Weekly meal plan on a budget: cook cheaply all week
A cheap weekly meal plan is 4 to 5 dishes plus 1 to 2 leftover days, not seven perfect menus (updated: July 2026). Build the dishes around the current promotions, pick shared ingredients and shop with a list. That is what savefood.ch and foodwaste.ch recommend, because rigid plans end in food waste, which costs over CHF 600 per person a year. Which ingredients are on offer this week you see in Rappn, filtered by canton.
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A weekly meal plan saves money, but not the way many think. It is not about fixing seven perfect menus in advance, but about planning realistically: a few dishes around the current promotions, shared ingredients, and one or two leftover days. The agencies savefood.ch and foodwaste.ch recommend exactly this, because rigid plans often fail and then end in food waste.
Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreement with any retailer. Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro and Otto's do not pay us to rank them, and nothing below is sponsored.
How do I plan a cheap cooking week?
| Principle | Why it saves |
|---|---|
| 4 to 5 menus + 1 to 2 leftover days | realistic, less food waste |
| Plan around the promotions | the cheapest ingredients this week |
| Reuse ingredients | larger units, less waste |
| Shop with a list | no impulse buys |
The screens show a week laid out day by day and the step that sends the ingredients of a day to your list, so the weekly plan turns into one shop.
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Plan the week
Send ingredients to your list
An example weekly rhythm
| Day | Idea | Saving principle |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Batch-cook a large base | Base bought as a large, cheap unit |
| Tue | Quick dish from the base | Use up leftovers |
| Wed | Dish around the offer star | Cook around the promotion |
| Thu | Carry a shared ingredient forward | Reuse ingredients |
| Fri | Flexible or eating out | Buffer, not a rigid plan |
| Sat | Leftover day | Only what is left |
| Sun | Stock check and weekly plan | Prepare the list |
The Kitchen in Rappn mirrors that rhythm. In the Planner, "Plan week" shows the days with their planned meals and how many of the seven are covered, and the gaps you want for leftovers can simply stay empty. For any day, the app lists the ingredients of its recipes and you add them to your "Weekly shop" cart. A printable meal planner template and the how to meal plan in Switzerland guide cover the same routine on paper.
A good weekly plan hangs on the current promotions, and those change every week. In Rappn you see the offers of the seven chains for your canton, add a recipe to your shopping list in one tap and share the list with your household. That turns the plan into a concrete shop. The method behind it is explained in cook cheaply, and how to work in leftovers in use up leftovers.
Updated: .
Why Rappn?
Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer. Our comparisons are truly independent.
- 100% free: no subscription, no hidden costs
- Neutral: no commercial agreements with Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro, or Otto’s
- Updated daily, as soon as the chains publish their deals
- The chains’ deals in one place: search, filter, compare, no subscription
- Meal planner in the Kitchen tab: plan the week, send the ingredients to your list
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I plan a cheap weekly meal plan?
Plan four to five dishes instead of seven, plus one or two leftover days, build the menus around the current promotions, choose dishes with shared ingredients and shop with a list. The agencies savefood.ch and foodwaste.ch recommend exactly this realistic planning, because rigid plans often end in food waste.
Why should I not plan out all seven menus?
Because rigid plans often fail: something comes up, leftovers linger and end in the bin. More realistic are four to five planned dishes plus one or two leftover days. That saves money and avoids food waste, which costs over CHF 600 per person a year.
How does a shopping list help with the weekly plan?
It keeps you to the plan: you buy only what you really need and avoid impulse buys. In Rappn you put the ingredients of your weekly plan on a list and share it with your household; which ingredients are on offer this week you see in the offers of the seven chains.
Should I build the weekly plan around the promotions?
Yes. Because no chain is permanently the cheapest and offers change weekly, it is cheapest to choose the menus around the current promotions. Which ingredients are on offer this week you see in Rappn.
What does a realistic weekly cooking rhythm look like?
Batch-cook a large base early in the week, turn it into quick dishes over several days, keep one buffer day for the unexpected and one leftover day at the weekend, then finish with a stock check. Match the days to the current offers.