Free Printable Grocery List and Meal Planner
This free printable grocery list template and meal planner will help you get organized while saving you time and money at the store! Take this shopping list with you for an organized grocery trip!
You know I love all organizing printables. But if you forced me to pick my very favorite, I’m pretty sure that my grocery list printable would be it.
The grocery list template holds a special place in my heart because it was the first one I ever created and used myself! With as much as I adore it, I figured it would be pretty selfish to keep it all to myself. So of course I’m sharing both versions with you as well!
Free Printable Grocery List Template and Meal Planner
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
You see, I happen to be just slightly neurotic about my grocery list.
I used to just write it down on a piece of paper like a normal person. But when I realized that I was walking back and forth across the store multiple times to get the items I needed in different aisles, I began breaking my list into categories. This allowed me to easily see what I needed from each section of the store.
Soon after that, I realized that I could just make a printable version and wouldn’t have to rewrite all of my categories all the time. (Plus it would be prettier, too. 😉 ) And my grocery list printable was born!
Start your grocery list by meal planning.
The first thing I always do when I go to make a grocery list is to plan out our dinners for the next week or two. This helps me to fill out the rest of my list more quickly and easily.
I know meal planning isn’t for everyone, but it has been a total time and money saver for me. We throw away much less food, and there’s never rarely the panic of “What am I going to make for dinner?!”
So when I was creating my shopping list printable, I was sure to add in some boxes for meal planning right on the same page.
An Extra Fast Meal Planning Strategy
Recently, I figured out a way to make meal planning go even faster. Rather than doing all sorts of research and coming up with a new set of meals every week, I instead started planning our dinners by category.
To do this, I established a consistent weekly routine for our meals.
Meal Plan Example
- Monday– CrockPot Meal
- Tuesday– Taco Tuesday
- Wednesday– Pasta Night
- Thursday– Soup & Sandwiches
- Friday– Homemade Pizza
- Saturday– Grilling
- Sunday– Breakfast for Dinner
There are enough variations from each category that we don’t get bored. (On Mondays we could have spicy chicken in the CrockPot or a roast in the CrockPot or a CrockPot casserole. On Tuesday, we could have actual tacos or we could do enchiladas or quesadillas, etc.)
I purposefully chose categories that would easily accommodate the food preferences/ allergies/ sensitivities of all of the members of our family. We have had a whole lot less complaining at dinnertime!
When I started streamlining my meal planning process by category, instead of spending what felt like hours planning, I could finish in about three minutes! Now I call that a serious win!
Add grocery list items when meal planning is complete.
Since we have the same general foods for breakfast and lunch every day, I can just add those to my list. I also add in any snacks, as well as household items that may be running low.
Then, using my meal plan as a reference, I can go through and add all of the ingredients I’ll need to make my planned dinners. So simple!
The One-Week Grocery List
I used to grocery shop each week, so my first free printable grocery list only had space for one week of meal planning. If you are a once per week shopper, this is the list for you!
The Two-Week Grocery List
Eventually I read the book Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half by Steve and Annette Economides. They only do their grocery shopping once a month. And they share amazing tips for saving money in many areas of life, but particularly at the grocery store.
While I haven’t gone to once-a-month shopping yet, I did move my grocery trips to once every two weeks after reading their book. And therefore, I needed a two week list to accommodate my new routine.
I’m sharing that one with you as well!
Whether you grocery shop every week or once every two weeks, we have an organized grocery list and meal plan that can work for you!
Why use a grocery list template and meal planner?
Because I go into the store with an organized plan, I save money by only buying what we need for the next few weeks. And I save time since I know exactly what I need from each section of the store.
One day recently, I was in a rush and decided to run into the store without creating my list first. I overspent. I ended up with a hodge-podge of ingredients that didn’t really go together well. And I had to go back to the store a few days later because I had forgotten so many items. Going in with an organized plan is a must!
This grocery list template and meal planner is such a simple tool, but it really is one of the printables I use most in our day to day life! I hope it will be helpful for you as well!
Free Printable Grocery List Templates: Frequently Asked Questions
More Planning Printables
I’d love to hear your best tips and tricks for saving time and money at the grocery store! Drop them in the comments below!
Happy planning!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Great printables! I started meal planning this year and it definitely gets easier to plan for two weeks. I just have trouble with the non meal items: drinks, snacks, breakfast to go items. I end up running out before my two weeks. Part of the problem is the fiancé is a snacker and he blows through it so darn fast! I keep telling him, “that’s all we have for two weeks.” Does he listen? Haha!
Thanks, Bethany! I had the same problem with our snacks! I started storing them out of sight in the back of the extra pantry instead of on top of the fridge in plain view, and *miraculously* they seem to last longer. {Hopefully my boys won’t read this and find out my secret! Ha!} Thanks so much for reading!
~Abby =)
Thank for the lists. They will come in handy. I too have a small kitchen, but am able to shop once or every two months even. I have a large freezer (besides the one with my fridge) so I am able to make ahead and freeze meals instead of using up my cabinet space.I can cook, freeze and stack MANY meals just on one shelf. So even before I bought my large freezer, I could still get several meals in my freezer in the fridge. Also, I freeze everything! I buy several bags of chips to last a month or two and freeze them. Saves me space in the cabinet. I freeze tons of stuff. Never had any problems with anything. Thanks again for sharing your lists.
Freezing chips?! You may have just opened up a whole new world to me, Miss Lucy! Thanks for the ideas! A chest freezer is definitely on my wish list so I can maximize storage. Someday! 😉 Thanks for visiting the blog!
~Abby =)
Meal planning is the only way to go. Saves time and money. If everyone knows what is for dinner, then anyone 🙂 can cook. I work full time out of the home so it is great to be able to leave the sitter directions to get dinner started. This way dinner is only 30 minutes away when I walk in the door. The weeks where I do not get a chance to meal plan or grocery shop and we are just taking it day by day are the most stressful weeks.
I totally agree, Kathy! It is so nice not to have to scramble at dinnertime each night. I like the concept of “anyone” cooking… 😉 Thanks for visiting the blog!
~Abby =)
OMG, I have been dreaming up this list (the one on top) for a long time, and I’ve never seen anyone create it until now! I do not like to plan out breakfast and lunches, but rather have a list of things we can choose from. But, I like to plan out dinners because I can plan the type of meal that need for that day (crockpot, quick and easy, etc). Thank you so much!
Miss Kayla, your comment just made my day! You are so sweet! Thank you so much for visiting the blog!
~Abby =)
I echo your uber Type A analysis. I, however, respect and admire that! I am in the middle of overhauling my grocery lists, and this was a ton of good info.
Visiting from IHeartOrganizing.
LOL! The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? So maybe I’m on my way… 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, Jen!
~Abby =)
Hi Abby!
You are AMAZING!!!! My Husband always wants to know “WHAT ARE WE HAVING FOR DINNER!” This way he can just look on the LIST. Good Idea!
Thank You for Sharing!
Thank you, Vicki! Glad I could help! Thanks so much for reading!
~Abby =)
I love this — thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you! And thanks for stopping by the blog!
~Abby =)
Hi Abby,
I do something similar with my grocery list, except I have the items we regularly already typed in. That way I don’t forget to get milk because I just check it off on my list! This has mostly eliminated the extra trips.
I do have a question about shopping every two weeks: what do you do about fresh fruit and veggies, and even milk? I shop once a week mostly because of these kinds of highly perishable items.
That’s a great idea, Kim! I might have to start typing in my staples… 🙂 As far as perishable items go, I do a couple different things. I try to plan my meals in such a way that we use the things that have the shortest shelf life first, then move through to the ones that will last longer. I freeze some produce. You can even freeze milk, though I haven’t gone that far. Danielle from Blissful and Domestic has a wonderful post about how she does fresh fruits and veggies, and she only shops once a month: https://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/2012/07/fresh-produce-on-budget.html
I haven’t gotten THAT good yet. 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by the blog! It was great to connect again after so long!
~Abby =)
I LOVE these printables! I would love for you to share this at my link party “Organize My Life” that opens every Monday night. Stop on by https://maryorganizes.com!
Thanks so much for the invite, Mary! I linked up! Hope you have a great week!
~Abby =)
I love your organized shopping list – functional and pretty! Thanks so much for linking up at Organize My Life! -Mary
Thanks for inviting me to share, Mary! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
Awesome printable. I can’t wait to try it. I plan to get a bunch bound into a spiral notebook!
Thank you, Karin! Great idea with the spiral notebook. Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day!!
~Abby =)
Just saved and printed out a copy! Hopefully the printable will help me streamline my grocery sopping! Thanks!
Thanks, Lauren! I hope the printable is helpful. Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
I love the printables. I used to go grocery shopping every two weeks but started to go every week and set a weekly budget. This seems to workout better for my family. They get the snacks for the week and I meal plan and buy what I need for the meals. I then buy the other things like milk and essentials. I was throwing away too much food doing it every two weeks and my veggies and fruits would be wasted quicker. I still like the printable and will use it weekly!
I wish I had your knack for printables! These are so nice and it does help with organizing and planning. I would spend more time making them than actually using them, so I am glad to get some great ones here! Thank you!
So glad they are helpful, Elizabeth! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
Thank you so much for this post and of course the awesome FREEBIE printables. I have not tried meal planning but hopefully this will start me in the right direction.
I love the idea of having a mni version of the menu on the list. Often I get to the store and realize I never completed the list and I’m missing at least one day’s meal ingredients and can’t remember what I planned. At least if I had the menu there, I’d be sure to figure out the primary ingredients I need to make it even if I don’t have them all written down on the shopping list itself!
Good morning, Abby! I just wanted to say I LOVE all of your printables and blog. I am working on your challenge and am SOOO thankful for all of the advice, tutorials, printables and most of all confidence to be able to do what I have been wanting to do for a very long time but didn’t know quite where to begin:) I am really thankful for you:) Unfortunately, I am happy problems printing off the grocery list. Idk if it is my printer or what is going on but I am definitely trying to print that one. Groceries are a HUGE financial issue in our home and this would definitely help me stay on track:)
Thanks again for everything! You are wonderful!
I like printables, too! I made a grocery list a few years ago that was organized by my favorite grocery store aisles. I listed the common items under each header, highlighted what I needed that week and then could zoom through the store.
Thanks sooooo much for this printable shopping list! I actually would do this sort of outline with pen and paper each time I would make my grocery list so this is going to be a great timesaver for me now. Every second counts in day so a few saved will add up over time! Keep the great ideas coming! Thanks again!
Thank you!! So helpful and inspiring.
I totally need this in my life!! Thanks for the freebie!
Thank you. This list is perfect. I always write my list based on the layout of the store. This is a great compliment to my get in and get out tactic.
How did I not know that I needed this in my life? I’ve been doing this by hand for years and I’ve always just shopped for what I needed – so meal planning first, and grocery planning never… This is definitely going to make that whole process a lot easier – thanks so much for sharing!
Love this grocery list! I do all of the meal planning, and the hubs does the actual shopping. (Who knew we could save so much money by sending the “Don’t-Deviate-From-the List” guy to the store??) We tried a grocery shopping app and (gasp!) my tech-loving husband texted me in a panic because the digital grocery list had “too many categories and didn’t make sense!” Ha! I’ve been handwriting it for months now.THIS printable is a game changer. 🙂
I will be trying this printable for the first time with my handwriting wife and I am so tech-loving! I hope this works out best than my categories in my app.
Good luck! 🙂
~Abby =)
Thank You so very much!!!!!
I’ve tried to meal plan and go to the grocery store once every two weeks but can’t manage it. How do you keep produce fresh for 2 whole weeks? I take sandwiches for lunch to work & buy boars head meat which lasts 7 days max. How do people do this?
Hi, Lucy! We try to eat things in the order that they would go bad. 🙂 So that helps us make the most of our fresh fruits and veggies. We actually live right next to a little farm, so I will stop in there sometimes in between major grocery trips if we run out of the fresh stuff. And we’re big fans of leftovers for lunches, so we just cycle through whatever we have in the fridge for that. I hope this helps!
~Abby =)
I love your meal planning/grocery list. When I decided to try a bullet journal I made a page for my grocery store isle numbers and the ingredients in each isle. I starting meal planning which is a great tool, but at the grocery store I found myself going back and forth over the store for the things I needed.. Your grocery list is the Best meal planning/grocery listing I’ve come across. One page does it all! It makes so much sense.
In the shelves box, I number the lines for the isles of the store and use the store isle list in my bullet journal to write in each line what I need on that isle. One trip across the store saves me time and irritation when I have to backtrack. Also, in the second column under the household column, I add “Deli / Bakery.”
Abby, thank your for this well organized grocery list. It is the best list on the Internet, and I’ve looked at plenty and tried many.
Yay! So glad it has been helpful for you, Sandra! <3
~Abby =)
Abby, How do you organize your coupons. I use to use a binder, but it is big and clunky. Now I am using a purse organizer with dividers and sub dividers for months so I can track when they expire. I need to get re inspired. I bought the book you read. I need to cut my grocery bill and continue to eat healthy.
Hi, Tuhana! Honestly, I am not much of a coupon user myself, and when I do use them, I typically do a digital version. I know many stores are offering digital coupon programs now, typically through an app on your phone. Could you switch to digital for coupons that are offered that way and just use the paper system for the ones that aren’t? That may help save some space!
~Abby =)
I love the categorized shopping list. I have been doing this by hand for years. I have physical challenges and by having the list in categories I am assured to make the most efficient use of my energy and time. 🙂 I can’t wait to use this printable on our next trip, it’s much prettier than my hand notes each week. 😉
Yay! So glad it will be helpful for you, Tina! <3
~Abby =)
Hi Abby, I love your organizing ideas and want to thank you for sharing all of this with the world! If you have any tips for meal prep, that would be great. My son is starting pre-school this year and so we are starting a brand new routine. With packing an additional lunch for him (as well as myself and my husband) and having a 1 year old, I need all the help I can get with making our weekly routine as easy and functional as possible. Thank you for all of your help as always!
Thank you so much for your sweet words, Stacey! Thanks so much for the meal prep suggestion! I’ll add it to my list of ideas. 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!
The thing I struggle with is produce! My produce definitely doesn’t stay fresh for two weeks. How do you manage that? But I love the idea of planning meals ahead of time and shopping for it all at once. The categories section is great too because I always wander back and forth through the store too. Thanks for the printables!
I have kind of a produce “hierarchy” if that makes sense, lol! We eat things like berries first because they go bad the quickest, then apples and oranges are saved for the end of the two weeks. We sometimes end up doing frozen veggies at the end if need be. We also live really close to a little farm store that sells fresh fruit and veggies, so we will stop by there if we are in a pinch. I hope this helps!
I have been using the weekly list for some time now and I don’t know what I would do without it. It indeed saves me time and money. I grab my weekly sales paper and my list and create a weekly menu in no time. I find I pick up less of the eye candy the grocery stores set up to entice you and that’s a win in my book!
Thanks Abby for all you do!
Yay! I’m so glad it’s been helpful for you, Vicki! LOVE to hear that! Hope you’re having a great week! <3
~Abby =)
Thank you for this!! can I make a plea though – could you do an option where your week starts on a Monday?? Everything here revolves around Monday being the start of the week, with Saturday and Sunday being the weekend…. If it’s too hard, would it be possible to have one that has no days in… so I can enter them myself? I’m going to try these with the Sunday start and using the correction stuff that my kids have at school (if I can find it!!).
Despite my request for changes, thank you for this!!
best regards from a non-US based reader (if you hadn’t already guessed!)
Ooh that is a great suggestion, Gillian! I have started offering a Monday start when I create our printable calendars, but I never thought about it for the grocery list. I will definitely keep that in mind for the next version. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Dear Abby
Thank you so much – and thank you for your kind reply… with best wishes, Gillian
Thank you so much for this beautiful list, I was exactly what I was looking for!
also thank you for giving it to us for free, no strings or email address attached!
So glad it will be helpful for you! Enjoy your weekend!
Hi! As a university student with evening classes four days a week I think this is a great idea for saving time and organizing myself on such a busy schedule! My only thing that I’d love to see on this is either customizable/ blank categories, or a version for vegetarians/ vegans (since I don’t eat meat I don’t need that category!) thanks! 🙂
Hello! I for some reason am not seeing the link to download the meal prep printable? I LOVE the layout, colors and everything else and cannot wait to put it to use with the grocery list!
Hi, Saskia! The meal planning portion is on the same page as the grocery list– it is down the left side of the page. There are options for planning one week of meals or two weeks of meals, and both are linked under their photo in the post. I hope this helps! Have a great week!
I love this! It’s been my goal the last month to learn how to save money while still eating well.
Thanks for this!
So glad it will be helpful, Bekah! Have a great week!