How-to guide
How to plan meals with ChatGPT
ChatGPT can put together a week of meals around your time, budget and tastes, then turn it into a shopping list. It saves the planning, not the cooking.
A good meal plan starts with your limits: how many people, how much time on weekdays, what you already have and what nobody will eat. Say these first and the plan will be one you actually follow.
What it looks like
Plan 5 weekday dinners for 2 adults. Max 30 minutes each, no fish, one vegetarian night. Reuse ingredients so little goes to waste.
Mon: Chicken and vegetable stir-fry with rice Tue: Chickpea and spinach curry (vegetarian) Wed: Pasta with chicken, spinach and garlic Thu: Beef tacos with peppers and yoghurt sauce Fri: Fried rice with the leftover rice, peppers and eggs Shared ingredients: spinach, peppers, rice and yoghurt each appear at least twice. Want the shopping list grouped by shop section?
Step by step
Plan the week in one conversation, then reuse it with small changes.
- 1
Set the basics
Number of people, which meals to plan, the number of days and how much cooking time you have on each day.
- 2
List the rules
Allergies, dislikes, diet choices and budget. Be clear about allergies and say they are strict.
- 3
Say what you already have
List what is in the fridge and cupboard so the plan uses it first and you buy less.
- 4
Ask for a shopping list
Ask for one combined list with amounts, grouped by shop section, leaving out what you already have.
- 5
Adjust and save
Swap meals you do not like, ask for a cheaper version or a batch-cooking day. Save the final plan to reuse later.
Prompts to copy
Replace the parts in square brackets with your own details, then copy the prompt or open it straight in the chat.
Plan [5] dinners for [2 adults and 1 child]. Each takes under [30] minutes. We do not eat [pork]. Budget is [low]. Reuse ingredients between meals, and finish with a shopping list grouped by shop section.
I have [rice, eggs, frozen peas, onions, a tin of tomatoes and some cheese]. Suggest [3] simple meals I can make mostly from these, and tell me the few extra things I would need to buy.
Plan one [2]-hour batch-cooking session on [Sunday] that gives [4] weekday lunches for [1] person. Include the order of steps and how to store each dish.
Make a [3]-day meal plan for someone who is [vegetarian] and wants [more protein]. Include breakfast, lunch and dinner, and give a rough protein estimate per day. Note that the numbers are estimates.
Common mistakes and limits
- Nutrition and calorie numbers are rough estimates. For medical diets, diabetes, pregnancy or eating disorders, follow the advice of a doctor or dietitian.
- Always check labels for allergens yourself. ChatGPT cannot know what is in a specific product.
- Cooking times and amounts can be off. Use your own judgement and check that meat is cooked through.
- Prices and what is in season differ by country and shop. Treat any cost estimate as a guide only.
Questions
Can ChatGPT count calories for me?
It can give rough estimates, but they are often inaccurate. Use a food tracking app with real product data if you need exact numbers.
Can it give me the recipes too?
Yes. Ask for the recipe for any meal in the plan, with amounts for your number of people.
How do I get more variety?
Tell it which meals you had last week and ask for a plan with none of them, or ask for dishes from a cuisine you rarely cook.
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Plan this week's meals
Tell the free chat who you cook for and how much time you have.