Meal planner printable
A free weekly meal planner with a grid for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for every day, and space for a shopping list. Plan the week, shop once.
Updated 21 October 2026. Sources named on the page.
- Seven days by four meals, with room to write
- A shopping list area at the bottom
- A4 and US Letter
- Free to print for yourself
Plan meals in the Daily Journal
Print the week, or keep it in the Daily Journal food planner: search a food, pick a serve and see kcal and kJ add up for the day. Free to start.
- Every claim names its study
- Alone, as a couple or with a group
- Private by default
What is on the sheet
- Seven days by four meals, with room to write
- A shopping list area at the bottom
- A4 and US Letter
The picture shows the A4 meal planner printable. The US Letter version has the same layout.
How to use it
Write dinners first, then lunches, then the rest. As you plan, list what you need to buy at the bottom. Planning the week before you shop makes it easier to use what is already at home.
A tip
Plan a few meals you can repeat and leave gaps for leftovers or eating out. It is a planning aid, not a diet, and it gives no advice about what you should eat.
Plan a week in about five minutes
Start with the nights you already know: the late finish, the night out, the leftovers night. Then fill the remaining dinners with meals you can cook without a recipe. Lunches and breakfasts can repeat; they do not need to be different each day.
Cook once, eat twice: plan a dinner that gives you lunch the next day, and mark it on the grid so you do not buy for it twice.
From plan to shopping list
Use the space beside the grid to write the shopping list. Go through each meal, write what you need, then check the fridge and the pantry and cross off what you already have. That last step is where most of the saving is.
Group the list by where things are in the shop, so one lap does it.
When you want it automatic
A paper grid cannot scale a recipe or add the list for you. The Daily Journal has a printable planner and a Plan screen today, and the meal planner and grocery list pages show what a full planner could do.
Questions
Is this a diet plan?
No. It is a blank planner. It gives no advice about what to eat.
How do I find my calories?
Use the calorie calculator for an estimate for healthy adults.
How many meals should I plan?
Plan the ones you will actually cook. Many people plan dinners and let breakfast and lunch repeat.
Can it save money?
Planning before you shop helps you buy only what you will use, which tends to cut waste. The size of the saving depends on you and what you buy.
Can I plan for a family?
Yes. Write the number of people next to each meal and scale the shopping list to match.
Keep going
Tools that go with this page
Each one shows an example screen, what the paid apps charge and what the Daily Journal does today.
Pomodoro timer
Journal appKeep going after the meal planner
Sign up free for the Daily Journal app: habits, food, mood and sleep in one private place. Free to start.