Do you have a busy family and are looking to make and cook meals that are filling and healthy? Creating a grocery list, shopping and preparing frugal family meals meals takes time. However, in the long run, you’ll save money, all while maintaining a healthy diet!
Let’s go over how to plan, shop and prepare frugal family meals. There are so many different dishes you can make that not only taste good, but won’t blow your budget! Frugal eating doesn’t have to be boring – if you plan ahead of time.
Read on to learn about how to prepare and make frugal family meals.
Food List for Frugal Family Meals
Before you step foot into the supermarket, you need to prepare a grocery list. What’s the best way to go about doing it? Plan, plan, plan! Here are the essential steps you should take when creating a frugal food list so you can create delicious and very cheap meals for the whole family.
1. Check What You Already Have at Home
Before you go to the grocery store or even make a list, check what you already have sitting around at home! Yes – it’s easier to just throw out leftovers and start with a fresh list. However, over time, you are not only wasting food, but you’re wasting money!
Let’s just say that on average, you throw away a container of rice, half a bag of rotten lemons, 3 apples and this weeks’ leftovers. The total cost of the thrown out food averages $15 total for the week.
If you throw out food every week, you’re also throwing away up to $780 per year ($15 x 52 weeks)! While not a lifesaving amount, that’s enough for a weekend getaway or a couple= car payments! Yes, it’s a lot easier to quickly make a grocery list without checking what you already have in stock in your fridge, freezer and pantry. However, you’ll waste money and food in the long run.
2. Make a Frugal Grocery List
Before you go to the store, it’s important to know what exactly you’ll purchase. Yes, yes, it’s a lot much easier to just go and buy what you need. However, if someone doesn’t plan ahead, they’re a lot more likely to go over budget and forget to buy things they actually need, often warranting a second (or third!) trip to the grocery store. When you go to the grocery store a few times per week, you’re a lot likely to spend more money in the long run. Since you’re there multiple times, you have multiple opportunities to buy one, two or even more items you don’t really need.
It’s so quick and easy to throw a bag of popcorn and some chocolate into your basket. There’s nothing wrong with indulging in a treat from time to time. Jus don’t make it a habit – in the long run, it’ll be hard to keep up with good habits and maintain your budget.
For example, if you typically spend an extra $25 on stuff you don’t need every week, over the course of a year, you’ll end up spending $1300 extra. That’s enough for a trip to an all-inclusive in Cuba or Mexico!
Now that I’ve stressed the importance of taking inventory of what you have and sticking to a list, it’s time to go over how to create the grocery list. The easiest way to create consistent habits? Set aside a dedicated period of time to take inventory and create your shopping list.
I personally dedicate 2 hours every Sunday to do an inventory check what I have, meal plan and do my weekly grocery shop. Choose a day of week and time that works for you when you always have free time. If you set aside the same time every day, you’ll be a lot more likely to stick to your routine.
Here’s a quick list of my favorite foods to buy on a budget so you can get started with your frugal grocery list:
- Eggs
- Oats
- Rice
- Pasta
- Pasta sauce
- Lentils
- Beans
- Rice
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Frozen fruits and vegetables
3. Compare Prices at Different Grocery Stores
You’ve made your grocery list. Now, it’s time to shop! Before you head to your usual store, take some time to compare prices at different grocery stores. Use Flipp or another price comparison app to help you find the cheapest deals in your area.
Feeling overwhelmed and don’t want to compare prices on every single item? Start with 3 or 4 items you always buy – for example, milk, eggs and bread.
One important note I can’t leave out: always set a budget before heading to the store. Not sure how much you spend? Check the last 4 weeks of your grocery bill, then get the average.
For example, if you spent:
- $153 in week 1
- $175 in week 2
- $124 in week 3
- $164 in week 4
$153 + $175 + $124 + $164 = $616
$616 / 4 = $154, round up to $160 for simplicity’s sake
Therefore, your budget should be $160 per week. One more tip to allow for flexibility: set a rough budget. You can make your budget up to $180 to account for any extra items you forgot or any items that rose in price. If you’re under budget, don’t feel afraid to add an extra item to your cart, like a bag of chips. Nothing wrong with a treat every once in a while – just don’t blow your budget!
4. Involve Your Children in Creating Frugal Family Meals
Want to stay motivated to keep creating family meals? Involve your kids in the process! Why not set aside some time each week to chat with them about what they want to eat that week? If you’re afraid they might want meals that are too expensive, complicated to make or unhealthy, come prepared. Provide a list of a few different meals that are frugal, healthy and can be cooked in bulk. Your kids can pick from this list – they’ll have choice, and you’ll still be able to make foods that align with your budget.
If you have more than one child, allow each of them to choose a different meal. Keep it simple by doing a Frugal Friday where the kids are in charge of dinner for just one day a week! Why not do a special trip to the grocery store with them? Let your kids pick the ingredients (within your budget). After school, prepare your special dinner together. You’ll not only bond as a family, but you’ll model good habits to your kids as well!
When your kids are involved in planning, shopping and preparing frugal family meals, you’ll be more motivated to stay on track with good habits!
4. Use Base Ingredients in Different Dishes
Want to know a quick way to save money on your weekly grocery shop? Pick a few essential meats, grains, veggies and fruits to use throughout your week.
For example, let’s say you choose the following budget foods for the week:
- Meats – ground beef
- Grains – risotto and oats
- Vegetables – bell peppers and carrots
- Fruits – blueberries, bananas and strawberries
The goal is for you to make all your dishes using these ingredients. For example, using this list, you can have:
- Blueberry and banana oatmeal for breakfast
- Strawberry-blueberry bananas for snack
- Taco salad for lunch (one of my favorite frugal healthy meals – cheap, easy, customizable and filling!)
- Ground beef risotto for dinner
As you can see, you can use these core ingredients in more than one dish throughout the week. This list contains some of the cheapest types of food that you can buy that are not only delicious, but will keep you full for a long time.
Does this mean you can’t buy or use any other foods? Definitely not! It just means you’re reusing as many ingredients as possible. When you buy more of an item, you can buy in bulk. Additionally, if you use a lot of one ingredient, you’re a lot less likely to throw it away. For example, if only one of your dishes requires green onion and you only use 1/4 of it, you’ll waste the rest of it. While it seems trivial, over time, wasting food can really add up!
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Frugal Cooking Tips
Use a Meal Planner
If you’re like most families out there, you’re busy! Every day, you’ve got something on the go – driving the kids to school, picking them up and taking them to sports and other curricular activities, making time for yourself, and what we’re here to talk about – cooking frugal family meals! How can you keep track of what you’re eating, when you’re going to cook each dish and ingredients to shop for?
Simple: use a frugal meal planner. There are dozens out there, but this one is personally my favorite. It’s a spiral-bound notebook with pull-out grocery lists, tabbed dividers and pockets for you to store your favorite frugal recipes! Why not get your kids involved in creating a frugal meal plan as well? When your kids get excited about what’s on for dinner, you’ll feel more motivated to stay on track with creating healthy frugal meals for the whole family!
Make Meals You Can Prepare Ahead of Time
Maybe you love cooking, but you just don’t have time to cook from scratch every single night. When you’re tired at the end of a long day, it’s tempting to just hit the ‘order’ button on your favorite takeout pizza app! Nothing wrong with ordering pizza or other takeout favorites every once in a while. However, if you don’t set good habits, you might find yourself doing it more than you should, compromising your budget. What’s the solution to this?
Simple: have a list of several go-do dishes you can prepare ahead of time. Meals like casseroles, stews and salads are great options that you can make ahead of time. You’ll enjoy really cheap meals that are delicious and you’ll also cut down on prep time!
Opt for Frozen over Fresh
Frozen vegetables and fruits are, in my opinion, some of the best foods to buy on a budget. They’re generally cheaper than fresh and last a long time. Additionally, believe it or not, frozen vegetables and fruits are just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts – and healthier! Why? Frozen vegetables and fruits are picked and selected at their peak ripeness, then flash-frozen. Flash-freezing retains the vitamins and minerals of fruits and vegetables before they have a chance to go bad.
Concerned that frozen vegetables and fruits have tons of chemicals and additives like MSG? No worries there! Many frozen fruits and vegetables don’t contain any additives. Just be sure to read the label carefully to avoid buying any processed packages.
Another tip: besides buying frozen fruits and veggies, you can freeze your own. If you find a particular fruit or vegetable that’s on sale, buy it in bulk. Portion it into reusable plastic containers and label it with today’s date. Why label it? When you take your weekly inventory before you grocery shop, you’ll know how long the food has before expiry. Be sure to put the oldest food in the front and the newest foods in the back so you ensure the foods closest to expiry get eaten first!
Commit to Meal Prepping and Batch Cooking
If you’re serious about frugal family meals, you’ll want to commit to meal prep. But what exactly is meal prep? Simply put, meal prep means you’ll make a larger batch of a particular dish – enough for each day of the week – and portion it into one container for each day. Why partake in meal prep? When you make more of a dish, you’ll save money by buying in bulk. Since larger packages of food are cheaper, you’ll save money in the long run.
If you commit to meal prep, you’ll also cut down on prep and cooking time. If you only have to cook once or twice per week, you’ll spend a lot less time preparing, baking, cooking and portioning food. One more great benefit of meal prepping: avoiding decision fatigue – feeling tired from being overwhelmed at the sheer amount of choices about what to cook each and every day. If you what you’re going to eat for the rest of the week, you’ll have mental energy to direct towards other things – like increasing your income through side hustles, creating a financial plan, or taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life!
Batch cooking on a budget is all about creating good habits, so make a plan and stick to it!
Choose a Designated Day to Meal Prep
Just as you do with your planning and grocery shopping tasks, pick a designated meal prep day. Once again, pick a day that works best for you and one when you know you’ll always have time to plan.
Once you’ve planned for and shopped for the ingredients, prepare the meals. Portion them into containers, then label them with each day of the week you’ll eat them. For example, if you’ve got a meal you’ll eat next week Monday to Saturday, label each container with each date of the week. Store the containers at eye-level in your fridge. That way, when you open your fridge, you’ll see that you have a meal ready to eat that night. When you have a batch of frugal dinners and lunches prepared and visible at eye level, you’ll be a lot less likely to hit up the grocery store – or hit the ‘order’ button at your favorite Chinese restaurant!
Cook in Bulk and Freeze Leftovers
I already mentioned the importance and ease of buying and flash-freezing fruits and vegetables on sale, but you should also freeze other foods. If you have space in your freezer, why not cook two weeks’ worth of lasagna or soup? Portion out 1 week for this week when you meal prep, then freezer the other half. You’ll not only save time for this week, but you’ll have your meals for the next week figured out as well. If you don’t want to have lasagna or soup 2 weeks in a row, you can always wait a couple weeks, then have it then.
Find a balance between frugal cooking and being too extreme with budget meal planning as well. There’s nothing wrong with having something different for dinner, even if it means spending money on other ingredients. If you can afford it, don’t be too cheap with your money. Food should be a pleasurable experience – don’t cut corners too much!
Ideas for Frugal Meals
I’ve covered how to plan and shop for ingredients and some ideas on how to make multiple dishes using the same ingredients to maximize savings. What about the most important part – what you’ll cook? There are hundreds of frugal meal ideas out there for you to try.
To help you get started, here are five each of my favorite super cheap family meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I chose these meals because they use different ingredients, are easy to make (some take less than 5 minutes to prepare!), and most important of all, won’t break the bank!
Frugal Breakfast Meals
- Oatmeal with fruit
- Peanut butter banana smoothie with almond milk
- Peanut butter and banana on whole-grain toast
- French toast with sliced bananas
- Hard-boiled eggs on toast with a side of apples
Frugal Lunch Meals
- Egg salad sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato
- Chickpea salad
- Baked beans on whole grain toast
- Egg burritos
- English muffin pizzas
Frugal Dinners
- Spaghetti with meatballs
- Vegetarian chili
- Split pea soup with homemade bread
- Lentil sloppy joes
- Chicken pot pie
Frugal Meals to Make When Money is Really Tight
If you’re really tight on money, here are the top frugal meals to make when you’re really watching your spending:
- Pastas
- Salads
- Oatmeal with fruit
- Omelettes
- Rice and beans
- Shepherd’s pie
- Black bean tacos
- Grilled cheese
Cheap meals don’t have to be boring. If you are tired of the same old thing, why not try new toppings on your pizza or swap out pinto beans for black beans on your tacos? An easy way to keep your list of frugal dinner ideas fresh!
Conclusion – Frugal Family Meals
Frugal meals for families don’t have to be difficult or boring. With a little preparation and planning, you can make delicious, wallet-friendly meals for your entire family! Get the whole family involved, stick to a budget and follow the other tips I mentioned in this guide, and you’ll be well on your way to creating frugal habits for life in the kitchen and beyond.
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Janita is a frugal living expert and owner of Frugal Fun Finance. With over five years of personal experience finding and trying out the best ways to make and save more money, she's eager to share her knowledge. Janita's strategies have helped her save thousands of dollars for funding investments and traveling to over 20 countries.
Janita completed training in personal finance at The University of Western Ontario and McGill University, two prestigious Canadian universities. Her expertise has been shared on GoBankingRates, Yahoo Finance, and NASDAQ.com.
