Hey ALDI lovers, looking for a meal plan that lets you shop ONLY at your favorite store? Look no further – this one week $50 ALDI meal plan has you taken care of!
Ever since we moved to Georgia, shopping at ALDI has done wonders for my grocery budget.
It’s no secret that I shop around for good deals, and I love that you can get almost every pantry staple there at a solid low price (with some items being cheaper than Costco!).
Psst! If you think shopping for deals means spending all day driving all over town, you’re wrong! Let me teach you how to shop quickly, and still get everything you need. Enrollment for my course Grocery Budget Bootcamp opens just 3 times each year, and graduates save anywhere from $200 – $300 in the first month alone! Join the wait list to be notified when the doors are open again!
It’s also no secret that I’m a big advocate of meal planning. But would you believe that I’ve never specifically made an ALDI meal plan?
Granted, I have TONS of meal plans on the blog. And when I say “tons,” I literally mean FIVE YEARS worth of meal plans.
And while I encourage you to do things like make a meal plan (obviously), shop in bulk, consider NOT using coupons and use tricks to save on meat at the store, sometimes it’s not HOW you shop, but WHERE you shop that makes the biggest difference. Actually, not shopping at the right store is one of the reasons you might NOT be saving money on food!
Case in point – check out my side by side comparisons of ALDI vs. Costco, and ALDI vs. Walmart!
Plus you can step up your game by using this Ultimate Guide to Shopping at ALDI.
Knowing how to shop strategically to slash your grocery budget comes with years of experience (or taking my course!).
But as you build your shopping experience, you can “hack” your strategy by creating a meal plan that lets you buy everything you need from one store. Not just any store though – a store that is known for their low prices… like ALDI.
I know meal planning is hard for a lot of people, so I went ahead and did the leg work for you!
One Week ALDI Meal Plan
What’s Included:
- 100% real food recipes that are simple, straight-forward and family-friendly.
- Recipes that are quick to make, and all of them can be made in under an hour.
- A few store-bought items for things I typically make from scratch (like hamburger buns and spaghetti sauce). Feel free to make these things from scratch if you prefer.
- A plan that comes in under $50 for a family of four!
What’s NOT Included:
- Spices, oils and vinegar. None of these recipes call for enormous amounts of these things, and you probably already have these cooking staples.
- Flour. Ordinarily I’d include this, especially if we were doing a lot of baking. But this week, we’re skipping the baking and you only need a couple tablespoons for the meatballs. Most pantries have some sort of flour, but if you don’t, I’d ask a neighbor!
- Precautions for food allergies. My family is blessed to not have food allergies, so I don’t plan for them in my meal plans. However, ALDI has a fantastic gluten-free line of foods, and if you’re diary free you’re used to subbing anyway. With a few tweaks, I think this ALDI meal plan would work in most food allergy families too.
No Breakfast or Lunches?
This meal plan doesn’t include breakfast or lunches because in my experience, the majority of families have personal preferences on what they eat for breakfast and lunch.
Have no fear though – I have NO DOUBT the ingredients you buy for this meal plan will provide extras you can use to cover breakfasts and/or lunches. Here’s why:
- Every meal on this menu is something I make frequently with my family. Every single one of them covers dinner for the four of us AND enough for at least one leftover lunch (usually two).
- Use the “Bonus Meal Ideas” section at the bottom to create your own breakfast and lunch menu. Those are just some ideas to get started, but they’re there to help you use the ingredients you’re already buying!
- If you still don’t think this is enough food to cover breakfast AND lunches, buy a bag of apples and a container of oatmeal. Make apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast and you’ll keep your bill under $53. 🙂
Click HERE to download the One Week $50 ALDI Meal Plan with recipes and shopping list.
(Note that clicking the link will trigger a pop-up form. Enter your information to have the recipe sent to you via email. Please allow up to 12 hours for the email to be delivered and check spam folder and “promotions” folder if using gmail. If you still can’t find the download, please email me tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com.)
One Week ALDI Meal Plan: What to Buy
The goal with any meal plan is to buy as little food as possible, use everything you buy, and to do both without sacrificing taste or quality.
Here’s what you’re buying for this meal plan:
Meat
Ground Beef 80/20, $2.99/lb: You’ll need two pounds of this to cover hamburgers and meatballs. My recipe for meatballs makes A LOT of meatballs, and we always have leftovers. Save them for a lunch, or freeze them for a future dinner. (Making extra for the freezer is one of the batch cooking tips in my free course, 5 Days to Real Food Fast!)
Bacon, $3.79/lb: One pound of bacon is getting split between the Baked Potato Nachos and BLT’s. Be sure to save the bacon grease for cooking – it’s great for adding bacon flavor to just about anything!
Chicken Leg Quarters, $0.89/lb: You need about 1 1/4 pounds of chicken leg quarters to equal 4 cups of shredded chicken. You’ll use this chicken in the Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad and Chicken Fried Rice. Depending on your package, you might have extra chicken for lunches, or to freeze for a future dinner!
Meat Total: $10.88
Cold Case
Cheddar Cheese, $1.79/8 oz: You need 12 ounces for this meal plan, so you’ll end up with an extra 4 ounces of cheddar cheese by the end of the week. Personally, I’d shred it and freeze it in 2 ounce portions – that’s the perfect amount to use in a taco bar!
Eggs, 56¢/doz: This meal plan only calls for using 2 eggs, so you’ll have several leftover. Save them for the following week, use them in breakfast, use the “Bonus Meal Ideas” below to put them to good use!
Sour Cream, 99¢/16 oz: Sour cream is a topping for Tortilla Soup and Baked Potato Nachos, but you can also add it to your Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad too. If you serve spaghetti and meatballs at the end of the week, add leftover sour cream to the sauce for a fun twist on pasta night!
Frozen Veggies, $1.19/16 oz: You one bag of mixed vegetables for Chicken Fried Rice, and one bag of corn for Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad and Tortilla Soup. You could use fresh fr the fried rice, but this is a short-cut to help you save time without sacrificing quality!
Cold Case Total: $7.51
Pantry
Black Beans, 59¢/15 oz: You need one can of black beans for this week, which will get split between Tortilla Soup and Southwestern Chopped Salad. Be sure to drain it well and rinse it twice to avoid gas!
Garbanzo Beans, 59¢/15 oz: Just like the black beans, you need one can to split for two meals this week.
Note: If you decide to make beans from scratch, you can shave off a few cents per “can.” See the math when I compared dry vs canned beans! Plus it’s SUPER easy to make beans in the Instant Pot, portion them out, and stick in the freezer for future meals.
Chicken Stock, $1.89/32 oz: I normally make chicken stock using leftover chicken bones, but since not everyone does it, I put this on the shopping list. You need the entire quart for Tortilla Soup. If you prefer your soup to have more liquid, add some water without sacrificing the flavor.
Ranch Dressing, $.89/16 oz: This is something else I personally typically make from scratch (here’s the recipe), but this might not be the case for everyone. We’re having salad 4 nights this week AND we’re using the dressing for dipping one night. If you have family members who are liberal with dressing, make sure they don’t go overboard too early in the week!
Rice, $1.29/3 lbs: You only need 2 cups of cooked rice for one meal this week, so you’re definitely going to have leftovers with this purchase. That’s fine though, because rice stores well AND is a perfect side dish to almost any meal!
Soy Sauce, $1.49/10 oz: Soy sauce is a staple in Chicken Fried Rice, and while you won’t use the entire jar, fried rice isn’t the same without it! Lucky for us, soy sauce won’t go bad sitting on the pantry shelf.
Spaghetti Pasta, $1.45/2 lbs: You really only need 8 ounces for the Spaghetti and Meatballs this week, but you could bump it up to a full pound and still have enough spaghetti leftover for another meal!
Spaghetti Sauce, $.99/24 oz: I normally make my own spaghetti sauce. Whether I go all out for hearty spaghetti sauce, or keep it minimal with a 15 minute sauce, it’s just something I prefer to make myself. In case you don’t, it’s something to buy on this week’s trip for Spaghetti and Meatballs. Fortunately, it’s very affordable!
Sunflower Seeds, $1.99/10.5 oz: Sunflower seeds might not seem that important, but I really like the crunch they add to salads. And since we’re having several salads this week, I don’t think this isn’t something to skip!
Canned Diced Tomatoes, 45¢/15 oz: We need one can of diced tomatoes for Tortilla Soup. If you find a variety that’s spicy, pick it up for a fun twist on this delicious recipe!
Pantry Total: $11.62
Produce
Avocado, $1.59/ea: This isn’t cheap for one avocado, but I’m including it because it’s a healthy fat for us.It also helps to make Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad feel more like a “meal,” than just a salad.
Carrots, $.99/lb: You need carrots throughout the meal plan this week, including the Spinach Salad, Green Salads and Tortilla Soup. Time your meals right and you won’t have any leftover!
Cucumber, 49¢/ea: We’re splurging on a cucumber to help bulk up the green salads this week. While this is a great deal right now, I’d pay up to a $1 for one cucumber if necessary.
Garlic, 5 cloves: 79¢/6 oz: Not every ALDI has fresh garlic, so I went with the jarred minced garlic this time around. You’ll use it in the Tortilla Soup and Chicken Fried Rice. Feel free to use extra if you like a lot of garlic!
Grape Tomatoes, $1.79/pint: These are the highlights of the salads this week, and cutting the tomatoes in half stretches them out a bit further than if you used them whole.
Green Onions, $.79/bunch: The green part of the onion is great in Tortilla Soup and Baked Potato Nachos, but don’t let the white part go to waste! I suggest adding to either the hamburgers personally.
Iceberg Lettuce, $1.19/head: Any variety of lettuce will work in the meal plan, but I chose iceberg because it was on sale this week. If you find another variety, or a pre-packaged mix that gives you just as much and costs less, feel free to go that route instead!
Onions, $1.79/2 lbs: You only need one onion this week for Tortilla Soup and the Green Salads, but you can also slice one up for Hamburgers and BLTs too.
Potatoes, $1.99/5 lbs: Russet potatoes are inexpensive year round, so we’re using them in Baked Potato Nachos and as a side dish to the Hamburgers. If you have extras, feel free to make Potato Wedges with the BLT’s too!
Spinach, $2.49/5 oz: Spinach is not cheap, but it’s very nutritious and a nice alternative to a typical Green Salad. My ALDI only had pre-packaged organic spinach, so your cost might be less depending on what your store offers.
Tomato, $1.49/16 oz: You need one tomato in this meal plan, for Baked Potato Nachos and for BLT’s. My ALDI doesn’t sell large slicing tomatoes individually, so you might have extras. Use the Bonus Meal Ideas section below for ways to use them up!
Produce Total: $16.58
Total for One Week ALDI Meal Plan: $46.59
Not too shabby, eh? We’re coming in UNDER budget, so if you needed any spices or oils, you’ve got the wiggle room.
Also remember that you will have a few extras leftover of certain things you buy, so use the Bonus Meal Ideas to use them up so they don’t go bad!
One Week ALDI Meal Plan: Dinners
- Dinner #1: Hamburgers, Potato Wedges, Green Salad
- Dinner #2: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Green Salad
- Dinner #3: Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad
- Dinner #4: Tortilla Soup
- Dinner #5: Chicken Fried Rice
- Dinner #6: Baked Potato Nachos, Spinach Salad
- Dinner #7: BLT’s, Veggie Sticks & Ranch Dip
Click HERE to download the One Week $50 ALDI Meal Plan with recipes and shopping list.
(Note that clicking the link will trigger a pop-up form. Enter your information to have the recipe sent to you via email. Please allow up to 12 hours for the email to be delivered and check spam folder and “promotions” folder if using gmail. If you still can’t find the download, please email me tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com.)
Bonus Meal Ideas:
As you can see from the items above, you’ll have a few leftover ingredients from your shopping trip. Here are some bonus meal ideas to use it all up, so nothing goes to waste!
- Beef & Cheddar Omelets (using leftover meatballs, cheddar cheese and eggs)
- Rice Pudding (using rice)
- Veggie Fried Rice (uses extra rice, eggs, soy sauce and any leftover vegetables)
- Garlic Butter Pasta (uses extra spaghetti)
- French Onion Soup (uses extra onion)
- Mashed Potatoes (uses extra potatoes)
- Hashbrowns & Scrambled Eggs (uses extra potatoes, onions and eggs)
- 15 Minute Tomato Soup (uses extra tomatoes)
- Cheddar Garlic Toast (uses extra cheese and bread)
And if you want more, check out our NEW Aldi Meal Plan #2 here!
Do you have any inexpensive meal ideas you can shop for at ALDI? Or ideas for using up the leftover ingredients? Share your ideas in the comments below!
This is such a great meal plan! We moved to a new city a couple months ago and now Aldi is an hour away; I really miss shopping there and our budget has missed it too. On the flip side, Costco is only 15 minutes away now, so I’ve been shopping there. I think by next month, I will have finally finished restocking my pantry and freezer from the move and the Costco trips won’t be as expensive anymore!
Hope you all stayed safe during the hurricane!
WOW! 🕺 I finally found someone who’s as excited about Aldi’s these as I am! There’s hardly a week that goes by that I asked people where they shop for groceries… My husband and I moved to Georgia 12 years ago, and I still go to Publix and Kroger and now Sprouts for certain items. But I always start at Aldi’s, and I buy the majority of my groceries there. The quality is beyond compare! And after seeing a public television special about Aldi’s long after I started shopping there, it truly helps me to appreciate the quality of the products. Thank you so much for this page. I will definitely be using it!
You’re most welcome Vanessa!!
I was told by my husband that I am not allowed to go to Costco without an adult. They never let me leave until I spend at least $200, usually $300. I still prefer Aldi’s. I don’t get in as much trouble.
LOL!!
I love aldis and would love to get your meal plan but it won’t download to my email
Also, did you mean to create links to the meal idea recipes? They don’t seem to be working.
I was wondering the same thing. Love the meal plan but am missing the links to the recipes. I’m a huge aldi fan and shop there along with the traditional grocery store each week. Would love to see the links added! The only link that I saw was for the meatballs in the text of the post.
Erica and AnnaKathryn – I’ve got that loaded for you now. A download that has all the recipes and a printable shopping list can be downloaded with one click. Sorry for the delay!!
The link doesn’t seem to be working again. Could I get a copy?
Can you send me an email Larissa? Thanks!
Could u please email me the recipes too? [email protected]
Can I get the recipes sent to me please
I can’t seem to get the recipes either. I just shopped today. Could you send me the link? Thanks so much! This looks awesome! bjauhola @proctor.k12.mn.us
Aldi is my Meca. More plans please!
LOL – Will do!
Thanks for the great meal plan! Are the pantry and meat items from Aldi’s what you would consider “real food?” Are the meats pastured? Does the salad dressings and spaghetti sauce have all whole food ingredients? I have never been to Aldi’s. I think I assumed it was a low end store with cheap food. The prices you quote are fantastic!
Hi Tina! Yes, I’d consider pantry and meat items from ALDI real food. The meat isn’t pastured, but I consider that a quality of real food, not necessarily an identification of real food… if that make sense. Like, “beef” is real food. “Grass-fed” would be a quality of the beef, but that doesn’t make it real food. “Beef” is real food, on its own.
I’ve read almost every bottle and container in ALDI, and 99% of them contain whole foods without nasty preservatives. I’d recommend reading the labels before buying, just in case, but by far and large, ALDI has a great selection of real food!
I guess real food isn’t the right term. I am happy to here that the pantry items are healthy. I am looking forward to shopping there. Thanks for all of your hard work. By the way, your 15 Minute Alfredo sauce it excellent!
Thanks for the compliment Tina!!
They sell 100% organic grass-fed ground beef (usually in stock). Every now and then they will have organic grass-fed roasts ($7.99/lb). That goes fast so I watch the fliers.
Are there links to the recipes?
How do I get the recipes, now that I have all the ingridients?
Please keep going with the weekly Aldi meal plans.
This is a wonderful idea!
It would really help the family budget to only spend $50 each week.
Will do Susan!!
Tiffany, I can’t seem to get this recipe list to download. Is there any way you could email it to me please?
I am so jealous of this Aldi you speak off. I don’t live in the US, so I have never seen prices this cheap. Chicken legs are $5/lb and eggs are never less than 1.99/dozen. I am lucky if canned beans go on sale for $0.99/15 Oz can.The meal plan looks really good, so I am going to give it a try!
Even if you don’t have an ALDI, I think the plan would still be fairly inexpensive. Enjoy Amanda!
I have tried this twice but am not getting the recipes or the plan. (Clicked on Download twice). Any ideas? thank you.
Mangomama – when you click the link, do you see a pop-up?
Yes– it told me to enter an email address and my name which I did (twice) but no email came to me and no links. Thanks for looking into it!
Of course Mangomama! I show that it was delivered – can you check your spam folder maybe?
It was not there. 🙁
I’ve already bought the items for this meal plan, but I’m having the same problem. I entered several emails but it hasn’t been sent to me.
April – can you email me? tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com
Not at all the healthiest meal, but we make potatoe hamburger soup and we always make blueberry muffins to eat with it. Something my mom use to make when I was growing up.
Sliced potatoes (you can peel or keep the skins on) -add as many or as little as you’d like
Enough water to cover and boil til tender
Add cooked hamburger: again add as much or as little as you’d like
1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup
(Add more to taste if you want to make a huge batch)
Add it all together and stir! The longer you cook it, the thicker it will be. Add salt and pepper to taste and eat with warm blueberry muffins. Aldi’s muffin mix is our favorite
Thanks for this meal plan! It looks really fun to try. Many of our Aldi prices here in central florida are a little higher than yours and I think I’ll need to up the portion sizes (my husband and son are big eaters) but this should still be very affordable compared to what I usually spend.
Can the meatballs be cooked in a slow cooker with spaghetti sauce or do you suggest pre-baking them?
Hi Marcie! I’d cook them as directed in the recipe – it’s only 15 minutes. I’m not sure they’d hold up in a slow cooker for a long period of time.
This is great, thanks! Any plans for creating a vegetarian or vegan meal plan from Aldi? 🙂
Ooh… maybe? 😉
The vegan plan is a great idea! I have two daughters who decided on their own to do the research and became vegan after. Our family tries our best to eat food that is humane, and stick to my $650/food budget! It’s tough, though, unless you cut out the animal products – then it’s a lot of quinoa, hummus, black beans, and humane certified eggs. We eat meat like three times a week from Lucky’s Market, (which is based in CO); they do not carry factory farmed meats.
Thank you I got the link, now on my way to Aldi
I can’t download your meal plan. I am getting an error message when I try to submit my email addy.
Hi Tara! Can you tell me what error you’re getting? All issues have been resolved – or so I thought!
I will not buy Aldis chicken as the brand they carry, Kirkwood, has been accused of horrible abuse to their chickens. Please consider humane certified meat!!
Love the $50/week meal plan! More please!
One thing I have never bought at Aldi’s is meat. I am curious to see what you, Tiffany, and fellow readers have to say about the quality of their meats. I know you have to really look at their produce closely. I have no issue at all with their ‘staples’, boxed and canned goods.
We have organic meat at our Aldi, which is what I purchase. It’s a little pricier but worth it in my opinion.
One of my inexpensive meal ideas is my own take on Pasta Carbonara. I use bacon, angel hair pasta, light cream, an egg and frozen peas. If I dont have bacon on hand I get Real Bacon Pieces or just buy a few slices from the deli.
Help! Do I add sour cream to the tortilla soup while it’s cooking? How much? The recipe doesn’t specify.
No – it’s a topping!
Hi! I’m so excited about the meal plan! For some reason the meal plan will not go to my email… I checked spam and nothing. Can you help?
Thank you!
Jamie
Ahhh sorry it just went through! Guess I was being impatient! 🙂
Hi I’ve tried several times with 2 different email addresses to get the download link for this recipe set and some others on your website and it isn’t working.
Lindsey – can you email me? tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com
So I get the popup window to put my email in and then after I do that I get nothing. I’ve been trying for several days. Checked my downloads file and my spam folder.
Lindsey – can you email me? tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com
Hello 🙂 this sounds amazing but I can’t download it. I keep trying but nothing gets sent to my email
Send us an email Erika – tiffany (at) dontwastethecrumbs (dot) com – thanks!
I can’t download the $50/week meal plan from Aldi
Send me an email Brooke!
This has piqued my curiosity. We do not have an Aldi where we live so I usually shop at Fred Meyer (Kroger) due to the fact that I am hopelessly obsessed with Fred Meyer Clicklist. So I quickly went into my clicklist account and was shocked to find out that my bill would have been $52.14 if I had to purchase everything on the list, not including spices! What a great plan! I must be shopping and meal planning wrong because that is way under what I normally spend on groceries for the week :O
Thanks so much for the great review Tawny! Hope you can take advantage of the savings!!
I tried to have this auto e-mailed to me, but it’s not going through! I e-mailed you at the address you mentioned in prior comments. Just figured I would comment here in case you see this first 🙂 I bought all the items on the shopping list, but just would love the recipes when you’re able to send (although I’m sure I can figure something out in the meantime!)
Hi please send recipe at realeyes924 at gmail dot com
This was the BEST! Please post more Aldi one week plans if you can!
Hi Tiffany! I just posted on your crispy slow cooker chicken recipe but realized I should’ve posted here if others have the same question. I bought 1 1/4 lbs of bone-in chicken thighs but I’m not sure the best way to cook it to use in the two chicken recipes. Any suggestions?
I like to roast them, but a slow cooker makes it easier to pull the meat off. 🙂
Do you use hamburger buns or bread for the BLT sandwiches? I might have over read it but I didn’t see it listed in your grocery list.
I don’t see it listed either Manda! Typically I make our own bread, but if you’re new to it, buy whatever is cheaper OR use this crazy easy recipe: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2015/02/no-knead-overnight-artisan-bread/
I am SO EXCITED to try this! We have been meal planning for a while but am excited to not have to plan!! The link to click on to email them to ourselves isn’t working for me 🙁 Is there another way to get them? I am not able to click on it.
Can you send me an email Caitlin?
Hey! Is there only one week of the ALDI under $50 meal plan? We did it this week and loved it! Thank you!
As of right now, yes. But we have more coming!
Could you email me the download with the recipes?
Hi Jan – did you try signing up to have them delivered via email?
I tried and it didn’t work for me. Wondering if you can email them to me? Thanks so much for this! [email protected]
Can you send me an email Beth?
I was sending my husband grocery shopping and he asked me “Will I really save that much more money if I go to Aldi?” I said, “Yes, yes you will.” He went and was shocked!
Aldi is great, I love their produce, dairy items, and pantry items. However, I’m not impressed with the quality of the meat at Aldi, and choose to buy organic grass fed beef from a local farmer, and organic chicken from a local butcher. They tasted MUCH better, and are worth the extra cash in my opinion.
I agree with you Liesl, and we buy our meat elsewhere too. But if my grocery list is mostly produce and pantry, you bet I’m going to ALDI!
I’m not getting the meal plan. I have tried twice to click on the link and checked my junk folder too and it won’t send me the email
This is great! Do you ever make Aldi meal plans for vegans? I’m curious how your suggestions would compare to what I do on a regular basis.
Hi Mary! I don’t specifically make meal plans for vegans, but we ate vegan for about 3 months earlier this year and it can be done for $50 as well.
The link to receive the meal plan with shopping list and recipes but it’s not sending. Maybe because I’m already signed up to receive notices and updates? I tried a couple days in a row. Could you email directly?
Hi Lauren! Can you email me directly? We’ll get you squared away!