Plan a week of meals on a budget

beginner⏱ Rough guide only: 1–2 hours a week

Last reviewed by Amara Lewis

How can I use AI to plan cheap weekly meals?

Give ChatGPT or Claude your budget, number of people, dietary needs and cooking time, and ask for a 7-day dinner plan that reuses ingredients plus a shopping list grouped by aisle. You get a usable plan in a couple of minutes; check prices against your own supermarket.

Copy-and-paste prompt

Swap the bits in [square brackets] for your own details.

Act as a friendly home-cooking planner. Create a 7-day dinner plan for [number] people with a total budget of [amount and currency] for the week. Dietary needs: [e.g. vegetarian, no nuts]. Cooking skill: [beginner/confident]. Max cooking time per night: [minutes]. Reuse ingredients across meals to cut waste. Give me: 1) the plan as a table, 2) a shopping list grouped by supermarket aisle with rough costs, 3) one batch-cooking tip.

How to do it

  1. Open ChatGPT or Claude and start a new chat.
  2. Copy the prompt below and replace everything in [square brackets] with your details.
  3. Read the answer and ask follow-up questions to adjust it.
  4. Save or print the result you're happy with.

What a good answer looks like

Illustrative example written by the AI My Day team to show the kind of answer you can expect. Real results vary.

Mon – Chickpea & spinach curry with rice Tue – Leftover curry wraps with yoghurt dip Wed – Sausage, bean & veg tray bake Thu – Pasta with tomato, lentil & carrot sauce Fri – Homemade pizza on flatbreads Sat – Veg fried rice with eggs Sun – Roast chicken thighs, potatoes & greens Shopping list (grouped): Fresh – spinach, onions ×4, carrots, peppers… Tins – chickpeas ×2, chopped tomatoes ×3… Estimated total: within your stated budget (check local prices). Batch tip: cook double the lentil sauce on Thursday and freeze half.

Recommended tools

Both are excellent at planning and can produce a shopping list in seconds.

ChatGPT

A general-purpose AI assistant you can chat to by typing, talking or sharing photos.

Free planbeginner

Claude

An AI assistant known for clear, natural writing and handling long documents.

Free planbeginner

Top tips

  • Tell it what's already in your cupboards to save more.
  • Prices are estimates – check your local shop.

Frequently asked questions

Are the AI's prices accurate?

No – they are rough estimates. Check your supermarket's app or website before you shop.

Can it handle allergies?

Yes, list them clearly, but always check ingredient labels yourself; AI can make mistakes.

Useful sources

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