Five dinners for two adults, all vegetarian, with an estimated shop of £19.08 (range £14.60–£25.22), about £1.91 per serving.
Estimated shop
£1.91 per serving · 10 servings
Range £14.60–£25.22
£19.08
✓ Likely under the £25 budget
Likely under means our estimate gives this week at least an 80% chance of staying under £25. The top of the range covers 9 weeks out of 10, so it can sit above £25. The dinners use about £13.37 of the £19.08; the rest is left in opened packs.
Price ranges set using Open Prices data (Open Food Facts, ODbL).
This week's dinners
Price per dinner is the ingredients it uses, per serving.
Counting only the ingredients each dinner uses, the cheapest night is Thursday's Tuscan-Style Beans on Toast with Tomato, Garlic and Spinach, at about £0.90 per serving; the most expensive is Wednesday's Sheet-Pan Pisto with Baked Eggs and Garlic Toast, at about £1.75. The five dinners use about £13.37 of what you buy; the rest is left in opened packs, the biggest being lentils, tomato purée and basil. Garlic, spinach and crusty bread go into more than one dinner, along with 6 more items on the list, so you buy them once. The quickest is Tuscan-Style Beans on Toast with Tomato, Garlic and Spinach, ready in about 17 minutes. Fresh food you should still have at the end of the week includes about ¾ of a bag of carrots, 2 eggs, 2 garlic cloves and about ¾ of a pack of lentils.
The recipes
Amounts are scaled for two adults.
Monday · 38 min · about £1.59 per serving in ingredients used
Baked Feta Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil
A block of feta roasted with cherry tomatoes and garlic until soft, stirred into pasta with spinach and basil.
Prep 10 min · Cook 28 min · Serves 2 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 300 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 100 g feta (vegetarian version), one block
- 200 g dried pasta (penne, fusilli or spaghetti), short shapes such as penne
- 75 g spinach
- ¼ lemon
- ¼ basil (pack)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes, for adults (optional)
Contains: gluten, milk. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Tip the cherry tomatoes and garlic into a medium baking dish, toss with the olive oil, mixed herbs, a pinch of salt and some black pepper, and sit the feta in the middle. Bake for 25 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and the feta is soft and golden at the edges.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water following the packet time. Put the spinach in a colander and drain the pasta over it to wilt it, keeping a mug of the cooking water first.
- Take the dish out of the oven and mash the feta, tomatoes and garlic together with a fork into a creamy sauce.
- Add the pasta and spinach, the zest of the lemon and a splash of the cooking water and stir until glossy. Tear over the basil and add the chilli flakes at the table for adults, if using.
Tip: If your baking dish is small, use one that fits the pasta too, and you can mix everything in it.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 2 days; reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.
Tuesday · 41 min · about £1.11 per serving in ingredients used
Warm French Lentil Bowls with Feta and Mustard Dressing
Green lentils simmered with carrot and thyme, tossed warm in a Dijon dressing with tomatoes and crumbled feta.
Prep 12 min · Cook 29 min · Serves 2 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 150 g dried green lentils, rinsed
- 100 g carrots, finely diced
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 125 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 50 g spinach
- 75 g feta (vegetarian version), crumbled
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ½ vegetable stock cube
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp cider or white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp honey
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: milk, mustard, celery, sulphites. Check the label: gluten, egg, soya. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat 1½ teaspoons of the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat and cook the onion and carrots for 4 minutes until starting to soften. Add the garlic and dried thyme and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the lentils, the stock cube crumbled in and 475 ml of just-boiled water from the kettle. Return to the boil, then simmer uncovered for 18–20 minutes until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, whisk the rest of the oil with the Dijon mustard, cider or white wine vinegar, honey, a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Toss the hot lentils with the dressing, the spinach (it wilts in the heat) and the cherry tomatoes. Spoon into bowls and top with the feta and parsley.
Tip: Dress the lentils while they are hot; they soak up the dressing as they cool.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 3 days; eat at room temperature or reheat until piping hot.
Wednesday · 40 min · about £1.75 per serving in ingredients used
Sheet-Pan Pisto with Baked Eggs and Garlic Toast
Spanish-style roasted peppers and green squash in tomato sauce, with eggs baked on top and garlic toast.
Prep 11 min · Cook 29 min · Serves 2 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 1 courgette, cut into chunks
- 1 pepper (red, yellow or green), red and yellow, cut into chunks
- ½ onion, cut into thin wedges
- ½ × 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 eggs
- 125 g crusty bread (baguette or bloomer), 8 slices
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: gluten, egg. Check the label: milk, soya, sesame. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Toss the courgette, peppers and onion on your largest baking tray with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, sliced, the smoked paprika, dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Spread out in one layer and roast for 10 minutes until charred at the edges.
- Stir in the tomatoes and roast for 6 minutes more until bubbling. Make 8 hollows in the vegetables and crack the eggs into the hollows, season and bake for 7–9 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still soft. For anyone pregnant or very young, bake for 3–4 minutes more until the yolks are firm.
- Meanwhile, toast the crusty bread, rub with the cut side of the last garlic clove, halved, and drizzle with the rest of the oil.
- Scatter the parsley over the tray and serve straight away with the garlic toast.
Tip: If the vegetables are piled up on one tray, roast them on two, then combine on one tray before adding the eggs.
Leftovers: Best eaten straight away; leftover vegetables without the eggs keep in the fridge for 2 days.
Thursday · 17 min · about £0.90 per serving in ingredients used
Tuscan-Style Beans on Toast with Tomato, Garlic and Spinach
Cannellini beans simmered Tuscan-style with garlic, thyme, tomato and spinach, piled onto crusty toast.
Prep 5 min · Cook 12 min · Serves 2 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ × 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 15 g tomato purée
- 1 × 400 g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 50 g spinach
- 150 g crusty bread (baguette or bloomer), cut into 8 thick slices
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: gluten. Check the label: milk, soya, sesame, sulphites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook the garlic and dried thyme for 1 minute until the garlic is pale golden.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato purée and beans, season with salt and black pepper and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and saucy. Stir in the spinach for the last minute until wilted.
- Meanwhile, toast the crusty bread until golden and drizzle with the rest of the oil.
- Pile the beans onto the toast and finish with a little more black pepper.
Tip: Let the beans bubble until the sauce clings to them; too loose and it soaks straight through the toast.
Leftovers: The beans keep in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for 3 months; reheat until piping hot and toast the bread fresh.
Friday · 26 min · about £1.34 per serving in ingredients used
Spanish-Style Chickpeas with Spinach and Smoked Paprika
Chickpeas simmered in a thick garlic, cumin and smoked paprika sauce with plenty of wilted spinach.
Prep 7 min · Cook 19 min · Serves 2 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 1½ × 400 g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 200 g spinach
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 15 g tomato purée
- 100 g crusty bread (baguette or bloomer), to serve (optional)
- ¾ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp cider or white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Check the label: sulphites. Optional extras contain gluten, milk, soya, sesame. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan on medium heat. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes until soft and lightly golden, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Stir in the smoked paprika, ground cumin and tomato purée for 30 seconds, then add the chickpeas and 125 ml of water. Simmer for 6–8 minutes, crushing some of the chickpeas against the side of the pan, until the sauce is thick enough to coat them.
- Add the spinach a handful at a time, stirring until each lot wilts, then stir in the cider or white wine vinegar and the rest of the oil. Season well with salt and black pepper.
- Serve in shallow bowls, with crusty bread for mopping up the sauce if you like.
Tip: Crushing some of the chickpeas thickens the sauce, a job done by fried bread in the Spanish original.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 3 days; reheat until piping hot, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
