Eating on a Budget: $25 Week Meal Plan - The Little Frugal House (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. Thanks for supporting The Little Frugal House!

Want to find a simple $25 week meal plan to save money on food? In this post, I’m sharing a super cheap weekly meal plan so you can eat great on a tight budget.

Do you ever have those weeks when money is so tight that you have to get super creative to not go over budget?

Those weeks can be super stressful when you are waiting for the next paycheck. Or when you just had an unexpected expense, and now you have to skimp and save.

One of the easiest places to cut back and save money is on food. Eating super basic meals and using the same groceries in multiple meals will help stretch your dollars.

This meal plan will show you how to eat on just $25 for the week. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all included.

The meals aren’t super exciting, but at least you won’t go over budget!

Even if you aren’t down to your last dollar, this could be a fun challenge to help you boost your savings!

The shopping list:

Here is the shopping list for the $25 weekly meal plan.

*The prices listed are current Aldi and Dollar Tree prices. If you don’t have an Aldi nearby, I hope you can find a similar discount grocery store or a dollar store.

Obviously, prices will differ at every grocery store – look for the best deals at stores near you and substitute with a similar item if you find something cheaper.

I would check Dollar Tree first to see what you can find there, then go to the grocery store.

• Loaf of bread $1
• Peanut butter $1
• Jelly $1
• Fruit $3 (buy the most you can for $3)
• 3 Frozen veggies $3
• Frozen chicken breasts $7
• Tortilla chips $1
• Salsa $1.49
• 3 Canned vegetables $0.49 each = $1.47
• Shredded cheese $1.89
• Tortillas $0.99
• 3 Yogurt cups $0.49 each = $1.47
• 2 Taco seasoning packets $0.35 each = $0.70

Total = $25.01

Related Post: 12 $2 Per Person Meal Ideas

>>Want to learn my best grocery saving tips? Get my free printable, 10 Ways to Save $100 on Your Grocery Budget to start saving money on groceries today.

Get your free PDF printable here.

$25 Week Meal Plan:

Here is the simple and super cheap weekly meal plan that will help you eat all week long for just $25.

This $25 weekly meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one person for 7 days.

Breakfast:

Here are the breakfast meals:

3 mornings: yogurt and fruit

4 mornings: toast with peanut butter or jelly and fruit

Lunch:

Here are the lunch meals:

2 lunches: PB&J and fruit

2 lunches: Chicken Nachos

1 lunch: Leftover Grilled Chicken and Vegetable

2 lunches: Chicken Tacos

Dinner:

Here are the dinner meals:

2 dinners: Chicken Nachos

3 dinners: Grilled Chicken & Canned Vegetable

2 dinners: Chicken Tacos

Recipes for the Dinner Meals:

Here are the super simple recipes for the dinner meals in the $25 weekly meal plan.

Chicken Nachos:

Boil chicken and shred. Mix taco seasoning packet with water. Mix taco seasoning mix with chicken, let boil, then simmer.

OR

Place chicken breast(s) in crockpot with taco seasoning packet and water. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours and shred.

Warm tortilla chips. Add chicken and shredded cheese.

Serve with salsa

Chicken Tacos:

Boil chicken and shred. Mix taco seasoning packet with water. Mix taco seasoning mix with chicken, let boil, then simmer.

OR

Place chicken breast(s) in crockpot with taco seasoning packet and water. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours and shred.

Add chicken and shredded cheese to tortillas with salsa.

Grilled Chicken:

Dice and grill in skillet or head outside and grill.

Serve with canned vegetables.

Use sauces and seasonings you have on hand for flavoring.

This meals are super simple, but they will help you eat good quality meals on a super tight budget.

Look for other items that are great values that you can use for other meals to mix things up.

Related Post: The Complete Guide to Meal Planning

A few tips:

Use these quick tips to help you spread your food out to last you all week, and to do less cooking!

1. At the beginning of the week, divide your food so it will last throughout the week. You will need 9 servings of fruit. The tortilla chips can be divided into 4.
2. Cook your chicken at once. As you can see, most of the chicken is cooked the same. Go ahead and cook chicken for a couple of days, and divide it into separate containers in the fridge.
3. Pack your lunch for the next day as you make dinner. You’ll likely already have the groceries all out, so save some time.
4. Make a different $25 plan for next week! While you are at the grocery or Dollar Tree, make notes of cheaper groceries that you could use for another cheap meal plan.

I hope this plan works well for you and you can eat well with the few dollars left in your pocket or save some money!

Eating on such a tight budget can seem difficult, but you can get creative and make it work.

Check out this list of 20 things to eat on a tight budget for more ideas to eat well with little money.

Want some more frugal ideas to help you eat well on a tight budget?

Check out these awesome posts!

$40 Weekly Meal Plan for 2

21 Quick and Easy Meals on a Budget

Theme Night Meal Planning: Easy Dinner Ideas for Every Night of the Week

My Favorite Things to Buy at Aldi

12 Cheap Meal Ideas: $2 Per Person Meal Ideas

37 Things You Should Always Buy at Dollar Tree

20 Things to Eat on a Tight Budget

You might also enjoy…