How to make a weekly menu
Three full weeks, fourteen meals each, with the grocery list that goes with them, sorted by aisle. You can copy them as is, or use them as a starting point. At the end, the method for building your own.
This page explains the method. If you're looking for a ready-made menu for your situation, check out our weekly menus: 1 to 6 people, budget, quick, balanced or vegetarian, each with its 14 meals and its grocery list.
"What's for dinner tonight?" That question rarely costs you cooking time. It costs you decision time, every day, at the worst moment: at 7 p.m., tired, in front of a half-empty fridge. Planning your meals for the week doesn't change what you cook, it changes when you decide. Fourteen micro-decisions made in a rush become one single decision made calmly, with ten minutes to spare.
What it gets rid of is very concrete: the quick midweek grocery runs, the backup meals you buy because there was nothing left, and the veggies you find wilted at the bottom of the crisper on Sunday. The three menus below are planned for 4 people, lunch and dinner. For two, halve the fresh quantities and keep the canned and dry goods: they'll come in handy the following week.
Balanced family menu
The go-to menu, the one that works when there are kids, different tastes and nobody who wants to cook two dishes. Nothing exotic, nothing long. It's the base for the other two.
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Lentil salad with cherry tomatoes and feta | Roast chicken, baby potatoes, green beans |
| Tuesday | Chicken wraps, raw veggies, lemon yogurt sauce | Zucchini and potato gratin with parmesan, green salad |
| Wednesday | Zucchini and feta omelet, green salad | Spaghetti bolognese |
| Thursday | Baked pasta bolognese | Chickpea and sweet potato curry, basmati rice |
| Friday | Veggie and egg fried rice | Baked salmon fillet, crushed potatoes, broccoli |
| Saturday | Homemade croque-monsieur, green salad | Homemade ham and parmesan pizza |
| Sunday | Pork roast, oven-roasted potatoes and carrots | Homemade vegetable soup, cheese toasts |
The grocery list
This week's groceries
- 2 kg of potatoes
- 800 g of baby potatoes
- 4 zucchini
- 500 g of green beans
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 kg of carrots
- 1 sweet potato
- 250 g of cherry tomatoes
- 2 heads of lettuce
- 3 yellow onions
- 1 red onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 lemon
- 2 kg of seasonal fruit
- 1 whole chicken (~1.4 kg)
- 500 g of ground beef
- 1 pork roast (~800 g)
- 4 salmon fillets
- 8 slices of ham
- 150 g of parmesan
- 200 g of feta
- 12 eggs
- 200 g of shredded Gruyère
- 1 L of milk
- 25 cl of crème fraîche
- 8 plain yogurts
- 250 g of butter
- 250 g of green lentils
- 1 can of chickpeas (400 g)
- 500 g of spaghetti
- 250 g of short pasta
- 500 g of basmati rice
- 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
- 1 can of coconut milk
- Tomato paste
- Curry paste
- 1 pizza dough
- Vegetable broth
- Olive oil
- 1 loaf of sandwich bread
- 2 baguettes
- 8 flour tortillas
Why this menu works
Monday night's chicken becomes Tuesday lunch's wraps. The opened zucchini and feta end up in Wednesday's omelet. Wednesday night's bolognese is made in a double batch and comes back baked on Thursday lunch. Thursday night's rice is cooked extra for Friday's fried rice. The parmesan bought for the gratin goes on Saturday's pizza. And Sunday night's soup uses up everything that's left. The result: five groceries used twice, and an empty crisper on Sunday.
In winter: zucchini → leeks, green beans → cauliflower, cherry tomatoes → cooked beets.
Vegetarian menu
No meat or fish, but with enough protein that you're not hungry at 10 p.m.: legumes, eggs and fresh cheese at almost every meal. No processed meat substitutes.
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Quinoa Buddha bowl, roasted chickpeas, grated carrots, tahini sauce | Red lentil dal with coconut milk, basmati rice |
| Tuesday | Fried rice with crunchy veggies and egg | Chili sin carne (kidney beans, bell peppers, corn), couscous |
| Wednesday | Chili sin carne tacos, salad | Cauliflower gratin, green salad |
| Thursday | Creamy cauliflower soup, garlic croutons | Pasta with zucchini, ricotta and lemon |
| Friday | Herb omelet, tomato salad | Sweet potato and spinach curry, rice |
| Saturday | Green lentil, beet and feta salad | Homemade ricotta and spinach pizza |
| Sunday | Zucchini and goat cheese tart, salad | Vegetable soup, soft-boiled eggs, toast |
The grocery list
This week's groceries
- 1 kg of carrots
- 1 large cauliflower
- 4 zucchini
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 300 g of spinach
- 2 heads of lettuce
- 4 tomatoes
- 2 cooked beets
- 4 onions
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 piece of ginger
- 2 lemons
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 2 kg of seasonal fruit
- 250 g ricotta
- 200 g of feta
- 1 log of goat cheese
- 18 eggs
- 200 g of shredded Gruyère
- 1 L of milk
- 20 cl of cream
- 250 g of butter
- 250 g of quinoa
- 500 g of basmati rice
- 250 g of red lentils
- 250 g of green lentils
- 500 g of pasta
- 250 g of couscous
- 2 cans of kidney beans
- 2 cans of chickpeas
- 1 can of corn
- 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans of coconut milk
- 1 jar of tahini
- Flour (for the gratin's béchamel)
- Curry paste
- Cumin, paprika
- Vegetable broth
- 1 pizza dough
- 1 shortcrust pastry sheet
- Olive oil
- 2 baguettes
- 8 flour tortillas
Why this menu works
Monday night's rice is cooked in a double batch for Tuesday's fried rice. Tuesday's chili is made for two meals and comes back as tacos on Wednesday. The gratin's cauliflower becomes Thursday's creamy soup. The ricotta opened on Thursday ends up on Saturday's pizza, with Friday's leftover spinach. Two cans of chickpeas, two of kidney beans, and everything else is fresh. Sunday night's soup soaks up whatever's left in the crisper.
In summer: cauliflower → eggplant, spinach → Swiss chard, creamy soup → gazpacho.
Budget menu
The menu for when the "groceries" line has to fit a tight budget. Two meats in the week, lots of legumes and starches, and a big soup made on Monday that comes back twice.
| Day | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Carrot and lentil soup, cheese toasts | Spaghetti with tomato sauce and bacon |
| Tuesday | Tuna and corn pasta salad | Potato and ham gratin |
| Wednesday | Potato and onion tortilla | Homemade fried rice (eggs, peas, ham) |
| Thursday | Vegetable soup, croque-monsieur | Sausages with lentils |
| Friday | Lentil salad with mustard vinaigrette | Homemade quiche Lorraine, green salad |
| Saturday | Leftover quiche, green salad | Chili con carne, rice |
| Sunday | Roast chicken, oven-roasted potatoes and carrots | Vegetable soup, chicken toasts |
The grocery list
This week's groceries
- 3 kg of potatoes
- 1.5 kg of carrots
- 2 leeks
- 1 celery stalk
- 5 yellow onions
- 1 red onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 head of lettuce
- 2 kg of seasonal fruit (apples, bananas)
- 1 whole chicken (~1.4 kg)
- 500 g of ground beef
- 400 g of bacon lardons
- 4 sausages
- 10 slices of ham
- 18 eggs
- 200 g of shredded Gruyère
- 40 cl of cream
- 1 L of milk
- 250 g of butter
- 500 g of spaghetti
- 500 g of rice
- 500 g of green lentils
- 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
- 1 can of kidney beans
- 1 can of corn
- 1 can of tuna
- 1 can of peas
- 1 shortcrust pastry sheet
- Tomato paste
- Broth
- Mustard
- Cumin, paprika
- Oil
- 1 loaf of sandwich bread
- 2 baguettes
Why this menu works
Monday's big pot of soup covers three meals (Monday lunch, Thursday lunch, Sunday dinner): that's the week's real money saver. Monday night's pasta becomes Tuesday's pasta salad. The gratin potatoes turn into a tortilla on Wednesday, and the opened ham goes into the fried rice that night. Thursday's lentils come back as a salad on Friday, Friday night's quiche shows up again as leftovers on Saturday lunch, and Sunday lunch's chicken ends up on toast that night. Two meats, seven reuses.
In summer: leeks → zucchini in the soup, potato gratin → zucchini gratin.
The 4-step method
The three menus above will never fit you exactly, and that's fine: they're there to be tweaked. Here's the logic for building one from scratch, in ten minutes.
Open the fridge before the recipe book
Half the menu is already decided by what's hanging around in the crisper and the pantry. That half cabbage and the open bag of rice are two meals you don't have to invent or rebuy.
Set your constraints before the dishes
The nights you get home late, lunches at the office, Sunday dinner at your parents'. A menu that ignores your schedule gets ditched by Tuesday.
Chain your ingredients
Every fresh item you buy should be used twice. It's the one rule that cuts both your budget and your waste, and it's the one that shapes all three menus on this page.
Write the list in store order
Not in recipe order. It's the difference between one loop and six trips back and forth; see the next section.
Keep what you need to throw together two meals (pasta, eggs, a can of tomatoes) for the night when nothing goes as planned. Without that, takeout becomes your wildcard.
Organizing your grocery list by aisle
A list written recipe by recipe makes you cross the store six times, and gives you that many more chances to grab stuff you didn't plan on. A list sorted by aisle takes one single loop. Same content, half the time.
- Produce: first, because it's where you dither the most, and your cart is still empty.
- Meat & seafood: fresh stuff that sits on top of the veggies without crushing them.
- Dairy: right after the fresh section.
- Pantry: canned goods, pasta, rice, spices. The heaviest stuff goes at the bottom of the cart.
- Frozen: second to last, so they spend as little time as possible at room temperature.
- Bread: dead last, so it doesn't get squashed under everything else.
Prefer paper? Our printable meal plan comes with its grocery list already sorted by aisle, produce first.
From your menu, the list comes out already grouped by aisle, in that order, with quantities added up. Create my meal plan
The 5 mistakes that make people ditch a menu
- Planning seven ambitious dishes. A weekly menu isn't a restaurant menu. Three slightly fancier dishes, four simple ones, and the rest made from leftovers: that's the pace that holds up over time.
- Forgetting the nights you won't cook. Thursday night out, the Saturday game. Those slots get filled with leftovers, not a recipe.
- Writing the list in recipe order. You'll buy the same onions twice and forget the cream.
- Ignoring the pantry. No need to rebuy that open bag of rice. Taking stock takes two minutes and cuts the bill every single time.
- Not planning for leftovers. Without their own slot in the meal plan, they end up in the trash on Sunday. A soup or a gratin at the end of the week fixes that, and that's why all three menus end that way.
Have it generated automatically
The three menus on this page are written by hand, with the chaining logic spelled out each time. Popotam applies that same logic to your constraints: your budget, what you don't eat, the number of servings, and what you've already eaten in previous weeks so the same dishes don't keep coming back.
Two ways to do it, your call. Either Popotam generates it itself in one click, or your free AI (Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude) does the work and Popotam tidies up the result. Either way, you get the week's meal plan and the grocery list sorted by aisle. No account, no ads.
And if redoing this every week gets old, Popotam can do it for you: it preps your next week all by itself, on the day you pick, without you having to open anything.
Frequently asked questions
Ten to fifteen minutes the first time, five after that. Most of the time goes into checking the fridge and writing the grocery list, not picking dishes. It more than pays off over the seven evenings that follow.
Nope. If you eat lunch at the cafeteria or out during the week, only plan dinners and weekends: nine meals instead of fourteen. Planning meals that won't happen is the number one reason people give up.
Make one shared dish and a variation, never two dishes. A meatless chili with ground beef added from a separate pan, pasta with two sauces. The base is the same, and the constraint only touches one element.
The savings don't come from the menu itself, but from what it gets rid of: quick grocery runs, backup meals bought in the evening, and veggies thrown out at the end of the week. Chaining your ingredients, on the other hand, directly cuts how much you buy.
Give them their own slot in the meal plan, instead of hoping to fit them in along the way. A soup, a gratin, a quiche or fried rice on Sunday night soaks up pretty much anything. All three menus on this page end on that idea.
Yes, and that's exactly what Popotam does: the prompt is prepared with your constraints and your history, then Popotam generates the menu itself or lets your own ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini account handle it. The result comes back as a meal plan and a list sorted by aisle. All the work you just read about, in a few minutes.