How much does an average dinner at home cost you?

[crisi]

Last night we had chicken briyani.

1/2 package of costco chicken thighs ($1.25)

One and a half cups of rice ($.75 bought in bulk)

Package of Briyani spices ($1.59)

1/4 package peas ($.25)

A few raisins and a few cashews (the cashews probably were the most expensive thing).

Homemade naan (probably about $2 in ingredients, naan takes milk, flour, sugar and yeast).

Under $6 and there are leftovers for lunch.

 

[TwoMisfits]

$2-$6/person per dinner...there is almost always a protein (about 1 1/2 servings worth), a carb, and 2 separate servings of fruit/veggies at my dinner meals. I always make sure my family has at least 5 servings of fruits/veggies offered to them (notice, I didn't say eaten every day, so for my planning, that breaks down to 2 at lunch (1 in 100% juice form and 1 in fruit form), 2-3 at dinner (1 or 2 veggies, 1 fruit) and 1 bonus snack/dessert through the day (a piece of fruit, baked kale chips, another cup of juice, fruit topped yogurt, even homemade fruit pies/muffins/cobblers, etc)...

Tonight is bacon-wrapped bbq apple chicken thighs (in the crockpot), white rice to soak up the sauce (with enough rice for homemade fried rice tomorrow), homemade baked kale chips, and extra apple slices. I spent about $3.00/person (6 oz chicken thigh and 1 slice thick bacon per person meat serving, since this is also a hugely variable cost).

Yesterday, I made shredded beef and beer in the crockpot, homemade potato skins (which were topped by the beef and some sharp cheddar), fresh mango, and bagged apple blue cheese pecan salad. I spent about $4/person (lower end beef cut - about 5-6oz per person).

 

[NemoMOm]

I have gluten allergies and gastritis. So I cannot eat pasta, bread, beans, and most veggies that are gass producers. We spend about 225 per week on groceries. We are a family of 5 and I pack the kids' lunches. We also buy organic milk which bulks up the weekly grocery budget. We find that its worth it.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Wow! I'm always so surprised by how little people can spend on groceries. It's just me and I average about $200/month!

Maybe it's what I eat that drives up the price. These boards make me feel like I'm doing it wrong lol

 

[ceecee]

I honestly don't know how much our dinners cost. My biggest waste is throwing away stuff we don't use. Especially fresh produce and fruit, DD won't touch fruit that is ripe, she only eats green bananas and they ripen too fast to eat them all. Left overs are almost always in the garbage. I usually pack cheese and crackers for my lunch or I will eat leftovers if I'm home. We have salad once a week and if I get a bag of salad I usually need 2 so half is wasted. At least with grilled chicken the dogs will eat the leftovers!

 

[pinoke]

Tonight is bacon-wrapped bbq apple chicken thighs (in the crockpot), white rice to soak up the sauce (with enough rice for homemade fried rice tomorrow), homemade baked kale chips, and extra apple slices. I spent about $3.00/person (6 oz chicken thigh and 1 slice thick bacon per person meat serving, since this is also a hugely variable cost).

Yesterday, I made shredded beef and beer in the crockpot, homemade potato skins (which were topped by the beef and some sharp cheddar), fresh mango, and bagged apple blue cheese pecan salad. I spent about $4/person (lower end beef cut - about 5-6oz per person).[/QUOTE]

Would you be willing to share your recipes? Sounds yummy!
I love using the crockpot~ tonight we just had teriyaki pineapple chicken with rice..

 

[Marionnette]

Wow! I'm always so surprised by how little people can spend on groceries. It's just me and I average about $200/month!

Maybe it's what I eat that drives up the price. These boards make me feel like I'm doing it wrong lol

I definitely think that it's what you eat that drives the price up. You have definite food needs/wants. Nothing wrong with that. But you will pay more when you have rigid dietary guidelines.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

DH does not eat:
Chili, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese as an entrée, most soups, anything with mushrooms or especially cream of mushroom soup, anything with beans, any kind of leftover anything

DH does not like to eat, but I will choke down:
Spaghetti, sloppy joes, hamburger helper

Kids will not eat: Any meat on a bone

So, with the above limitations, I find it very difficult to stick to a $200/week grocery budget - which sometimes includes things like paper towels, tp, baggies, whatever I forgot to get at Target - and is for cooking dinner at home 5 nights per week plus all of us packing lunches and cereal or oatmeal and a somewhat expensive organic premade fruit/veggie smoothie to go along with breakfast for the kids.

My meal plan generally looks like this:

1 - Beef crock pot meal: pot roast with potatoes and veggies or Korean beef, broccoli and rice or corned beef and cabbage / carrots, etc
2 - Tacos (will rotate chicken and beef) with lots of toppings (guac, sour cream, etc) and corn and beans (not DH)
3 - Chicken crock pot meal of some kind (chicken and dumplings, chicken and veggies, BBQ chicken, etc)
4 - OTHER: See "DH does not like to eat, but I will choke down" or maybe BLT's or some other kind of sandwich and a salad. Another one we rotate in here that we all like is Chicken Caesar Salad. In the summer, burgers, sausage or something on the grill.
5 - Fend for yourself (DH will eat cereal or hit the drive thru, the kids will eat soup or leftovers and I usually eat leftovers) or breakfast for dinner night (pancakes or French toast, omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, etc.)

I then budget an additional $50 / per week for:
One night per week we are in the car from 5 pm to 8:45 pm, so we eat fast food. It is what it is!

Saturday night is pizza night which I serve with a salad from home. Occasionally we splurge for Chinese food instead.

So, we spend $250 per week on food and some of our toiletries.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Wow! I'm always so surprised by how little people can spend on groceries. It's just me and I average about $200/month!

Maybe it's what I eat that drives up the price. These boards make me feel like I'm doing it wrong lol

It is more difficult to get budgets lower with less in the family. Our biggest savings come from a large pantry and our ability to break down large purchases of meats into smaller portions and freeze them. I spent more as a single and didn't eat as well.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I tweaked the following recipe (I actually had 2 similar recipes, took what I liked and went with it - this is the closest one and is well reviewed)...tonight, I made it with 6 thighs (and only 1 piece of thick bacon per thigh), my 2 apples were Gala, I added an entire bunch of scallions precut to the bottom of the crockpot, I used some salt/pepper on the chicken before wrapping it, I put only 1/2 cup BBQ sauce in to start, and I removed the chicken and skimmed the grease 1/2 way through (thighs are greasier) and flipped the chicken over and added a little more BBQ sauce (I don't really measure - I go by personal feel - you don't need to do any of what I did - from reviews, just sticking to the simple recipe also turns out good stuff...

Bacon Apple Crock Pot Chicken Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can also be done with a whole chicken or thighs)
2 apples- peeled, cored and grated
1 cup homemade barbecue sauce -or a good premade one
8 pieces of bacon

How To Make:

Wrap each piece of chicken in 2 pieces of bacon and place in bottom of crock pot.
Mix grated apple and barbecue sauce and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 6-7 hours until done.

 

[TwoMisfits]

For my beef and beer, that's my own creation and again it's more a "by feel" recipe, but let me see...

I start with a 2-3lb roast (lower end beef cut). I put one whole onion chopped (or yesterday, a whole bunch of green onions) and some minced garlic (I used preminced stuff, so anywhere from a tsp to TSP depending how you like it) in the bottom of the crockpot. I trim the beef of the obvious outside fat layer, salt and pepper the whole thing and place it in the crockpot. I add some dried rosemary (from my garden - about a TB or so) and some dry thyme (a little less) and then cover the whole thing with a full 12 oz beer (used a porter yesterday, but anything works). Cook for 6-7 hours on low or until it's shreddable. Pull it out to shred and while shredding, add some cornstarch (1-2TB) to some water (or some of the cooking liquid) and add it to the crockpot to thicken the juices (if you didn't trim well or the juice in really greasy, take the time to skim the grease before this step). Once the beef is shredded, add it back to the juices, test you salt and pepper levels, and serve anytime you like. I've done sandwiches with cheddar (and horseradish if you're really motivated, I've done it on baked potatoes, I've done it on the skins...

 

[pigletto]

I just made baked chicken thighs with spices, roast carrots, and pan fried potatoes with onions and spices. DD is a vegetarian but will sometimes eat fish and she had beer battered frozen fish with hers. All said and done with drinks, I would estimate it was about 10 or 12 dollars (made a double batch of chicken thighs) so about $2.75 a person and there are leftovers for one or two people for lunch.
That is one of our cheaper meals. Obviously a meat centered meal is more, and a casserole or breakfast for dinner is cheaper.

I agree with the others that the preferences and dislikes in your budget are what is driving it up. For example I know I could save more if my 9 year old could eat beans/rice etc. But he won't, and I am done trying that one.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I'm a little afraid to find out cost per meal! Chicken breast based dishes start at $9 just for the 1.5lbs organic chicken, ground beef based dishes start at $4.25 for 1lb organic ground beef. I can get 3 meals out of 2 whole organic chickens from Costco, but it doesn't save much over buying breasts as each meal works out to about $7, but I do get lots of yummy homemade stock out of the bones at least! The only dinners that aren't meatcentric is weekly homemade pizza with about 4oz of pizza meats but mostly veggies, and 12oz nitrate free bacon ($4) if we have breakfast for dinner...but then I use $3 worth of organic eggs, lol! It is crazy expensive but the more I know about food, the more I keep upgrading items! I still think we spend way less than those who eat out or buy processed foods, but I do have to spend an incredible amount of time prepping and cooking everything from scratch. I believe I spend $450 a month on groceries only for 4, but I am tracking it starting this month, so we'll see...

 

[pinoke]

I tweaked the following recipe (I actually had 2 similar recipes, took what I liked and went with it - this is the closest one and is well reviewed)...tonight, I made it with 6 thighs (and only 1 piece of thick bacon per thigh), my 2 apples were Gala, I added an entire bunch of scallions precut to the bottom of the crockpot, I used some salt/pepper on the chicken before wrapping it, I put only 1/2 cup BBQ sauce in to start, and I removed the chicken and skimmed the grease 1/2 way through (thighs are greasier) and flipped the chicken over and added a little more BBQ sauce (I don't really measure - I go by personal feel - you don't need to do any of what I did - from reviews, just sticking to the simple recipe also turns out good stuff...

Bacon Apple Crock Pot Chicken Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can also be done with a whole chicken or thighs)
2 apples- peeled, cored and grated
1 cup homemade barbecue sauce -or a good premade one
8 pieces of bacon

How To Make:

Wrap each piece of chicken in 2 pieces of bacon and place in bottom of crock pot.
Mix grated apple and barbecue sauce and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 6-7 hours until done.

Thank you so much- that sounds delicious! I am sitting here on a stormy night with the flu, and planning a WDW trip. That actually sounds like something I would eat right now, and I didn't eat my own crockpot dinner I appreciate you taking the time to share

 

[TwoMisfits]

The chicken recipe is really good (my whole family devours it - I have none left tonight...I forgot to mention my go-to BBQ sauces (when I don't make my own) are Sweet Baby Ray's and Jack Daniel's, but I'm sure using any will work (using what you like is usually the most important thing to making it taste good to you...

 

[MrsPooh]

Thanks for all the responses.

It was interesting to see what everyone serves as well as the average costs. I'm feeling much better. While I am on the higher end our costs don't seem far out of line consider our dining style and preferences.

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

I need some of you guys' recipes! Sounds like I spend in a week and a half what some of you guys spend in a month. I am always looking for budget meals.

 

[DawnM]

It varies.

I think on average I spend between $7-$10 for a family of 5.

Occasionally I splurge and spend more. We love salmon and my salmon meals cost more.

Dawn

 

[way2tyred]

.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I think we spend $125 per week on average. Some weeks could be more or less, it just all depends. I don't have a break down of costs but we usually stick to basically the same things.

I buy organic milk, yogurt, eggs, apples and carrots every time. I add in more depending on sales. I refuse to spend close to my mortgage on food, so I really try to be frugal at the store. I used to spend $250 per week and it took lot of tweaking to get this down. It is me, DH and 3 kids, one is under 2.

We eat a lot of meatless meals as it is healthier for you. I try to buy organic meats when possible but sometimes I refuse to pay for it.

Sample dinners include:
Tacos with various toppings
pasta, salad, bread
homemade pizza night, veggies and dip
Quiche, fruit salad
roasted potatoes and Brussel sprouts with pork loin
soups or chilis with some sort of bread and fruit salad
chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes and green beans or broccoli

It is very basic. I try to splurge and try a new recipe a couple times a month with lots of ingredients that I don't typically do.

We do not eat out hardly at all. There are no good choices in our area, just a bunch of chains so we do not bother. We do Chinese take-out at least once on weekends. I like to have wine and homemade desserts on our take-out night to make it more fun. Take-out night includes a redbox movie for us and the kids. Take-out night is DH's treat. I don't count that in my budget.

I have been married for ten years. The difference in prices is huge.