Slide meals are a creative meal-planning system where you cook a base dish on day one, then transform leftovers into a new dish each subsequent day. Instead of reheating the same meal again, you “slide” the ingredients forward, layering them into new recipes. This approach keeps dinner interesting while minimizing waste and maximizing value.
Because you’re building on what you’ve already prepared, slide meals save both time and money. By shopping once for a few complementary dishes and cooking larger portions up front, you reduce overall prep time. Using leftovers thoughtfully also means you buy fewer unique ingredients and produce less food waste – two important benefits when grocery prices are high or schedules are tight. Slide meals are also flexible: you can adjust portion sizes to feed one person or a family and adapt seasonings to suit your tastes.
We want to be transparent about how these meal plans are created. To get the Slide Meals concept off the ground quickly and provide as many people as possible with ideas for stretching their grocery budget, many of the recipes on this site were generated with the assistance of AI. While we test the logic of each plan, we’re not professional chefs, and the dishes may not have been cooked in a test kitchen. Please use your own judgment about portion sizes, ingredient substitutions and food safety – and feel free to tweak the recipes to suit your tastes and dietary needs.
Our goal is to help households navigate uncertain times by providing a framework for eating well on a budget. We hope you find inspiration in these plans and join our community of slide-meal cooks. As we refine this resource, we welcome your feedback, suggestions and real-world experiences.