ChatGPT Prompt for Meal Planning

This prompt helps you create realistic weekly meal plans that fit your dietary needs, budget, and schedule. Perfect for busy families, health-conscious individuals, and anyone tired of the “what’s for dinner?” stress. ChatGPT will build practical meal plans with recipes and shopping lists.

Works Best With: ChatGPT | Also works with: Claude, Gemini, Perplexity

The Prompt

Create a [NUMBER]-day meal plan for my household.

Household details:
– People: [NUMBER OF ADULTS, KIDS, AGES]
– Dietary restrictions: [ALLERGIES, VEGETARIAN, VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, etc.]
– Dislikes: [FOODS TO AVOID]
– Favorite cuisines: [ITALIAN, MEXICAN, ASIAN, COMFORT FOOD, etc.]
– Cooking skill level: [BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED]

Planning constraints:
– Budget: [TOTAL GROCERY BUDGET]
– Time available for cooking: [15 MINS, 30 MINS, 1 HOUR per meal]
– Meal prep preference: [BATCH COOKING, FRESH DAILY, MIX]
– Kitchen equipment: [INSTANT POT, AIR FRYER, SLOW COOKER, BASIC, etc.]
– Leftovers strategy: [LOVE LEFTOVERS, NO REPEATS, REPURPOSE ONLY]

Meal structure:
– Breakfast: [QUICK, SKIPPED, SUBSTANTIAL]
– Lunch: [PACKED, HOME, LEFTOVERS]
– Dinner: [MAIN FOCUS, FAMILY MEALS]
– Snacks: [YES/NO, HEALTHY OPTIONS]

Create a meal plan with:
1. Day-by-day meal schedule
2. Recipe names (with quick descriptions)
3. Ingredient overlap to minimize waste
4. Prep ahead suggestions
5. Organized grocery list by category
6. Estimated total cost
7. Which recipes make good leftovers

Goals: [LOSE WEIGHT, SAVE MONEY, EAT HEALTHIER, SAVE TIME, etc.]

Prioritize realistic, family-friendly meals—no complicated recipes.

When to Use This Prompt

• You’re tired of deciding what to cook every single night
• You want to reduce food waste and optimize grocery spending
• You need meal plans that work with your family’s dietary restrictions
• You want to eat healthier but don’t know where to start

What You’ll Get

ChatGPT will generate a complete day-by-day meal schedule covering all requested meals, practical recipes matching your cooking skill and time constraints, strategic ingredient overlap reducing waste and grocery costs, prep-ahead guidance for time-saving batch cooking, organized shopping list grouped by grocery store sections, estimated total cost helping you stay within budget, and leftover strategy showing which meals work for next-day lunches. The plan is realistic and actually cookable, not aspirational recipes you’ll never make.

Why This Prompt Works

• Time constraints: Specifying cooking time prevents suggesting elaborate meals when you have 20 minutes

• Ingredient overlap: Designing meals that share ingredients reduces waste and shopping trips

• Skill matching: Recipes aligned with abilities prevent frustration and meal failures

• Equipment awareness: Leveraging tools you own (Instant Pot, air fryer) makes cooking easier

How to Customize This Prompt

1. [NUMBER OF DAYS] — Planning period: 3, 5, or 7 days
2. [PEOPLE] — Household size: “2 adults, 1 toddler,” “single person,” “family of 5”
3. [DIETARY RESTRICTIONS] — Requirements: allergies, vegetarian, low-carb, dairy-free
4. [DISLIKES] — Foods to avoid: “no mushrooms,” “kids won’t eat fish”
5. [BUDGET] — Grocery spend: “$100/week,” “$50 for 5 days”
6. [COOKING TIME] — Available time: 15-minute meals vs hour-long recipes
7. [MEAL PREP] — Approach: batch cook Sunday vs cook fresh daily
8. [EQUIPMENT] — Tools available: affects recipe suggestions
9. [LEFTOVERS] — Strategy: love repeats vs creative repurposing
10. [GOALS] — Objectives: weight loss, budget, health, time-saving

Pro Tips

• Seasonal focus: Add “use seasonal produce” for better prices and fresher ingredients

• Flexible substitutions: Request “suggest substitutions for each recipe” for ingredient flexibility

• Nutrition tracking: Ask “include estimated calories and macros” if tracking nutritional goals

• Recipe links: Include “provide links to detailed recipes” for cooking instructions