I made 5 Aldi meals for £25 and I couldn’t believe it

Why you ask? Mainly because I’ve managed to cut the cost of my weekly food shop dramatically, from around £130-£150 to £70-£80, all while still eating my favourite dishes, with high quality ingredients and flavour.

Crispy honey chilli chicken, spicy garlic chicken noodles, creamy garlic chicken with buttery mushrooms and spinach, the list goes on.

But since the budget-friendly supermarket (which was crowned the cheapest in the UK last month) became my go-to, I’ve been searching on social media for recipe ideas, as Aldi does tend to stock different fridge and cupboard staples to what I was used to, compared to the likes of Tesco (change is good every now and again of course).

History of Aldi

This is when I came across endless TikTok videos from foodie content creators, sharing dinner (or tea, depending on where you are) inspiration for Brits, specifically around ‘five family meal ideas for £25’.

In the last few months, I’ve been loosely following this format to try and save even more money on my weekly shop, and due to the recent rise in petrol prices because of the Middle East war, I really do thank my past self.

However, until this week, I hadn’t actually worked out how much I was spending on main meals in my household, so for all I knew, this £25 hack could have been another ridiculous TikTok myth.

So, after work one day, I headed to my local Aldi, armed with nothing but a list of ingredients (and my favourite giant reusable cockapoo bag) to make five dinners for both me and my partner.

In total I bought 14 items from Aldi (Image: Molly Court/Newsquest)

Could I really be about to perform a shopping miracle?

I spent £25 at Aldi for 5 meals to feed 2 adults and this is what I got

Firstly, I want to disclose that this shopping list didn’t include cooking essentials such as butter, garlic, oil, stock, salt, pepper and spices (included in most of these recipes) as I feel these items are what many households are stocked up on most of the time, or don’t all need to be bought every week.

For this week’s main meal ideas (all of which I have tried and tested numerous times and can confirm are incredibly delicious), I chose:

Sausage, mash and carrots

• Pack of Lincolnshire pork sausages – £2.49
• Bag of baking potatoes for mash – £2.09
• Carrots – 69p

Stuffed pizza and Italian side salad

• Pepperoni pizza with stuffed crust – £2.29
• Italian salad – 69p

I’m fussy about pizza but I don’t mind the ones at Aldi (Image: Molly Court/Newsquest)

Cheesy bacon loaded baked potatoes

• Bag of baking potatoes – using the same bag bought for the mash
• Thick cut smoked bacon – £1.79
• Mature cheddar cheese (400g) – £2.49

Creamy paprika chicken with rice and buttered green beans

• Pack of chicken breasts (1kg) – £6.49
• Long grain rice (two packs) – 98p
• Green beans – 85p
• Single cream (300ml) – £1.09

See the full recipe on TikTok.

Creamy mozzarella garlic butter chicken pasta

• Pack of chicken breasts (1kg) – same pack bought for the creamy paprika chicken
• Grated mozzarella bag – £2.19
• Penne pasta (500g) – 69p
• Single cream (300ml) – using the other half left over from the creamy paprika chicken

See the full recipe on TikTok.

So, what did the total come to for all of the above? A drum roll please…

A very satisfying £24.82.

In all honesty, I was truly stunned that this food shop came under £25, and I think the marvellous Aldi employee on the tills could vouch for that, after seeing my over-the-top delighted (but strange) reaction.

This is something I’m certainly going to stick with going forward, and I hope to find even more budget-friendly meal ideas along the way so I don’t get bored and fall back into old bad habits.

I couldn’t believe how buying only the ingredients I needed (by sticking to my shopping list with a budget), made me use up what I already had in the fridge and cupboard at home, from sauces to left over tomatoes.

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You really can make the most of what you have got when you force yourself, all while stopping food waste at the same time.

However, I do think the cost and amount of food for five dinner options is just enough for two people, so I think families with children or more than two adults would struggle to eat fulfilling meals for £25 these days.

Do you have any handy shopping tips and tricks to help households save money on their weekly food shops? Let us know in the comments below.