5 Weeknight Dinner Ideas for $50 | Drew Barrymore’s #5for50Challenge

Check out these 5 family-friendly weeknight dinner ideas using inexpensive pantry ingredients.

Could you create 5 weeknight meals for $50?! I’m up for the challenge.

Having a meal plan for the week including a grocery list sure makes life run smoother! Everything feels a bit more organized and manageable when we know what’s for dinner ahead of time. Keeping a family fed each evening can sometimes feel overwhelming, so here is some great meal inspo you can take and run with this week.

If you love easy and affordable meals like me, this post is for you! Check out these 5 delicious weeknight meal ideas your family will love, plus the grocery list to shop from or print!

It’s Drew Barrymore’s #5for50Challenge!

She’s encouraging people to try making 5 meals under $50. I’m always up for a challenge when it comes to creating budget meals. If Drew Barrymore is involved, then heck yes I am in. Are you? I am a huge fan of her Beautiful by Drew Barrymore line of kitchen items for Walmart!

In fact, my Beautiful brand 8-quart slow cooker and 6-quart air fryer are two of my most used and LOVED kitchen tools! They are both easy to use, are of nice quality, and look pretty sitting out on my counter. The gold handles are a nice aesthetic.

Drew Barrymore’s pieces of cookware are also helpful for weeknight dinner ideas.

I highly recommend checking out the gorgeous enamel 6-quart Beautiful Dutch oven that I have as well. It’s great to make comforting soups, stews, and roasts. The shape is unique and I have been impressed with the quality and high-end look at an affordable price point.

If you’re looking for a large all-purpose nonstick saute pan, I am loving the Beautiful 5.5-quart ceramic pan. It’s perfect for creating easy skillet weeknight dinner ideas such as fajitas! This pan is oven-safe up to 500 degrees and has a nice quality die-cast lid.

My Walmart+ membership makes weeknight dinner ideas easier than ever!

I’ve maintained a Walmart+ membership for years now because you cannot beat the grocery delivery aspect for meal planning. I just use the app to order all the ingredients I need for recipes and it shows up at my door! What a great time-saver.

I am so busy with work and my kids’ sports, sometimes we default too often to take-out food. Walmart helps me stay on track with meal planning by making it so easy to order groceries! I am much more likely to get dinner in the slow cooker in the morning for a homemade meal later on.

Print this list and let’s get to cookin’ our weeknight dinners!

I’ve done all the prep work for ya on this simple yet tasty meal plan! Simply shop through the links or print your grocery list and grab your ingredients for the week. Even better, you may already have lots of these grocery staples on hand so be sure to shop your pantry first.

As far as the meals being under $10 each, I am counting the main ingredients and not pantry staples like seasonings, oil, butter, etc.

Note that prices may vary slightly by location. The prices of the meals below are adjusted to reflect the amount of the ingredients used. For example, the cost reflects the price of 1/4 cup of bread crumbs versus the entire container. 

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1. Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Warm up a bowl of this hearty chicken chili with beans, green chiles, and corn. It has lots of delicious flavors, with minimal effort of simply popping all the ingredients into the slow cooker.

Cost of recipe: $9.83 via Walmart.com

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken thigh meat, cut into one-inch pieces
• 2- 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 4 oz. can green chiles
• 15.5 oz. can black beans, rinsed, & drained
• 11 oz. can of sweet corn, undrained
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced 
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro *optional topping

Recipe Directions

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2. Sausage, Green Beans, & Potatoes One-Pot Dinner

Get a warm and comforting meal on the table in a snap with this yummy sausage and potato dish. It has a buttery broth, and the sausage seasons the potatoes and green beans nicely, for a delicious stew-like meal from the Dutch oven.

Cost of recipe: $10.02 via Walmart.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds red potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, or to taste
• 12 oz. fresh green beans, trimmed
• 12 oz. packaged smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth

Recipe Directions

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3. Everything Bagel Seasoned Chicken Tenders

Everyone’s favorite bagel seasoning featuring dried garlic, onion, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds gets tossed with panko-style breadcrumbs for the ultimate crunchy chicken tenders. You can make these in the air fryer or the oven for convenience!

Cost of recipe: $8.92 via Walmart.com

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3/4 cup panko style or traditional breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup everything bagel seasoning
• 2 pounds raw chicken breast tenderloins
• 2 eggs
• coconut oil spray
• sliced celery and carrot crudites as a side dish

Recipe Directions

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4. Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs

Turn an ordinary bag of frozen meatballs into tender slow-cooked cranberry glazed meatballs with lots of sweet and savory flavor! They make a delicious meal served over rice with a steamed veggie. This actually makes closer to 6 servings in my opinion. We had leftovers so it makes up for being a little over budget! 

Cost of recipe: $11.58 via Walmart.com 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 32 oz. frozen pre-cooked meatballs (or make your own)
• 14 oz. can cranberry sauce
• 12 oz. chili sauce
• fresh broccoli crown
• 4 servings white rice, cooked

Recipe Directions

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5. Skillet Chicken Fajitas

Zesty chicken fajitas are a cinch to make using a skillet on the stove! This idea takes such little time and effort, and yet the results are filling and delicious.

Cost of recipe: $9.39 via Walmart.com

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1.5 pounds fresh chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 3 bell peppers, any color, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• juice from one lime
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of pepper
• tortillas for serving

Recipe Directions

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Shop the Drew Barrymore Beautiful line of cookware and appliances and let’s get cooking!