Looking for a cheap meal plan that’s healthy, filling and easy to follow? This 7-day budget meal plan uses red lentils, chickpeas, bacon and everyday ingredients to create a variety of tasty, nutritious meals — all for around £1.15 per person, per day.

Whether you’re feeding one person or a small household, this plan is designed to save money without compromising on flavour or nutrition. It’s perfect if you want to eat well on a tight budget, build up your store cupboard with versatile staples, and enjoy proper home-cooked food.

This plan features easy, frugal recipes like Chickpea Crumble and Lentil Soup with Bacon

What Makes This Budget Plan Different

This isn’t just a list of cheap recipes — it’s a full weekly menu built around a carefully chosen set of ingredients that work hard in multiple dishes. By combining lentils, chickpeas, vegetables and a little bacon, you’ll make soups, bakes, crumbles and cakes that are filling, freezer-friendly and adaptable to your needs.

The plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, plus flexible tips for stretching meals, freezing portions, and swapping ingredients. You’ll also find cost breakdowns, so you know exactly where your money’s going.

For meal plan 1, as at 24th August 2025, you will need £25.62 in your purse at the checkout, but the amount of food actually consumed (if you follow the plan fully) comes to £20.69 or £1.15 per person, per day, including the extra 8th and 9th days, using the bits and bobs left.

This plan was first written in June 2013, and now, in 2025, 12 years later, I’m delighted that it still adds up and that you can still eat for £1’ish a day.

Would you like more meal plans? There are lots of other budget friendly meal plans, like this one using salted cashews, black olives and soft cheese, celebration weeks, like a vegetarian Christmas week, packed full of seasonal flavours, and some Valentines special meals too.  Have a look at the meal plan list for all the meal plans on Thrifty Lesley

Weekly Shopping List

Ingredients for the 7-Day Budget Meal Plan

This meal plan is built around a small, smart set of ingredients that work across multiple dishes. By buying in bulk where it makes sense and using versatile staples like lentils, chickpeas and flour, you’ll keep costs low while still eating well.

The column headed ‘left at the end of the week’ is what you can expect to have left in the cupboard. You can carry that over to next week, or use it for snacks etc, as you wish. The remaining potatoes can be used as jacket potatoes or oven wedges as a calorie top up when ever needed if required, or have a look at the optional 8th and 9th days.

Swaps & Substitutions

Swap the marmalade for another item, these options below are all more or less the same price. Bear in mind you will be using this in place of marmalade for the baked sponge and on toast. You could choose
● Smartprice strawberry jam
● Clear honey
● Asda Chocolate spread
● Lemon curd
● or a home made preserve if you have any

You could get a litre pack of milk instead of the can of evaporated, currently 69p for smartprice. The evaporated gives a creamier flavour which is why I chose that. Or spend 64p more and get a 2 pint bottle of fresh milk if you prefer.

You could buy 4 tins of chickpeas instead of the dried pack, or 4 tins of different things eg 1 x chickpeas, 1 x kidney beans, 1 x butter beans, 1 x green lentils. Tins will cost a bit more. 2 tins value kidney beans and 2 tins chickpeas would just be a few pence more. Or you can get all kinds of things at 60p-80p a tin.

The packs of potatoes have been reduced to 2kg from 2.5kg. If you are really careful, you could use a 2kg bag. If you need a little more, perhaps a tin of potatoes would fill the gap for something.

Tip: Some items (like passata, oil, and tins) don’t halve neatly for singletons using this plan. Store leftovers in the fridge/freezer or use them across the week. Most recipes are freezer-friendly, so nothing goes to waste.

Here’s how a typical week looks. Each day includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a small treat, all made from the ingredients below. You can easily stretch meals to cover more days by freezing portions or enjoying leftovers the next day.

Meal Plan 1	you will need	left at the end of the week	Aug-25
can evaporated milk	all of it		£0.56
6 medium free range eggs	6 eggs		£1.75
500g cooking bacon	500g		£1.00
2kg onions, red ones	2kg		£1.96
1kg carrots	1kg		£0.69
2.5kg potatoes, Essentials	2.3kg		£1.35
1kg frozen peas	1kg		£1.54
value range tin sweetcorn	the tin		£0.58
Asda SP 400g passata or tomatoes	the tin		£0.45
Asda SP 500g mixed fruit	500g		£1.72
1.5kg value sr flour	1.4kg		£0.78
800g value wholemeal loaf	the loaf		£0.75
1kg granulated sugar	500g	500g, 54p	£1.09
500g Asda red lentils	500g		£2.00
Asda SP 200g salted peanuts	220g		£1.33
1 litre veg oil	855ml	145ml, 29p	£1.99
500g Brilliantly Buttery	205g	45g, 11p	£1.24
1kg value Oats	860g		£0.89
Good and balanced 500g dried chick peas	500g		£2.00
Asda SP tomato ketchup 550g	just a bit	£0.60	£0.93
Asda marmalade	270g		£1.02
Total	£20.69	£0.94	£25.62
9 days	£1.15
Nutrition
2000 plus 2500 calories per day
11% protein, 35% fat, 54% carbs, 28g fibre pppd
Govt. recommendations 10-35% protein, 20-35% fat, 45-65% carb, 25g fibre pppd
Current recommendations have moved from 5 a Day for fruit & veg, to 7 a Day.
This plan has, per person, a total of 2.5 portions of red, 21 orange, 6 green and 34 white and 12 purple. This gives a total of almost 11 portions of fruit and veg a day each

 

All the recipes in this budget meal plan

Flexible Swaps & Tips:

• Double recipes if you prefer batch cooking, then freeze portions.

• Make the soups and bakes ahead to save time during the week.

• Add herbs, spices, or seasonal veg for variety without increasing the budget.

• Vegetarian? Just skip the bacon — the lentils and chickpeas provide plenty of protein.

The Menu

	breakfast	lunch	dinner
day 1	breakfast pancakes	lentil soup	chickpea crumble, peas, roasted onions
day 2	1 egg, 1 toast, 1 toast and marmalade with spread	hummus and grated carrot sandwich	potato, onion & sweetcorn cakes, bacon, ketchup
day 3	porridge made with a little milk, sugar	carrot & lentil soup	falafel, grated carrot and peanut salad
day 4	breakfast pancakes	hummus and grated carrot sandwich	potato & onion hash
day 5	1 egg, 1 toast, 1 toast and marmalade with spread	lentil soup	chole masala, nan
day 6	bacon sandwich, ketchup	carrot & lentil soup	sweetcorn fritters, chips and peas
day 7	porridge made with a little milk, sugar	bacon & sweetcorn pie. pudding of marmalade baked sponge	pea soup
optional day 8	porridge made with a little milk, sugar	soup using up veg, slice of b+b	peanut oat cakes, onion & pea mash
optional day 9	plain pancakes & jam	peanut oat cakes, jam. Bowl chips	potato, onion & sweetcorn cakes, ketchup, any remaining soup
Cakes & Bakes	Fruit Loaf	Fruit Scones	Oaty Biscuits     Raisin Sandwich

Prep for the week

Use the Cakes and Bakes at any point during the week when you need them, as an extra at lunch, a pudding after dinner, for supper, or any other hungry moment. Or if you and the 2nd person you are feeding don’t need this many calories, healthwise, these would probably be the best things to leave out (speaking as a sweet thing lover – sorry 🙁  Or how about a good old British compromise, make them and make them stretch over a longer period of time 😉

• Open the can of evaporated milk and pour into a 1 litre container. Top up to the 1 litre mark with water. Store in the fridge
• If you get items at less than the cost on the Shopping List, you could use the excess to get a herb or spice – I suggest garam masala, a jar of garlic paste (a huge jar can be had for less than £3 from Asian shops), cinnamon or mixed spice, fish sauce, soy sauce or a big knob of fresh ginger which can be grated straight from the freezer. All of these things help to inject extra flavour and last for ages.
• If  you don’t want to get dried chick peas, get tins and use those instead. Can sizes are fairly standard and about 400g/15 ounces which yields 250g (1½ cups) of beans once drained. Chickpeas roughly double their weight once cooked. So to get 250g (1 can) cooked chickpeas you need to cook 125g (¾ cup) dried chickpeas.
• The pack of 500g of dried chickpeas will yield the equivalent of 4 cans.
• If you buy the dried chick peas, it would be convenient for you to soak all of them and cook them in one go. Then divide them up into the equivalent of a cans worth (4 cans) and freeze them.
• It would be a good idea to do all the baking in one go too and wrap and freeze, ready for when you want a piece during the week. If you are using the bakes for packed lunches, just take one out in the morning and it will be defrosted by lunchtime.

What recipes will freeze this week?

If you wanted to, you could make some or all of the other items ahead of time, or when you have a moment to do one, and freeze, ready for that meal time.
Items that will freeze well
● Lentil Soup
● Carrot & Lentil Soup
● Pea Soup
● Leftovers Soup on the 8th day
● Chickpea Crumble
● The Falafel, but not the Grated Carrot Salad
● Chole & Nan
● Bacon & Sweetcorn Pie
● Mashed Potato
● The Baked Sponge after it has been cooked
● Fruit Loaf
● Fruit Scones

Day 3, 7 and 8 – TIP

Got any fruit going soft? Make a compote with it and spoon on your porridge
Short on time? Portion your oats etc and put everything in a sealable container overnight to make overnight oats. Just grab from the fridge in the morning

Day 4 – TIP:

Dinner: use the last of the bacon with the hash

Day 5 – TIP:
Want your breakfast on the go? Use the egg and both slices of bread to make an egg sandwich
If there are 2 of you, you could make 1 egg sandwich and 1 marmalade sandwich and have half each. Separate them when you pack them, don’t want marmalade on your egg!
Got a bit more time? Make a marmalade sandwich with both slices of bread, soak the sandwich in the egg and pan fry until golden

Day 6 – TIP:

Bacon sandwich – Although best eaten whilst hot, this makes a surprisingly good packed lunch too

Day 8 – TIP:

Lunch: Use any remaining vegetables and lentils to make soup. Omit 500g potatoes (there are plenty left) to use on Day 9. Make sure to season it well, it makes a big difference with soup. You could add a squirt of ketchup to brighten it. Use the last remaining 2 slices of bread with your soup.

Dinner: Make the full amount of peanut oat cakes and use half on Day 9 at lunchtime.

Day 9 – TIP:

Use the raisin pancake recipe, omit the raisins and serve with a blob of jam or whatever you bought this week

Lunch: The remaining half of the peanut oatcakes is lunch, but there won’t be any pea and onion hummus left, so use a blob of jam or whatever you bought this week.  Also at lunchtime, make a bowl of oven wedges each by cutting up 500g potatoes, oiling, seasoning and roasting in the oven for about 30-40 minutes

Dinner: Use the remaining portion of potato, onion & sweetcorn cakes from Day 2, with ketchup and serve with a bowl of whatever soup you have left from Day 8.

Dietary Adaptations for this budget meal plan

A Vegetarian version

• Replace bacon with one of these cheap options (depending on availability and preference):

  • Smoked paprika + a splash of soy sauce (for a “smoky/savoury” flavour).

  • Mushrooms (for texture and umami).

  • Tinned jackfruit or veggie mince (more hearty).

  • Grated carrot or courgette (if you just want to bulk out the dish cheaply).

• Protein balance: The original plan uses lentils, chickpeas, eggs, and milk for protein. That still works well for vegetarians.

• Iron/B12 awareness: Since there won’t be any meat in a vegetarian plan, focus on beans, lentils, leafy greens, fortified cereals, and eggs/dairy.

• ---

Adapting the Meal Plan to be Vegan

To make Meal Plan 1 fully vegan we’ll need to replace bacon, eggs, milk, cheese, and butter while keeping things simple and cheap.

• Swap the dairy milk for soy milk or your plant milk of choice
• Swap out the Brilliantly Buttery for a plant based spread
• Replace the bacon as for the vegetarian option above

Breakfasts

• Scrambled “Eggs” on Toast – use scrambled tofu (season with turmeric, salt, pepper, and a dash of soy sauce for colour & flavour).

• Bacon sandwich – replace the bacon with mushrooms fried in oil, and perhaps some soy sauce

Lunches

• Lentil Soup – omit bacon; instead add smoked paprika, soy sauce, or a little Marmite for depth.

• Vegetable Soup – same bacon swap as above (paprika or Marmite).

Dinners

• Bacon and sweetcorn pie – replace the bacon with mushrooms, or other veg with a teaspoon of Marmite

Budget & Nutrition Notes

• Vegan swaps can stay very cheap if you focus on beans, lentils, oats, veg, and oil rather than pricey substitutes.

• A little fortified soya milk helps with B12 and calcium.

• Use flax seeds or chia (bought in bulk if possible) for egg replacement and extra omega-3.

• Yeast extract (Marmite/own-brand) is a brilliant cheap flavour booster and B-vitamin source.

---

A Gluten free adaptation

Meal plan 1 has a couple of obvious things that will need replacing. Use a gluten free bread, and make sure the oats you use are gluten free, not all of them are.

• Use 2 bags of gluten free flour
• make sure the salted peanuts don’t have any gluten containing additives
• check the label too of the tomato ketchup as some contain modified maize starch
• everything else should be alright

 

• GF swaps are the priciest part. To keep costs down:

  • Buy GF oats in bulk → they’re the most versatile (porridge, pancakes, biscuits, oat bread).

  • Use rice and potatoes more often instead of GF pasta/bread.

  • For baking, a cheap cornflour + oat mix often works instead of pricey GF blends.

---

Lactose free

• Swap milk for soya milk and get a dairy free spread, that’s pretty much all you have to do for a lactose free option

---

Nut free

Meal Plan 1 is essentially nut-free as written, with only minor care needed when buying packaged items (stock cubes, spreads, mayo, plant milks).

---

Reduced fat adaptation

The original plan is already heavy on beans, lentils, and veg, but it does use bacon, butter, milk, and cheese in places. Here’s how we can lighten it up:

Breakfasts

• Use semi skimmed milk rather than the full fat evaporated milk
• Buy the wholemeal loaf option rather than the white version

Lunches

• Lentil Soup → skip bacon fat; use a spray of oil or just simmer with stock and seasonings.

• Vegetable Soup → same as lentil soup — minimal oil, no bacon.

Dinners

• Chickpea Curry → use minimal oil (or spray oil). Bulk out with extra veg to keep it filling

Extras & Treats

• Biscuits → reduce portion size (they’re already simple, but still sugary/fatty).

Budget & Nutrition Notes

• Reducing fat doesn’t mean removing it completely — just choosing leaner cooking methods (boiling, baking, steaming, non-stick frying).

• Protein is still covered with eggs, chickpeas, lentils, and milk — so meals remain satisfying.

• Using skimmed or semi-skimmed milk and less oil makes this plan lower-fat without pushing costs up.

• If you’re reducing fat for health reasons, boosting fibre (wholemeal bread, extra veg, oats, beans) helps keep you full.

---

This budget meal plan for a single person

• The easiest way by far is to just make each days meals last two days.
• You really need a freezer to make this work successfully.
• If you don’t want to repeat each days meals two days in a row, freeze everything that can be frozen and take out just what you need
• Everything will keep, the only thing that might not last two weeks are the carrots, although I’ve found that they are usually fine for that period of time