Knowing what you’re going to make for dinner each week, even if it’s just a few nights, can help you save time and money and avoid decision fatigue. This week’s plan includes fun pizza sandwiches, a hearty jambalaya, and moo shu chicken.
This is a new feature on Good Cheap Eats this year – free 3-day meal plans to help take some of the load off and help you enjoy meals you love all year long!
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Be inspired with easy meals every week! Our free weekly meal plans include three main dish recipes, a few easy side dishes, a bread item, a breakfast idea, and a dessert.
Why not a full week? So much goes into crafting meals for the week: social events, leftovers, groceries that need using up, and your mood!
Yep, it’s okay to make what sounds good even if it’s not on the plan.
Our 3-day meal plans allow you some flexibility at the same time as adding structure and reducing decision fatigue. Not to mention they’ll save you a bundle of cash!
Be sure to read our strategies for saving money on groceries, tips for quick meal prep, swapping in ingredients, and what to do with leftovers. These strategies will serve you even if you don’t cook up these exact recipes.
Hungry for more? Check out this month’s featured meal plan on sale. You’ll find easy meals for every day of the month.
This Week’s Recipes
This week’s meal plan includes 3 main dishes, 3-4 sides, a breakfast idea, and a sweet treat. This allows you freedom in the week to enjoy leftovers, go out to eat, or be spontaneous with the evening’s plan. Feel free to mix and match the recipes as they suit you best.
You can click their names to read the full posts and grab the recipes.
- Dinner 1: Moo Shu Chicken, Homemade Vegetable Chow Mein
- Dinner 2: Pizzawiches, Italian Salad
- Dinner 3: Spaghetti Squash Jambalaya, Buttermilk Cornbread
- Breakfast: Sausage Egg Hash Brown Casserole
- Dessert: Easy Carrot Bread
Save Money on This Week’s Meals
- Shop the kitchen. Compare the shopping list with what you already have on hand. Avoid buying duplicates wherever possible. Consult our list of ingredient swaps so that you can use what you have.
- Plan frugal meals. We’ve taken care of this for you! All these recipes are budget-friendly, using typically affordable ingredients. Build the rest of your meals based on frugal ingredients and you will stretch your dollar further.
- Make a plan for leftovers. This is leftover ingredients as well as leftover prepped food. Scroll down for specific tips on what to do with the leftovers from this week.
- Shop the store with the best prices. What store you choose will make a difference in what you pay. Compare prices so you know what’s the best fit for you this week.
- Scan the sales and clearance. You can save a bundle buying a few extras of the items you regularly use when you see them on sale.
- Cook from scratch. Not only does homemade taste better, but it’s usually cheaper, too. I’ve developed recipes that make it easy to make homemade so you can save yourself more money.
- Freeze extra for later. Anytime you can freeze extra prepped food or ingredients for another time, you’re saving yourself effort as well as cash and avoiding food waste. See below for what meals can be frozen.
Here’s this week’s 3-day meal plan:
Meal Prep Tips
Many recipes in this meal plan can be made in advance. Some can even be made ahead and frozen. If you like to meal prep, know that you can prepare each of the recipes to serve later.
- Shred the cheeses for the salad and egg bake all at one time if you don’t buy them already shredded.
- You can save more money if you bake your own sub rolls for the Pizzawiches. If you have time, make extra to freeze for another time.
- Make the marinara sauce yourself for just pennies! Consider making a big batch and storing extras in the freezer.
- The veggies for the salad, chow mein, and jambalaya can be prepped up to 4 days in advance. Store them in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Bake the carrot bread while the sub rolls are rising, then add the rolls to the oven while it’s still warm.
- The following recipes can be made in advance and frozen: the moo shu chicken, the jambalaya, the pizzawiches, the plain rolls, the egg bake (unbaked), and the carrot bread. Consider making double batches of these items to freeze for a future time.
Ingredient Swaps
It happens that sometimes you don’t like an ingredient or don’t have one that’s called for in a recipe. Here are some suggestions to swaps you can consider for this week’s meals. Be sure to adjust the grocery list accordingly.
* If you don’t want chicken or don’t have any on hand, you can use pork shoulder in the moo shu recipe and pork tenderloin in the jambalaya.
* Use whatever cheese you have on hand for the pizzawiches. Feel free to swap in BBQ sauce instead of marinara if you like!
* Add whatever meat and veg you have to the egg bake.
* If you don’t have carrots, you can use shredded zucchini in the bread recipe.
What to Do with Leftovers
Be sure to refrigerate leftovers promptly and consume them within 4 days of preparation.
- Leftover cornbread is delicious for breakfast the next day.
- The carrot bread recipe makes four loaves. Be sure to freeze the extras right away for the freshest taste.
- All this weeks recipes and sides are delicious for meal preps.
Want more done-for-you meal plans? Purchase our featured meal plan of the month.
A Month of Freezer-Friendly Meals is a full month’s worth of meals that you can easily double (or triple!) so that you buy yourself some time and save some money!
And they aren’t all casseroles! You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see what amazing things you can cook and freeze for later!
Which recipes do you love?
Be sure to leave starred reviews on the recipes so we know what you love. This helps us build better meal plans for you! Click on the recipe name and choose the number of stars you want to award the recipe.
Show us your meals!
Be sure to snap a photo of your meals this week and share on social media with the hashtag #goodcheapeats. We love it when you share your creations with friends and family!
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