A short grocery list is a cheap grocery list. This week of healthy dinners uses only a few ingredients, just 10 main ones, and each one shows up in several meals, so nothing sits in the fridge waiting to be thrown out.
The seven dinners cost about $0.75 to $2.25 a serving at Walmart and ALDI prices. Every one is built from chicken or turkey, eggs, brown rice and vegetables, with the spices you already own.
Below the recipes, you’ll find how to prep once for the whole week and the best order to cook them in, so the most perishable ingredients get used first.
The 10 Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s your entire grocery list:
- Chicken breast
- Ground turkey
- Eggs
- Brown rice
- Sweet potatoes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Cherry tomatoes
- Garlic
- Olive oil
Pantry staples (not counted): salt, pepper, paprika, Italian seasoning, chili flakes.
Prices are from Walmart’s and ALDI’s websites for stores in Columbus, Ohio, checked in October 2026. Ohio’s grocery prices are within about 1% of the national average, so you may pay more or less depending on where you live, and prices change often. Here’s how we price our recipes.
7 Healthy Dinner Recipes
1. Garlic Chicken & Roasted Sweet Potato Bowls
Protein, fiber and vegetables in one bowl, with roasted sweet potatoes doing most of the work.
How to make it:
Roast cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, garlic, and paprika at 400°F until tender. Pan-sear diced chicken breast with garlic and seasoning. Serve over brown rice with a handful of fresh spinach.
Time: 40 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $7.03 from Walmart, $6.26 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.56 to $1.76
2. Turkey & Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes filled with garlicky turkey and spinach. Filling, and almost all hands-off.
How to make it:
Bake whole sweet potatoes until soft. Meanwhile, cook ground turkey with garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach until wilted. Slice potatoes open and stuff generously.
Time: 1 hour (10 minutes of prep) · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $7.37 from Walmart, $6.48 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.62 to $1.84
3. One-Pan Chicken, Broccoli & Tomatoes
Everything roasts on one sheet pan, so there is only one thing to wash.
How to make it:
On a sheet pan, toss chicken breast chunks, broccoli florets, and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Roast at 400°F for 20–25 minutes.
Time: 35 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $9.01 from Walmart, $8.28 from ALDI · Per Serving – $2.07 to $2.25
4. Savory Turkey & Rice Skillet
A quick skillet that uses up leftover brown rice.
How to make it:
Cook ground turkey with garlic. Add cooked brown rice, chopped spinach, and halved cherry tomatoes. Stir until everything is warm and well combined.
Time: 20 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $4.81 from Walmart, $4.88 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.20 to $1.22
5. Sweet Potato Egg Hash
Breakfast for dinner, and the cheapest night of the week.
How to make it:
Sauté diced sweet potatoes in olive oil until golden and tender. Add garlic and spinach, then crack eggs directly into the pan. Cover and cook until eggs are set.
Time: 35 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $3.44 from Walmart, $3.05 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.76 to $0.86
6. Garlic Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry
A fast stir-fry with garlic, broccoli and a little heat from chili flakes.
How to make it:
Sauté chicken strips in olive oil with garlic. Add broccoli and cook until crisp-tender. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Serve over brown rice.
Time: 25 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $6.97 from Walmart, $6.57 from ALDI · Per Serving – $1.64 to $1.74
7. Tomato Spinach Egg Scramble Bowls
Ready in 15 minutes for the nights when you need dinner right now.
How to make it:
Scramble eggs in a skillet with garlic, spinach, and cherry tomatoes. Serve over warm brown rice with a drizzle of olive oil.
Time: 15 minutes · Serves: 4
Cost: Ingredients – $3.92 from Walmart, $3.77 from ALDI · Per Serving – $0.94 to $0.98
Why This Works
Planning around a short list helps in a few ways:
- Less waste: Every ingredient gets used multiple times
- Budget-friendly: No specialty items required
- Time-saving: Prep once, cook faster all week
- Healthy balance: Protein, fiber, and veggies in every meal
Prep Once, Cook Faster All Week
- Cook one big pot of brown rice. Five of the seven dinners use it. Cool it quickly and refrigerate what you’ll use in the next few days, then freeze the rest.
- Portion the meat. Raw chicken and ground turkey should be cooked within a day or two of buying them. Freeze what you won’t use by then and thaw it in the fridge the night before.
- Wash the spinach and mince the garlic. Both go into almost every dinner, so doing them once saves time on each night.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes. They keep for weeks in a cool, dark spot, so they can wait for later in the week.
The Best Order to Cook Them In
Use the ingredients that spoil fastest first and save the long keepers for the end of the week.
- Early in the week: the fresh chicken and turkey dinners, along with most of the spinach and tomatoes.
- Midweek: dinners made with the chicken or turkey you froze and thawed, such as the stir-fry.
- End of the week: the sweet potato egg hash and the egg scramble bowls. Eggs and sweet potatoes hold up the longest.
Free Printable: Weekly Meal Planner and Grocery List
Want to plan your own week this way? This free planner has room for what needs using up, seven dinners and a grocery list sorted by store section.
Weekly Meal Planner and Grocery List
Two pages: a dinner plan for the week and a grocery list sorted by store section, with room for prices. Free, with no sign-up needed.
See all of our free printables.
10-Ingredient Dinner Questions
Can I swap the proteins?
Yes. Chicken thighs work anywhere chicken breast is used, and ground chicken or lean ground beef can stand in for the turkey. For a meatless night, use black beans or chickpeas.
What if my family doesn’t like sweet potatoes?
Use regular potatoes or cubed butternut squash. The cooking times are close, and the seasoning doesn’t need to change.
Do these dinners work for packed lunches?
The rice bowls, the turkey and rice skillet and the stir-fry all reheat well. Cook a double batch and pack the extra for the next day.
