How to feed a family on $50 a week

Be honest about what $50 covers

Prices vary a lot by region and by store, and they change every week. This plan aims at seven dinners for four people on about $50, which works out to under $2 a serving.

Breakfast, lunches, snacks, and drinks come on top of that. Many of the same tricks work for those too: store brands, cheap staples, and leftovers for lunch.

The numbers below are typical sale prices, not promises. Your store may be cheaper or more expensive.

Start with the markdowns, not the recipe

The biggest mistake on a tight budget is picking recipes first and then buying whatever they call for. Do it the other way round.

Look at what is on sale or marked down this week, especially meat, and plan dinners around it. A reduced pack of chicken thighs or a pork shoulder in the weekly ad is cheaper per serving than anything else you can buy.

Check the meat case for reduced stickers while you shop. If something is much cheaper than planned, swap it in and push the planned meal to next week.

A staples list to keep stocked

Cheap dinners come from a few cheap staples. Buy these in the store brand, and stock up when they go on sale.

• Rice, pasta, and oats.
• Dried or canned beans and lentils.
• Canned tomatoes and tomato paste.
• Flour or corn tortillas, and a loaf of bread for the freezer.
• Eggs.
• Onions, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage, which are cheap and keep well.
• Frozen vegetables: broccoli, peas, mixed vegetables, spinach.
• Oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and bouillon.

A sample week of dinners

Here is a week for four people. The per-serving costs are rough, typical sale prices, and prices vary by store and region. Pantry basics like oil and spices are not counted.

1. Sheet-pan chicken thighs with potatoes and carrots, about $1.75 a serving.
2. Chili with ground beef, canned beans, and tomatoes, made in a double batch, about $1.50 a serving.
3. Leftover chili over rice or baked potatoes, about $0.75 a serving.
4. Pasta with sausage, canned tomatoes, and frozen spinach, about $1.75 a serving.
5. Black bean and egg tacos with cabbage slaw, about $1.25 a serving.
6. Pork shoulder from the weekly ad, slow cooked and shredded, with rice and frozen vegetables, about $2.00 a serving.
7. Fried rice with leftover pork, eggs, and frozen peas, about $1.00 a serving.

Cook once, eat twice

Batch cooking is how the numbers above stay low. A pot of chili or a slow-cooked pork shoulder costs the same effort whether it feeds four or eight, and the second dinner is almost free.

Make a double batch of anything that reheats well: chili, soup, pasta sauce, shredded meat, rice, and beans. Eat one batch that night and plan the second for later in the week, or freeze it.

Cool and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking, and eat them within 3 to 4 days, according to the USDA. If you won’t get to them in time, freeze them.

Leftovers and the end of the week

Plan one dinner near the end of the week that uses up whatever is left: fried rice, a frittata, quesadillas, or soup. That keeps food from going to waste, and wasted food is the most expensive food you buy.

Leftover dinners also make the cheapest lunches. Pack them the same night so they get eaten.

Finding the sales without five apps

The hard part of this plan is knowing what is on sale each week. Penny Meals checks shelf prices and weekly ads at the stores near your ZIP code and shows what dropped, store by store. It is free to browse, and Plus writes dinner recipes from your stores’ sales each week.

Questions

Can a family of four eat on $50 a week?

For dinners, often yes, if you plan around sales and markdowns, cook in batches, and lean on cheap staples. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks usually need more on top. Prices vary by region and store.

What are the cheapest dinners to make for a family?

Chili, bean tacos, fried rice, pasta with sauce, soups, and breakfast for dinner are usually the cheapest, especially with a sale protein.

How long do leftovers last in the fridge?

The USDA says 3 to 4 days. Refrigerate them within 2 hours of cooking, and freeze anything you won’t eat in time.

What should I buy first on a tight grocery budget?

Rice, pasta, beans, canned tomatoes, eggs, onions, potatoes, and frozen vegetables, then whatever protein is on sale that week.

This week’s markdowns

• ALDI markdowns this week
• Walmart markdowns this week
• Kroger markdowns this week

Cheap recipes

• Dinners under $2 a serving
• Dinners under $3 a serving
• Cheap ground beef dinners
• Cheap vegetarian dinners
• All recipes

Related guides

• Cheap dinner ideas under $3 a serving
• How to find grocery clearance near you
• ALDI Price Drops, ALDI Finds, and the weekly ad