Dollar General vs Walmart: 3 Budget Meals, One Surprising Price
We recently discussed how lots of families live in small towns and don’t have access to a lot of choices when it comes to grocery stores. I have noticed that more and more these same smaller or rural towns do have a Dollar General, so I wanted to make a 3 Dinner Meal Plan with all items found there!
I honestly thought this would be harder than what it was. Dollar General actually had a good selection of pantry basics and a decent amount of refrigerated/frozen items. I based my items at a regular Dollar General, and not a DG Market since those are not as commonly found. (Of course the items I picked may or may not be at every location and that is honestly similar to Walmart too.)
Our total at Dollar General came out to $25.30 for a total of 14 items. To give you an idea of how that compares at Walmart, the total at a Super Walmart came out to $26.24. So, I would say, I was very impressed with how this came out!
3 Meals for Under $30 – Grocery Items Needed
Unfortunately, I can’t do a shoppable list at Dollar General, but I did do one for Walmart!
If you want to see the full shopping list on Walmart in your area, all you have to do is click my Walmart Grocery list and change the zip code to your area. *This is an affiliate link, and I do make a small commission on any purchases, but at no additional cost to you!*
**** Please note, that every once in a while, an item that I pick turns out to be regional. This means that it may be a much higher price in some areas. Always double check the list and if you see an item that is much higher than normal, just adjust as needed.
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Pea & Pasta Pilaf
Who says you can’t do “fancy” at DG or Wally? This super simple meal is quick and easy, plus you can easily switch out the Lemon Pepper to any seasoning you love!
Skillet Chicken Mac & Cheese
Mac and cheese is always a classic, and really easy to make from scratch too! This fun dish also adds in chicken and broccoli for a true one pot meal! (Of course, if your little ones are picky, you can keep it separated too.)
One Pot BBQ Sausage & Rice Skillet
What can I say… I love easy meals that just take one big pan! Less clean up and low effort are great bonuses too! I gave a range for the BBQ sauce and the water because not everyone loves a ton of BBQ sauce flavor. So, you will want to adjust your water based on your BBQ sauce. If you add more BBQ do less water, and less BBQ means more water. On average you want a total of about 2 cups of liquid!
Possible Variations
I love easy adaptable recipes, so these 3 definitely apply this week! Of course you can always swap veggies to whatever suits you, but you can do that with the proteins as well.
Don’t have chicken breasts? That’s fine you can use chicken tenderloins, chicken thighs, etc. Don’t eat pork? You could easily swap this out to chicken sausage or even just use ground turkey or ground chicken.
Feel free to adjust this mini menu to what will work best for you and your family.
Free Printable List & Recipes
Here is a 1-page cheat sheet that includes the grocery list as well as all the recipes you need to make this budget mini menu work!
Don’t forget to check out our full week menus, as well as join our email newsletter for more fun and affordable meal ideas!
