Weekly meal planner: Easy dinners that won’t break the budget

Weekly meal planner: Easy dinners that won’t break the budget

Keep your bank balance in check with a week of affordable tasty dinner ideas.

Spinach and walnut pesto pasta.

A humble bag of frozen peas adds freshness to this pantry braise.

EASY

Hetty McKinnon's spicy tomato and coconut braised peas

< 30 mins

Contains:

Melissa Leong's mapo tofu.

MEDIUM

Cheat's mapo tofu from Melissa Leong

< 30 mins

Contains:

Chicken salpicao.

EASY

Adam Liaw's chicken salpicao (served with rice)

< 30 mins

Contains:

Hetty McKinnon says frozen spinach is the magic ingredient in this simple vegetarian pasta.

EASY

Spinach and walnut pesto pasta

< 30 mins

Contains:

Barbecued tri-tip with coriander chimichurri.

MEDIUM

Roasted tri-tip with coriander chimichurri

30 mins - 1 hour

Contains:

A simple leaf salad is the perfect partner to just about anything: a bit of salmon cooked in a pan for five minutes, a ...

EASY

Leaf salad with parsley vinaigrette

< 30 mins

Contains:

Mushroom and tarragon toasts.

EASY

Adam Liaw's mushroom and tarragon toast (for brunch)

< 30 mins

Contains:

Blueberry and banana cake.

EASY

Vegan banana and blackberry bread (for afternoon tea)

30 mins - 1 hour

Contains:

One-pot chicken, spinach and orzo stew.

MEDIUM

Danielle Alvarez's lemony chicken and orzo stew (for dinner)

1-2 hours

Contains:

Jill Dupleix's Bourbon BBQ meatloaf.

MEDIUM

Jill Dupleix's bourbon barbecue meatloaf (for dinner) ...

1-2 hours

Contains:

Good green salad with fried-onion vinaigrette.

EASY

... with good green salad with fried-onion vinaigrette

30 mins - 1 hour

Contains:

Everything you need to make the streusel topping can be found in your pantry.

EASY

Hetty McKinnon's pear streusel (for dessert)

30 mins - 1 hour

Contains:

Budget-friendly beans on toast, pictured with pan-fried kale (optional).

EASY

Turmeric spiced butter beans (for the week ahead)

30 mins - 1 hour

Contains: