Five dinners for one person, all vegetarian, with an estimated grocery total of $31.86 (range $24.37–$42.25), about $6.37 per serving.
Estimated grocery total
$6.37 per serving · 5 servings
Range $24.37–$42.25
$31.86
✓ Likely under the $60 budget
Likely under means our estimate gives this week at least an 80% chance of staying under $60. The dinners use about $7.71 of the $31.86; 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 Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, Garlic and Toasted Breadcrumbs, at about $0.98 per serving; the most expensive is Tuesday's Moroccan-Spiced White Bean and Couscous Bowls, at about $2.05. The five dinners use about $7.71 of what you buy; the rest is left in opened packs, the biggest being creamy peanut butter, hard cheese and panko. Garlic, lemon and eggs go into more than one dinner, along with 5 more items on the list, so you buy them once. The quickest is Stracciatella-Style Egg and Cheese Soup with Spinach and Beans, ready in about 23 minutes. Fresh food you should still have at the end of the week includes about ¾ of a bag of carrots, about ¾ of a pack of couscous, about ¾ of a pack of noodles and 8 large eggs.
The recipes
Amounts are scaled for one person.
Monday · 27 min · about $1.82 per serving in ingredients used
Turkish-Style Red Lentil Lettuce Wraps
Warm red lentils cooked with tomato, cumin and onion, spooned into crisp lettuce leaves with herbs and lemon.
Prep 13 min · Cook 14 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried red lentils, rinsed
- ¼ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ¼ bunch green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ bunch parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ lemon
- ¼ iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
- ¼ cucumber, cut into sticks
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp paprika
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Put the lentils in a saucepan with ¾ cup (150 ml) of just-boiled water and a pinch of salt. Simmer on medium-low heat for 12–14 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and the water is absorbed, then mash roughly with the spoon so the mixture holds together. Add a splash more water if it dries out before the lentils are soft.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook the yellow onion for 6–7 minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic, tomato paste, ground cumin and paprika and stir for 1 minute until the paste darkens.
- Stir the onion mixture into the lentils with the green onions, most of the parsley, the juice of half the lemon, salt and black pepper. Taste: it should be well seasoned and lemony.
- Spoon the warm lentil mixture into the lettuce leaves, tuck in a stick or two of cucumber and scatter with the rest of the parsley. Serve the remaining lemon in wedges for squeezing over.
Tip: The filling is just as good at room temperature, so leftovers make an easy packed lunch.
Leftovers: The lentil filling keeps in the fridge for 3 days and firms up as it cools; eat it cold or reheat until piping hot.
Tuesday · 24 min · about $2.05 per serving in ingredients used
Moroccan-Spiced White Bean and Couscous Bowls
Warm cumin and cinnamon white beans over lemony herb couscous, with grated carrot, cucumber and tomato.
Prep 12 min · Cook 12 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- ½ cup couscous
- ½ (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 oz carrots, coarsely grated
- ¼ cucumber, diced
- ½ tomato, diced
- ¼ red onion, finely chopped
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- ¼ lemon
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- ¼ vegetable bouillon cube
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- a pinch of ground cinnamon
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), celery. Check the label: milk, soy, sulfites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Boil the kettle. Put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl, crumble in the bouillon cube and add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Pour over ½ cup (100 ml) of just-boiled water, stir once, cover with a plate and leave for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat 1½ teaspoons of the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground ginger and ground cinnamon and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the beans and 2½ teaspoons of water and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until hot and coated in the spices. Season with salt, black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Toss the carrots with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, mix the cucumber, tomato and red onion with a pinch of salt.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork, then stir in the finely grated zest of the lemon, the rest of the lemon juice, the last tablespoon of oil and most of the parsley.
- Spoon the couscous into bowls and top with the warm beans, the carrot and the cucumber and tomato salad. Scatter over the rest of the parsley and spoon any spiced oil left in the pan over the beans.
Tip: Grate the lemon zest before you squeeze the lemon; once it is juiced, zesting is much harder.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 2 days; eat cold or reheat the beans and couscous until piping hot, and add the salad fresh.
Wednesday · 25 min · about $1.15 per serving in ingredients used
Peanut Sesame Noodles with Crunchy Vegetables
Warm noodles in a creamy peanut, lime and soy sauce, topped with crisp cucumber and carrot.
Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 3 oz egg noodles
- 1½ tbsp creamy peanut butter
- ¼ lime
- 1½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ¼ cucumber
- 1 oz carrots
- ¼ bunch green onions
- 1 large egg, to serve (optional)
- 2½ tsp soy sauce
- ¾ tsp honey
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, to serve (optional)
Contains: wheat (gluten), egg, peanuts, soy, sesame. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- If using eggs, boil them for 7 minutes (10 minutes for firm yolks for young children, older people or anyone pregnant), cool in cold water, then peel and halve.
- Cook the noodles according to the packet. Drain and rinse briefly under warm water.
- Whisk the creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, juice of the lime, honey, toasted sesame oil, fresh ginger and garlic with 1–1½ tablespoons of hot water until smooth and pourable.
- Cut the cucumber and carrots into thin matchsticks and slice the green onions.
- Toss the noodles with the sauce, pile into bowls and top with the vegetables, the eggs, and red pepper flakes if using.
Leftovers: Fridge 2 days; eat cold or loosen with hot water. Keep the vegetables separate.
Thursday · 25 min · about $0.98 per serving in ingredients used
Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, Garlic and Toasted Breadcrumbs
A Neapolitan store-cupboard classic: garlic and olive oil spaghetti with crisp crumbs and a fried egg.
Prep 5 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 4 oz dried pasta (penne, rotini or spaghetti), spaghetti
- ½ oz panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ lemon
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- ¼ bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 large egg
- salt, to taste
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), egg. Check the label: milk. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil (start with water from the kettle) and cook the pasta for 10–12 minutes, or as the packet says, until just tender.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and toast the panko for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until golden and crisp. Tip into a bowl and mix with the zest of the lemon and a pinch of salt.
- Wipe out the pan, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes until pale golden. Take off the heat.
- Drain the pasta, saving a mugful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta into the garlic oil with a splash of the water and the parsley, season with black pepper and divide between plates.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a second frying pan on medium heat and fry the eggs for 3–4 minutes until the whites are completely set and crisp at the edges; cook the yolks until firm for pregnant women, young children and older people. Put an egg on each plate and scatter over the crumbs.
Tip: Fry the eggs while the pasta drains so everything lands on the plate hot.
Leftovers: Best eaten straight away.
Friday · 23 min · about $1.71 per serving in ingredients used
Stracciatella-Style Egg and Cheese Soup with Spinach and Beans
Italian-style egg drop soup: soft ribbons of egg and hard cheese in a lemony stock with spinach and beans.
Prep 5 min · Cook 18 min · Serves 1 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianGluten-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- ½ (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese (Parmesan-style), finely grated
- ¼ lemon
- 2 oz frozen chopped spinach
- 1½ tsp olive oil
- ½ vegetable bouillon cube
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: milk, egg, celery. Check the label: wheat (gluten), soy, sulfites. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Put the kettle on. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and cook the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
- Add 1½ cups (375 ml) of just-boiled water, crumble in the bouillon cube and add the beans. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a jug with three-quarters of the hard cheese, the finely grated zest of the lemon and plenty of black pepper.
- Stir the frozen spinach into the soup and simmer for 3 minutes until steaming hot. With the soup at a gentle simmer, stir it in a circle and slowly pour in the egg mixture in a thin stream. Leave for 1 minute, then stir gently for 1–2 minutes until the egg has set into soft, fully cooked ribbons.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice, taste for salt and serve sprinkled with the rest of the cheese.
Tip: Keep the soup at a gentle simmer, not a hard boil, when you add the egg so the ribbons stay soft.
Leftovers: Fridge 2 days; reheat gently until piping hot (the egg ribbons will break up a little).
