Whole-food, scratch-cooking meal plan
Cut back on ultra-processed food and get back to basics with this scratch-cooking meal plan, featuring traybakes, pasta dishes, vegetarian curries and more
Looking to cut down on ultra-processed foods and incorporate more whole, minimally processed ingredients into your diet? To help you cook more homemade meals, we've created a 7-day scratch-cooking meal plan. These dinner recipes put whole foods centre stage, making brilliant use of wholegrains, legumes, chicken, fish, yogurt and veg, so they're perfect for healthy and hassle-free cooking.
For more information on ultra-processed food, see our read our guide what is processed food?, and for more simple meal ideas, see our whole food recipes, five-ingredient freezable dinners and five-ingredient budget meal plan.
Find more cost-effective meal plans in our meal plan hub.
Sunday: Double bean & roasted pepper chilli
Set aside some time on Sunday to cook this warming vegetarian chilli for the family. It's a low-fat, healthy option that packs in the veggies and flavour. It's a storecupboard winner too, using up cheap kitchen basics such as tinned beans, chopped tomatoes and spices. It serves up to eight, plus it's freezable, making it a great option for batch-cooking.
See more vegetarian chilli recipes.
Monday: Spinach, sweet potato & lentil dhal
Counting for three of your 5-a-day, you can't wrong with this iron-rich, low-fat, low-calorie dhal. A comforting vegan one-pot, it's packed with feel-good ingredients you’re likely to have in your storecupboard. Add fresh ginger and chilli for extra kick.
Discover more dhal recipes and vegan one-pots.
Tuesday: Chicken with crushed harissa chickpeas
Need something speedy for Tuesday dinner? Try this chicken, coated in flavourful za'atar and served with harissa-spiced chickpeas, spinach and parsley. It's simple but seriously delicious, packed with herbs and spice as well as plenty of veggies. The best part is that it can be ready in just 15 minutes.
See our most popular chicken recipes for more weeknight inspiration.
Wednesday: Sardine tomato pasta with gremolata
Topped with a simple gremolata, with added nutrients thanks to the sardines, this wholemeal tomato pasta dish makes a healthy dinner that's low on calories and high in fibre. It's budget-friendly, with a short ingredient list, plus it's tailor-made for busy weeknights – rustle it up in just 15 minutes.
Add more sardine recipes to your repertoire.
Thursday: Paneer chilli con carne
Try this twist on chilli con carne for an easy veggie dinner. It's gluten-free, healthy and high in fibre, served on quinoa instead of rice for extra protein. Unlike wheat or rice, quinoa is a complete protein, containing all nine of the essential amino acids.
See our quinoa recipes for more ideas on how to use these nutrient-packed seeds.
Friday: Spiced salmon & tomato traybake
Enjoy this healthy spiced salmon and tomato traybake for a quick and easy Friday night supper. Mild madras curry paste adds flavour and complements the salmon, a nutritionally dense oily fish which is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Though it looks impressive, it only takes 30 minutes to make, plus the oven does most of the work. Serve with naan bread and lemon wedges.
Read about the health benefits of salmon.
Saturday: Chicken & new potato traybake
Roast chicken thighs and new potatoes with green olives, lemon wedges, garlic and bay leaves for a lazy yet flavourful weekend dinner. Chicken thighs are a budget staple, as they're cheaper than most cuts of meat. This recipe is also testament to how a few simple ingredients can lift a simple dish to new heights. Serve with watercress or your favourite salad leaves on the side.
Take a browse through more chicken traybake recipes.
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