Ten dinners from one supermarket shop

Buy pack combinations that meet or exceed these totals. For example, three 500 g pasta packets cover the pasta allocation and leave 300 g unassigned. That surplus is pantry stock, not an eleventh dinner already accounted for. Check seasoning quantities against what is in the cupboard; a nearly empty jar does not cover five meals.

Water from the kitchen is the only unlisted ingredient required. Cheese, stock, sauces, onion and fresh herbs are not hidden requirements. Add optional toppings to the shopping list if you want them.

Cook these ten dinners

For each dinner, use its oil and garlic allocation plus the herbs or spices listed above. Drain and rinse the pulses. Cook frozen vegetables according to their pack instructions, and prepare the pasta, rice or couscous as directed. The steps below describe how to assemble each meal; they are not measured cooking-time promises.

1. Make lentil and vegetable tomato pasta

Use 400 g pasta, two tins lentils, one tin tomatoes and 400 g mixed vegetables. Warm the tomatoes with garlic, mixed herbs and oil, then add the lentils and cooked vegetables. Loosen with a little water if needed and toss through the cooked pasta. Keep some pasta separate if someone prefers the sauce alongside.

2. Spoon cumin chickpeas over rice

Use 300 g rice, two tins chickpeas, one tin tomatoes and 400 g cauliflower. Simmer the tomatoes with cumin, garlic and oil, adding water for a spoonable sauce. Fold in the chickpeas and cooked cauliflower and heat through. Serve over freshly cooked rice, leaving the cauliflower in distinct pieces rather than mashing it.

3. Toss a herby chickpea couscous bowl

Use 300 g couscous, two tins chickpeas and 400 g mixed vegetables. Prepare the couscous with garlic and mixed herbs added to its water. Fluff it, then fold through the oil, heated chickpeas and cooked vegetables. Serve the components separately if mixed bowls are unpopular at your table.

4. Stir spinach and lentils through pasta

Use 400 g pasta, two tins lentils, one tin tomatoes and 400 g spinach. Combine tomatoes, garlic, mixed herbs and oil in a saucepan. Add the lentils and cooked spinach, stirring to distribute the spinach. Toss with pasta, adding a little pasta cooking water if the mixture is too thick.

5. Build mild bean rice bowls

Use 300 g rice, two tins kidney beans, one tin tomatoes and 400 g mixed vegetables. Heat the beans and tomatoes with cumin, sweet paprika, garlic and oil. Serve over rice with the cooked vegetables alongside. This version keeps the plate’s components separate and does not require wraps, salsa or sour cream.

6. Pan-finish cauliflower and chickpea couscous

Use 300 g couscous, two tins chickpeas and 400 g cauliflower. After cooking the cauliflower, drain it well and turn it in a wide pan with oil, cumin and garlic. Add the chickpeas and heat through. Spoon over fluffed couscous, keeping this dinner free of tomato sauce for a change of texture.

7. Make a chunky lentil pasta soup

Use 400 g pasta, two tins lentils, one tin tomatoes and 400 g spinach. Start with tomatoes, garlic, mixed herbs and oil, adding water to make a soup base. Add lentils and cooked spinach, then stir in separately cooked pasta. Adjust the water gradually: the full pasta allocation makes this a substantial, chunky soup rather than a thin broth.

8. Mash beans into a thick rice topping

Use 300 g rice, two tins kidney beans, one tin tomatoes and 400 g mixed vegetables. Heat the beans with tomatoes, cumin, sweet paprika, garlic and oil. Mash about half the beans against the pan to thicken the mixture. Fold in the cooked vegetables and spoon over rice. It uses dinner 5’s ingredients but changes the texture and brings everything together.

9. Make vegetable couscous with crushed chickpeas

Use 300 g couscous, two tins chickpeas and 400 g mixed vegetables. Heat the chickpeas with oil, garlic, mixed herbs and a splash of water, then roughly crush them with a fork. Spoon them over prepared couscous and cooked vegetables. Leave some chickpeas whole if you prefer more bite.

10. Finish with chickpea, spinach and cauliflower rice

Use 300 g rice, two tins chickpeas, one tin tomatoes, 200 g cauliflower and 200 g spinach. Simmer the tomatoes with cumin, garlic and oil. Add chickpeas and the cooked vegetables, loosening with water as needed. Serve over rice. The two smaller vegetable allocations finish the quantities assigned in the list.

Change the menu before changing the trolley

If three couscous dinners are too many, replace one 300 g couscous allocation with the dry amount of rice your household normally uses for four portions. Write the extra rice and reduced couscous on the list immediately. Make the same adjustment when removing a meal: cross out its two pulse tins and other allocations so you do not buy ingredients for a dinner you have cancelled.

Ten meals’ worth of tins is a substantial load to carry. Check how you will get the shop home before committing, particularly if you walk or use public transport. If freezer space is the limiting factor, revise the vegetable choices and quantities against the replacement products before shopping.

After cooking, note which dinners need larger portions and which repeated flavours became tiring. Keep the combinations your household wants again; a four-week rotating family dinner plan explains how to build those favourites into a reusable schedule.

Next step: choose your portion sizes, check the freezer, then copy the list with existing supplies crossed off.

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