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We’re on to week 2 in my Money Saving Meals series, where we’re bringing you a month of detailed budget meal plans so you don’t have to do the thinking of ‘what’s for dinner’ every evening.
You will find everything you need to follow for an easy, flavour-packed and healthy ease into the New Year – including a full FREE shopping list, additional notes and a breakdown of cost.
On these cold days of January, there’s one thing we need, and that’s hearty and delicious home cooked food that doesn’t break the bank – right?!
I got you my friends!
This is the SECOND budget meal plan in our Money Saving Meals series, where we bring 4 weeks of family friendly midweek dinners that tick all the boxes. Here is the first of my budget meal plans if you haven’t seen it yet.
About this budget meal plan
We have concentrated here on bringing you a collection of recipes that strike a balance of prioritising price and value, while also making sure you get:
⭐️ A full meal for 4 people
⭐️ A balanced plate of carbs, protein and vegetables
⭐️ A variety of ingredients and dishes
Things to note
➡️ You may want to add some side dishes to some of these recipes, which we will outline in the notes below
➡️ Please be aware that any suggested sides have been added to the shopping list but are NOT included in the costings breakdown
➡️ I’ll be sharing this meal plan on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, so watch out for the videos so you can cook along.
For reference, I shopped for this Meal Plan in December 2023 at Aldi and it cost £35.40
Why use a budget meal plan?
⭐️ Knowing exactly what food to buy for avoids food waste, saving you money
⭐️ Having a plan for dinner avoids the mental load of “what’s for dinner?” question every night
You can find more Meal Plans here:
Meal Plan 26 – Slow Cooker Saviours
Meal Plan 25 – Easy Midweek Winners
Meal Plan 24 – 5 Brand New Recipes
Some tips for using a budget meal plan:
➡️ Check for any items on the shopping list that you already have in your cupboard
➡️ Maybe think about doubling up and freezing a recipe or two where the recipes are suitable, so save cooking another day or for the weekend
➡️ Remove ingredients for any meals that you don’t want to cook
➡️ The shopping list includes the cheapest version of each ingredient. Obviously if you want to buy lower fat mince or free range etc, that’s personal choice
➡️ All of the recipes are to serve 4, so if you’re cooking for 2, simply halve the ingredients
Budget Meal Plan: The recipes
Dinner 1
⭐️ Cost: £1.88 per portion
⭐️ Serving suggestion: Homemade chips or jacket potatoes and salad (ingredients for these are already on the shopping list)
Halloumi Burger {15 Minute Meal}
Dinner 2
⭐️ Cost: £1.11 per portion
⭐️ This recipes uses 250g of soft cheese, but Aldi sells in 200g packs. This quantity will be absolutely fine, add a little pasta water to the dish if you would like a saucier dish
⭐️ We’ve added garden peas to the shopping list rather than petit pois as they are a little cheaper, but choose whichever you have or prefer
⭐️ We’ve bought a bag of red onions for all of the week’s recipes, so use these instead of white
Cream Cheese Pasta – 10 Minute Meal!
Dinner 3
⭐️ Cost: £1.90 per portion
⭐️ Serving suggestion: Rice (included on the shopping list)
⭐️ Brand new slow cooker recipe!
⭐️ We’ve bought a bag of red onions for all of the week’s recipes, so use these instead of white
Beef Goulash {Slow Cooker or Oven Recipe}
Dinner 4
⭐️ Cost: £1.29 per portion
⭐️ Complete meal in 10 minutes – no need for sides
⭐️ We’ve bought a bag of red onions for all of the week’s recipes, so use these instead of white
Spinach and Ricotta Baked Tortellini Lasagne {10 Minute Meal}
Dinner 5
⭐️ Cost: £1.35 per portion
⭐️ All in one meal – no need for extra sides
⭐️ We’ve bought a bag of red onions for all of the week’s recipes, so use these instead of white
Chicken Fried Rice {Easy Fakeaway}
Quick reminder, the printable shopping list can be found here.
If you’ve found this useful, let’s be friends on Instagram @tamingtwins
Please remember, all prices included in this meal plan are correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change.
