I asked the Little House Living readers what their go-to quick and super cheap meals in their homes were. I wanted to share these with you as well so you can have a larger variety to choose from!

Sloppy Joes! Easy white chicken lasagna soup with bow tie pasta. Boil several chicken breasts in broth. Add 2 large carrots sliced 1 med. Stovetop Cassoulet with Italian sausage, white kidney beans, onion, celery, carrots, and tomatoes. Hamburger and gravy over toast, egg sammies, hamburger patties browned then cooked more in stewed tomatoes served with plain rice and spinach.

Mix it up. Form mini meatloaves. They actually make a decent microwaved meatloaf. We eat a lot of tacos made from whatever leftovers we have. Chef salad with bread. Hash with eggs. Grilled cheese, BLTs. Cook ground beef and drain! Once the gravy has thickened, pour the gravy over the cooked ground chuck and simmer for 10 minutes!

Finally, make your instant mash potatoes and pour the ground chuck over the potatoes! Baked chicken and roasted veggies, just pop a pan in the oven for 30 minutes after seasoning and drizzling in olive oil.

Homemade hamburger helper is quick and easy. This sounds so simple and crazy but my husband loves loves loves it: cut up a green cabbage into bite-sized pieces or a little larger and a large onion and add a tablespoon full or to desired taste of minced garlic from a jar.

Boil to desired tenderness. Add in the meat and some V-8 juice then whatever other veggies you like if you want carrots are good Season with Himalayan salt or regular salt, pepper, whatever you like.

Mix bread crumbs, shredded parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Dip chicken in preferred liquid milk, water or egg. Coat with flour mixture. Place in foil-lined the baking dish. Pour half a cube of melted butter a whole cube is the best over the chicken. Sprinkle any leftover flour mix on chicken.

Bake at for about 20min or until the thickest part reaches degrees. Cheese fondue. I got this from a Cookbook for Two from when I got married 48 years ago. It starts with cheddar cheese soup and cheddar or Swiss cheese. You can add wine, beer, or apple juice. If I have onions or scallions, I add a little of that.

You might want to add a very little hot sauce to give a subtle kick. If you are looking for a few cookbooks to add to your collection that features cheap and frugal meals, here are some that I would recommend:.

Although ground beef has gone way up in price, if you have some available for you to use, you may also want to check out these Frugal Ground Beef recipes.

While the list is a little outdated for pricing, there are still some great ideas on there if you need even more. If you are looking for still more, you can check out my Frugal Go-To recipes here. Did you enjoy this article and find it helpful?

Share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and through Email using the sharing buttons!

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page. This article on the Cheapest Meals was originally posted on Little House Living in September It has been updated as of March Support Little House Living by Sharing This.

Your email address will not be published. Chicken broth and homemade dumplings, soup style. Boil broth. Mix flour and eggs. Roll and cut and drop into boiling broth. Add veggies as you have them. Put in mason jars and freeze and reheat in crockpot.

My 5 sons made me learn to cook with economy. One favorite recipe is from the Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith. Cuban Black bean soup. Serve with sour cream and chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese and cilantro.

Serve with corn bread for a complete protein. Next meal off left overs are burritioes or nachos! Fried potatoes with cut up hot dogs was my kids favorite growing up!

Add in a little leftover meat, or an egg, or drain much of the broth for something else and melt in a slice of American cheese. so I look for sales and buy beans, rice and other foods in bulk when I can.

May all beings be healthy and have nutritious food to eat. Simple sammy includes, bread and ripe tomatoes: Toast two pieces of bread, then butter and add some mayonaisse. Slice a ripe tomato, and add slices to toast.

Salt and pepper. Top with second piece of toast. Really delicious and inexpensive especially if you have a garden and grow your own fabulous tasting tomatoes.

Tomato sandwiches are so good. We stopped at the Amish market last Friday and picked up tomatoes and corn on the cob. Smashed or refried beans seasoned with taco seasoning is excellent for bean and cheese burritos. My kids ate them by the platter full!

My kids SWEAR by cheesy rice burritos. Cook whatever rice is on hand, melt some cheese into it, roll into burritos. Add veggies whenever the occasion calls for it. We also love crushing up generic tortilla chips or corn chips and topping the cheesy rice mix with them before rolling into burritos.

We also do quick cheese quesadillas as a snack or meal fairly often. Colby Jack freezes well so we buy shredded bags of it on sale and use when needed.

Hi Merissa: One thing that I got into when my kids were younger and the food budget was extremely tight was what I called the carry over system. For example I would cook up a big bunch of ground beef that I hopefully managed to buy on sale, and maybe have sloppy joes cooked ground beef mixed with tomato sauce and topped with melted cheese served on a hamburger bun one night and any left over meat would be made into spaghetti or a beef tomato casserole the next.

Occasionally there would still be a bit of meat left over and it would get made into chili for the third night. Skip to content This post may contain affiliate links. Table of Contents Toggle. Previous Previous. Next Continue. Make crowd-pleasing fajitas the easy way with this one-tray recipe that's full of nutrients and low in fat and calories.

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Spaghetti Pizza Baked potato bar

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Bargain-priced meals - Sheet pan dinners Spaghetti Pizza Baked potato bar

Everyone will love this creamy fish curry, cooled down with coconut and sweetcorn. It's budget-friendly too. A saucy, warming casserole with Cumberland sausages, chilli gravy and kidney beans. It's budget-friendly and ready in less than 30 minutes too.

A hearty budget meal of spiced red lentils with butternut and tomatoes. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric and a dollop of mango chutney. Put mushroom soup to clever use in this Scandinavian-style beef meatball dish with dill sauce. Make crowd-pleasing fajitas the easy way with this one-tray recipe that's full of nutrients and low in fat and calories.

It makes a speedy midweek meal. Search, save and sort your favourite recipes and view them offline. Join the BBC Good Food Wine Club. Join our Subscriber Club Download our app Good Food Shows Wine Club Recipe boxes Videos. Recipes Back to Main menu Dinner ideas Back to Recipes Healthy dinners Dinner for two Low-carb dinners Gluten-free dinners.

Back to Recipes Quick breakfast recipes Breakfast smoothie recipes Vegan breakfast recipes Low-carb breakfast recipes. Back to Recipes Family lunch recipes Quick lunch recipes Healthy packed lunch recipes Budget Sunday lunch recipes.

Back to Recipes Healthy salmon recipes Seafood recipes Paella recipes seafood White fish recipes. Back to Recipes Vegetable soup recipes Creamy soup recipes Chicken soup recipes Low-carb soup recipes.

Back to Recipes Quick pasta recipes Carbonara recipes Lasagne recipes Bolognese recipes. Back to Recipes Low-calorie chicken recipes Low-calorie vegetarian recipes calorie meal recipes Low-carb family meals. Back to Recipes High-protein vegan High-protein lunch recipes High-protein snacks High protein bowl recipes.

Back to Recipes Vegan dinner recipes Easy vegan recipes Vegan slow cooker recipes Vegan soup recipes. Back to Recipes Easy vegetarian recipes Healthy vegetarian recipes Vegetarian dinner recipes Vegetarian slow cooker recipes.

Back to Recipes Winter warmers Winter salads Healthy winter meals Quick winter recipes. Back to Health Oily fish benefits Is peanut butter healthy? Is sourdough good for you?

Healthiest winter foods. Back to Health Celeb diets reviewed Intermittent fasting 's best diets Weight-loss myths busted. Back to Health Is vegan 'meat' healthy? Do aphrodisiacs work? Back to Health Daily steps to lose weight Protein for muscle building Your healthiest exercises Protein — all you need to know.

Back to Main menu Cooking tips Back to How to Roast timer Seasonal calendar Conversion guides Glossary. Back to How to School packed lunch ideas Hot lunch ideas Healthy lunch ideas for work Easy lunch ideas.

Back to How to Vegetarian family classics Twists on chilli con carne Best vegan curry recipes Vegetarian fakeaway recipes. Back to How to How to cook sprouts How to cook cabbage How to cook sweet potatoes How to cook long stem broccoli. Back to How to How to make pancakes How to poach an egg How to cook rice How to make risotto How to cook couscous.

Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select. Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.

Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.

There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully. The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service.

One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness. Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best.

In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price. It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins.

In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study. The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach.

You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes. When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter.

The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy. HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like.

HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians. Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services.

Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats. To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service.

I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand.

To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET.

The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving.

If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others. Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options.

With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal. Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around.

Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner.

When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling.

HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track.

But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help. Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from.

Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them. Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking.

There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.

Reviews ethics statement. David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips.

Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he's toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom.

Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon. Make a big batch of tender pulled pork on Sunday and you'll have multiple meals throughout the week.

Serve it on buns for sandwiches or over a big pile of nachos. Get the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe. SHOP SLOW COOKERS. Just like your favorite takeout, this dish is swimming in a sweet and sticky sauce.

You can serve it up with inexpensive white rice and your favorite veggies on the side. Get the Chicken Teriyaki recipe. Make this nostalgic meal from scratch and it'll bring back a ton of happy childhood memories. If you want to make it your own, you can always swap the ground beef for ground turkey as a substitute.

Get the Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe. Ree loves a supermarket swap—like using store-bought French bread on pizza night! It's quick, easy, and perfect for any topping that your family members prefer. Get Ree's French Bread Pizzas recipe.

These beef enchiladas keep things simple with canned enchilada sauce, but don't worry, there's still plenty of spice and melty cheese! Get the Beef Enchiladas recipe. Prices for chicken thighs can vary, but on average they're less expensive than chicken breasts.

Learn how to cook the thighs to perfection using an air fryer for crispy skin and juicy meat. Get the Air Fryer Chicken Thighs recipe. SHOP AIR FRYERS. Say hello to your new favorite family dinner! It's cheesy, comforting, and fit for a crowd.

Plus, even picky eaters can get on board with the ground beef and noodle dish. Get the Cheeseburger Casserole recipe. Jam-packed with veggies and a satisfying, savory sauce, these noodles are everything you love and more! Serve with a drizzle of hot sauce, like Sriracha, if you want an added kick.

Get the Lo Mein recipe. Buy a store-bought rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and you'll be supplied with endless dinner ideas, like this hearty burrito filed with rice, beans, chicken, and cheese. Get Ree's Ancho Chicken Burritos recipe.

When you're in a pinch, you can't go wrong with that can of tuna that's hidden in the back of the pantry! Use it to make this fun pasta salad inspired by tuna noodle casserole. Get the Tuna Pasta Salad recipe.

Bargain-priced meals - Sheet pan dinners Spaghetti Pizza Baked potato bar

Finally, make your instant mash potatoes and pour the ground chuck over the potatoes! Baked chicken and roasted veggies, just pop a pan in the oven for 30 minutes after seasoning and drizzling in olive oil.

Homemade hamburger helper is quick and easy. This sounds so simple and crazy but my husband loves loves loves it: cut up a green cabbage into bite-sized pieces or a little larger and a large onion and add a tablespoon full or to desired taste of minced garlic from a jar.

Boil to desired tenderness. Add in the meat and some V-8 juice then whatever other veggies you like if you want carrots are good Season with Himalayan salt or regular salt, pepper, whatever you like.

Mix bread crumbs, shredded parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Dip chicken in preferred liquid milk, water or egg. Coat with flour mixture. Place in foil-lined the baking dish. Pour half a cube of melted butter a whole cube is the best over the chicken.

Sprinkle any leftover flour mix on chicken. Bake at for about 20min or until the thickest part reaches degrees. Cheese fondue. I got this from a Cookbook for Two from when I got married 48 years ago.

It starts with cheddar cheese soup and cheddar or Swiss cheese. You can add wine, beer, or apple juice. If I have onions or scallions, I add a little of that. You might want to add a very little hot sauce to give a subtle kick.

If you are looking for a few cookbooks to add to your collection that features cheap and frugal meals, here are some that I would recommend:.

Although ground beef has gone way up in price, if you have some available for you to use, you may also want to check out these Frugal Ground Beef recipes.

While the list is a little outdated for pricing, there are still some great ideas on there if you need even more. If you are looking for still more, you can check out my Frugal Go-To recipes here. Did you enjoy this article and find it helpful?

Share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and through Email using the sharing buttons! Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

This article on the Cheapest Meals was originally posted on Little House Living in September It has been updated as of March Support Little House Living by Sharing This. Your email address will not be published.

Chicken broth and homemade dumplings, soup style. Boil broth. Mix flour and eggs. Roll and cut and drop into boiling broth. Add veggies as you have them. Put in mason jars and freeze and reheat in crockpot. My 5 sons made me learn to cook with economy.

One favorite recipe is from the Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith. Cuban Black bean soup. Serve with sour cream and chopped tomatoes and shredded cheese and cilantro. Serve with corn bread for a complete protein.

Next meal off left overs are burritioes or nachos! Fried potatoes with cut up hot dogs was my kids favorite growing up!

Add in a little leftover meat, or an egg, or drain much of the broth for something else and melt in a slice of American cheese. so I look for sales and buy beans, rice and other foods in bulk when I can. May all beings be healthy and have nutritious food to eat.

Simple sammy includes, bread and ripe tomatoes: Toast two pieces of bread, then butter and add some mayonaisse. Slice a ripe tomato, and add slices to toast. Salt and pepper. Top with second piece of toast. Really delicious and inexpensive especially if you have a garden and grow your own fabulous tasting tomatoes.

Tomato sandwiches are so good. We stopped at the Amish market last Friday and picked up tomatoes and corn on the cob. Smashed or refried beans seasoned with taco seasoning is excellent for bean and cheese burritos.

My kids ate them by the platter full! My kids SWEAR by cheesy rice burritos. In this economy, who has time to form perfectly round meatballs? These pan-seared beauties cut down on the cost by using just egg for the binding, while also by giving canned salmon center stage.

This garlicky Filipino classic is a great way to start your morning. This Dutch baby is dressed to impress—covered in baked apples and cheddar cheese. These chicken meatballs get extra flavors from scallions, garlic, ginger, and hawaij, a Yemeni spice mixture.

Chances are good you have a box of whole wheat pasta hiding somewhere in the back of the pantry. This recipe was made for those forgotten noodles. Broccoli, capers, and anchovies are a great match for the wholesome pasta.

The addition of potatoes turns this herby frittata into a filling meal. But it doesn't end there. Go ahead and fill this frittata with two cups of any leftover cooked vegetables you have in the fridge.

This is a great recipe to have in your back pocket for those times when you're just not ready to go to the store again. These salmon burgers rely on canned salmon—an affordable pantry staple—and roasted red pepper mayo to keep cost low without compromising flavor.

Thinking about dessert? Check out our pastry chef's guide to low-cost baking. Bursting with juicy peaches and tomatoes, this summer salad becomes budget-dinner-worthy thanks to crisped bacon and bread charred in the rendered fat.

These three-ingredient wings require little more than chicken, hot sauce, and butter—plus a few staples oil, salt, and pepper that are likely already in your pantry.

The key to great flavor here is that the chicken is marinated after grilling, not before. The bigger the beans the better in this saucy Greek-inspired dish. Sop up that tomatoey sauce with some crusty bread and call it a meal on the cheap. The secret to this smoky, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant is cooking it in the dying embers of a charcoal grill or charred on the grates of your grill.

Back away from the potato ricer. These gnocchi rely on instant potatoes to cut down the time and cost. Curly kale does double duty in this dish, both mixed in with the noodles and served over the top as crispy chips. The simple salad becomes much less basic when you add tuna, blanched green beans, and basil dressing.

Sure, pasta with a side salad makes for a well balanced dinner, but how about pasta in a salad? Saucy butter beans swimming in caramelized red onions and piquillo peppers. Consider making a big batch to have around for easy lunches.

The baked macaroni and cheese you know and love gets a spicy upgrade with broccoli rabe and a whole tablespoon of crushed red pepper. Like a cozy blanket in meal form, these chicken thighs get tucked into a Caribbean-inspired sauce made with coconut milk simmered with onions, garlic, and chiles.

Like many great budget meals, this makes a terrific lunch or dinner. Looking for more budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips? Check out The Smart Cook , our section focused on making the most of every dollar in the kitchen.

Here, we've rounded up some of the best dinner recipes that are both wallet-friendly and tasty. They rely on less expensive ingredients like ground beef , potatoes , and items you might already have stocked in your pantry.

The Pioneer Woman credits her mother-in-law in teaching her how to buy in bulk. I buy 10 to 15 pounds of butter at a time! That kind of meal prep mentality can be applied to all manner of cooking: chicken thigh recipes , pasta recipes , and recipes made with canned tuna.

You can even opt for a homemade version of your favorite restaurant meal. Ree's quick and easy shortcut on pizza will do the trick! Otherwise, try chicken teriyaki with a side of rice. You can also skip the meat altogether for a vegetarian chili that's still packed with beans and comforting sweet potatoes.

Either way, try one of these cheap dinner ideas for the busiest nights of the week. Skip the meat without sacrificing flavor in this homemade chili made with beans, warm spices, veggies, and sweet potatoes.

You can let your family build their own bowl by setting out an array of chili toppings. Get the Sweet Potato Chili recipe. SHOP BOWLS. Stuffed bell peppers are the perfect dinner for families looking to eat something both comforting and healthy.

You get your ground beef, rice, and veggies all in one dish. Get Ree's Stuffed Peppers recipe. Canned tuna and egg noodles are the stars of this casserole dish, but you'll also find plenty of creamy sauce and frozen sweet peas.

Don't forget to sprinkle crunchy potato chips on top! Get the Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe. Canned artichoke hearts, breadcrumbs, chicken broth, and pasta are all items that might already be in your pantry.

That means your just a few steps away from making this creamy pasta inspired by the popular dip. Get Ree's Spinach-Artichoke Pasta recipe. Make a big batch of tender pulled pork on Sunday and you'll have multiple meals throughout the week.

Serve it on buns for sandwiches or over a big pile of nachos. Get the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe. SHOP SLOW COOKERS. Just like your favorite takeout, this dish is swimming in a sweet and sticky sauce. You can serve it up with inexpensive white rice and your favorite veggies on the side.

Get the Chicken Teriyaki recipe. Make this nostalgic meal from scratch and it'll bring back a ton of happy childhood memories.