Meal Plan Generator
Enter your daily calorie target, diet type and how many meals you eat, and get a randomized one-day or one-week meal plan built from 70 simple recipes. Portions are scaled to hit your calories and the recipes are chosen to come close to your protein, carb and fat split. Swap any meal you do not like and print the plan with its shopping list.
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How to use the Meal Plan Generator
- Set your calories: type your daily target. If you do not know it, work it out first with a TDEE or calorie deficit calculator.
- Choose diet type and meals per day. The macro split changes to suit the diet, and you can override it.
- Tick foods to leave out such as dairy, gluten or nuts, then press Generate meal plan.
- Review each day: the totals bar shows calories and protein, carbs and fat against your targets. Press Swap meal on anything you do not fancy.
- Shop and print: use the shopping list, Print plan for a paper copy, or Copy as text to paste it into notes or a message.
How calories are split across meals
The daily target is shared between meal slots before recipes are picked. Portions are then fine-tuned so the whole day lands close to your target.
| Meals per day | Split of daily calories | At 2,000 kcal |
|---|---|---|
| 2 meals | Brunch 45% · Dinner 55% | 900 · 1,100 kcal |
| 3 meals | Breakfast 25% · Lunch 35% · Dinner 40% | 500 · 700 · 800 kcal |
| 3 meals + 1 snack | Breakfast 25% · Lunch 30% · Snack 10% · Dinner 35% | 500 · 600 · 200 · 700 kcal |
| 3 meals + 2 snacks | Breakfast 22% · Snack 9% · Lunch 30% · Snack 9% · Dinner 30% | 440 · 180 · 600 · 180 · 600 kcal |
Turning a macro split into grams
Macro percentages refer to the share of calories. Divide by the energy per gram to get grams: protein g = kcal × protein% ÷ 4, carbs g = kcal × carbs% ÷ 4, fat g = kcal × fat% ÷ 9.
| Split (P / C / F) | 1,600 kcal | 2,000 kcal | 2,500 kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced 25 / 45 / 30 | 100 g · 180 g · 53 g | 125 g · 225 g · 67 g | 156 g · 281 g · 83 g |
| High protein 35 / 35 / 30 | 140 g · 140 g · 53 g | 175 g · 175 g · 67 g | 219 g · 219 g · 83 g |
| Low carb 30 / 20 / 50 | 120 g · 80 g · 89 g | 150 g · 100 g · 111 g | 188 g · 125 g · 139 g |
| Keto-style 25 / 10 / 65 | 100 g · 40 g · 116 g | 125 g · 50 g · 144 g | 156 g · 63 g · 181 g |
Tips for using your plan
- Cook grains, beans and proteins in batches: many recipes share cooked rice, quinoa, chicken breast or tofu.
- Leftovers are fine. Swap a lunch for the previous night's dinner if the calories are similar.
- Portions such as 1½ servings mean one and a half times every ingredient listed for that meal; the amounts shown are already scaled.
- Drinks other than water, cooking sprays and condiments are not counted, so keep extras small or count them separately.
Frequently asked questions
How does the meal plan generator choose meals?
For every meal slot it gives each recipe that matches your diet and exclusions a score based on how close its protein, carb and fat percentages are to your macro split, how close a sensible portion lands to the slot's share of your calories, and how often the recipe is already used in the plan, then picks the best one with a little randomness. After a day is built, portions are adjusted in quarter servings until the day is within about 3% of your calorie target where possible.
How are the calories in each meal calculated?
Each recipe stores protein, carbohydrate and fat per serving, and calories are calculated with the standard Atwater factors: 4 kcal per gram of protein, 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat. The values are estimates for typical ingredients; brands and exact portion sizes vary, so check labels if you need precise numbers.
How do I know how many calories I need?
Your daily needs depend on age, sex, height, weight and activity. A TDEE calculator estimates your maintenance calories; eating about 300 to 500 kcal below that is a common starting point for gradual weight loss, and above it for weight gain. The generator accepts 1,200 to 4,500 kcal a day.
Why are the macros not an exact match?
Real meals rarely have the exact protein, carb and fat ratio of a target, and the plan uses whole recipes rather than adding protein powder or oil to force the numbers. The generator chooses combinations that come close, usually within a few percent on calories and within several grams on each macro. Swap a meal to nudge a day's balance.
Is the low carb option a ketogenic diet?
The low carb / keto-style setting uses recipes that are low in carbohydrate (mostly under about 15 grams per serving, much of it fiber in dishes like chia pudding) together with a higher fat split. Whether a day keeps you in ketosis depends on your own carb limit and body, so treat it as a low carb meal plan. People with diabetes or other medical conditions should plan carb intake with their doctor or dietitian.
Can I use it for a vegan or vegetarian meal plan?
Yes. Vegetarian plans exclude meat and fish, vegan plans also exclude dairy, eggs and honey-sweetened dishes, and pescatarian plans add fish and seafood to vegetarian recipes. For vegan plans protein comes from tofu, legumes, soy milk, seeds and nuts.
Is my plan saved?
Your last plan and settings are saved in this browser so they are still there when you come back. Nothing is uploaded. Use Copy as text or Download .txt to keep a plan permanently or share it.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.