Sainsbury's meal plans, with the list
12 real weeks of meals at 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 kcal, each with the Sainsbury's list priced, from £2.93 a day of food. Standard, high protein, vegetarian and vegan. Susten's planner made every week to keep the cost low, and wrote the Sainsbury's list with each product and its price.
Every Sainsbury's meal plan
Each week has breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, and snacks where the calories call for them. Pick your calories and diet to see the week, each day's macros and the Sainsbury's list.
1,500calories a day
£2.93a day of food
£44.94 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,492-1,574
- Protein a day
- 74 g
£4.67a day of food
£51.38 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,466-1,528
- Protein a day
- 109 g
£3.32a day of food
£44.04 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,486-1,557
- Protein a day
- 74 g
£4.61a day of food
£62.31 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,501-1,619
- Protein a day
- 74 g
2,000calories a day
£3.88a day of food
£53.69 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,969-2,132
- Protein a day
- 100 g
£6.16a day of food
£55.48 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,919-2,069
- Protein a day
- 145 g
£4.17a day of food
£51.08 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,983-2,112
- Protein a day
- 99 g
£4.67a day of food
£58.60 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 1,986-2,112
- Protein a day
- 99 g
2,500calories a day
£5.64a day of food
£63.36 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 2,465-2,586
- Protein a day
- 123 g
£8.07a day of food
£78.58 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 2,415-2,549
- Protein a day
- 186 g
£5.39a day of food
£58.75 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 2,494-2,618
- Protein a day
- 125 g
£6.50a day of food
£61.06 for the week's shop
- Calories a day
- 2,504-2,631
- Protein a day
- 124 g
What a cheap week costs at Sainsbury's
Across the 12 weeks, the food the meals use comes to £5.00 a day on average. A standard week's food comes to £2.93 a day at 1,500 kcal, £3.88 at 2,000 kcal and £5.64 at 2,500 kcal. The cheapest list to buy is the 1,500 kcal vegetarian week at £44.04, and the dearest is the 2,500 kcal high protein week at £78.58.
With the budget on Keep it low, Susten picks value products first. Here those are Sainsbury's value range, Stamford Street Co. They make up 87 of the 687 lines across these lists, and Sainsbury's own brand makes up 503 more. These are the value products the most weeks buy:
- Stamford Street Co. 1kg Wholegrain Rolled Oats12 of 12 weeks
- Stamford Street Co. Cauliflower9 of 12 weeks
- Stamford Street Co. Grated Cheddar 500g6 of 12 weeks
- Stamford Street Co. Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce 400g6 of 12 weeks
- Stamford Street Co. Garlic Granules 70g6 of 12 weeks
How Susten works with Sainsbury's
- 1
Tell Susten about your week.
Your goals, your diet and how you like to cook. Pick Sainsbury's as your supermarket, and Keep it low for the budget if cost matters most.
- 2
Susten plans it and writes the Sainsbury's list.
Each ingredient becomes a real Sainsbury's product in the right pack size, with its price. Items you might already have, like spices and oil, sit in a group of their own.
- 3
Add it to your Sainsbury's basket.
Each item opens on sainsburys.co.uk, or in the Sainsbury's app on a phone. A week's shop takes about three minutes. Susten doesn't fill the basket or book a slot yet.
The same weeks at Tesco
Susten priced each week again at Tesco, with the same meals. Sainsbury's was cheaper for 6 of the 12 weeks.
| Plan | |  |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500 kcal standard | £44.94 | £44.01 |
| 1,500 kcal high protein | £51.38 | £52.41 |
| 1,500 kcal vegetarian | £44.04 | £42.46 |
| 1,500 kcal vegan | £62.31 | £59.93 |
| 2,000 kcal standard | £53.69 | £54.66 |
| 2,000 kcal high protein | £55.48 | £53.86 |
| 2,000 kcal vegetarian | £51.08 | £45.02 |
| 2,000 kcal vegan | £58.60 | £59.63 |
| 2,500 kcal standard | £63.36 | £67.39 |
| 2,500 kcal high protein | £78.58 | £80.29 |
| 2,500 kcal vegetarian | £58.75 | £52.59 |
| 2,500 kcal vegan | £61.06 | £65.16 |
The Tesco meal plans are weeks of their own, planned at Tesco.
How these lists keep the Sainsbury's shop down
Every week here was planned with the budget on Keep it low and the cooking on most nights, with leftovers. These are the numbers behind the Sainsbury's lists.
71 of 168lunches and dinners are leftovers
Susten cooks most nights and serves a dinner again within the days it keeps in the fridge. One cook feeds two meals from the same packs.
£27.27of cupboard items a week, kept apart
Spices, oils and stock go under "You might already have", 18 items a week on average, and stay out of the shop's total. Buy them once and they keep.
£15.73of fresh food left over a week
Whole packs leave some fresh food unused. On Keep it low, Susten counts it when it picks the week's recipes. These weeks leave £11.42 to £20.01 over.
£1.83off a week with Nectar prices
Sainsbury's had a Nectar price on 3 items a week on average. Turn on Nectar prices in Susten and your list uses them. Across the 12 weeks they took £21.90 off.
The most protein for your money at Sainsbury's
These are the 10 Susten recipes with the most protein per £1 across both shops, ranked here at Sainsbury's. Each has 30 g of protein or more in a Medium portion, priced at Sainsbury's cheapest products listed between 15 and 18 October 2026.
| Recipe | Protein | Cost | Per £1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiled Eggs on Toast | 37 g | £0.66 | 56.0 g |
| Lemon & Herb Chicken with Baby Potatoes | 40 g | £0.86 | 46.8 g |
| Tuna Mayo Sandwich | 37 g | £0.85 | 43.4 g |
| Egg, Bean & Cheddar Breakfast Quesadilla | 38 g | £1.24 | 30.4 g |
| Herb-Crusted Air Fryer Chicken | 58 g | £2.03 | 28.4 g |
| Chicken Tagine with Fennel & Apricots | 41 g | £1.49 | 27.6 g |
| Tuna Melt Muffins with Melted Mozzarella | 40 g | £1.45 | 27.3 g |
| Chilli Mac & Cheese | 42 g | £1.58 | 26.5 g |
| Pesto Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Wrap | 36 g | £1.36 | 26.4 g |
| Toasted Rice & Pork Larb | 39 g | £1.52 | 25.5 g |
High protein on a budget ranks every recipe this way. Every Susten recipe shows its calories, macros and Tesco price.
Questions about meal planning at Sainsbury's
A good week starts with one decision, not seven.
Answer a few questions. Susten plans your first week.
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