A weekly shop pretends you buy mayonnaise every seven days. You do not. This plan buys the cupboard and freezer in week one, then runs three lighter weeks on fresh food only, so the month budgets properly instead of looking wrong every payday.
Prices checked 15/09/2026 · own-label · indicative and vary by store
Set it up for your house
Who is eating
The quantities every list below is written for: two adults and two children, seven dinners a week.
How much meat
Meat three nights, including the roast, with beans, lentils, eggs and cheese carrying the rest. The cheapest way to keep protein up without going meat-free.
The month, family of four
£136.35 at Aldi
That is the whole four weeks of dinners, breakfasts and packed lunches, including the one-off stock-up. The same plan costs £159.39 at Tesco, so the shop you choose is worth £23.04 a month.
Aldi
£136.35
about £34.09 a week
Asda
£152.28
about £38.07 a week
Tesco
£159.39
about £39.85 a week
Week one: the stock-up
Buy this once. It covers all four weeks, which is why week one looks expensive and weeks two to four do not.
Item
Pack
Aldi
Tesco
Asda
Pasta
1 kg x 2
£1.50
£1.90
£1.70
Long grain rice
1 kg x 2
£1.98
£2.50
£2.20
Egg noodles
250-410 g
£1.29
£1.05
£1.15
Porridge oats
1 kg
£0.99
£1.25
£1.10
Wheat biscuit cereal
750 g
£1.65
£1.95
£1.80
Baked beans
4 x 400 g
£1.35
£1.45
£1.40
Chopped tomatoes
4 x 400 g
£1.40
£1.60
£1.50
Passata
500 g x 2
£1.10
£1.30
£1.20
Chickpeas
400 g tin x 4
£1.64
£1.64
£1.64
Kidney beans
400 g tin x 2
£0.98
£1.10
£1.05
Red lentils
1 kg
£1.89
£2.15
£1.99
Tinned sweetcornOnly Asda publishes a single-tin own-label price; the others sell it in multipacks that were not listed.
198 g tin x 2
check
check
£0.98
Curry sauce
440-500 g jar
£0.49
£0.99
£0.87
Tinned tuna
4 x 145 g
£2.99
£3.50
£3.25
Vegetable oil
1 litre
£1.55
£1.75
£1.65
Plain flour
1.5 kg
£0.85
£1.05
£0.95
Granulated sugar
1 kg
£0.99
£1.10
£1.05
Tea bags
80
£1.35
£1.75
£1.50
Tomato ketchup
500 g
£0.75
£0.95
£0.85
Mayonnaise
500 g
£0.95
£1.15
£1.05
Sweet pickleOne jar covers sandwiches all month. The own-label version is a third of the branded price.
360-390 g
£0.79
£1.60
£1.32
Jam
454 g
£0.85
£1.00
£0.95
Peanut butter
340 g
£0.95
£1.10
£1.80
Frozen peas
900 g
£1.15
£1.35
£1.25
Frozen mixed vegetables
1 kg
£1.29
£1.50
£1.40
Frozen spinach
900 g
£1.45
£1.65
£1.55
Oven chips
1.5 kg
£3.29
£1.99
£2.20
Frozen Yorkshire puddings
12-15 pack
£0.46
£1.40
£1.34
Frozen berries
500 g
check
£3.00
£2.82
Frozen fish fingers
10 pack
£1.65
£1.95
£1.80
Crisps multipack
12 pack
£1.49
£1.85
£1.65
Biscuits
400 g
£0.85
£1.05
£0.95
Cereal bars
6 pack
£1.09
£1.45
£1.20
Yoghurt tubes or fromage frais
8 pack
£1.29
£1.55
£1.45
Ice lollies
8 pack
£1.35
£1.65
£1.50
Semi-skimmed milk
4 pints x 2
£3.10
£3.10
£3.10
Wholemeal bread
800 g loaf
£0.75
£0.85
£0.80
Free-range eggs
10 large
£2.20
£2.50
£2.35
Butter
250 g
£1.89
£1.99
£1.98
Mature cheddar
400 g
£2.99
£3.50
£3.25
Plain yoghurt
500 g
£0.85
£1.00
£0.95
Potatoes
2.5 kg
£1.89
£2.15
£1.99
Carrots
1 kg
£0.69
£0.79
£0.75
Onions
1 kg
£0.85
£0.95
£0.90
Bananas
5 pack
£0.85
£0.95
£0.90
Apples
6 pack
£1.19
£1.40
£1.30
Orange juice
1 litre x 2
£2.20
£2.60
£2.40
Whole chicken
1.5 kg
£4.35
£4.75
£4.60
Beef mince, 5% fat
500 g
£3.49
£4.25
£3.99
Pork sausages
8 pack, 454 g
£1.79
£1.79
£1.79
Stock-up total
£72.72
£86.79
£83.11
The four weeks
Week 1 · The stock-up week
Fresh shop from £0.00 at Aldi
The only week you buy the cupboard and freezer list. It costs more on the day and then almost nothing for three weeks, which is the whole point.
Seven dinners
Day 1Roast chicken with potatoes, carrots and Yorkshire puddings
Day 2Lentil and vegetable soup with bread and butter
Day 3Spaghetti bolognese
Day 4Jacket potatoes with baked beans and grated cheddar
Day 5Sausages, mash and onion gravy with peas
Day 6Chickpea and vegetable rice traybake
Day 7Homemade pizza night
Bought with the stock-up
Week one's fresh food is in the stock-up list above, so there is nothing extra to buy.
Week 2 · The cheap week
Fresh shop from £20.99 at Aldi
The cupboard is full, so this is the lightest shop of the month. Fresh milk, bread, eggs, fruit and veg, and whatever meat the week needs.
Seven dinners
Day 1Beef brisket roast with roast potatoes and Yorkshires
Day 2Cheese and pickle toasties with oven chips
Day 3Chicken curry with rice
Day 4Egg fried rice with frozen veg
Day 5Tuna pasta bake with sweetcorn
Day 6Bean, tomato and pepper one-pan
Day 7Bean and cheese wraps with salad
This week's fresh top-up
Semi-skimmed milk (4 pints x 2)
Wholemeal bread (800 g loaf)
Free-range eggs (10 large)
Mature cheddar (400 g)
Cheese slices (10 slices, 200 g)
Potatoes (2.5 kg)
Carrots (1 kg)
Onions (1 kg)
Peppers (3 pack)
Bananas (5 pack)
Apples (6 pack)
Plain yoghurt (500 g)
Tortilla wraps (8 pack)
Beef roasting joint or brisket (about 1 kg, sold by weight)
Chicken thighs (1 kg)
Week 3 · The freezer week
Fresh shop from £21.04 at Aldi
Payday is furthest away here, so the plan leans on the freezer and the tins bought in week one. Nothing is missing, it is just cheaper.
Seven dinners
Day 1Chicken thigh traybake with potatoes and carrots
Day 2Cottage pie with peas
Day 3Veggie fingers, chips and beans
Day 4Red lentil dhal with rice and flatbread
Day 5Chicken noodle stir-fry with frozen veg
Day 6Tomato and cheese pasta with garlic bread
Day 7Five-bean chilli with rice
This week's fresh top-up
Semi-skimmed milk (4 pints x 2)
Wholemeal bread (800 g loaf)
Free-range eggs (10 large)
Butter (250 g)
Potatoes (2.5 kg)
Carrots (1 kg)
Onions (1 kg)
Bananas (5 pack)
Apples (6 pack)
Plain yoghurt (500 g)
Beef mince, 5% fat (500 g)
Chicken thighs (1 kg)
Week 4 · The clear-out week
Fresh shop from £21.60 at Aldi
The month ends with the cupboard almost empty on purpose. Whatever is left becomes soup, a frittata or a fridge-clear curry, so nothing is thrown away and nothing is bought twice.
Seven dinners
Day 1Roast chicken with all the trimmings
Day 2Fridge-clear vegetable and rice soup
Day 3Cheese and pickle sandwiches with soup
Day 4Whatever-is-left frittata with potatoes
Day 5Mince and potato hash with beans
Day 6Fridge-clear curry with rice
Day 7Pasta with whatever sauce is left, plus cheese
This week's fresh top-up
Semi-skimmed milk (4 pints x 2)
Wholemeal bread (800 g loaf)
Free-range eggs (10 large)
Mature cheddar (400 g)
Potatoes (2.5 kg)
Carrots (1 kg)
Onions (1 kg)
Bananas (5 pack)
Apples (6 pack)
Plain yoghurt (500 g)
Whole chicken (1.5 kg)
Ham slices (300 g)
Gluten-free, without paying twice
Every dinner above works gluten-free with these swaps. Free, because it is a medical need, not an upgrade.
Sliced bread -> Gluten-free sliced loaf
Keep it in the freezer and toast it from frozen; it stales within a day at room temperature.
Pasta and spaghetti -> Gluten-free pasta
Cook it a minute short of the packet time, or it turns soft in a bake.
Yorkshire puddings -> Homemade with gluten-free plain flour
Same batter, same very hot fat, and far cheaper than the frozen gluten-free packs.
Sausages -> Gluten-free sausages
Standard sausages usually contain rusk. Check the label every time, recipes change.
Stock cubes and gravy granules -> Gluten-free stock and gravy
Easy one to miss: most own-label gravy granules contain wheat.
Fish fingers and breaded food -> Plain frozen fish fillets
Cheaper than gluten-free breaded versions and it bakes in the same time.
Wraps and flatbread -> Corn tortillas or gluten-free wraps
Warm them in a dry pan for ten seconds a side so they fold without cracking.
Soy sauce for the stir-fry -> Tamari
Ordinary soy sauce is made with wheat. Tamari tastes the same in a stir-fry.
Walk in, collect or deliver?
A slot fee looks like an extra cost and often is not. What you pay for a delivery is usually less than what an unplanned walk round the shop puts in the trolley.
Walk in and shop
Nothing if you walk, otherwise fuel, parking or a bus fare
You want the reduced-to-clear shelf, you can carry it, and you are good at ignoring the aisle ends.
Watch out: The unplanned extras are the real cost. Sticking to a list matters more than which shop you pick.
Order online, collect it
Usually free or a small slot fee
You have a car or the shop is on your way. You see the running total before you pay, so the budget holds.
Watch out: Slots book up two or three days ahead in busy weeks, so order the plan early.
Order online, get it delivered
A per-slot charge, lowest on quiet weekday slots; delivery passes pay off if you order most weeks
No car, small children, or shift work. The slot fee is often less than the extras a walk round the shop adds to the trolley.
Watch out: Minimum spend can push you into buying more than you need, and substitutions can break a planned meal. Mark the key items no-substitute.
The five-part plate
Once you cook this way you stop needing a plan at all. Base ingredients cost a fraction of anything pre-made.
One base protein a week
A whole chicken, a pack of mince, a tray of eggs, a bag of lentils. Buy the biggest sensible size, cook it once, split it across three meals.
One base carb
Rice, pasta, potatoes or bread. Bought dry in a kilo bag this is the cheapest part of the plate, and it is what makes a small amount of protein stretch.
One legume
Tinned beans, chickpeas or dried lentils. They add protein for pennies and bulk out a dish so 500 g of mince feeds five instead of three.
Veg and fruit, frozen where it makes sense
Frozen peas, spinach and mixed veg cost less than fresh, never rot, and count the same. Buy fresh only what you will eat in three days.
Flavour is the cheap bit
Onions, garlic, stock, tinned tomatoes, curry powder, a jar of pickle. A few pounds of these turn the same five base ingredients into a different dinner every night.
Ready-made is the expensive bit
A jar of sauce, a chilled ready meal or a bag of pre-chopped veg charges you for work that takes ten minutes. That gap is where most of a food budget disappears.
Students
Five meals that beat instant noodles
Big-pot dhal or chilli, five portions
One cooking session, five dinners, and it costs less per portion than a packet of noodles once you add anything to the noodles.
Egg fried rice with frozen veg
Ten minutes, uses last night's rice, and the eggs cover the protein noodles do not.
Jacket potato with beans and cheese
Microwave it, then crisp it in the oven. Cheapest hot meal on this page.
Tuna or bean pasta with tinned tomatoes
Store-cupboard only, so it still works on the day the money runs out.
Overnight oats with frozen berries
Breakfast made the night before, which is the meal students skip and then buy on campus for four times the price.
Ready meals are not a failure. On a day with back-to-back lectures, a chilled or frozen meal beats skipping food or buying a meal deal twice. Keep two or three in the freezer for those days, cost them into the week on purpose, and cook the rest. The trap is when they become every day, because that is when the weekly bill roughly doubles for the same amount of food.
The four weeks above are free and always will be. Pro adds the step-by-step method for every dinner, the batch-cook and thirty-minute weeks, and a copy button for the whole shopping list.
Prices are indicative own-label shelf prices checked on 15/09/2026 and vary by store, region and week. Quantities for households other than four are scaled from the family-of-four list. General budgeting guidance, not nutritional or medical advice; check labels yourself for allergens.