Deciding what to cook every night can feel like a job all by itself. This week’s dinner plan gives you seven filling family meals with a mix of creamy soups, easy skillet dinners, and cozy comfort food.
On the menu: Egg Roll Noodle Skillet, Garlic Butter Chicken Bites & Parmesan Rice, Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder, Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole, Cheesy Beef & Potato Soup, Crockpot Mississippi Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes, and Creamy Angel Chicken Pasta.
These dinners share ingredients to help keep your grocery list manageable. You’ll use chicken across three meals, ground beef across two, and potatoes, cheese, broth, and vegetables in several recipes.
1
Easy Egg Roll Noodle Skillet
Ground pork, shredded cabbage, carrots, and noodles come together in a savory garlic-ginger sauce. A bag of coleslaw mix cuts down on chopping, and regular spaghetti keeps this dinner simple and affordable.
Budget tip: This recipe uses 8 ounces of spaghetti. Check for an opened box in your pantry before buying more.
2
Garlic Butter Chicken Bites & Parmesan Rice
Golden chicken bites tossed in garlic butter are served over Parmesan rice with peas. It’s a comforting dinner with simple seasonings, and the chicken cooks while the rice simmers.
Budget tip: Divide a family pack of chicken between this dinner, the corn chowder, and the angel chicken pasta. You’ll need 4½ pounds total for all three.
3
Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder
Tender shredded chicken, potatoes, sweet corn, and carrots fill this creamy slow cooker chowder. Add the half-and-half near the end, then serve it plain or with toppings you already have.
Budget tip: Save some of the potatoes, carrots, and onion for the Cheesy Beef & Potato Soup later in the week.
4
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
This casserole combines saucy ground beef, cheddar cheese, and a golden layer of crispy tater tots. The homemade sloppy joe mixture uses familiar ingredients like ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
Budget tip: You only need half a bell pepper. Chop and freeze the remaining half for a future skillet dinner or casserole.
5
Cheesy Beef & Potato Soup
Ground beef, tender potatoes, carrots, and cheddar make this a hearty soup for a cozy night at home. A simple milk-based sauce gives it a creamy finish.
Budget tip: Split a larger package of ground beef between this soup and the Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole. Each recipe uses 1 pound.
6
Crockpot Mississippi Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes
Frozen meatballs cook in a savory sauce with ranch seasoning, au jus mix, butter, and pepperoncini. Serve them over homemade mashed potatoes to catch all that flavorful gravy.
Budget tip: Use the same bag of potatoes you purchased for the two soups. Check the weight. You’ll need approximately 4½–5 pounds across the three dinners.
Get the Crockpot Mississippi Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes recipe →
7
Creamy Angel Chicken Pasta
Chicken and angel hair pasta are coated in a creamy sauce made with cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and Italian dressing seasoning. Parmesan adds a savory finish to this comforting dinner.
Budget tip: The Parmesan, butter, garlic, and broth also appear in other meals this week, so those purchases get used more than once.
How These Meals Help Stretch Your Grocery Budget
Budget-friendly meal planning starts with looking at the whole week. Buying ingredients that work across multiple dinners can help reduce leftover odds and ends and make better use of larger packages.
Here’s where this week’s meals overlap:
- Chicken: Chicken bites, corn chowder, and angel chicken pasta.
- Ground beef: Sloppy joe casserole and cheesy beef soup.
- Potatoes: Corn chowder, cheesy beef soup, and mashed potatoes.
- Carrots and onions: Used across the skillet dinners and soups.
- Cheddar: Sloppy joe casserole and cheesy beef soup, with extra as an optional chowder topping.
- Parmesan: Chicken bites with rice and angel chicken pasta.
- Chicken broth: Used in four dinners.
You’ll also reuse seasonings such as garlic powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika rather than buying a different seasoning blend for every meal.
Before You Shop
Check your fridge, freezer, and cupboards against the grocery list first. Butter, rice, pasta, broth, sauces, and seasonings may already be on hand.
The combined list includes the full amounts needed for all seven recipes, so cross off anything you already have. Optional toppings can stay off the shopping list unless you want them.
Grocery prices vary by store and location, and your total will depend on what you already have. Use this menu as a starting point and make swaps based on your pantry and local sales.
Make the Week a Little Easier
Divide the chicken and ground beef into recipe portions when you unpack your groceries. Refrigerate what you’ll use soon and freeze portions intended for later in the week.
You can also chop onions and carrots ahead of time and measure out seasonings before cooking. Move frozen meat to the refrigerator in advance so it has time to thaw before you need it.
Swap the dinner order to fit your schedule. Put a crockpot meal on your busiest day, save a quick skillet dinner for another night, and use leftovers for lunch when available.
Grocery List for All 7 Dinners
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this week’s seven budget-friendly dinners!
Meat
- 4½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 bag frozen homestyle meatballs, 26–32 oz
Produce
- 4 yellow onions
- 4 medium carrots
- 15 garlic cloves, about 2 bulbs
- ½ green bell pepper
- 1 bag coleslaw mix, 14–16 oz, without dressing
- 3 lbs potatoes, plus 3–4 medium russet potatoes — approximately 4½–5 lbs total
Frozen
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 16 oz frozen corn
- 1 bag frozen tater tots, 28–32 oz
Dairy
- 15 tbsp butter — just under 2 sticks
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 block cream cheese, 8 oz
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- ½ cup heavy cream
Pasta & Rice
- 8 oz spaghetti or other long noodles
- 12 oz angel hair pasta
- 1½ cups uncooked long-grain white rice
Broth & Canned Goods
- 11 cups chicken broth — buy three 32-oz cartons
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, 10.5 oz
Sauces & Pantry Ingredients
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 jar pepperoncini peppers — enough for 6–8 peppers and ¼ cup juice
Seasonings & Mixes
- 1 packet ranch seasoning
- 1 packet au jus gravy mix
- 1 packet Italian dressing seasoning
- 2½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1½ tsp salt, plus additional to taste
- 1¼ tsp black pepper, plus additional to taste
Optional Toppings
- Green onions
- Fresh parsley
- Crushed red pepper
- Sesame oil
- Cooked bacon
- Extra shredded cheddar for the chowder
Budget Tip: Before heading to Aldi, check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer! You might already have several of these ingredients, which can bring your grocery bill down even further.
