Free ALDI Meal Plan week of 3/1/20 – 3/7/20

It’s your easy weekly ALDI meal plan for the week of 3/1/20: Pick up everything on the shopping list below, then start cooking on Sunday. As always: Six complete dinners for four, $60 out the door!

*** Subscribe to the weekly ALDI meal plans here ***

Some super-quick Finds fun first:

So… Are ALDI and Trader Joe’s related?

Ever wondered how ALDI and Trader Joe’s are related, or what’s up with the persistent myth that the two stores are owned by the same company? Here’s the truth behind the relationship, plus a brief rundown on: What’s the difference between ALDI and Trader Joe’s.

OK, so $30 seems like a pretty good deal to me for a single serve coffee maker that takes both K-Cups and ground coffee — right? More of my favorite ALDI Finds of the week here!

ALDI Meal Planning week of 3/1/20 – 3/7/20

I’m assuming that you have on hand some pantry basics like cooking oil, common condiments, and spices. *** Read through the recipes before you shop, to make sure you have the necessary pantry staples on hand for this week’s ALDI menu plan; see a summary in the printable grocery list below.

Print your meal plan summary + grocery shopping list below this week’s detailed plan.

Six Easy Dinners from ALDI for $60.00

ALDI Meal Plan — Start cooking 3/1/20

Sunday: Simple roast chicken + vegetables. (Throw a couple of large potatoes in the oven to bake, too, then refrigerate them for tomorrow’s side dish.) Have some cut up oranges on the side.
Monday: Black bean, chipotle, & spinach frittata with super seasoned pan fried potatoes.
Tuesday: Chicken burrito bowls (use 1 lb chicken), topped with chopped green onion & avocado. Have the rest of the oranges on the side.
Wednesday: Chicken & asparagus stir fry and garlic green beans, served over cooked white rice. Cook up a double batch of rice tonight; reserve and refrigerate 4 cups cooked rice for Friday’s recipe.
Thursday: Slow cooker honey chipotle BBQ chicken sandwiches. On the side: Mix 1/2 cup salsa w/ 1 cup sour cream, & use this as a dip for the tortilla chips. Also have buttered peas & carrots (reserve 1 cup peas and 1 medium carrot for tomorrow’s recipe). To make this, chop the carrots and saute them in a large skillet in 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat until crisp-tender. Stir in peas and 1/2 cup broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until most of the broth has evaporated & veggies are tender. Salt & pepper to taste, adding additional seasonings if desired.
Friday: Easy shrimp fried rice plus egg drop soup (try wilting the rest of the spinach into this at the end, for an extra punch of color, flavor, & nutrition).
Saturday: Leftovers, family pizza night (ALDI sells nice big take-and-bake deli pizzas), eat out, or date night.

ALDI Shopping List — Shop through 2/29/20

Dairy & refrigerated

Dozen Goldhen eggs, $.98
16 oz Friendly Farms sour cream, $1.49
8 oz block Happy Farms cheddar cheese, $1.65
Happy Farms deli sliced provolone, $1.99

Frozen

16 oz Season’s Choice peas, $.95

Grocery

L’Oven Fresh hamburger buns, $.89
Fusia soy sauce, $1.59
Burman’s BBQ sauce, $.95
3 lbs Earthly Grains long grain white rice, $1.99
2 boxes Chef’s Cupboard chicken broth, $2.58
Casa Mamita organic chipotle lime salsa, $2.29
2 cans Dakota’s Pride black beans, $.96
Pueblo Lindo chipotles in adobo, $.99
Simply Nature beet tortilla chips, $1.99

Meat

5 lb whole chicken, $4.75
5.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, $8.87
12 oz Fremont Fish Market medium peeled shrimp (frozen), $5.49

Produce

4 lbs navel oranges, $1.99
Bunch green onions, $.69
2 lbs carrots, $1.49
8 oz mushrooms, $1.89
1 lb asparagus, $1.49
1 lb green beans, $1.69
8 oz bag spinach, $1.39
3 lbs yellow onions, $1.89
3 heads garlic, $1.29
5 lbs large baking potatoes, $2.29
Pint grape tomatoes, $1.89
2 avocados, $1.58

That comes to: $59.97.

Or, maybe less…! These meals will likely run you even less if you supplement this week’s ALDI purchases with clearance meat you already have in your freezer, pantry staples you picked up on sale, produce you already have on hand, and/or sale produce from your local produce market. Let me know if you give it a try.

Printable ALDI meal plan & grocery list

Download this week’s printable ALDI shopping list and meal plan in Word format. (If you don’t have Word, open this in Google Docs or Wordpad.)

Edit and add in your own meal ideas, remove items you already have on hand, change regional pricing to match your own store, etc. *** The day(s) next to each item show which meals use each ingredient, so that you can easily see what to delete from the shopping list if you’re skipping a night.

Things to know about the ALDI meal plans

A couple of notes

1. I try not to repeat main dish recipes more often than once a month, but you will see favorite easy recipes again in these weekly ALDI meal plans as the same meats and produce items come up again on sale. Part of the fun of meal planning lies in mixing old stand-bys with something new each week.
2. If one or more of these recipes isn’t to your taste, or if you have other ingredients to use, adapt the recipes in this ALDI meal plan to your family’s preferences. Or, just use the ideas here to supplement your own meal planning! See: Pantry staples to stock up on and how to modify a meal plan for your family.

** Ad markets & dates

This week’s ALDI meal plan reflects prices from the current week’s ad (running 2/23-2/29 in Sunday ad markets, and 2/26-3/3 in Wednesday ad markets). Non-advertised prices are from my local store in the Chicago suburbs, but non-advertised prices and produce deals *may vary* by location & region. In either ad market, shop any time through Saturday and start cooking on Sunday 3/1/20.

Stay in the ALDI meal planning loop

More ways to stay connected:

• Subscribe here to receive weekly email messages about new ALDI meal plans — no spam, just get email notifications about new plans.
• Browse all of the weekly ALDI meal plans here *** Note: prices may have changed since originally posted.
• Come over and join us on Facebook in the Almost All ALDI group, as well as in the Hot Deals group.

Happy ALDI shopping & cooking this week! If you find this meal plan useful, why not share it with your friends on Facebook so they can save money with ALDI meal planning as well? 🙂

Resources for meal planning + ALDI shopping

Let’s close things out with just a few resources to help you out with your meal planning and ALDI shopping:

• Almost All ALDI — for more ALDI goodness, ALDI finds, reviews, and more.
• Master list of meal planning resources
• Come join us in the Almost All ALDI Facebook group for recipes, meal planning ideas, ALDI food finds, and more.
• Get cash back for ALDI shopping with cash back offers on the Ibotta app (search “ALDI” at the top of the app, if you can’t find it in the store list) and through the Fetch Rewards app.
• Pick up a pack of meal prep containers, & pack up any dinner leftovers for easy weekday lunches!
• Cute & handy ALDI quarter keepers.
• Check out my Amazon shop for some of my favorite useful items for your own meal planning. Also useful: Two pack insulated grab bag totes, or two pack clip to cart bags.
• Almost All ALDI, the eBook.
• How fun are these ALDI themed t-shirts I have for you guys?!

Lastly: You can always access your current regional ALDI ad here.