Cheap Meal Prep Shopping List UK: Under £30 for a Full Week

The £30 Meal Prep Basket

This basket covers a working week — five days of meals and snacks — for one person eating about 1,500–1,800 kcal per day with around 150 g of protein daily. Buy frozen chicken and fish to keep protein costs down without compromising nutrition.

• Frozen chicken breast (1 kg) — £3.49 (Aldi). Covers 5 dinners at 200 g each.
• Eggs (12 large, free range) — £2.59 (Aldi). Used across breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.
• Tinned tuna in spring water (2 × 4 × 145 g) — £3.98 (Aldi). Fastest high-protein lunch available.
• 0% Greek yogurt (2 × 500 g) — £2.18 (Aldi). Breakfast base and snack.
• Rolled oats (1 kg) — £0.69 (Aldi). Cheap, filling breakfast that lasts all week.
• Brown rice (1 kg) — £0.89 (Aldi). Carb base for all dinners.
• Frozen broccoli (1 kg) — £0.95 (Aldi). Bulk it up in every dinner for almost no calorie cost.
• Baby spinach (200 g) — £1.00 (Tesco/Aldi). For omelettes, salads, and curry bases.
• Tinned chickpeas (4 × 400 g) — £2.20 (Aldi). Protein and carb in one; brilliant for curries and salads.
• Wholemeal bread (800 g) — £0.99 (Aldi). Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch.
• Skimmed milk (2 L) — £1.09 (Aldi). For oats, coffee, and protein smoothies.
• Low-fat cottage cheese (3 × 300 g) — £2.97 (Aldi). Evening snack or high-protein lunch addition.
• Tinned tomatoes (4 × 400 g) — £1.40 (Aldi). Base for pasta sauces, curries, and stews.
• Frozen mixed veg (1 kg) — £0.95 (Aldi). Side for every dinner — peas, carrots, sweetcorn.
• Garlic (bulb) — £0.45 (Aldi). Flavour base that adds almost no calories.
• Olive oil spray (or small bottle of olive oil) — £1.75 (Aldi). Spray oils save calories vs pouring.
• Salt, pepper, mixed herbs (if not at home) — ~£1.50 for 2–3 jars. Essential seasoning.

Total Estimated Cost

Adding up the above: approximately £28–30 at Aldi or Lidl. At Tesco own-brand (without Clubcard), expect to add £5–8 to that total.

This covers the sample day below for five days — 20 meals and snacks — with oats, rice, bread, oil and seasonings left over for the following week. The food eaten in that sample day costs about £3.30, or roughly 80p per meal or snack.

Sample Meal Plan from This Basket

Using only the above ingredients, a typical day looks like: Breakfast — 50 g oats + 150 ml skimmed milk + 150 g 0% Greek yogurt (~330 kcal, 27 g protein). Lunch — 1 tin tuna + 100 g chickpeas + spinach salad (~250 kcal, 33 g protein). Dinner — 200 g chicken breast (weighed raw) + 80 g brown rice (dry) + 150 g frozen broccoli in tinned tomato sauce (~620 kcal, 57 g protein). Snack — 150 g cottage cheese + 2 boiled eggs (~300 kcal, 32 g protein). Total: ~1,500 kcal, ~150 g protein.

This structure is high in protein, filling, and nutritionally complete. It is also genuinely boring to eat every day — which is exactly why batch cooking and alternating between a few different dinner flavours (chicken curry, chicken stir-fry, chicken and rice with different seasoning) helps maintain consistency without mental fatigue.

Tips to Cut Costs Further

Always buy frozen over fresh for protein. Frozen chicken breast, turkey mince, and salmon are nutritionally comparable to fresh and usually cheaper per kilogram. The quality difference in a cooked meal is negligible.

Check the reduced-to-clear section. UK supermarkets mark down fresh meat and vegetables daily; times vary by store, but reductions often appear later in the day. Buying reduced chicken breast and freezing it immediately is one of the most effective ways to cut the weekly protein budget.

Buy staples in larger sizes. A 1 kg bag of oats is usually cheaper per kilogram than a 500 g bag, and the same logic applies to rice, tinned tomatoes, and tinned tuna (multipacks).

Supplement with legumes. Lentils, chickpeas, and kidney beans are among the cheapest protein and fibre sources available. Using them to stretch chicken or tuna dishes (for example, half the chicken plus a tin of chickpeas in a curry) cuts the cost per portion noticeably. Chickpeas carry far less protein than chicken by weight, so protein per portion falls; keep an egg, yogurt or cottage cheese snack in the day to make up the gap.

Getting a Personalised Shopping List

The basket above is a starting point — but everyone's calorie targets, dietary requirements, and preferences differ. Use our free meal plan generator to build a personalised week of meals around your chosen supermarket, including Aldi, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Iceland, Waitrose, Ocado, M&S, Co-op or a generic UK shop, and receive a categorised shopping list tailored to your calorie target. The generator also estimates your total weekly cost.