I’m back with episode two of my $20 Dinner Challenge, where I’m seeing what I can put on the table for our family of four for $20 or less.
This week, we’re making a super simple Greek-inspired dinner with spanakopita, a fresh cucumber and tomato salad, and tzatziki. And the best part? The whole dinner costs just $13.99!
I almost feel like I’m cheating with this one because there’s barely any cooking involved, but that’s exactly why I love it. Sometimes you just want to put something delicious on the table without spending an hour in the kitchen.
Everything for this dinner came from Aldi, and it took around five minutes of preparation before the oven did the rest of the work.
What you’ll need
All prices are from Aldi, September 2026.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Spanakopita | $8.49 |
| Tzatziki dip | $2.29 |
| Cucumber | $1.42 |
| Red onion | $0.75 |
| Tomato | $0.79 |
| Total | $13.99 |
How to make this easy spanakopita dinner
Serves 4 · Prep: 5 minutes · Cooking: As per packet
- Preheat your oven and cook the spanakopita according to the packet instructions, until golden and crispy.
- While it’s baking, chop the cucumber, tomato and red onion into bite-sized pieces and combine them in a bowl.
- If you like, drizzle the salad with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. A little salt and pepper wouldn’t hurt either!
- Once the spanakopita is cooked, slice it into portions and serve with the fresh salad and a generous dollop of tzatziki.
And that’s dinner done. Easy peasy!
Is this enough food for a family of four?
This meal fed our family of four. The Aldi spanakopita actually says it serves six, so we each had a little more than a standard serving.
Of course, every family is different, and some people will need a little more food.
If you have bigger appetites, there’s still $6.01 left in the budget to play with. You could add some roasted potatoes with lemon (YUM!), some warm pita bread or even another side salad.
You could also buy a second spanakopita and go a little over the $20 budget if you’re feeding more people.
That’s the whole idea behind this challenge. I’m sharing affordable dinner ideas that you can adapt to suit your own family’s needs, appetites and budget.
Our verdict: 9.3/10
This one scored a very respectable 9.3 out of 10!
It was delicious, affordable and required almost no effort, which is exactly what I want from a weeknight dinner.
I also love that it’s a meat-free meal that doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything. The crispy pastry, spinach and feta filling, fresh salad and creamy tzatziki all work beautifully together.
It’s definitely a dinner we’ll be making again.
More $20 dinner ideas
If you’re looking for more affordable family meals, you can follow along with my $20 Dinner Challenge, where I’m sharing a new budget-friendly dinner each Tuesday.
You might also like my Pork Belly Banh Mi for $19.55, which was the first dinner in this series.
Would this spanakopita dinner get eaten at your house? Let me know in the comments!
