Money Saving Meals {Week 1 Budget Meal Plan} (2024)

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Here is the VERY FIRST of 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.

After the season of indulgence, there’s one thing we need in January, and that is nutritious, hearty and delicious home cooked food.

It’s also time for a little restoration and a LOT of budgeting after all the exuberance and excess.

We are here for you, my friends!

This is the VERY FIRST budget meal plan in our Money Saving Meals series, where we bring 4 weeks of family friendly midweek dinners that tick all the boxes.

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 I explain in the notes below.

➡️ Please be aware that any suggested sides have been added to the shopping list to help you get organised but are NOT included in the costings breakdown per recipe, in case you want to swap them out.

➡️ 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 £27.92.

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: £1.68 per portion

⭐️ Our new and improved recipe

⭐️ All in one meal – no need for extra sides

Dinner 2

⭐️ Cost: 72p per portion

⭐️ Annoyingly, Aldi doesn’t stock orzo (which is where we did our shopping for this), but you can find it in most other major supermarkets

⭐️ All in one vegetarian meal – no need for extra sides

Dinner 3

⭐️ Cost: 77p per portion

⭐️ Serving suggestion: Mash or roast potatoes and peas. These have been added to the shopping list

⭐️ This would also be great with Onion Gravy. This isn’t on the shopping list but it’d be a nice addition to the meal

Dinner 4

⭐️ Cost: £1.16 per portion

⭐️ Serving suggestion: Rice, which is on the shopping list

⭐️ Please note, Aldi doesn’t sell curry paste. You can either use some for your cupboard if you have any, or substitute it for 2-3tbsp of medium curry powder (or to your own spicy tastes!)

⭐️ Aldi also doesn’t sell paneer, so we’ve swapped it for halloumi in the shopping list

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.