Looking for some easy weeknight meal ideas? Here are 5 cheap and easy family week night dinners that you can make for only $45.
Today I’m back with a new easy meal plan. If you’re looking for some easy meals to throw together for your family for cheap, you’re in the right place! The ingredients for the five dinner recipes I’m sharing today cost me under $45 total (in 2024!)
Prefer video? Watch here.
A Few Quick Notes About This $45 Meal Plan
As with all of the grocery lists that I’ve shared in the past, I’ve tried to include pretty much everything that you’ll need to buy with the exception of a handful of ingredients that are basic pantry staples (for example: flour, salt, basic spices and condiments, etc.)
This meal plan serves at least four people but potentially more if you have little kids.
For this particular grocery list/meal plan I priced nearly everything at my local Walmart just to keep things simple. However, I’m often able to spend even less than Walmart prices by watching for markdowns and shopping sales at my local Kroger.
Keep in mind that while I’ve included the most recent grocery prices for my area in my grocery list below, the prices are obviously subject to change and may be different by the time you come across this article. However, this is a frugal meal plan regardless and it should help you to lower your grocery bill if that’s your goal. 🙂
Now, on to the meals!
5 Family Friendly Easy Weeknight Dinners
These easy dinner ideas are perfect for busy weeknights and are all ones that I’ve made multiple times. They’re tried and true favorites and your whole family is sure to love them.
1. Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
This is a meal that I’ve come back to time and again. I love sheet pan dinners and your entire family is sure to enjoy this one!
Sometimes I follow this recipe and sometimes I just wing it. This time I’m keeping things simple with sausage, potatoes, and broccoli but if you have fresh vegetables from the garden they would make a great addition as well!
*Pro tip – layer your baking sheet with aluminum foil to make clean up nice and easy!
2. Chicken Caesar Salad
A salad kit is an easy way to save time in the kitchen and is the one splurge that I allowed myself with this cheap meal plan. However, you can save even more on this quick meal if you already have the salad fixings on hand!
3. Sausage Pasta
This is the second meal using sausage and is one of the pasta recipes that we keep on repeat. I came up with the recipe years ago now and it’s definitely one of our family favorites. Even picky eaters enjoy this delicious meal! And the best part is that it’s a one dish dinner which makes clean up easy. Yay for fewer dishes!
4. White Enchiladas
Can you believe that this chicken enchilada recipe only calls for two cups of chicken? If I have extra I’ll add more, otherwise two it is! Serve with a side of steamed green beans (or fresh veggies if you have them on hand.)
5. White Chicken Chili
You can make this white chili on the stove or in a slow cooker. For this meal plan I’m skipping out on the cream cheese to save, although you could definitely add it if you want. I also chose to skip the corn because my kids aren’t a fan of the sweet taste.
Nothing like a good hearty soup / chili!
A note about the meat for the five meals:
For the five meals above I purchased two packages of sausage (to be used for two meals) and one large chicken (to be used for the other three). It may seem crazy that you can use one chicken for three meals but you totally can!
You’ll want to boil your chicken and save the broth to be used for the chicken chili (and a bit for the sausage pasta too.) Then you’ll take all the chicken off the bone.
I ended up with a little over seven cups of chicken. Divide your chicken between the three chicken recipes: around two cups to use for the chicken ceasar salad, two for the enchiladas, and three for the white chicken chili.
With that said, let’s take a look at the complete ingredient list for these five easy family weeknight dinners!
Ingredient List:
2 packages smoked sausage – $5.72
1 large chicken (cook and divide for 3 meals) – $7.62
Spaghetti – $0.98
Diced green chilis (3 cans) – $2.52
Tortillas – $1.98
Parmesan cheese – $2.98
Shredded cheddar cheese (16 oz) – $1.97
Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (16 oz) – $1.97
Half and half – $1.78
Sour cream (16 oz.) – $1.97
Potatoes – $2.98
Green beans (frozen) – $0.98
Broccoli – $1.26
Onion – $0.90
Garlic – $0.66
Spinach – $1.98
French bread – $1.00
Total = $43.76
So what do you think? I think that five easy weeknight meals for under $45 is a pretty great deal!
Would your family enjoy these easy dinner recipes? What are some of your favorite family meals to make on a busy evening? Let me know in the comments!
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