A Week’s Worth of Easy Weeknight Meals for a Family of 4—for Under $150 

Thrive Market’s content is produced by skilled writers, fact-checked by experts, and updated regularly. This article was reviewed and edited by:

Sabrina Wildermuth, MS, Certified Food Scientist (CFS) and Director of Nutrition & Regulatory Compliance.

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Feeding a family of four healthy, home-cooked dinners every single night—without blowing your budget—can feel like a puzzle. How do you plan out the whole week in advance? How do you create a budget that actually works? What can you pull together on a Tuesday when everyone’s tired and hungry? 

“I like to think about meal prep and balanced family meals by having a protein, a complex carb like whole wheat pasta, and a colorful vegetable or fruit,” says Sabrina Wildermuth, MS, Certified Food Scientist (CFS) and Director of Nutrition and Regulatory Compliance at Thrive Market (and a mom of two!)

With this in mind, we set out to create a balanced weeknight meal plan that sticks to a tight budget. This plan lays out a full week of easy weeknight dinners for four people (including picky kiddos!), all for under $150. Most of the ingredients are available at Thrive Market, so all you’ll need to do is add them to your next order and get cooking! 

The Concept

The idea is simple: five nights of dinner, four mouths to feed, a budget of under $150. Every recipe here takes minimal prep work, has a short ingredient list, and features the kind of flavors your whole family will actually eat. Nothing fancy or complicated, just a week’s worth of wholesome weeknight meals that you can budget for ahead of time and quickly prep after school and work wind down.

Wildermuth suggests doing some of the prep work over the weekend to make the school week even more seamless. “On weekends when I have extra time, I pre-cut all veggies and produce for my meals and put them into containers so that I can dump them onto a sheet pan, into the steamer, or onto the grill,” she says. “This would be especially helpful for things like pasta and fajita recipes!”

What We Assume You Already Have

To keep the budget realistic, we assume your kitchen is stocked with a few everyday basics: spices, olive oil, garlic, flour, and a sweetener or two. And if you’re missing something, don’t sweat it (and definitely don’t buy something extra!) These staples are endlessly flexible:

• If a recipe calls for a spice you don’t have, swap in one you do.
• Sweeteners like maple syrup, agave, and honey can stand in for each other almost anywhere in these recipes.
• If you don’t have olive oil, any neutral oil will do. 
• To sub a different type of flour, make sure to quickly look up the substitution ratio—not all flours are created equal, so make sure you’re using the correct amount in place of what the recipe calls for.

The whole point is to help you avoid buying one-off ingredients you’ll only reach for once—and help you stretch your grocery budget, cut down on food waste, and make home cooking after a long day just a little bit easier.

How We Did the Math

Our pricing is intentionally conservative because we don’t want you to feel misled by the $150 budget. Pricing recipes “per serving” might look cheaper on paper, but it wouldn’t reflect what shows up on your order. Even when a recipe only needs a tablespoon of something, we’ve included the price of the entire container (because that’s what you’ll actually be buying). 

And while our prices at Thrive Market change based on things like sales and location, we tried to ensure that this shopping list is always under the $150 budget. 

How to Make the Recipes Your Own

Think of these recipes as a starting point, not a rulebook. Every single one is easy to customize or “beef up” to fit your family:

• Add more veggies or toppings to a salad or grain bowl for extra bulk and nutrition.
• Adjust the seasonings to match your family’s preferences—more heat, less garlic, whatever works.
• Switch up (or add on) proteins to suit dietary needs and preferences. While this may change the cost a bit, many families are working with a variety of different eating styles. If this is your family, feel free to switch out proteins in any of these recipes. “You could do egg or shrimp instead of tofu, beans instead of chicken, or an added side of chicken with pasta for parents or growing kids,” Wildermuth says. 
• Increase the portions if you’ve got bigger appetites at the table. Just keep in mind that generous add-ons and larger portions may increase the cost, but that’s your call! “I like to double the recipe to have leftovers for adult workday lunches, too,” Wildermuth says. 

Where To Shop

The majority of these ingredients are available at Thrive Market, so you can simply add them to your next box. For fresh produce, though, we’d encourage you to visit your local farmer’s market to see what’s in season. It’s often fresher, frequently cheaper, and a nice excuse to get outside—plus, shopping local is better for the planet. 

Now that we’ve covered all the logistics, let’s start planning your week’s worth of healthy, easy, and affordable weeknight meals. 

Recipe Pricing Breakdown

Day	Recipe	Price
Monday	Orange-Cayenne Tofu Bowls	$23.50*
Tuesday	Pizza Night	$27.50*
Wednesday	Baked Cornflake-Crusted Fish Sticks With Steamed Broccoli	$42.50*
Thursday	Roasted Red Pepper Pasta	$15.50*
Friday	Chicken Fajitas	$38.50*
		Total: $147.50*

*Prices are approximate and based on the current, average food costs in Los Angeles at the date of publication. 

Ready to get started planning a week’s worth of affordable, delicious, and easy weeknight meals? Read on for the complete meal plan, ingredient list, and recipes! 

Monday: Orange-Cayenne Tofu Bowls

Start the week off with a hearty but meat-free meal that’s loaded with flavor (and green veggies).  “If picky kids don’t like tofu, you can opt to put scrambled eggs in their bowls instead, or serve just the noodles,” Wildermuth says. “That’s how my son would eat it!” 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

To buy: 

1 12-ounce package extra firm tofu, drained (About $4.50)
½ orange, juiced (1-2 tablespoons) (About $1)
1 8-ounce package soba noodles (About $5)
4 to 6 baby bok choy (About $2)
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (About $5)
1 bunch scallions, sliced (About $2)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (About $4)
Orange zest (from the juiced orange)

From your pantry:

1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch smoked paprika
2 teaspoons maple syrup, agave, or honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt

Total cost = About $23.50

Instructions: 

Wrap tofu in a paper towel and place a flat, heavy object on top of it. Let sit for 15 minutes to remove excess moisture.

Stir together chili powder, cayenne, paprika, maple syrup, orange juice, olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt in a large shallow bowl. Slice tofu into ⅓ inch pieces and place in marinade. Stir gently to coat each piece and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange marinated tofu slices on a tray and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, cook soba noodles according to package instructions, drain, and divide between bowls. Cut off bottoms of bok choy and divide between bowls. Drizzle toasted sesame oil over top and sprinkle with salt. Divide tofu between bowls and garnish with scallions, pomegranate seeds, and orange zest. Dust with a touch of cayenne for additional flavor and spice.

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Tuesday: Pizza Night

As the week starts to ramp up, make dinnertime easy with a fun and fuss-free pizza night using better-for-you frozen pies and a simple salad on the side. “To ‘fancy up’ the frozen pizza for the adults, my husband and I will often add cut basil pieces from our herb garden or drizzle with balsamic glaze or hot honey or pepper flakes,” says Wildermuth. 

Yield: 4 servings 
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients: 

Rao’s Brick Oven Uncured Pepperoni Pizza or Five Cheese Pizza (About $13)
5-ounce container of mixed greens (About $4)
Chosen Foods Classic Ranch Dressing (About $5.50)
Go Raw Organic Sprouted Seed Salad Toppers, Italian Herb (About $5)

Total cost = About $27.50

Instructions: 

Bake the pizza according to the instructions on the package. 

Add the greens to a large bowl and drizzle with the dressing (as much or as little as you like). Toss well to combine. Top with the salad toppings before serving. 

Allow the pizza to cool for a few minutes before cutting. 

Serve slices of pizza with a heaping serving of salad. 

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Wednesday: Baked Cornflake-Crusted Fish Sticks With Steamed Broccoli

Convince the kiddos to try new things with crunchy, homemade fish sticks with a bit of smoky seasoning—plus a side of veggies for good measure. When it comes to getting kiddos to eat their broccoli, keep in mind that preparation and texture may play a role. “My kids may actually eat it if it’s crispy and roasted or air-fried versus the soft broccoli from steaming,” Wildermuth suggests.

Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients: 

To buy: 

1 lb cod or pollock, defrosted (About $21.50)
2 ½ cups cornflakes cereal (About $9)
⅓ cup avocado oil mayo (About $9.50)
1 head of broccoli (About $2.50)

From your fridge or pantry:
1 egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (gluten-free flour works too)
1 teaspoon lemon pepper spice blend (or similar)
¾ teaspoon smoked paprika

Total: About $42.50

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 400° F and set a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. 

Let fish come to room temperature on a plate lined with paper towels. 

Add cornflakes to a large bag and seal. Crush with hands or by gently tapping a rolling pin on the outside of the bag. The flakes should be crushed into smaller pieces, but it’s ok if there are some crumbs. Once crushed, pour into a large mixing bowl. 

In another wide mixing bowl, add the flour, egg, mayo, lemon pepper, and paprika. Mix to combine. 

Pat the fish dry and cut into 3- to 4-inch-long strips, roughly 1- to 1 ½-inches wide.

Set up an assembly line: the sliced fish, the egg-mayo batter, and the lined baking sheet. Add fish strips to the batter and gently mix so that each strip gets coated evenly. Each piece should be coated in a thick layer, but not dripping.

Using a fork or small tongs, add 2-3 strips at a time to the bowl of cornflakes. Gently roll until mostly coated, then place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all are coated and added to the pan.

Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, then use tongs to turn each strip over and bake for another 8 minutes, or until cooked through and the cornflake crust is golden. 

While the fish is cooking, trim the broccoli, and cook in a steamer, air fryer (at 400° F for 7 to 10 minutes), or roasted in the oven (at 400° F for 15 to 20 minutes). 

Remove the fish from the oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, and let cool slightly before eating. Season the steamed broccoli with garlic salt or any other seasoning you like. 

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Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

As the week starts to wind down, keep meal planning simple (and affordable) with a filling plant-based pasta dish that gets its flavor from roasted red peppers and its fiber from whole wheat spaghetti noodles. If you’re working with picky eaters, Wildermuth recommends blending the pasta sauce well. “My kids love homemade pasta sauces but only if we blend them so that they are smooth,” she says. “No lumps or chunks of tomato or pepper!”

Yield: 2 to 4 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

To buy:
16 ounces pasta of choice (try biodynamic whole wheat spaghetti) (About $3.50)
1 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed (About $6)
1 cup coconut milk (About $3)
½ cup vegetable broth (About $3)

From your pantry:
Sea salt
2 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Total: About $15.50

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

In the meantime, add the peppers, garlic, coconut milk, vegetable broth, and red chili flakes (optional) to a blender. Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Drain the pasta once cooked, but do not rinse. Return the empty pot to the stovetop and add the red pepper sauce.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbly and thickened.

Remove the pot from heat and add the cooked pasta. Toss pasta with sauce using tongs. If the sauce appears runny, allow the pasta to sit for an additional 3 to 5 minutes to absorb more of it.

Transfer the pasta into bowls and serve. 

Serving tip: If you’d like, you can serve the pasta with a “clean-out-the-fridge” salad or steamed veggies using whatever veggies you have on hand. 

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Friday: Chicken Fajitas 

Instead of ordering your usual pricey Friday night takeout, celebrate the end of the school (and work) week with these colorful chicken fajitas. Bonus points if you make them your own with additional toppings like guacamole, cilantro, or diced onions! To add another side dish (or a meat-free protein option), Wildermuth recommends a can of refried beans. “My kids often don’t want whole chicken pieces in their fajitas, but they love a refried bean fajita!” she says. “It’s also a cheap add-on.”

Yield: 4 servings
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients:

To buy:
2 boneless, skinless Thrive Market Free-Range Organic Chicken Breast Tenders (About $14)
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Fajita Seasoning (About $1.50)
2 red peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and stem removed (About $4)
1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into ½-inch rounds (About $1)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (About $3)
Tortillas (About $7)
Avocado slices (About $3)
Thrive Market Organic Smoky Chipotle Salsa (About $5)
Optional: Thrive Market Organic Refried Pinto Beans (will add an additional $2.50)

From your pantry:
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Total: $38.50

Instructions: 

Add chicken, fajita seasoning, salt, and olive oil to a gallon-size plastic bag. Seal the bag, releasing extra air, then massage it with your hands to ensure the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat an outdoor grill to medium-high. Arrange peppers and onion slices on a foil-lined sheet tray and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and drizzle on remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Place peppers on grill, cut side down. Add chicken tenders, then cover grill for 5 minutes. Remove limes, and turn vegetables and chicken breasts over, cooking for 5 minutes more, until peppers and onions are charred and chicken is cooked through, registering 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Keep the grill on and warm tortillas on both sides, until slightly charred.

While the chicken rests, thinly slice red peppers and jalapeños and arrange on a platter; place onion slices alongside. Slice chicken into ¼-inch pieces and add to platter. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. To serve, set out a buffet with the tortillas, avocado slices, salsa, cheese, and grilled limes.