How much does an average dinner at home cost you?

[MrsPooh]

I am curious how much others figure an average meal at home cost them.

We are two adults and one child (plus sometimes a college student home for dinner). We do have some dietary concerns due to health issues which stop us from lots of rice/pasta/bread items and dh hates beans so we don't have them.

We eat almost all meals at home and are not on the "super frugal" plan. I do shop sales and coupon but we are foodies who like to have a variety of food we enjoy.

I figure drinks and condiments total less than $1 for each meal and it seems our average dinner ends up costing between $10 & $12 and usually has at least one serving of leftovers for dd's lunch the next day. So this averages out to about $3 per serving.

Dh would love to eat out every night so $3/serving is a bargain compared to dining out but I'm wondering how it compares to what others spend for a nice, made at home dinner.

 

[Woodmnky]

I keep dinners to about $5 and that is for 2 adults and a toddler with a huge appetite. Most days we have some leftover for DHs lunch.

 

[Disneefun]

The priciest meal I make is a pork roast with a salad and couple of vegetables as sides. Ingredients run about $12, with the pork being the bulk of that. But when I make it we usually get 3 meals out of those ingredients, so it works out to about $4 per meal and there's 2 of us here, so that's $2 per serving.

Since that's the priciest thing I make, everything else we eat hovers in the $1 per serving range. (For dinners. Breakfasts and lunch are much less.)

 

[disneysteve]

I'd say definitely under $10 for the 3 of us and that often results in some leftovers so the actual cost per meal is even lower. Probably closer to $2/person/meal.

 

[nikkistevej]

Maybe $6-10, depends on the meal.We usually average it out, we have 2 adults, 1- 11 yo DD. We both work, so we do try to have leftovers for lunch the next day, so we may make a little more. Our grocery bill runs about $90-$130.00 weekly depending on what we make. Last week we got steamed jumbo shrimp and made shrimp salad, that definitely costs more than the hot dogs and chili the night before.

 

[i like stitch]

For 2 adults and a teen with a good appetite, we typically spend $5 total. Sometimes, it's less and on occasion it's slightly more.

 

[thebeesknees]

I think we are on a much more frugal plan than you, so it might not be comparing apples to apples, but here's the best I can figure for our meals for 2 adults, 3 children:

Meat: Chicken or ground turkey, occasionally fish and rarely beef (due to cost): $3/meal
Starch: potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.: $1/meal
Veggies: I buy on sale and usually use frozen due to cost: $1/meal
Extra: whether rolls, salad, etc. $1/meal
Drinks: Milk or water only, so 1/4 gal ave. per meal : $1/meal

Total: $7 average for 5 people, with enough leftover for DH to take 1 serving for lunch the next day. $1.16 per serving


We never do dessert unless it is a birthday, due to cost. As you can see, I am on a very tight budget so I have to make the meat stretch by doing casseroles, etc., where a pound and a half goes to feed all of us and I add in extra veggies or starch. We also have some food intolerance issues, so I can't do spaghetti or other tomato-based meals that would help in the budget department. I would love to be able to do more beef or pork, but it is so expensive here that it is hard to justify spending more on that when I can regularly get boneless, skinless chicken for $1.77/lb or ground turkey for $2.33/lb. I think that you are doing well to get a nice homemade meal for $12. It sure beats what you'd pay at a restaurant!

 

[KennesawNemo]

It is DH, me and DS8. (DD 9month is still on baby food).

I have been roughly tracking my food cost and I think a meal ranges from $10-$30 in our house and average should be around $15 - $18. About half of the time, we can have leftover for DH and I bring to work.

Tonights meal should cost me around $12. Oganic soup from Costco, steamed asparagus, sweet hawaiian roll, strawberry.

One of the relatively expensive meal I cant think of is when I make beef short rib stew. The beef is about $20 to $30 dollar a pack and I have to add potato, carrots and onion to it. I also have to make another veggie for the meal. We don't do it everyday though.

ETA:

My $15-$18 should really be $10 to $12 per meal as we take the left over for lunch.

 

[TravelMommy]

Baked Pork Chops/ $8.56 +rice with olive oil, garlic, parsley, onions, chicken broth, approx.: $1.50 + broccoli florets, balsalmic vinegarette $1.09= $11.15, now I have planned leftovers in this meal for lunch tomorrow, so in reality about $6.15.

 

[HeatherC]

I spend roughly $175 a week for five people....including three teens. So it is pretty cheap per meal if you consider that includes breakfast, lunches and dinner for 7 days. It is about 105 meals over the course of a week. That is about $1.67 a person a day.

I don't really break it down by meal, just spend that to get what we need for the week.

I do make extra every night for lunches or re-imagine the meals into something else later in the week.

 

[schrammalot]

It's just 2 of us but our last grocery bill was $140. This included snacks and real, whole foods. Cutting out the processed crap increased our bill, but made us generally healthier.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I spend around $2.50-$6 per meal, depending on what I eat. I eat a ton of chicken and can buy it in bulk to freeze, so those are not expensive meals. When I make beef stew ($6 for meat, $4 for potatoes, onions, and carrots) I get four meals out of it (typically one dinner and three lunches), making it my cheapest meal at $2.50 per serving. I usually make this in the crockpot on a Saturday or Sunday and then switch it up with chicken during the week.

I couldn't eat anywhere at all for the dollar amount with which I am able to cook whole foods at home. I go out to dinner twice a month with friends and always think of how the quality is so far below what I'm used to eating, even if we're at a nice place.

 

[Cindy B]

Tonight's dinner: Homemade Mac N Cheese

Elbow noodles 98 cents
1/4 of red onion @ 98 cents a pound 25 cents
3/4 of one stick of butter @1.78 for four sticks = approx 40 cents
1 cup of milk = 2.83 gallon = 2.83/16 = 18 cents
Cheese one 8 oz package 1.48
breadcrumbs to top = whole can 1.48/16 = 9 cents

Grand total. == $3.38
I do have a prepackaged salad that I got for $1 so that would be $4.48

This is a huge 9 x 13 pan that will be eaten again later so I would say half today, and half some other time.

 

[figment3258]

Tonight's dinner cost me 7.50$ for the pork loin 2$ for the BBQ sauce and 2$ for the salsa also rolls were for also 2$ also bought stuff to make cole slaw with cost 3$ so 16.50 total I have 3 adults a 11 7 and 2 year old girls so just under 3$ a person also there will be left overs for lunch might even freeze so pulled pork

For us it's hard because my mil who lives with us is so picky I usually have to make other food for her like tonight I have to make plain pork chops for her which luckily I had in the freezer.

 

[aprilchem]

It's just 2 of us but our last grocery bill was $140. This included snacks and real, whole foods. Cutting out the processed crap increased our bill, but made us generally healthier.

Can you estimate by how much? Just curious; we cut out processed food and our food bill decreased significantly (by about 30%).

 

[southlakejr]

I think you also need to compare apples to apples. Meals get significantly cheaper when you use rice, pasta, etc.

DH and I don't eat rice, pasta, beans, or dairy on a regular basis. Most of our meals are meat and veg, and line up around the same cost as yours.

Last night we had porkchops with honey mustard sauce, bacon brussel sprouts, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Pack of pork chops 10.50(not on sale, admittedly, but still came in on budget)- came with 8 chops and we ate 2 of the larger ones. So figure 2.75 for the meat for that meal. (we cooked the rest and will be eating leftovers)

3 sweet potatoes, roughly 1.5 pounds, so 1.50, ate about a third so 50 cents

one third pack of Costco brussel sprouts- roughly 1.20, ate two thirds so figure 80 cents.

Three slices bacon , about 1.00

Add in 1.50 for olive oil for cooking, spices, homemade mayo, honey, Dijon mustard, and butter.

Cost for the meal roughly 3.25 or so per person, not including what remains for leftovers. For the dietary constraints you have, you are probably not too far off the mark, though I'm sure almost every one of us can improve someplace.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Tonight's dinner: Homemade Mac N Cheese

Elbow noodles 98 cents
1/4 of red onion @ 98 cents a pound 25 cents
3/4 of one stick of butter @1.78 for four sticks = approx 40 cents
1 cup of milk = 2.83 gallon = 2.83/16 = 18 cents
Cheese one 8 oz package 1.48
breadcrumbs to top = whole can 1.48/16 = 9 cents

Grand total. == $3.38
I do have a prepackaged salad that I got for $1 so that would be $4.48

This is a huge 9 x 13 pan that will be eaten again later so I would say half today, and half some other time.

Now I am beginning to see how family of five people eat off 100 dollars a week.

That is just a side item in this house. Sure one dish would last for leftovers but we would need a rotisserie chicken or something. No way would just mac and cheese cut it, maybe for my kids but then I would feel guilty like they did not get a balanced meal. I guess that comes from growing up in the meat and 2 veggie household. Not saying the way I think is correct just they way I grew up I guess. Definatly puts perception on a lot of these posts and peoples food budgets. So much is what you are eating, how you grew up, what your taste buds are, where you live, etc.

ETA: we typically spend about 10-15 per dinner. I am very happy if it is under 10. My go to under $10 for us Chicken and Dumplings (a whole chicken with carrots, celery, onion and dumplings) and we usually have enough for 1-2 lunch leftovers.

 

[pinoke]

I am honestly shocked at these prices/costs. Prices surely vary a lot! Plus, I agree that if we have mac n cheese, which we also make homemade sometimes, would need a meat, veggie or some fruit. We aim for the recommended 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day for our family. I'm generally pretty happy if we get a good dinner for 3 of us for $10. We couldn't even do breakfast for the price some of you do for dinner!

 

[Marionnette]

Now I am beginning to see how family of five people eat off 100 dollars a week.

That is just a side item in this house. Sure one dish would last for leftovers but we would need a rotisserie chicken or something. No way would just mac and cheese cut it, maybe for my kids but then I would feel guilty like they did not get a balanced meal. I guess that comes from growing up in the meat and 2 veggie household. Not saying the way I think is correct just they way I grew up I guess. Definatly puts perception on a lot of these posts and peoples food budgets. So much is what you are eating, how you grew up, what your taste buds are, where you live, etc.

ETA: we typically spend about 10-15 per dinner. I am very happy if it is under 10. My go to under $10 for us Chicken and Dumplings (a whole chicken with carrots, celery, onion and dumplings) and we usually have enough for 1-2 lunch leftovers.

I agree that much depends on your location, dietary restrictions/preferences and the time that you can devote to cooking. Mac & cheese is not an entree for us, either. The way that I make it, it's too rich and too expensive!

I also noticed that the prices that the PP quoted for milk, cheese and butter are way below what I would pay here. My state actually sets a minimum retail price for milk and no one can sell it for less. I pay closer to $4 for a gallon of fat free milk. $2/lb for butter is considered an excellent price here and I rarely see that.

Dinner for the two of us runs about $5-$6 each night. If there are leftovers, it's usually only a single serving. So, $2-$3 per person for a homemade dinner is about right for us.

 

[worm761]

I agree that much depends on your location, dietary restrictions/preferences and the time that you can devote to cooking. Mac & cheese is not an entree for us, either. The way that I make it, it's too rich and too expensive!

I also noticed that the prices that the PP quoted for milk, cheese and butter are way below what I would pay here. My state actually sets a minimum retail price for milk and no one can sell it for less. I pay closer to $4 for a gallon of fat free milk. $2/lb for butter is considered an excellent price here and I rarely see that.

Dinner for the two of us runs about $5-$6 each night. If there are leftovers, it's usually only a single serving. So, $2-$3 per person for a homemade dinner is about right for us.

This is very true. Butter for $3 a pound is a sale here.

We are a family of 5. Me, DH, teen DS, preschool DD, and my father. We eat very little processed foods though there are some. I make almost everything from scratch including things like sausage (we grind our own meat).

I spend around 10-15 on average. To keep our costs down we go to multiple stores to get the best prices. We do eat chicken, pork, beef, and seafood on a regular basis. I live on the Gulf Coast so seafood is not as expensive here as some places. We always have a meat, veg, and starch with almost every meal. I try to do one meatless meal a week. I watch our sodium, fat, and cholesterol in foods due to some health issues in my house. I also cook to have leftovers. DH takes them for lunch to work. The kids, my dad, and I are all home for lunch so eat leftovers most of the time too.