in one large baking tray makes for a hassle-free supper and saves on washing up. This crowd-pleasing recipe is also a great way to get the family eating more fish.

Day 5: One pan sausage pasta

One pack of sausages will easily feed up to six people if you squeeze the meat out of the skins and cook with pasta and a rich tomato sauce. Leftovers can be warmed up the next day or frozen for up to a month, too.

Day 6: Roast pork and veg with gravy

A proper roast pork dinner with lots of veg and gravy doesn’t need to be expensive if you choose the right cut of meat. You can spread the cost over a couple of meals too, by using the leftover meat in other recipes like tomorrow's fried rice. Shoulder of pork normally cooks for hours, but this recipe flattens the meat so it needs less time in the oven.

Day 7: Budget special fried rice

Fried rice is a fast family meal that makes the most of your store cupboard and any leftover meat from a roast dinner – like yesterday's pork. It's all made in one pot, so grab your largest pan to cook it.

Shopping list

Fruit and vegetables
□ 4 medium onions
□ 2.4kg/5lb 7oz potatoes
□ 6 medium carrots
□ 4 medium parsnips
□ ½ green cabbage, such as Savoy
□ 2 heads broccoli (each about 350g/12oz)
□ 1 large pepper, any colour
□ 1 small iceberg lettuce
□ 1 lemon (optional)

Meat and fish
□ 1.2kg–1.5kg/2lb 11oz–3lb 5oz pork shoulder joint, rind scored
□ 454g pack sausages (6–8 sausages)
□ 400–500g/14oz–1lb 2oz beef mince
□ 375g/13oz turkey breast steaks
□ 1kg/2lb 4oz chicken drumsticks

Tins, packets and jars
□ 300g/10½oz long grain rice
□ 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
□ 725g/1lb 9oz pasta shapes (ideally 350g/12oz penne and 375g/13oz spaghetti)
□ 400g tin red kidney beans in water

Dairy, eggs and chilled
□ 6 medium eggs
□ 450ml/16fl oz milk
□ 50g/1¾oz cheddar
□ 200ml/7fl oz soured cream
□ 500g/1lb 2oz ready-made coleslaw

Cooking ingredients
□ 225ml/8fl oz vegetable oil
□ 55g/2oz plain flour
□ 2 tbsp runny honey
□ 1 beef or pork stock cube
□ 1 chicken stock cube
□ ½ tsp dried mixed herbs or oregano
□ 2 tbsp fajita seasoning (check the recipe as you might already own the spices to make your own)
□ salt and ground black pepper

Frozen
□ 500g/1lb 2oz frozen mixed vegetables or peas
□ 400g/14oz frozen peas
□ 15–20 breaded fish fingers
□ 250g/9oz frozen sweetcorn

Condiments
□ 190g/6½oz tomato ketchup
□ 4 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to serve

Other
□ 8 soft tortilla wraps
□ 6 slices bread and butter (optional)

First published October 2022. Prices updated in November 2023.