Cheap Family Meals: A Fortnight of Dinners, Costed per Serve

Cheap family meals can be built on grass-fed beef: this fortnight of 14 dinners works out at about $4.31 a serve in meat before trim, using half-box rump prices checked 18 October 2026.

The plan feeds two adults and two young children, with 12 cook nights and 2 planned leftover nights.

It covers the meat to buy, each dinner with its recipe, the meat cost per serve and a freezer prep day.

Mince, chicken and legume dinners still cost less, and the costings below say so.

How the Two Week Family Meal Plan Works

The plan feeds a family of four for 14 nights from about 7.2kg of AMG grass-fed rump, with two roasts that each cover a leftover night.

It is built on a half box of AMG whole grass-fed rump, 12kg of 100% grass-fed Black Angus from Victorian pasture, with the unused 4.8kg frozen towards the next fortnight.

Portions follow the usual amount of meat per person: about 250g of raw boneless beef per adult and half that per young child, so 750g feeds four. Stir fries and sauced dinners stretch to about 450g.

If you are new to planning family meals around meat, shop for vegetables week by week and let this table set the meat.

Quantities are planning figures from the portion guide, not measured weights. How each rump divides between cap, centre, eye and tail varies, so swap muscles between nights if one runs short.

Week One: Seven Cheap Family Dinners

Week one opens with a roast and its leftovers, then moves through quick strip dinners that stretch 450g of rump across four plates.

Night 1, Rump Roast with Winter Vegetables

Start the fortnight with a Sunday roast from the rump centre, cooked big on purpose. Follow the roast beef rump with winter vegetables recipe, then refrigerate the leftover beef straight after dinner for Night 2.

Night 2, Roast Beef Sandwiches (Leftovers)

Night 2 needs no fresh meat. Slice the cold roast thinly across the grain and build each roast beef sandwich with the salad and sauces your family likes, which makes this the lightest night on the budget.

Night 3, Beef Stir Fry

Thin strips from the tail or centre go a long way when vegetables and rice share the plate. The beef stir fry recipe is built on rump strips, so 450g feeds the four of you.

Night 4, Steak Fajitas

Slice a piece of rump across the grain, sear it hard and pile it into warm tortillas with capsicum and onion. The steak fajitas recipe lets everyone build their own, which helps with fussy eaters.

Night 5, Classic Beef Stroganoff

Rump strips in a creamy mushroom sauce stretch further over pasta or rice than a plain steak can. The classic beef stroganoff recipe already uses rump steak, so it suits this plan without any changes.

Night 6, Thai Beef Salad

A lighter midweek dinner from one seared piece of rump, sliced thin over a crunchy salad, with rice on the side. The Thai beef salad recipe is written for seared rump, so nothing needs swapping.

Night 7, Beef Skewers

Cube the rump tail, thread it onto skewers with vegetables and cook it on the barbecue or under the grill. The beef skewers recipe includes a satay option, and rice or flatbread fills the plates.

Week Two: Seven More Cheap Family Dinners

Week two repeats the pattern with the rump cap as the roast and saves the most tender steaks for last.

Night 8, Roast Picanha with Chimichurri

The rump cap is the second roast of the fortnight, and its fat cap bastes the meat as it cooks. Follow the roast picanha with chimichurri recipe and roast enough for Night 9's leftovers as well.

Night 9, Leftover Roast Beef Night

Planned leftovers again, this time from the picanha, so no fresh meat is needed. Slice it into wraps, toss it through a salad or fold it into pasta, and pick from these ideas for leftover roast beef.

Night 10, Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Strips of rump with plenty of broccoli over rice make a fast weeknight dinner for four. Cut the strips thin and across the grain so they stay tender, then follow the beef and broccoli stir fry recipe.

Night 11, Mongolian Beef

A sticky, savoury sauce over rice turns 450g of rump into a takeaway-style night at home. Slice the strips thin across the grain, follow the Mongolian beef recipe and serve it with steamed greens and plenty of rice.

Night 12, Aussie Steak Sandwiches

Cut thin steaks from the eye of rump, sear them quickly and serve them in rolls with salad. The Aussie steak sandwich recipe shows the full build, and thin steaks keep the meat to 450g.

Night 13, Rump Steak Night

The eye is usually the most tender part of the rump, so save it for a steak night with salad and potatoes. Cook it hot and fast, rest it and slice across the grain, or try other ways to cook rump.

Night 14, Fridge Clear-Out Fried Rice

Finish the fortnight with fried rice made from the last rump strips and whatever vegetables are left. Cold cooked rice fries better than fresh, so cook extra rice earlier in the week and refrigerate it promptly.

What These Cheap Family Meals Cost per Serve

At half-box prices checked 18 October 2026, the meat for this fortnight costs about $241 including a share of delivery, or roughly $4.31 a serve before trim. That is 7.2kg at $31/kg plus 60% of the $30 delivery charge.

Meat cost only, before trim, at Cost Cut Meats prices checked 18 October 2026.

A single 6kg piece falls short of the 7.2kg plan, while the full box is cheapest per kilo and holds enough raw rump for nearly three fortnights if your freezer can take it.

Pairing a whole rump with a rostbiff, the rump centre sold cap off, gives the same 12kg at single-piece prices with less breaking down.

These figures cover the meat only, so add vegetables, rice, pasta and tortillas from your own shopping. Mince, chicken and legume dinners cost less per serve, and Cost Cut Meats does not sell mince or chicken.

Prep Day, Freezer and Leftovers

Portion the rump on delivery day, bag and label each night's meat, and freeze everything you will not cook in the next few days.

Cut the primal into the pieces the plan needs: two roasts, the steak portions and the strip packs. A sharp knife and a clean board make it quick. Label each bag with the night number and the weight, then stack them in order so the next bag is always on top.

Move each bag to the fridge the day before you cook it, so it thaws in the fridge rather than on the bench. Flat, airtight or vacuum-sealed bags freeze and thaw more evenly, and the freezer storage times for meat show how long each cut holds its quality.

Cooked leftovers need the same care. The Food Safety Information Council advises refrigerating or freezing leftovers straight after the meal and using refrigerated leftovers within two to three days, so Night 2 and Night 9 sit inside that window.

Freezer room is the real limit with a half box, so clear a shelf before the order arrives.

Conclusion

Cheap family meals can still be built on grass-fed beef when the meat is planned, portioned and stretched.

This fortnight works out at about $4.31 a serve in meat before trim at half-box prices, with two leftover nights built in.

Our bulk packs and whole primals arrive chilled to every state and territory except the NT.