Weekly family grocery list: a complete guide + checklist
How to write a weekly family grocery list that forgets nothing: a step-by-step guide, a checklist of Persian kitchen staples by category, and how to share it.
It's the end of the week and someone has to do the shopping. You open the fridge, a few things come to mind, and the rest is left to memory. You probably know how that ends: halfway down the aisle you remember the onions ran out, you buy yogurt twice because you're not sure anyone else did, and the tea you needed gets forgotten again.
A good weekly grocery list breaks that loop. Here is how to write one, a checklist of the staples most Persian households buy, and how to get the whole family working from the same list.
Why a weekly list?
Daily shopping eats time, and a monthly shop doesn't work for fresh food. A weekly list sits in between:
- Fewer trips. One main shop a week, plus small top-ups for bread and fresh fruit.
- Less waste. Produce bought for one week gets eaten before it spoils.
- Fewer impulse buys. With a list, you reach for what you need, not what catches your eye.
- It fits a meal plan. Once you know what you're cooking, you know what to buy.
Before you write it: three quick steps
- Check the fridge, freezer and cupboards. Leftover rice, half a bag of lentils or chicken in the freezer can anchor one of this week's meals, and checking stops duplicate buys.
- Pick the week's meals. Knowing that Saturday is adas polo and Friday is abgoosht writes half the list for you. For ideas, see budget-friendly Persian meals for every day of the week.
- Ask everyone what they need. If the list lives in one person's head, something always gets missed.
The weekly checklist
You don't need everything every week. Tick only what you need this time, and leave slow-spoiling items like rice, legumes, oil and cleaning supplies to a monthly shop.
Bread and grains
- Bread (sangak, barbari, lavash or taftoon)
- Rice
- Pasta and reshteh noodles
- Flour, barley or bulgur
Legumes
- Lentils
- Yellow split peas
- Kidney, pinto or white beans
- Chickpeas and mung beans
Dairy and eggs
- Milk
- Yogurt and doogh
- Cheese
- Butter
- Kashk
- Eggs
Meat, poultry and fish
- Chicken
- Ground meat
- Stewing meat
- Fish or canned tuna
Fruit and vegetables
- Onions and potatoes
- Tomatoes and cucumbers
- Fresh herbs (sabzi khordan)
- Herbs for stews and ash (fresh, dried or frozen)
- Eggplant, squash, carrots or whatever is in season
- Lemons and limes
- Seasonal fruit
Pantry and spices
- Cooking oil
- Tomato paste
- Salt, turmeric and black pepper
- Cinnamon, saffron and dried limes
- Lemon juice, verjuice or vinegar
Breakfast and drinks
- Tea
- Sugar cubes and sugar
- Dates, honey or jam
Household
- Dish soap
- Laundry detergent
- Paper towels and bin bags
- Hand soap, shampoo and toothpaste
Tip: write the quantity next to every item. "Rice, 5 kg" beats "rice": the shopper knows how much to buy, and price comparisons get more accurate.
Sharing the list with your family
A note on the fridge stays at home when you're in the shop. A family group chat buries the list under other messages, and nobody knows what's been bought. A note on your phone works for you, but nobody else can add to it.
A shared shopping list fixes all three: everyone sees the same list on their own phone, adds to it, ticks off what they bought, and every change shows up for everyone right away.
That is what Sabad's shared list does. Create a list and send an invite link to your partner, kids or flatmates. Anyone can add items by typing or by voice ("two kilos of rice, a pack of tea and dish soap"), and you see everything before it's added. When someone ticks an item off in the shop, it's ticked off on everyone's phone. The list works offline and syncs when you're back online, and you can keep separate lists, one for the weekly shop and one for a party.
You don't need an account to start using Sabad. For a shared list, you and the people you invite sign in with email or Google. Sabad is Android-only for now; the iPhone version is coming soon.
Common mistakes
- Shopping hungry. Hunger beats any list. Eat first.
- Bulk-buying perishables. A big bag of tomatoes isn't a bargain if half of it goes off.
- Leaving out quantities. "Yogurt" can mean one small tub or three big ones.
- Buying everything at the first store. The same list costs different amounts in different stores. See how to find the cheapest online grocery store and 5 ways to cut your grocery bill.
Once your list is ready, Sabad can compare its prices across the online grocery stores that deliver to your address, and ingredients from any recipe in the Sabad recipe collection go onto the same list in one tap.
Try it: get Sabad free on Android (Cafe Bazaar or Myket; iPhone is coming soon), turn this checklist into your weekly list and send the invite link to your household.
Every price. Every store. One basket.
Sabad compares your list across the online grocery stores it covers that deliver to you, and builds a cheaper shopping plan.
