You’ve made it to Week 4 of the cheap eats meal plan! By now, your pantry is fully stocked, your kitchen’s running like a well-oiled machine, and you’ve got three full weeks of home-cooked dinners under your belt. This week wraps things up with another round of simple, satisfying meals—all still under $3 per serving.
As always, this plan is meant to be flexible. You don’t have to follow it in exact order, and you definitely don’t need to make all seven recipes if that doesn’t work for your week. Feel free to swap in something else, eat leftovers, or double up on a favorite.
Need to adjust portions or switch meals? Our customization tool is still in beta, but it’ll let you make changes and generate a fresh shopping list. It’s not fancy, but it does the job.
And if you want a little extra help in the kitchen, each recipe has a step-by-step video tutorial on our site so you can follow along with confidence.
Menu Quick Look
Be sure to explore the full month of recipes, the pantry staples list, and our other weekly plans. Whether you’re here for just a few meals or the full month, it’s easy to customize.
Note
This week’s meal plan is packed with flavor! You’d be surprised by what you can do with our pantry staple spices and seasonings. This week, you’ll learn how to make your own fajita spice blend and how to season homemade sauces. Your food will taste better and you’ll spend less money, too.
Grocery Haul
Your final grocery trip is mostly made up of fresh ingredients and some dairy and meat. All those pantry staples you bought in Week 1 are still pulling their weight, helping you keep costs low and waste minimal.
Don’t forget to download the Week 4 Shopping List PDF to take with you to the store.
Receipt
Total Spent: $137.49
Total Servings: 52
Average Cost Per Serving: $2.64
Week 4 gives you the highest serving count of the month—and still comes in well under $3 per plate. This includes full family-style meals using everyday grocery store prices with no sales, coupons, or bulk deals.
Budget Saver
Big batch meals like baked ziti, casseroles, and pasta salads are key to stretching ingredients and reducing food waste. You’ll see some overlap in ingredients across recipes, and that’s by design—each item does double duty so nothing sits unused in the fridge.
The Recipes
Up above, you’ll see what each of this week’s dinners looks like plated. We’ve included a snapshot of the serving sizes and a short video that shows the meals in more detail. It’s helpful to see the real amount of food you’ll be working with.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the week:
Monday
This baked ziti looks and tastes like it comes from a fancy Italian restaurant, but it’s surprisingly easy to make. And the ricotta and cream cheese topping takes this one over the top!
Best Baked Ziti Ever
This is seriously the Best Baked Ziti Ever. Your family is going to love the homemade meat sauce, and ricotta and cream cheese topping!
Tuesday
Say goodbye to bland chicken dinners with this chicken fajita recipe. With our homemade spice blend, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a lot of flavor! Another benefit to making your own spice blends? You’re not getting preservatives and anti-caking agents in your food—highly recommend!
Sizzling Skillet Chicken Fajitas
Enjoy sizzling chicken fajitas, made in one skillet in just 30 minutes! Fajitas are always an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Wednesday
This pasta salad is a whole meal with hearty ground beef, cheddar cheese, and veggies. Southwestern flavor combined with simple and affordable ingredients makes this one a regular go-to, especially during the summer months.
Cowboy Pasta Salad
Cowboy Pasta Salad is packed with beef, bacon, cheese, and veggies, all tossed in a quick homemade creamy smoky salsa verde dressing.
Thursday
Dress up your standard chicken and rice dish with Mexican spices and gooey cheddar cheese. Top with salsa and sour cream to add a little something extra without a whole lot of extra effort.
One Pot Queso Chicken and Rice
Turn your queso cravings into a full dinner! Queso Chicken and Rice is creamy, cheesy, packed with flavor, and made in just one pot.
Friday
This is not your canned Manwich sandwich! Ground beef is combined with a flavorful tomato sauce and bell peppers for an easy, homemade sloppy joe recipe that’ll make you loyal to the real thing!
Best Homemade Sloppy Joes
Upgrade your Sloppy Joes with real ingredients, veggies for texture, and toasted buns. This restaurant-worthy version is ready in 45 minutes!
Budget Saver
For this week’s meal plan, two of the recipes call for salsa verde, so we bought two 16-oz jars of salsa. If you’re looking to save some money, just buy one jar and a 7-oz can for the enchiladas instead of buying a whole second jar.
Saturday
Spaghetti never looked better with this easy, lemon and herb chicken pasta. This recipe is light and fresh and looks like it came from an Italian restaurant, but without the price tag.
Lemon Herb Chicken Spaghetti
This easy recipe combines tender, lemon and herb chicken with fresh tomatoes and olive oil for a light and flavorful pasta dish.
Sunday
This is not your typical, bland enchilada casserole. The avocado cream sauce is made with salsa verde and jalapeño, which add a subtle kick of heat while providing moisture.
Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
This easy chicken enchilada casserole is made with a delicious avocado cream sauce that will have you making it again and again!
Make It Work for You
By now, you know the drill. If life’s too busy for seven full dinners, skip one or two and enjoy a leftovers night. If something on the list doesn’t sound like your thing, sub in a favorite from earlier weeks.
Use the customization tool in beta to swap meals, change serving sizes, or generate a new shopping list that fits your exact needs.
Budget Tips & Notes
Chicken: Buying in larger packs helps cover multiple meals this week. Use any extra for lunches or freeze for later.
Tortillas: Used in multiple meals—fajitas, enchilada casserole, and even as a backup for Sloppy Joes if you’re out of buns.
Pasta: Stocked up? Great. If not, pasta is still one of the cheapest ways to make a filling meal.
Shredded Cheese: Used several times this week, so get a large bag or shred your own from a block to save money.