9 Favorite Free Meal Planning Spreadsheets for 2024

According to CNBC, more people are going into debt to buy groceries. Meal planning and spreadsheets to the rescue!

Meal planning is one of the most proven ways to save money. Spreadsheets are an excellent free tool for organizing your meals for the upcoming week, two weeks, or even a month ahead.

Using spreadsheets to plan your meals can potentially save you thousands per year.

Here is a curated selection of meal-planning spreadsheet templates created by budgeting experts to get you started today.

1 – Automated Meal Planning Spreadsheet 

Meal and Grocery List Planning Spreadsheet

Look no further if you are looking for a geeky, .csv-exportable, all-out spreadsheet.

Provided by IdeallySheets, this meal planning spreadsheet allows you to do it all.

You can store recipes. Organize and sort your meals. Auto-populate your shopping list according to what meals you choose.

As it feels tedious to write out meals ingredient by ingredient the first time, it’s completely worth the time and stress you’ll save over the first few months alone.

This curated spreadsheet will end up doing the heavy lifting for you. 

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2 – Shopping List by Aisle Spreadsheet

Meal Planning Spreadsheet Template by Zero Waste Memoirs

This spreadsheet, built by Nadine at Zero-Waste Memoirs, allows you to meal plan and plan your trip to the grocery store by listing products by aisle. 

No more wandering the store or doubling back!

This system is simple, and as we know, there’s a lot of power in simplicity!

This sheet won’t build itself for you like the previous example above, but it will keep you organized as you head to the produce section.

• Open the Google Spreadsheet

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3 – Nutrition Tools Spreadsheet via Reddit

This incredible spreadsheet includes the following sheets:

• Ingredient List
• Recipe List
• Daily Stats
• Calorie Breakdown
• Pantry List
• Grocery List

You can read details about how the Nutrition Tools Spreadsheet works and why it was created here on Reddit. Bonus – there’s also a fitness tracking spreadsheet!

• Open the Nutrition Tools Spreadsheet in Google Sheets

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4 – Nutrition-Based Meal Planning Spreadsheet

Meal prep spreadsheet to track macros, nutrition, and spending

Head to Reddit to find a meal-planning spreadsheet that tracks your nutrition. 

This spreadsheet doesn’t just track your diet, though. It also breaks down your cost-per-meal and calculates the total prep time. How thorough!

• Preview the Excel spreadsheet in Google Drive

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5 – Monthly Meal Planner Spreadsheet (Plus Shopping Checklist)

Monthly Meal Planner Spreadsheet (Plus Shopping Checklist)

One of my biggest struggles when I meal plan is forgetting to do the prep work in the morning. Anyone else?!

I love that Kalyn Brooke includes a section specifically for prep work on her meal planning spreadsheet.

She has a simple setup that allows you to plan your food out over an entire month,  creating even more efficiency with spending!

• Open the Google Spreadsheet

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6 – Comprehensive, Yet Simple Meal Planning Spreadsheet

Menu Planning

If you want a meal plan spreadsheet that can help you organize your meals by calories and macros, store your shopping list, and store data about when to buy and use the ingredients in your cabinet–you have the brilliant option above created by r/EatCheapAndHealthy.

Also, speaking of organizing, check out Why I Made a Shopping List Template (Organized by My Trader Joe’s Layout) | The Kitchn via The Consumerist which organizes your shopping list by your grocery store layout!

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7 – Keto Meal Planner Templates

Stanford Keto Group Meal Planner Google Spreadsheet

If you’re following a Keto lifestyle, you know planning meals is rather complicated. Here are two free Keto meal planning spreadsheets that make it proficient to track fat, protein, calories, and other intakes. 

• Stanford Keto Group Meal Planner Google Spreadsheet
• Ketogenic Meal Planner Google Spreadsheet

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8 – 3 Tab Meal Planner

If you’re new to spreadsheets or don’t like dealing with too many variables, this simple, esthetically pleasing tool is your best friend. 

Easily pull up your weekly planner, grocery list, and save your favorite meals to enhance what’s on your plate and save more in your wallet.

• Lamberts Lately – Simple Meal Planner

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9 –  Low/Emergency Budget, Various Diet Template

If you’re seeking a meal plan that incorporates low/emergency budget lifestyles, and various diets and nutrition protocols, Meal Plan Masterlist designed by the talented  r/budgetfood is the plan for you. 

Enjoy hundreds of recipes and 30 7-day meal plans, while you’re always sure to know the cost per recipe!

Share your favorite meal-planning template!

Have you found ways to save money on food, through planning or other methods? 

If so, thank you for sharing them in the Tiller Community.

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FURTHER READING & ADDITIONAL SPREADSHEETS

• Free meal planning kit from Joyce Zahariadis of My Stay at Home Adventures 
• Printable Shopping List Template (Organized by Trader Joe’s Layout) via TheKitchn.com
• How I Use Google Sheets for Meal Planning via The Kitchn
• Excel Weekly Meal Planner from Contextures
• Weekly Meal Planner for Excel from Microsoft Office
• Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day  – Top-rated book