$27 Grocery Budget Challenge - How to Make a Week of Frugal Meals (2024)

Updated January 2020 to combine all posts into one mega post for easier reading! Prices checked and noted as well. See below for more information.

Today is the start of the $27 Grocery Budget Challenge!

Many of you wanted a healthier version of the $27 Challenge, so I worked hard on trying to make that happen this year. I incorporated your suggestions to create a new, improved version for this year’s challenge. Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to list a couple of resources I’ve created for this series.

I’ve created a printable shopping list {Download Here} in order to make it easier for those of you that decide you’d like to do something similar to my meal plan this week. You can always make your own as well using this as a guide.

What the $27 Grocery Budget Challenge Is

A meal plan that feeds two adults.

I’m tempted to call this an emergency meal plan, but I’m not sure that’s quite accurate. This is an option to feed yourself if you find yourself in a financial hardship and you have very few options left for a short period of time. Think: car broke down and I have less than $30 left for food for the week.

This is as much an experiment in frugality as it is a challenge. It’s not a challenge in the sense of “I’m challenging you to take this challenge!” but more of a challenge in feeding ourselves creatively with a very limited budget. Because this is me pushing myself in terms of creativity, meal planning and in trying new things (I had carrot fries, guys! To me, fries come in the form of potatoes!), I’ll be honest with you if I make a mistake or if I’m still hungry. If you do decide to do this challenge out of necessity, I don’t want you to find yourself hungry after you’ve spent your last $30 because I painted a dreamy picture of what my week was like.

What The Meal Challenge ISN’T

It will not feed more than two people. So please do not attempt this with a family using the exact meal plan I used without raising the budget. I designed this meal plan to only feed my husband and myself.

An all inclusive meal plan. I tried my very best to provide you with everything needed if you do decide to follow the challenge like I did. I tried to make it more organized than last year’s challenge because I realized it wasn’t very user-friendly. But there are still some gaps you may have to fill in yourself.

This is more of a disclaimer, but this doesn’t have the seal of approval of any kind of professional in terms of nutrition. Actually, my readers have been the biggest push in me learning about how to eat healthy, so I’m still learning those ropes myself. It’s just me, a frugal girl, trying to see what I can do with a limited budget. It’s not the best way, or the only way, it’s just my way.

Self-Imposed Rules for the Challenge

I set these rules for myself to even out the playing field in order to make this as close to the original budget as possible for everyone. I realize there will be some price differences between what you buy and what I buy, so limiting myself to these rules should create a more accurate picture of the cost.

• No coupons. I know that not allowing myself to use coupons in last year’s challenge ruffled a few feathers. In fact, I was all for using coupons this year, but ultimately decided against it. This is simply for the sake of accuracy with pricing. Coupons are time-sensitive, so odds are you wouldn’t be able to get the same deal I did if you’re reading this series two months from now.

• Limited use of items in my kitchen. I tried to limit the use of ingredients that weren’t in the original shopping list for this challenge, again, for the sake of accuracy. Things like spices and common ingredients like garlic are something I’ve allowed myself to use freely. If I do deviate from my meal plan using other items in my kitchen, I’ll tell you.

• Stick to the budget. Once the original budget is spent, I won’t allow myself additional trips to the grocery store.🙁

Okay, that sort of felt like I was reading you a very long and quickly spoken list of warnings at the end of a pharmaceutical commercial on TV! Now that we have all of that out of the way… let’s get onto what you’re really here to see.

Shopping List

I split up my shopping between three different stores. I did most of my shopping at Aldi’s with additional stops at Target and Publix to snag a few deals.

Publix:

• 1 lb. Green Beans: $1.29
• 1 lb. Yellow Squash: $1.33

Aldi:

• Fresh, 6.5 lb Whole Chicken: $6.22
• Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti: $0.89
• 2 lb. Bag Brown Rice: $1.19
• 3 lbs. Bananas: $1.29
• 2 lbs. Sweet Onions: $1.59
• Cucumber: $0.59
• Lemon: $0.35
• Dozen Eggs: $1.29
• 2 lbs. Carrots: $1.29
• 1 lb. Frozen Peas: $0.89

Target:

• Canned Green Chilies: $0.72
• Sesame Seeds: $0.79
• 1 lb. Dried Black Beans: $1.52
• Lettuce: $1.79
• Oats: $1.94
• Lime: $0.39
• Cream: $2.24

Total Cost: $27.60

So it’s a few cents over $27. But it’s still pretty close!

I’m excited to share the meals we’ll have on each day of the challenge, as well as sharing any struggles we’re having or mistakes I’ve made (day one had a bumpy start!)

** Updated January 2020 – prices are similar with slight variations of sales at the time of purchase. Chicken is only 95 cents a pound now on a great sale for me. Frozen peas are 99 cents. Canned green chilis are 95 cents. **

Day One of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Before I get into the meals for today, I want to let you know that there was some prep work involved the night before I started the challenge. I made butter using my homemade butter in the food processor recipe, and I also made a loaf of bread.

I had all of the ingredients on hand to make the bread, and they are all pantry staples, so the cost of the bread is not included in the challenge. I divided my dough into two portions. One portion was to make a single loaf of bread, and another portion I wrapped and stored in the fridge in order to make buns that will be used in another meal this week.

Any prep work that I do on each day will be listed at the end of the post.

Trouble on Day One

I’ve been working on my meal plan for this challenge for weeks, and yet I made a super rookie mistake. I had “chicken noodle soup” listed as the lunch for all seven days. But guess what? A couple of things need to happen before the soup can be made. Oh, like, I don’t know… cooking the actual chicken first, maybe? And then cooking the stock overnight in the crockpot.

So that left me with two days of unaccounted for lunches… which left me scrambling to make bread the night before the start of the challenge. And to top it all off, when I did get around to making the soup (on day two), there wasn’t enough of it for the remaining lunches for the week. So I needed to do some last minute rearranging after I had already finalized my meal plan and purchased all of my ingredients. So yes, the start of the challenge was indeed bumpy.

Okay, now onto the meals for day one!

Breakfast – Day 1 Meal Challenge

On the Menu: Oatmeal and a Banana

I had oatmeal and half of a banana for this morning’s breakfast. Full disclosure: this is what is on the menu for every breakfast this week, so there will be absolutely no variety in terms of breakfast for the entirety of the week. I wanted to have more interesting dinners, so this is the part of the budget that had to suffer in order to make that happen. Thankfully, I like oatmeal, but let’s see how I feel about it at the end of the week – I may be singing a different tune!

Lunch – Day 1 Meal Challenge

On the Menu: Homemade Bread w/ a pat of Butter and Eggs

Recipes Used: Homemade Butter

I served homemade bread, with a pat of butter and two eggs on the side. I finished off the remainder of the banana from this morning’s breakfast at lunch as well. That yellow disk sitting beside the bread are my eggs for the morning. I have an itty bitty frying pan that makes perfectly sized eggs and I love having an excuse to break it out! I only ever use it to toast sesame seeds or make eggs and since I handle breakfast in batches in my weekly meal prep, I rarely get to use it

Dinner – Day 1 Meal Challenge

On the Menu: Sweet Sesame Green Beans with Baked Chicken

Recipes Used: Sweet Sesame Green Beans

I can’t even describe how good these green beans were! They make their way into my meal plan at least twice each month and we never tire of them! I served the green beans with baked chicken.

I baked a whole chicken in the oven for tonight’s dinner. In addition to tonight’s dinner, I’m using the same chicken to make crockpot chicken stock and chicken noodle soup. Because it’s the only meat on the menu for the week, I’m squeezing every ounce of value I can from it!

Food used that was not included in the original shopping list: Bread and Soy Sauce

Prep for Tomorrow:

Start the crockpot chicken stock after dinner and let cook for about 20 to 24 hours. Although the original recipe is my own, adaptations were still made to allow it to fit the challenge ingredients list better.

Adaptations:

• Used 2 Carrots (recipe originally calls for: 4 carrots)
• Excluded: Celery

Day Two of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 2

On the Menu: Oatmeal and Banana

Today’s breakfast was oatmeal and half of a banana. I saved the remaining half of the banana to have with lunch.

Lunch – Day 2

On the Menu: Homemade Bread w/ a pat of Butter and Eggs

Recipes Used: Homemade Butter

We had thick slices of buttered bread with eggs for lunch again. I finished up the rest of the banana from breakfast too. I can smell the chicken stock still cooking in the crockpot and I can’t wait to have chicken noodle soup for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch.

Dinner – Day 2

On the Menu: Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade White Wheat Bread

Recipes Used: $27 Challenge Chicken Noodle Soup

We had homemade chicken noodle soup with thick slices of homemade bread for tonight’s dinner. I used the homemade chicken stock that we made overnight in the crockpot yesterday to make the soup. We used up the last of the homemade bread with tonight’s dinner and I have to say, homemade bread dunked in soup is pretty great!

The chicken noodle soup recipe was created specifically for the $27 challenge, so you’ll have everything you need to make this soup if you use the printable shopping list for the challenge.

Food used today that was not included on the original shopping list: Bread

Prep for Tomorrow:

• Package up soup leftovers in four portions: Two for tomorrow’s lunch and two for Thursday’s Lunch
• Cook a bag of dried black beans in the crockpot overnight, remove from heat and store in tupperware in the morning.

How to Cook Dried Beans in the Crockpot

Place your beans in a colander and sift through them to ensure that there are no rocks or bad beans. Rinse the beans, then place them in the crockpot. Fill with enough water to cover the beans with about four to five inches of water above the beans. Cook on low overnight. Don’t add salt because it may prevent the beans from softening properly. Be sure to rinse them again in the morning before storing.

If you don’t have a crockpot, you can use my tutorial on how to cook dried beans in the oven but you’ll have to start soaking them on the morning of day two.

Day Three of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 3

On the Menu: Oatmeal and Banana

Surprise! It’s oatmeal! And a banana! Again. Yes, it’s repetitive. But there’s not much room for variety in this challenge. I’m not tired of the oatmeal just yet, since I am genuinely a fan. But I’m now wishing that I would’ve squeezed just a little more room in the budget for an ingredient to add a bit of oomph to the oatmeal, like peanut butter. Albeit a bit boring, oatmeal is getting the job done and there’s plenty to go around for seconds or even thirds if we were to want them.

Lunch – Day 3

On the Menu: Leftover Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe used: $27 Challenge Chicken Noodle Soup

This lunch was simply not filling on its own. My husband and I texted each other throughout lunch saying that we were both still hungry. No wonder it wasn’t filling…This meal was under 300 calories on its own. In hindsight, I should’ve served the soup with some brown rice to make it more filling and to increase the calories of the meal as a whole. I recommend you do the same, because 261 calories is not going to keep you satisfied if you have a long stretch between lunch and dinner time like we do.

Dinner – Day 3

On the Menu: Black Bean Burgers on Homemade Buns with Carrot Fries

Recipes Used: https://www.cleverlysimple.com/black-bean-burger-recipe/

Adaptations:

• 16 oz. Black Beans (about half of the yield of the dried beans that were made on Tuesday Night’s Prep)
• Italian Bread Crumbs (recipe originally calls for: Panko)
• 1 Small Sweet Onion (recipe originally calls for: Red Onion)
• 1 tbsp. Minced Garlic (recipe originally calls for: Large Garlic Clove)
• Excluded: Cilantro, cumin

Baked Carrot Fries

Find the Original Recipe Here: Baked Carrot Fries

Original Recipe From: Healy Eats Real

Adaptations:

• 1/2 lb of carrots (5 to 6 medium carrots)
• 1 tbsp of melted butter (recipe originally calls for: Olive Oil)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder (recipe originally calls for: garlic powder)
• Excluded: thyme

My husband was throwing serious shade my way when he saw what was on the menu tonight. This was not what he had in mind when I told him I was making burgers and fries! Despite his initial side-eye, we both really enjoyed tonight’s dinner. In his words, the black bean burgers were “phenomenal” and we both couldn’t stop snacking on the carrot fries that were left over… and it wasn’t because we were still hungry.

In fact, this meal was extremely filling. I’ll never underestimate the power of a black bean burger again.

Notes:

I used half of the cooked dried beans for today’s dinner.

I also made homemade buns using half of the bread dough from Sunday night. I won’t be sharing a recipe for the buns because they were rock hard and somewhat bland. So I recommend using your own bread/bun recipe if you have the ingredients.

Food used today that isn’t included in the shopping list: Homemade buns

Prep for Tomorrow:

• Package up leftovers from dinner for lunch tomorrow.
• Store half of the black beans that were cooked in the crockpot last night in tupperware for tomorrow’s dinner.

Day Three of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 4

On the Menu: Oatmeal

I had oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I dropped the ball on taking photos of my actual meals today.

He eats breakfast at work, so I can’t make the oatmeal ahead of time because the consistency will be off. What I do is wrap his portion of oats in saran wrap, sprinkle in a bit of salt and one stevia packet so it’s perfectly seasoned, and close it up to make a saran-wrap-baggie of sorts. I’m sure this is cheaper than using zip baggies (if you don’t reuse them), and is a great way to package up dry portions of food (like oats) if you find that you’re out of baggies like we were this week.

Lunch – Day 4

On the Menu: Black Bean Burger and Chicken Noodle Soup

Today’s lunch was fantastic! I had a late lunch, so I was pretty hungry by the time I sat down to eat. I only remembered that I was supposed to take a photo when I had a few bites left. We each had a black bean burger and the last of the chicken noodle soup leftovers, and it paired surprisingly well together.

Dinner – Day 4

On the Menu: Black Beans served over Brown Rice

Recipes Used: 20 Minute Black Beans

We loved dinner tonight! We had black beans and rice with a small side salad. I created this recipe specifically for the challenge, and I’m shocked at how well it came out.

I’m only shocked because I was working with such few ingredients and I traditionally make black beans in a very different way. The only ingredient that was used to create this recipe that is not part of the shopping list is tomato paste. I figured that was a safe ingredient since it’s something most of us usually have on hand.

Prep for Tomorrow: Package up leftovers from dinner for tomorrow’s lunch.

Day Five of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 5

On the Menu: Oatmeal

Well, oatmeal was what I would’ve eaten if I hadn’t skipped breakfast today. Time just got away from me and before I knew it, it was lunch time.

My husband had his oatmeal at work (since I packed it for him the night before), but he forgot to take the last banana. That poor banana keeps being forgotten. Since we’re both home for breakfast tomorrow, I’m sure one of us will scarf it down.

Lunch – Day 5

On the Menu: Leftover Beans and Rice

Recipe used in this meal: 20 Minute Black Beans

I served leftover black beans and rice for lunch. There were fewer leftovers of the beans than I had hoped for (we might’ve eaten a little too much of them last night since they were so tasty!). I packed most of the leftover beans for my husband’s lunch because he doesn’t really enjoy rice like I do. So I took one for the team and took the portion with more rice than beans. It was still pretty tasty!

Dinner – Day 5

On the Menu: Roasted Squash tossed with Spaghetti and a Lemon Cream Sauce

This certainly did not taste as fancy as it sounds! Tonight’s dinner was neither good, nor bad. Just okay. So I won’t be posting a recipe. If you decide to do something similar for day five’s dinner, I recommend going with buttered noodles with a spritz of lemon juice and serve the roasted squash over top. We also had a small side salad with dinner tonight, using the leftover ingredients from last night’s salad.

I used three pieces of squash in tonight’s dinner, and wrapped one up to be used in tomorrow’s dinner (veggie fried rice).

Prep for Tomorrow: Package up leftovers from dinner for lunch tomorrow.

Day Six of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 6

On the Menu: Oatmeal and Banana

The lonely banana was finally eaten this morning with our oatmeal

Lunch – Day 6

On the Menu: Leftover Lemon Squash Spaghetti

I wasn’t crazy about dinner last night, but it tasted much better for lunch today. This was definitely one of those meals that tastes better the next day. The servings were on the smaller side, and while it was enough for me, it was certainly not enough to satisfy a guy that’s around 6’4”.

Dinner – Day 6

On the Menu: Vegetable Fried Rice with Fried Eggs

I didn’t use an exact recipe to make the vegetable fried rice. I used the remainder of the rice I cooked a few nights ago (I precooked extra in order to have cold rice ready for the fried rice); a bag of peas; the remaining squash; an onion; soy sauce, and a few seasonings to make this. It’s possibly the tastiest homemade fried rice I’ve ever made!

I know most people scramble their eggs into the fried rice, but I chose to fry the egg separately since the rice was the main part of the meal. Runny yolk + fried rice = amazing.

Food used that are not part of the original shopping list: Soy sauce

Prep for tomorrow: Package up leftovers from dinner for tomorrow’s lunch

Day Seven of the $27 Grocery Challenge

Breakfast – Day 7

On the Menu: Oatmeal with Peanut Butter

As my fridge becomes more bare, it revealed a tiny little gift to us this morning: a tub of peanut butter! I have inventory sheets that I use to keep track of everything in the kitchen (you can get yours here). But I guess this peanut butter got lost in the shuffle, since we don’t usually buy peanut butter that needs to be refrigerated.

I wasn’t going to have peanut butter with my oatmeal initially. But then I took a look (and a whiff) at my husband’s bowl of peanut buttery oatmeal and I may or may not have mixed in a spoonful or two!

Lunch – Day 7

On the Menu: Veggie Fried Rice

We had the remaining veggie fried rice from last night’s dinner. I also mixed in scrambled eggs. I initially planned to serve the veggie fried rice for both tonight’s lunch and dinner because I knew I’d be super busy today. But there simply wasn’t enough to split between two meals.

This is the first day that we are beginning to feel deprived. Not hungry, necessarily… just aware that there isn’t very much food left. I think this could’ve been avoided if I were to have quadruple checked my meal plan before going to the store and realized the error before it was too late to change my shopping list.

Dinner – Day 7

On the Menu: Minestrone Soup (From the Freezer)

I had to deviate from my original meal plan for tonight’s dinner because there wasn’t enough veggie fried rice for both meals. I broke into my freezer meals and pulled out a bag of minestrone soup and served it for dinner. This is still within the rules that I set for myself for this challenge, but it still feels like cheating because it wasn’t on the meal plan. I’m thankful for having a freezer full of freezer meals that would allow me to put a meal on the table if this were truly a time of need.

Food used today that isn’t on the shopping list: Peanut Butter, Freezer Minestrone Soup

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my post on what I learned from this challenge and whether I think I’ll be doing it again next year.

What I Learned from the $27 Grocery Challenge

Eating healthy on this tight budget is quite a challenge! Health was one of my main priorities on this year’s challenge. But something I totally forgot to take into consideration is prioritizing healthy, but calorie-dense food.

Eating the same thing every day isn’t very difficult for us on a normal week (think:freezer burritos for lunch, freezer pancakes for breakfast, etc). But for some reason, it seemed like much more of a chore while doing the challenge because it made me more aware of the scarcity in the budget. I’m only referring to our breakfasts for the week, which were quite bland due to not having many seasonings or additions to make them interesting.

Things I’d Change:

– Create a dinner-only menu for the challenge. Not only would this make for a more interesting challenge (because I’d be able to create more complex recipes), but I’d hopefully be able to create a meal plan for more than two people, which is something a lot of you have asked for.

– Raise the budget. I ran out of food for the last meal of the challenge… so I’d say a slight budget increase is in order. I said I would raise the budget this year, but decided against doing so, just to push myself to to see if it was actually possible to do this in a healthier way. Ultimately: it is possible, but just barely. At least for the meal plan I created. With this meal plan, it really should’ve been a five day challenge, or a maximum of six days.

Why I do this series:

I try my best to make frugality fun. But the reality is that sometimes it isn’t. Many of us are frugal by choice, but unfortunately, not everyone has that luxury – it’s thrust upon them by circ*mstance. And they have to make some hard choices in order to put food on the table that week.

I’ve been there, and I know some of you have too. If you find yourself suddenly frugal by necessity (think: unexpected bills), this series was written with you in mind. It’s not perfect, but hopefully you can build upon it in order to create a meal plan that works for your needs.

Whether you’ve caught up on each post in this series, or this is your first dive into the $27 Challenge, thanks so much for reading! A ton of work went into this series, so I’m truly thankful that you’re taking the time out of your day to read my stuff.

Updates for 2020!

If you want to make hearty meals that last a long time, here are some examples of things we have learned over the years.

1. Shop at Adli or Food Lion/Walmart as much as you can. They tend to OVERALL be more inexpensive and there is less temptation.
2. Look into making homemade bean burritos using the Vegan Refried Beans in the Crock Pot. They make a ton and slather them on a flour tortilla with cheese to make a lunch that will last you all day.
3. Make Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches for lunches. Sounds a bit crazy but they make filling lunches and they are ready to grab and go!
4. Make a loaf of homemade bread and take 1-2 of these eggs and make an old fashioned egg sandwich for work.
5. Make a big batch of Minestrone Soup for the freezer. This was featured above but the recipe was never given.
6. Crockpot Black Bean Soup is another wallet friendly and tasty meal to put in your back pocket when trying to stretch a dollar or two. Serve over rice or on its own.

Let us know if you try a $27 Grocery Challenge! Maybe even look at a $50 Grocery Challenge. Either way, play with it and have fun trying to save money!