Feeding a family of four on a tight budget means you have to get creative with meals to avoid boredom.
Here is a seven-day dinner plan based on a $50 shopping list. This shopping list includes ideas to overlap ingredients to use throughout the week.
Each recipe is designed to be simple, easy, and most importantly, stress-free.
You are working with the $50 Walmart shopping list.
This list of ingredients is what you need to make the seven-day dinner plan.
In order to spend $50 on the shopping list, you will need to stick with Great Value (Walmart’s brand) or the store brand.
- Ground beef (3 lbs)
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (3 lbs)
- Canned Black beans (2 cans)
- Canned Diced tomatoes (3 cans)
- Canned corn (2 cans)
- Chicken broth (32 oz)
- White rice (5 lbs)
- Spaghetti (1 lb)
- Flour tortillas (1 pack of 10)
- Cabbage (1 small head)
- Carrots (2 lbs)
- Yellow onions (3 lbs)
- Garlic (1 bulb)
- Allow Potatoes (5 lbs)
- Eggs (1 dozen)
- Butter (1 lb)
- 8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sour Cream (16 oz)
- Vegetable or Olive oil
- Salt, black pepper, garlic, chili, and paprika powder
- and cumin.
This list of spices will last you a long time. Each Great Value spice jar costs under $1.
Monday: One-Pot Cheesy Beef and Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with all the liquid
- 1 cup canned corn, drained
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream for serving
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart as it goes, until fully browned with no pink left.
Drain off the extra fat and set the beef to the side for now.
In that same skillet, add a drizzle of oil over medium heat.
Put in the diced onion and cook for about 3 minutes until it softens.
Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring so it does not burn.
Bring the beef back into the pan and stir it in with the onion and garlic.
Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and stir until everything is well coated.
Pour in the rice, the full can of diced tomatoes with all its liquid, the drained corn, and the chicken broth.
Stir everything together and make sure the rice is spread out evenly across the pan.
Bring it up to a gentle boil.
Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and put a tight lid on the skillet.
Let it cook without touching it for 18 to 20 minutes.
Do not lift the lid during this time because the steam inside is what cooks the rice.
When the time is up, check that the rice is tender and the liquid is gone.
If there is still liquid sitting at the bottom, cover it back up and give it another 3 to 5 minutes.
Take the lid off and spread the shredded cheddar evenly over the top.
Put the lid back on for 2 minutes to let it melt.
Serve straight from the skillet with sour cream on the side.
Tuesday: Crispy Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs with Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 4 medium russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
While it heats up, pat the chicken thighs completely dry on both sides with paper towels.
This is the most important step for crispy skin.
Wet chicken steams in the pan instead of browning, and that gives you soft, pale skin.
Dry chicken gives you the golden, crispy result you are after.
Mix the paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Rub the mixture firmly all over the chicken on both sides and try to get some under the skin as well.
Getting seasoning under the skin means the meat itself gets flavor, not just the outside.
Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Once it shimmers, place the chicken thighs skin-side down in the pan. Leave them alone for 5 to 6 minutes.
Do not move them or press them down.
The skin is ready to flip when it lets go of the pan on its own and has turned a deep golden brown.
Flip the chicken so it is skin-side up. Scatter the cubed potatoes around the chicken in the skillet.
Add the butter and minced garlic to the pan, let it melt, then tilt the pan and spoon the garlic butter over the chicken and potatoes a few times.
Move the whole skillet into the oven and roast for 22 to 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
And the potatoes are golden and tender when you press a fork into them.
Let everything rest for 5 minutes,
Then spoon the pan juices over the top before serving.
Wednesday: Black Bean and Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 8 flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Sour cream for serving
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces as it browns, until no pink remains.
Drain the extra fat from the pan.
Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper over the beef and stir until every piece is coated in the spices.
Cooking the spices directly into the hot meat makes a noticeable difference in the depth of flavor.
Add the black beans, diced tomatoes, and water to the skillet.
Stir everything together and bring it to a gentle simmer.
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the liquid reduces and the mixture thickens up.
Some of the beans will start to break down a little at the edges and that is exactly what you want.
It holds the filling together instead of everything falling out of the tortilla.
Warm your tortillas just before serving.
On a gas stove, hold each one directly over the flame for about 20 seconds per side until slightly charred and soft.
On an electric stove, heat a dry skillet over high heat and cook each tortilla for 30 seconds per side.
Warmed tortillas taste better and hold together much more reliably.
Spoon the filling into each tortilla and top with shredded cabbage, cheddar cheese, and sour cream.
Serve right away.
Thursday: Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 carton chicken broth, 32 oz
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
Instructions
Heat the butter or oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the diced onion and sliced carrots and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the carrots begin to soften.
Take your time with this step because it builds the flavor the rest of the soup sits on.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring the whole time.
Garlic burns fast at this stage and burnt garlic will make the whole soup bitter, so keep it moving.
Add the raw chicken thighs to the pot and pour in the chicken broth and water.
Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Lift out the chicken thighs with tongs and shred the meat with two forks, pulling it apart into small pieces.
Put all the shredded chicken back into the pot.
Add the rice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Stir well and cook over medium heat for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is fully cooked.
The rice will soak up a good amount of the broth and the soup will thicken as it cooks.
Taste it before serving and adjust the salt.
Soup almost always needs a little more than you put in. Serve hot.
Friday: Skillet Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb spaghetti, broken in half
- 2 cans diced tomatoes, with all the liquid
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Shredded cheddar for topping, optional
Instructions
Brown the ground beef in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into pieces as it cooks.
Drain the fat once it is fully cooked and return the skillet to medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until softened.
Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper and stir until the meat and onion are evenly coated.
Pour in both cans of tomatoes with all their liquid, the chicken broth, and the water.
Stir well and bring everything to a full boil over high heat.
Once boiling, add the broken spaghetti to the skillet.
Press it down into the liquid and spread it out as evenly as you can.
Stir right away to keep the strands from clumping together.
Drop the heat to medium and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes throughout.
The pasta absorbs the liquid steadily as it cooks, and the sauce will thicken around it.
Keep stirring regularly because the pasta will stick and scorch at the bottom if you walk away.
When the spaghetti is fully tender and the sauce clings to it well, it is done.
Add a splash of water if it gets too thick before the pasta finishes cooking.
Let it cook uncovered for a couple more minutes if the sauce needs to tighten up.
Serve hot with cheddar on top if you like.
Saturday: Potato and Egg Hash with Quick Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
For the hash:
- 4 medium russet potatoes, diced into small cubes
- 6 eggs
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
For the cabbage slaw:
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar, optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Start with the slaw.
Combine the shredded cabbage, vinegar, sugar if using, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Toss it well and set it aside.
It will soften and come together on its own while you cook the hash.
Heat the butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the diced potatoes in a single layer across the pan.
Do not stack them.
A single layer gives each piece direct contact with the hot surface, and that is what makes them crispy.
Season right away with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
Leave the potatoes alone for 4 to 5 minutes without stirring.
This is where the crust builds.
Moving them too early pulls them off the surface before they have had time to brown, and you will end up with soft, pale potatoes instead of crispy ones.
After 4 to 5 minutes, flip sections of the potatoes with a spatula and cook the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes until equally golden.
Add the onion and stir it into the potatoes.
Cook for 3 minutes until the onion softens.
Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Push the hash to the outer edges of the pan to clear a space in the center.
Crack the eggs into that space.
Let them sit for about 30 seconds until the whites just begin to set, then gently scramble them with a spatula.
Once the eggs look mostly set but still a little soft, fold them into the hash and stir gently.
Pull the pan off the heat right away.
The potatoes carry enough heat to finish the eggs without overcooking them.
Serve immediately with the cabbage slaw alongside.
Sunday: Slow-Simmered Black Bean and Carrot Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
- 3 cups cooked white rice, for serving
- Shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for topping
Instructions
Heat the oil or butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and carrots and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and the carrots begin to pick up a little color.
Cutting the carrots into small pieces is important here because it means they will be fully tender by the time everything else is done.
Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper and stir until the vegetables are fully coated.
The spices will toast briefly in the heat and you will notice the smell change.
That is a good sign.
Add the black beans and pour in the broth or water.
Stir well and bring to a gentle boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
As it cooks, use the back of a wooden spoon to press some of the beans against the side of the pot.
This breaks some of them down while leaving others whole, which gives the mixture a thick, stew-like texture that sits nicely on top of rice instead of spreading into a thin puddle.
By the end of the simmer, it should look noticeably thick and hearty.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Spoon the rice into bowls, ladle the bean mixture generously over the top, and finish with shredded cheddar and a spoonful of sour cream.
A Few Smart Ingredient Swaps
You can use turkey or chicken in all of the recipes from this plan instead of beef.
You can find both choices at Walmart for about the same price, and they exhibit the same results when cooked and seasoned.
Bone-in chicken thighs, which usually cost less than their boneless counterparts, are perfectly fine for the roasted chicken recipe with additional oven time.
You can use canned pinto or kidney beans for black beans, and vice versa, in all recipes.
Brown rice can be substituted for white rice, in all the recipes, but will take an extra 15 to 20 minutes to cook.
Instead of a head of cabbage, the Walmart produce section has a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix, which usually costs less than a dollar.
Storage Tips
The beef and rice skillet, taco filling, skillet spaghetti, and Sunday rice bowls last three to four days when stored in an airtight container.
The chicken soup actually gets better with some time, as the rice continues to soak up the broth. The flavors also deepen.
Add a splash of broth to meals that are being reheated in the microwave to prevent dryness.
The taco filling, chicken soup, and spaghetti can all be frozen for up to two months.
Tips to Make This Week Easy
On Sunday, try to cut all your onions and mince all your garlic.
This usually takes about 15 minutes and saves you the tedious task of doing garlic/onions every night.
Putting your garlic and onions in the fridge helps keep the flavors fresh.
Something else you can do on Sunday evening is make a batch of white rice.
This will help you cut down on any rice hassle during the week, and you can use it in more than one recipe.
Some recipes will instruct you not to stir something.
You should take that instruction and run with it.
You can’t achieve that perfectly golden crust on the chicken or the perfectly golden crust on the diced hash potatoes and other recipes if you don’t keep the food on the stove for long enough.
When you are layering all the food in a recipe, and you are done cooking it, that is the first and probably most important step to really good food that has been perfectly seasoned.
You should really think about layering food and finishing the other steps, and only after that, seasoning the food.