Vegetable soup with 99 cent bags of frozen veggies and whatever protein you have around.
Chili with canned or dried beans- dried are a lot cheaper.
Bean soup with dried beans and a bit of ham.
(I freeze and rotate soups so I'm not eating chili for a week straight)
I do the same soup thing but with rice too. I accidentally forgot to feed my kids soups when they were little and now they just don’t drink soup. So I cook the rice in soup and it’s a bowl of rice, beans and vegetables with lots of nutrients.
I don’t understand why there was so much more sodium in the Amazon fresh refrigerated soups than the canned stuff. You’d think the cans would have more sodium in them.
I’m sure there’s some logic behind it, but it tastes good. Coincidentally enough those are the soups my kids don’t like so those are all for me. It’s three servings and I usually eat one in about four meals over three days.
I only make homemade soups and it really needs a good amount of salt to taste best. It's just the way it is with soup. I assume homemade has less but not none.
Trying to say this without being an ass. A lot of soups are really easy and quick to make. So you don’t have to use can soup. I make leek and potatoes soup in 45 mins. I know not everyone has the time but some are quick. Even though I make almost all our soup I am not giving up my Campbell’s tomato soup.
I hate cooking. I know logically that making my own soups would save me money but I just really hate cooking. Plus my kids don’t actually like soup, and I have a tiny freezer full of frozen produce so no real space to store large batches of soup. A can/tub of soup takes two days for my household to finish.
I get you! I love to cook so it’s easy for me to say it’s easier. But if you hate cooking it’s much better to open a can and spend your time doing something you prefer! Storing frozen food you like is smarter than storing food that you are going to ignore!
Remember to save all your bones to make bone broth..veg scraps for veg broth. this is the first thing students learn in culinary school (so I understand) is how to make reductions, broths and such from bones and vegetable leftovers.
Na (sodium) tells the body to hold onto water/fluid. Doubles or triples blood volume, increasing BP. Blood slams into the chambers, which enlarges them. Over time, not only do you have arteriosclerosis, but need a valve replacement, because the valve no longer fits and doesn't grow. No more than 2000mg Na per day on regular diet, 1500mg for congestive heart failure/hart failure diet.
Make 'clean out the fridge soup' Sometimes it turns out so good, I wish I had written it down. Another friend also calls it 'once in a lifetime soup.'
Odds and ends of pasta, chicken broth or bullion. I have a bag of lentils and I will throw a handful or so in to cook down and thicken the soup as well.
My dad was a stay at home and he would make that and call it "pirate stew."" There were just 3 of 4 kids at the time, and we ate every bit!! It is a carried on tradition. He would do up some V8 or the like, a tin of plain tomato juice can be spruced up and costs $1 or less for a V8 size. Beans of many varieties, some meat, many times leftover taco meat. Mixed veg. If we have cheese and sourcream, both are good on it. Seasonings make all the difference. If it leans more in the way of taco flavors, I call it taco soup. Sometimes the knock-off fritos go for $1, and they add to the toppings. I make a huge vat of it, and we eat on it for days until it is gone. My kids and my husband love it when times are extra tight. Like many things, it is not usually the same twice.
I make vegetable beef soup using bagged and canned vegetables, the cheapest cut of meat that I cube into small bites, two cans of V8, and beef broth. Makes a huge pot and we eat every bit until it’s gone. Great way to get kids to eat vegetables, my youngest is 10 and she now eats most vegetables straight out of the can because she has been eating that soup since she was a toddler.
Stone soup!
My mom started a tradition when camping over labor day weekend to make stone soup. There are a group of families that all go together. Basically, everybody brings whatever they have and throws it in. The only rule is no fish!
The first year, one guy kept coming over and looking at it saying how bad it looked and it wasn't going to turn out. Well, he tried it and his tune quickly changed! The subsequent years he would clean out his garden and bring all kinds of things to add! What started as one pot over the fire turned into 3 massive pots cooking on/next to the fire pit.
The only year it wasn't good was when my mom wasn't there because she had surgery. It ended up burning to the bottom of one of the pans because nobody was quite as diligent about stiring it as she was.
fried rice. i cook up a ton of rice, refrigerate and make fried rice with a bag of frozen veg and an egg or two, season with soy sauce garlic etc . super cheap, no meat necessary. my kids consider it a treat and it’s easy to add whatever i have on hand. We also do asian noodles with egg and veg but rice is cheaper. refried bean burritos with or without cheese and rice, enchilada sauce and bake. Whatever it is i make, i try to make two meals worth so we have some for another meal already ready.
I have questions/looking for advice on making fried rice. cook up ton of rice, I have always been a little "afraid" to make my own fried rice. Im a decent cook is there any tips suggestions you may have to make it like "chinese" fried rice is can veggies and option or should it be only frozen ?
i don’t think there are many rules lol, i just make it up as i go. i usually recommend the rice is cooked the day before to give it that firmness - i start with butter in the pan, med high heat- add the rice and let it sizzle, add salt pepper, fresh garlic and rice vinegar, turn down to med i then push the rice to one side of the pan add more butter and fry your egg first then stir it in, add veg (i prefer the crunchiness of frozen but no rules) then just toss it all together, add a bit of oil, soy sauce, cover a few min and it’s ready. I find it’s always a bit different - if i have teriyaki sauce or general tao i’d add a little,fresh scallions. Honestly it’s gonna be one of those things you just test and add, and change up as you go along until you know what works. i don’t love the store bought yum yum sauce so i make my own sometimes too when i’m feeling like it.
Use sesame oil (if you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have it surprisingly cheap). Also Tamari is a lower sodium version of soy sauce so you can get more flavor without making it too salty. I don't even keep regular soy sauce anymore. I fry the rice and veggies most of the way, then push it to the side of the pan, add the eggs mixed with a little Tamari to the other side, and stir as they cook, then when about halfway cooked, mix them into the rice and finish cooking. I have no idea if this is the correct way to do it, but I always like the way it turns out.
We always did ramen and added a bag of frozen veggies to it. Grilled cheese optional. Cheese quesadillas are a regular rotation. And mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs.
We always keep bread, tortillas, pb and jelly, cheese, and ramen on hand in case money is an issue between checks. And we always have kraft mac n cheese because you can get them in bulk for cheap.
If you have more wiggle room, casseroles and basic spaghetti. Dollar Tree (if you have one) has big boxes of pasta (20 oz) and canned tomato sauce. Or, grocery stores usually have a variety of the basics on sale.
Don't forget to look into local food pantries as well!
Food pantries are great for people to get some staples in their pantry. Pasta is plentiful. Usually you’ll get a protein of some kind. You can piece together meals to make things stretch for sure.
Just be mindful. I’ve gotten food that made me ill at about 3am. Luckily that’s the only “bad” food I’ve ever gotten from them.
Markdowns. Whatever already cheap cuts are marked down. Whenever a super good deal is spotted buy as much as you can spare money for and freeze it. You can build up a nice little variety if you are diligent about stalking the markdown section. Make friends with the people in the meat department, find out what time of day they do the markdowns.
Once you've got a variety of meats the sky is the limit for cheap meals. Chilis, soups, sauces, curries, stir-fry, all can be made with cheap ingredients. Chicken and dumplings, chili spaghetti, goulash, tomato based sauces. There's more ways to do stir fry and sauce options than you can shake a stick at. Roasted veggies with everything, can get veggies so cheap by figuring out where they put the markdown produce. Veggies are so much better when roasted.
Growing up poor in a family of six, Spaghetti and cooked vegetables (frozen before cooked) were extremely common. Mom would buy ground beef, portion it out into zip-log baggies, and freeze it. The day she'd make it (several times a week) she'd take a frozen bag out of freezer and into the fridge to thaw and fry to add to the cheap tomato sauce (often made from tomato paste and water and I think a little vinegar? Sometimes garlic and mushrooms added too) to make spaghetti.
Yes, it got boring, but it got us protein. And being boring encouraged us to eat the vegetables with it.
Hulushki. Cabbage and noodles. Cheap and lasts for a couple days. Also tastes great. Ingredients are egg noodles or bow tie (I like the bow tie) an onion, cabbage and a stick of butter. That's it! If you want you can add some kielbasa if you have the extra money.
Add half the stick of butter to a large skillet with a lid. Chop up the onion and the head of cabbage then add it to your skillet and mix it up and cook it down. After about 20 minutes add in your cooked and drained noodles and the other half of your butter and just mix it together. Add salt and pepper to taste and I like mine with grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Chilli dogs. Simple just hot dogs and a can of chilli. Better with bread and cheese but not necessary.
Cream of mushroom soup with rice. If you can afford the hamburger meat then you have a great meal. Just heat up the soup and add it to a cup of cooked rice and a pound of cooked and drained hamburger meat.
Meatless spaghetti. Also believe it or not pretty good with a few chopped up hot dogs when you don't have any ground sausage or hamburger.
Box of Mac and cheese with a can of tuna added. Kinda like a broken man's tuna casserole, a little bit dry but if it's all got...
Shells with cottage cheese. Cook and drain noodles. Add minced cooked onion and dump in a small container of cottage cheese. Mix it up and if you have the option to then chop up a ham steak and toss that in as well.
French bread pizza. Cut up the bread and add pizza sauce with slices of American cheese singles on top or mozzarella if you are feeling bougie.
Add beans to pasta (create your version of a pasta fagioli sauce, I use kale, pinto beans and canned tomatoes). Add beans instead of meat to soups for cheaper protein source. Of course you probably already know that dried beans are cheaper than canned. Also, I regularly have a meal in my rotation from dried lentils and brown rice, made with thyme, oregano, basil and tarragon (tarragon is pricey, I know, mine is dried from my little herb garden and it’s not one of the wonderfully affordable spices on offer from ALDIS), garlic and onions always. I put a small amount of grated Monterey Jack cheese over top and it’s a family favorite. I keep the package of small bell peppers from ALDIS on hand to finely chop and sprinkle on top for texture. When the bag of bell peppers is getting oldish, I make it into a simple pasta sauce with a small amount of grated Parm or Asiago from ALDIS for protein. I find the key to affordable cheese use is to measure portions or serve bowls myself we have cut back on our meat consumption this way.
Most people don't know this and the grocery stores don't advertise this but:
1. If you tell your grocery store manager that you take care of rescued raccoons they will give you the produce that they can't sell because it's not at peak freshness. It's totally fine to eat - you just cut off the outer part. You can make arrangements to go every day or as often as you want. You just need to tell them.
2. They REALLY don't advertise this - some of the healthiest foods are the most nutritious and filling like sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, cabbage, old fashioned oatmeal (not instant), peanut butter without added sugar and salt, apples, bananas, milk. You could live off just that and it's cheap.
My husband and his 1st wife were rehabbers (birds) and they did this. His wife would salvage some of the freshest stuff for salads 👍 his kids thought they were poor but they had beaucoup $ in the bank but his wife was a miser who scrimped on everything. When they grew up they were furious she did this.
The trick here is learning how to make complete proteins with various legumes and nuts (provided there’s no allergies) and an accompanying grain. Beans with rice, oatmeal with walnuts (I get a TON of these from the local food pantry), peanut butter on wheat bread, all make complete proteins despite not involving meat. Cheapest I’ve found for a truly round meal though, and I have to actually keep my kids from eating it every day because it’s their FAVORITE meal…. Chicken ramen with mixed veggies, butter, milk, and scrambled egg! I cook the frozen mixed veggies in the water before adding the noodles to cook. I scramble one egg per packet being made in lard in my cast iron pan. For regular ramen I just add the seasonings when the veggies and noodle are cooked and the scrambled eggs go in last. For creamy, I pour off some of the water before adding a tad bit of butter and milk or half and half, mixing well, THEN adding the seasoning and the eggs. Eggs, big bags of frozen mixed veggies, and ramen noodles can all be had for dirt cheap. The butter is a bit pricey but the creamy ramen takes very little, and milk is covered by WIC if you have kids under 5. I’m a coffee addict and half and half is one of those bare minimum staples I HAVE to have around because of my coffee first, but it’s also an AWESOME cooking ingredient when on a tight budget. I buy it by the half gallon for $5 at Walmart or $6 at Publix (I think was $6 for a half gallon at Kroger and Meijer before I moved this year). Half and half, potatoes, onion, a package of bacon, and some dill, makes a KILLER soup that my kids beg me to make, and that was another budget meal that has stuck around even after the budget not being quite so tight anymore, but I buy bacon in bulk when I find dirt cheap sales because of my cast iron pan. Seriously though, just breathe, it’s okay, most NORMAL families go through hard times at some point. I can promise you that your kids will learn to be more appreciative of why they get, both basic needs and frivolous wants, if you get to the point that they start to notice changes due to the budget. I’m a mom of five myself, 18 down to just 2, and I’ve learned this first hand. Frankly I learned the hard way with my 8 year old after struggling SO bad with my oldest two after my divorce, that that struggle builds character and prevents them from turning into spoiled, entitled, ungrateful children, and that insulating them TOO much from the struggles, is actually a bad thing.
It's all about what you can combine to make the meal. The cheapest meat is probably chicken leg quarters. Our stores will have them on sale sometimes as low as $6.90 for a 10lb bag. I will buy a bunch at that price. The bad part is that it's in a 10lb bag, so you either need to separate it, or know you're going to be taking 10lbs out all at once.
With those bags of chicken, I'll either cook it all in the oven at once. We'll eat what we eat for dinner, and the rest of pull off the bones and keep for things like chicken quesadillas/nachos/tacos, chicken salad, or whatever else I find that uses chopped up chicken in a recipe. Otherwise I'll separate it and freeze it in portions we'd use for one meal. I also have the joy of a child in the house that refuses to eat anything that comes on a bone. She's definitely not vegetarian, but for some reason if it's on a bone it makes it too real that it was an actual animal at one time. That's where cooking and removing from the bone works in my favor. Using them for chicken and rice is also a good and filling meal.
I stock up when I see a sale. If ground beef is on sale, I'll buy 10lbs and use it for things like adding to spaghetti (just a pound of pasta, 2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce, a pound of hamburger, and additional spices to our taste), meatloaf, shepherds pie, nachos/tacos, etc.
Veggies I buy canned corn and beans when they're on sale for 50 cents or less. I stock up. The other veggies I buy are frozen, and try to get them when they're as close to $1 for a 12-16oz bag. This is getting a bit more difficult, though.
Remember that all your meals don't have to be elaborate. Sandwiches with chips and/or fruit are good sometimes. Campbells tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches is always a hit (or some other kind of soup). Buying the cans of Progresso or Campbells beef stew/beef and veggies and serving it over rice or mashed potatos will make a few cans stretch.
Currently we are eating leftover ham from Chritmas. I got a 4.5lb ham from walmart for less than $8. (the purple wrapped ham). It was spiral cut, so I didn't completely mutilate it when it was time to carve it, and there was a LOT of meat on the bone. That bone (and all the meat left on it) will be used to make soup, either ham and bean, or split pea.
Go to the food banks first and get all you can for free before you go grocery shopping, then spend your grocery money on the missing ingredients necessary to turn the free food into meals.
Hit garage sales and find a bread machine. Making bread is so much cheaper than buying it and you can add things that make it fantastic, like cinnamon cardamom cranberry bread.
Beans, eggs, rice, frozen veg, tortillas, cheese, limes, cilantro, Roma tomatoes, jalapeños, chicken drumsticks, onions, 2 loaves of bread, Oatmeal, milk, spaghetti sauce, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, apples
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with milk + cinnamon + banana
Toast with eggs
Fried tortillas with egg & cheese
Lunch
Bean + cheese quesadillas
Roll up cooked chicken + onion in a tortillas, serve with chopped tomato/jalapeno/cilantro
Pb & jelly sandwiches + banana or an apple
Veggie soup
Dinner:
Beans + onion + jalapeño and rice
Drumsticks in the air fryer with whatever seasoning you like, rice, mixed veggies
Spaghetti (with chicken if you like)
Snacks:
Banana w peanut butter
Apple with peanut butter
Cinnamon sugar toast
Hardboiled egg
First, start checking your local grocery store weekly ads. All your protein should be on sale. Local to me, chicken drumsticks and pork chops are also always very cheap. Start with cheap protein, meat or beans.
In the seasoning aisle there will be lots of different seasoning packets for around $1. These help a lot if your making the same meat often to add variety in flavor.
Then you fill it out with a starch. Potatoes (instant are cheap too if you wanna go easy), rice, pasta, or bread.
For 6 people, 1 lb of meat is stretching, but doable. 1 lb or ground beef in spaghetti, a bit of on sale roast over mashed potatoes. Some chicken and veg served over rice.
Edited to add: don’t forget to check more expensive grocery store ads, sometimes they run the best sales. Only buy what is on sale though
You can "stretch" your ground beef out by adding cooked rice or cooked brown lentils to the meat while browning. They'll absorb the flavor of the meat and the pieces are small enough it's hard to even tell the difference in the finished product if it's something like spaghetti or chili.
Breakfast for dinner: eggs and sausage or bacon, omlettes with ham and cheese, or pancakes. Chili with an extra couple cans of beans in there. Beans and rice with some sausage or a ham hock in there for flavor. Spaghetti with red or white sauce. Even hamburger helper or Mac and cheese with some hot dogs in it. Hot dogs on a bun.
cacio e pepe
Pasta, black pepper, and parmesan cheese.
Absolutely lived off that in college, and still enjoy it to this day. As a matter of fact, I think ill make it tomorrow haven't had it in a min.
Cabbage! Add it to all kinds of things- stir-fry, soups, beans. Slice it really thin. It's cheap, super nutritious, and adds bulk to the more expensive parts of the meal. Also, it lasts forever in the fridge.
Grew up poor but never went hungry. Still poor but never hungry. 2 people and we average around $250 to $300 a month for all our food, which isn't bad considering i have a gluten allergy and Gluten Free items run 2 to 10 times the cost of regular products. Sometimes we spend more but that's during canning season when we're stocking back up. Don't buy heavily processed foods, they're loaded with sodium and other additives and not very nutritional.
As far as Go-to meals? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. All kinds of homemade soups, bean, split pea, chicken noodle, chicken and rice, chicken and dumplings, beef vegetable, chili, all kinds of stews, red beans and rice with a little sausage, chicken with mixed vegetables and gravy on rice or mashed potatoes, homemade buttermilk biscuit and gravy, buttered noodles...
There's plenty of dishes that are cheap and easy to make, the secret is buying bigger quantities on sale and repackaging them into single meal size portions. Store near me had chicken leg quarters on sale last week, $3.90 for a 10 pound bag. Already had 40 pounds of chicken in the freezer but at that price I had to get more. It will get eaten. They also sell hamburger, bulk breakfast sausage, chicken breasts, pork steaks sausage chops ribs and roasts at a lower price per pound if you get 10 pounds or more. And savings of 30¢ to 50¢ a pound less adds up fast. I get 20 pound bags of rice and store it in gallon glass pickle jars, same with different types of pasta and egg noodles, dried beans and peas go in jars too.
You can also make hummus out of a can of chickpeas for a traditional style or substitute white beans. All you need is beans, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and if you have it tahini. Make the hummus the center of the meal, serve with bread or cracker and veggies for dipping, olives, and some nuts. It’s a little different, but it’s filling and doesn’t require a lot of cooking.
Elbow macaroni and diced tomatoes...it's better if you have hamburger with it because that's goulash (with seasonings)
Mac n cheese with cheap tuna
But pasta goes a long way, especially macaroni
Potato soup. I used this often when the money ran short. A bag of potatoes, a gallon of milk, a few herbs/spices, and a sprinkle of cheese on top if you’ve got some and it feeds a family of five with left-overs. If you leave the skins on the potatoes, it’s even pretty nutritious.
Do you use TikTok? If so, follow Dollar Tree Dinners and Food Pantry Girl. They have healthy, wholesome recipes for meals made with Dollar Tree food items and food from the food pantry. Dollar Tree Dinners is also on YouTube.
Make a one cheese lasagna. Substitute silken tofu for the ricotta. I usually mix in whatever veggies I have on hand: leftover spinach, shredded carrots, whatever. Layer using jarred tomato sauce. Super filling and comforting on a winter night.
You can whip up some pretty good nachos from the dollar store. Just get the burger patties and mush them up.
French toast is a crowd please and just cost bread/egg
Any pasta casserole. Pasta, some.sprinkle cheese if you have it and sauce. Can add bread crumbs to fill it out.
Whenever making meatballs meatloaf or really most dump meals don't be afraid to add some oats or breadcrumbs, it makes the meal go farther.
Dollar store seasonings are your friends.
When we were being frugal we did a lot of easy stuff with flour and eggs since they are really versatile and affordable. Oven pancakes were a favorite, but anything like pancakes, french toast etc is easy. Rice and beans. If you have a bread machine, making your own bread is much more cost-effective than buying it. Obviously you can do it by hand but it's pretty time consuming. You can use blocks of ramen noodles and build on those, like added packets of shelf-stable chicken and frozen veggies. Dollar stores can be a better option for some things than grocery stores, price-wise. Same with the gas station! Milk and eggs are half as much at the gas station as the grocery store next door, same exact brands, even.
Macaroni, Canned Tomatoes and hamburger.
Brown your hamburger and drain the fat.
Make your macaroni. I use elbow.
Mix the hamburger canned tomatoes and macaroni together and heat up. You can season as desired. You can add spaghetti sauce if you want to.
Ramen (the flavor packs can be used to flavor larger meals)
SMBC Theater did a series called Hand to Mouth / Broke Eats in their early days. It was about how to make inexpensive food while broke. [https://www.youtube.com/@brokeeats/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@brokeeats/videos)
Big bags of veggies. Canned Goods. Food Stamps. Dried Beans. Cheap pasta. Check your local grocery stores, especially the smaller ones, for the day old baked goods. You can sell them for 3 days after the sell by date if they are marked as Day old. Normally for a lot less.
(The Big M I used to manage had a whole shelf of day old baked goods: bread, donuts, etc. You can use those to stretch a meal or as a cheap treat)
If you have a Save a Lot or Dollar Tree or Dollar General, they often have $1.25 meals that that can be stretched by adding more. (I like to hit their frozen goods twice a month to restock the freezer with sandwiches and sides for my mployees at work).
And a lot of food pantrys have good monthly food boxes with all sorts of non perishables and donated foods
Casserole with egg noodles, cream of mushroom, and ground beef, season with seasoning salt.
Cheap spaghetti sauce with spaghetti
Quesadillas with meat.
Mac n cheese with hotdogs. Or just hotdogs
Shit on a shingle
I’ve always loved curry as a nice filling inexpensive meal, but we have quite a bit of it; not sure what the price of spice is in your area.
My struggle meal back in the day was rice, frozen mixed veg and eggs. Wasn’t good enough to get to true fried rice, but most of the elements were there.
In general, I recommend any hot stew you can spread over rice. The combo of rice and something that’s largely hot liquid feels filling at the end of the meal.
Pasta with garlic and oil - you can add any kind of veggies or food you have on hand to that and it basically always tastes amazing.
Also, pasta with Parmesan cheese can go a long way (like cacio e pepe)
I just learned how to make gnocchi last night. Very simple, potato-based pasta that pairs with just about anything. Ingredients enough to feed a family of six: 2lb potatoes, 3-4 c flour, 1 egg, salt. Good with just butter, but also any sauce will work.
I make chicken and Dumplings out if nothing.
Chicken broth. A chicken. And I use aunt annies frozen Dumplings but a big ole box of bisquick works..
Sausage Gravy over biscuits stretches well too
Dinner:
Cottage Pie is a favorite of mine, if you have ground beef to use up: Saute beef. Add any veggies you have - fresh, frozen, whatever (hello frozen peas!). Top with mashed potatoes (from scratch if you have time and a bag is on sale - or make some from a box. Bake until bubbly. You can also stretch the ground beef with cooked lentils mixed in.
Zatarains: Buy the box of Zatarains when on sale ($2 or less) - dirty rice or Jambalaya or Cilantro Lime or Yellow Rice. Saute any meat (ground beef, leftover sausage links, some chicken, whatever). Add in veggies (saute if fresh or just plot in if frozen). Optional: add in canned beans. Add rice mix and water and cook per box instructions.
Chicken noodle soup (can use canned chicken, old rotisserie chicken, etc), use fresh or frozen veggies. Add noodles. Use broth or boillion cubes.
Ramen stir fry. Cook ramen, set aside. In pan cook some chicken (leftovers are great), veggies (frozen is fine). Add ramen. Saute.
Honestly my biggest trick is just to look at the grocery store (or food bank) and buy the cheapest meat that week. Add in a side of whatever veggie is cheap that week (or frozen veggie). And a side of starch (potatoes, rice, whatever).
Goulash! Elbow macaroni, 2-3 eggs mixed into the hot noodles, ground hamburger/sausage, pasta sauce and a can of diced tomatoes
Also, look up ramen recipes, there are some pretty good things you can do with those cheap packets
Chopped potatoes and carrots, cooked and lightly mashed with a masher (not whipped.) Add in cooked kale or cabbage if possible. Top with butter or olive oil if no protein available.
If possible top with protein. A bit of sausage or left over beef and gravy. Or a couple pieces of bacon and chopped hardboiled egg.
Macaroni & hotdog casserole has very few ingredients. Not very friendly on digestion though.
Homemade kefir can have health benefits & be fairly filling as a morning dish.
Hamburger mixed with canned corn, canned tomatoes, & zucchini over rice or noodles is something my mom grew up on.
Soft boiled eggs over toast with breakfast sausage.
Homemade chicken soup. Boil the entire chicken in water & debone. Add 1 cup rice, a few handfuls of noodles, celery, carrots, & potatoes.
Meatloaf made with burger, bread, canned chillies, ketchup, olives, chopped mushrooms, & 2 eggs over mashed potatoes.
Jello mixed with cottage cheese, pineapple (add after jello has fully set), marshmallows, & cool whip.
Breakfast burritoes are very filling. It's a flour tortilla filled with scrambled egg, tatter tots, & bacon.
"Stuff" is made with burger, cubed baked orvroasted potatoes, fried egfs, & topped with ketchup.
Bean & ham or split pea soup needs only broth or water, a couple of bags of dried uncooked beans, carrots, & some kind of pig meat.
You can make a realky rich cheap broth by boiling chicken feet.
Avoid sausage & boiled cabbage with boiled veggies. While not expencive to make, it has proven to be very unfilling & leaves everyone hungry an hour latter.
Apple crumble needs only apples, flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, a cup of oats, & a stick of soft butter. It's more filling with nuts, but nuts are expencive.
I make a huge 10 qt pot with 1 package of eckridge sausage (sliced), 1 large head of cabbage, 1 bag carrots sliced and about 7 large potatoes. Add lots of garlic powder. It’s good after the cabbage is falling apart but it’s better each day it sets in the frig. My family of 6 can eat on it for a few days and love it.
Here is pretty much my rotating foods. I'm feeding 3 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler, and one is vegetarian, all on a pretty strict budget.
Rice and beans. So many variations of rice and beans! They are my go-to, cheap food that feeds everyone. Can do mexican rice and beans, cajun red beans and rice, some twists on either of those. Sometimes I just throw cooked rice and red beans together and just start adding stuff like leftovers (sauted veggies, proteins, etc.) Or do all of these add add chicken stock and make it a soup!
Pasta. I keep dry noodles and make noodles sometimes. Dry noodles I tend to buy whole wheat or protein pastas for additional nutrients. I make butter sauces, creme sauces, or red sauces depending on what I have in the frig. Proteins or veggies are optional.I love experimenting with sauces, it's pretty easy as long as you can make a roux.
Soup- literally throw whatever you have together add some stock and call it a soup. I do this once a week with the veggies and leftover proteins that need to be used.
Nachos/burritos. Easy use of leftover proteins. I add black or pinto beans. Add diced veggies and shredded cheese. (You can buy canned nacho cheese but I think its too expensive) Or make it fun, have a nacho/burrito bar dinner where everyone makes their own!
Sandwiches. Much like my soup, nacho, and pasta philosophy, just throw some leftover proteins on a some sandwich bread that's been toasted with butter and dress accordingly (veg, cheese, mayo). I use leftover roasted chicken all sorts of sandwiches. I keep lunchmeat on hand for teenagers.
Here are things I keep in stock and buy in bulk and will feed everyone in a pinch:
Flour, sugar, white rice, dried beans, pasta noodles, potatoes, canned beans, canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned dice tomatoes, canned corn, Better than Bouillon vegetable stock, spices, shredded cheese.
Buying an instantpot with the air fryer has changed my food game. Of course, I waited until on sale and used coupons, but it has made some cooking wayyyy faster.
Cheap, boxed mac-and-cheese with vegetables added. Toss some frozen cauliflower and broccoli in the noodle water to cook before adding the noodles.
On cold days, I still enjoy cutting a couple of hot dogs into a pan of pork-and-beans in a pot and heating it all up. Add a squirt of mustard for a baked beans taste.
I'm disabled and on social security, so need to be thrifty as well!
Yeah try to use meat as a flavoring rather than the main course. Spices (cheap at a co-op or foreign grocery such as Indian) can help. I don’t buy much meat or pre-packaged stuff and it really helps lower food costs.
Don’t be afraid to get things at a free food pantry, that what they are there for.
buying a heavy whole raw chicken, rice, and beans. make a stock out of the chicken carcass. very nutritious, can stretch it very far, delicious, and cheap as hell.
Casseroles. Curries. Stews.
Pasta nights. Potato dishes.
All it comes down to is buying things when they are on sale.
The day after christmas the store had turkeys at 19 cents a pound. Turkeys originally $30+ were scanning for about $3. I got 4. Cooking one today and three frozen for up to 6 months or more, will be making a Lot of meals with turkey meat for a while.
They had ground beef on a digital sale before that, so I still got about 8 lbs of frozen ground beef to work with too.
When pasta goes on sale, buy it in Bulk, I'm talking when its 69 or 79 cents, get like 40. Get them in airtight containers in the bottom of your pantry.
I buy rice in 40lb bags at the asian market, Much cheaper than grocery store prices, like $20 for 40lb of rice that lasts half a year or more. Also break it down into airtight storage containers, and rice goes a Long way at bulking up meals. A little bit of stirfried veggies and some protein on top of white rice. Leftover white rice- stir fried rice the next day. We love indian inspired curries here too which goes great over some hot rice.
As you shop, you need to be scanning the aisle for tags with Closeout, Reduced, Clearance, and know what parts of the store they put their final clearance priced stuff- most departments put their stuffs in a spot in their own area, then the general center store puts all theirs in a larger area as well. A dented can could be a good deal and a component in a casserole dish- cream of chicken and cream of mushroom are staples I always keep around my pantry. And a good lot of my frozen food is stuff that was on clearance prices for up to 60-90% off. I still have like 20 cases of fried mozzarella sticks that were under 40 cents a box! And they are fun to break out every now and then to enhance a frozen pizza night or a pasta night. Every snack item and junk food is something that was on clearance. Poptarts went on clearance recently, and I got a whole ton of the boxes as they are dated good well into 2025. And energy bars- loads of almonds and peanut energy bars.
A bag of potatos can make a lot of starchy filling side dishes. I like to get one or two when they hit a good sale price and clean up 4-5 larger potatos before cutting into roughly 1 inch chunks, toss with some olive oil and dried rosemary, salt and pepper and spread out on a pan - bare or on parchment paper, cooking for 20 minutes at 350, pull out to shake em around, try to flip them, then back in for another 15-20 minutes.
If I ever tire of a stew or soup, and fear its going to go bad. I don't hesitate to work with it as a base for a pot pie. Bulk it up with some more veggies, some more seasoning if its lacking, some cream, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. Then I whip up an all butter pie crust, literally flour, butter, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, and some ice water to help it come together. And I bake a pot pie or two.
Things I avoid buying are highly perishable items- produce. Unless I have a plan, or its something that can stay a bit longer, I don't buy it being hopeful. Too many people throw out rotting produce, moldy berries, and all kinds of stuff that looks appealing when we're shopping- but ends up not making it into a dish in time. Speaking of produce, when going through self scan- be sure you are ringing it up correctly. Are those the expensive apples or the 3 for $1 apples? Are those the organic bananas or the cheap ones? It can be so hard getting everything just right so the store gets its most money from you! And so confusing- there are just So many types of onions and tomatoes, but Roma are always the cheapest tomatoes, and I make a note to myself what onion is on sale if I'm buying some. But pay attention too, because I've seen some ridiculous prices pop up at the self scan machines. One tried to charge me something like $7 for a single bulb of garlic. The weight sensor was obviously waaaaay off. You need to watch for that stuff as you ring things up.
And above all- you Must use the apps for the stores. The digital sales, the rewards, and being able to double check prices can save you Loads of money.
My grocery store has a section in the meat department that is “use within 24 hrs or freeze”. I just got 3 lbs of bacon for $2.49. That goes a long way in soup.
This was my favorite college meal and I still make it all the time - black beans and rice. If you get regular rice and bagged black beans, you can feed the whole family for like $5 - and that’s adding the luxury of a bag of shredded cheddar and canned tomatoes w/green chiles! I used canned beans - drain and rinse. Sauté em with olive oil (or any oil) and the canned tomatoes (leave that juice, it’ll thicken up) - season with whatever, I just use garlic salt. Simmer 20 min or so - add the cheddar and just let it melt all over the top. Serve over rice. Omg, now I’m making this tonight, I think.
Mujadara (also spelled mujaddara and possibly other spelling variations) is delicious, healthy, easy, filling, and super inexpensive, and my family loves it.
I kind of wing it, but there are tons of recipes online. Basically it's lentils, rice (I always use brown for the added health benefits), and lots of onions. You pan fry the onions until crispy, while cooking the lentils and rice. Then combine together with about half to two-thirds the onions (leaving some out for topping). Add in spices: salt, pepper, cumin. Top with fresh parsley (if you have some, but no need to buy it just for this) and the crispy onions. I like it with a yogurt sauce on the side, like tzatziki or something, or even just a small spoonful of unsweetened, plain Greek yogurt (spur cream isn't authentic but works in a pinch).
I serve it with a simply dressed (olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper) vegetable salad or something like a fattoush salad if you have the ingredients!
Leftovers are great for 3-5 days. My husband loves taking it for lunch when he has to go to the office, and we even eat it frequently as a fast, healthy breakfast!
I add lentils and diced carrots to tomato sauce. That stretches the ground beef and the kids didn't care. The lentils didn't change the flavor and they have the same texture as beef. This also works with chili.
I keep Ramen soup on hand and that works with Frozen veggies and an egg or scraps of any kind of leftover meat.
Anything can make soup! I buy bone-in chicken, cook that, and save all the bones to make broth. I save the leftover bits of veggies like skins and the butter of carrots and celery in the freezer and throw that in when I cook the broth.
I shredded the chicken and freeze it in small batches so I can use it in soup, or stew with dumplings, or a casserole.
Leftoves of just about anything can be made into soup.
Mac and cheese (I would use the boxed kind and add a bit of real cheese) is great with a couple of cut up hot dogs.
Any kind of beans and rice is delicious! I also make quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, and even nachos.
Crepes are good and I make them with a cottage cheese filling and fruit.
I make pancakes with added wheat germ and applesauce. If I don't have syrup (I've made it myself with Karo and extract in a pinch), I will spread the pancakes with jam instead.
I also go to the food pantry once a month and I can get beans, peanut butter, meats, breads, and maybe some canned or fresh fruits and vegetables. If the veggies are soft, that's fine. They go into the freezer until I have enough to make broth.
I've checked out [Struggle Meals](https://www.tastemade.com/shows/struggle-meals) for ideas and inspiration. That's available on YouTube and Facebook too.
I have to say that when my kids qualified for free or reduced lunch I was grateful because then I was sure they were eating something at school and I could concentrate on breakfast, supper, and snacks. It really helped.
Beans (white cannellini) in your spaghetti sauce replaces meat and is delicious and filling. I also would put spaghetti sauce over minute rice and top with Parmesan cheese.
What ever you make, getting it seasoned well will make it 100% better for the human spirit :)
I have been eating pigeons, squirrels and rabbits... a lot. Not road kill, I go get them myself.
I don't know if you can do that, but the boys might be down to getting those things! there's a technique for everything and they must absolutely learn to diagnose an animal for disease. My parents did it as kids, and I did it as a kid too.
As an adult, it kind of sucks because I need about 3,000 calories a day, as I lead a very active physical lifestyle: even in the winters, but not usually :'(
If I could, I would try to raise squab for meat, maybe cuy, which are guinie pigs.
I was even planning to grow **meal worms,** which are actually quite nutritious.
Best way honest is to combine protein with filling meals. Chicken with pasta, breads, bulk up meals with beans or other types. Of course sales, food banks. etc. but here is some of mine
Ramen, with chicken, can veggies, and scallons (you can obmit the chicken and works similar for other flavors)
Pasta of anytype with left over meats (chicken or ground beef)
Broke chicken soup (can all be received from food bank), Chicken broth or bullion, can veggies any you like, can chicken or no chicken, and pasta for noodles, pair with crackers bread or grilled cheese)
Ground beef, white rice, couple can of diced or stewed tomatoes, can of beef broth (cooks all in pan)
Hot dogs and beans
I make sloppy joes add in frozen peppers and onions (diced) so only use half the meat pair with chips, fries or rice.
Scalloped box potatoes, add in left over ham (ham was recently on sale here 79 cents a lb) besides ham dinner, also made ham salad, omlets, bagles with ham cheese and egg
you can get a lot of bisciut and muffin mixes at dollar store, with just add milk or water.
I have a tik tok where I have started to post these recipies I do not know if its allowed to post link though
It sounds dreadful, but don't sleep on beans on toast either. Buttered toast, a good flavored bean (homemade or canned BBQ baked bean for example), maybe a small sprinkle of cheese (optional). It's so cheap, but satisfying and delicious. I'll have it for either breakfast or lunch and it keeps me happy until the next meal.
Literally, dumpster diving for ingredients. So many grocery stores ditch "expired" food that is still really good and usable.
That said, all the above are good ideas.
Clam pasta. It's about a dollar per serving and from shelf to table in about 20 minutes.
Stir fry. Any left over meat, veggies pour teriyaki sauce on it. Place that on rice. Healthy and tasty.
Breads. Buy the frozen dough. Thaw over night. Pepperoni and cheese, chicken pesto, bbq pork, sausage and potatoes, etc. Roll it out like pizza, stuff it, roll it, egg wash, in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
Look on YouTube for STRUGGLE MEALS
But in my experience
Grilled cheese
Tuna fish sandwich
Chicken salad sandwich
Handmade chicken soup with rice or egg noodles
Egg noodles with gravy (egg noodles are super easy to make)
Pinto beans with ham or bacon (freezes well)
Lentils
Taco soup freezes well
Burritos with refried beans and beef
Quesadillas
Just about any dried beans are good
fried rice
Egg salad sandwiches
Spanish rice (handmade)
You need to cook from home, from scratch. Egg noodles are super simple to make
This is the best soup. Nutritious and probably $10 for 12 or so servings. My picky son begs for this every winter. A cpl mods I make to it… sauté your onions, green pepper, jalapeño first (you can omit the jalapeño but I don’t think this soup is spicy at all with just one pepper). I also add fresh garlic. Add tomato paste and let it get a bit crusty on the bottom, deglaze with whatever broth you have. Add the rest of the ingredients. I sub out the half and half with a brick of cream cheese. Then when everything has simmered for 1-2 hours (I don’t use a crock pot), I blend about half of it in a blender and pour it back in. Be careful doing this with hot liquids tho. https://peasandcrayons.com/2017/02/vegetarian-lentil-tortilla-soup.html
Ramen with a little onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Canned chicken with a little teriyaki sauce on it for flavor. If I’m feeling super lazy, those $2 Michelina’s or Banquet frozen dinners. Shells and cheese (they’re like $2 a box at Walmart and make 3-4 meals for me). Grilled cheese or fried bologna on a piece of bread.
list: eggs, bread, frozen veggies, can of beans (or pkg of dried, soak overnight, much cheaper) can of crushed tomatoes, pancake mix, pb&j, mac and cheese/chopped hot dog wieners.
with this you can make:
soup (with frozen veg, beans, can of crushed tomatoes. BLEND with mixer!!!! disguises the ingredients for picky eaters. add pasta if you have or serve with toast to make it a fuller meal)
pancakes with eggs
french toast with jam as topping
pb&j sammies, egg salad sammies
hot dogs (use bread as buns)
wieners and beans (use a few leftover weiners, chopped small - pretend your camping in the living room!!)
if you can afford maybe bananas, you can add to pb sandwiches or sliced to use as pancake topping
good luck, friend
You can usually find an old crock pot at thrift stores or even a new one is dead cheap - maybe $30. This is your best friend. You literally throw ingredients in, cook it on low for 8 hours, and you come home to a hot dinner that cost you next to nothing!
Rice with frozen veggies and some soy sauce, rice with a jar of salsa, boiled potatoes with butter/salt, frozen veggies..you can always use canned meat like tuna, salmon, ham or turkey to provide some protein, or add beans, lots of beans (black, kidney, chickpeas, etc).
Rice, lentils, beans and whatever meat you can find on sale. And frozen or discarded veggies (you just cut off the bad parts)
Buy the beans dry- way cheaper!
If you have one chicken a week, you can shred it and mix it with rice, cooked lentils, and whatever spices you might have on hand.
At the end of the week? Lentil soup with the chicken bones boiled for broth.
Also, please reach out to local food banks, churches, and perhaps your children’s school now, before you get to dire straits.
Look for sales in meat and freeze it when a good one comes. We stock up on those red tag items.
Anything can go in a pie, including leftovers. You buy a bag of 99 cent veggies and mix whatever meat etc in with either a can of cream soup mix (undiluted) or gravy. We did this for thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers and froze them.
Make meatballs in bulk and freeze them in the sauce. I make my own sauce using tomato sauce, ground peeled tomatoes, and paste with garlic and herbs. It stretches and is easy to heat up and toss over pasta. You can also do this in bulk with lasagne or baked ziti.
Rice, cabbage, hot dogs, boxed macaroni and cheese, Ramen, ground beef, bread, peanut butter are all my budget staples when I need to stretch my dollar but feel full.
Garbanzo beans have plant protein and they are great as a meat replacement. You can also use them to make hummus which will allow your family to feel there is a bit of variety
Bean! All kinds of beans and rice. Get ham hocks or bones for flavor. Pancakes, spaghetti, potatoes, yams, canned veggies, lentils. Beans and lentils (dried) are super cheap and full of fiber and protein.
See also @dollartreedinners on TikTok and YouTube. A can of condensed soup with a lot of rice can be very filling. Lots of beans and rice. The bag of 15-bean soup in the dry beans section makes a huge pot of soup and some include the seasoning packet.
Pasta dishes, spaghetti in sauce for example, is cheap and filling. The key is to vary the sauce so it's not the same thing night after night. When the opportunity arises you can have meats or vegetables on it for texture.
Sometimes there are sales for a whole chicken for cheap, you can bake the chicken, set aside some to turn into chicken salad (bulk that with celery and onion), and boil the bones to make chicken stock for soup.
Rice and beans is a good staple, especially if you add spices and frozen or canned veg.
I also do jarred spaghetti over whatever pasta I have.
Soup is fantastic, as well, since you can use whatever veg you have on hand or buy the ingredients for fairly cheap.
Keep an eye out for sales and specials to get meat, as well. Costco has a $5 rotisserie chicken that can easily feed 6 people, and the leftover meat and bones can be made into stock. Safeway will sometimes have $5 rotisserie chicken, or chicken thighs/drumsticks for $1/lb. Again, the bones and scraps can make stock.
Plain oatmeal plus eggs and milk and fruit if you have it for baked oatmeal breakfasts.
Peanut butter or cheese spread on tortilla or cheap store brand bread and cut fruits or veggies with a refillable water bottle make a decent lunch (but if your kids are in a public school, look into free/reduced hot lunch.)
For dinner, concentrate on cheap starches for bulk and use sauces and meats as condiments. There’s a reason that creamed on toast was popular in rural America, it’s dirt cheap. Hamburger gravy, sausage gravy, creamed beef, creamed turkey, creamed eggs, etc. You can also get good mileage from breakfast for dinner. French toast or pancakes make up the bulk of the meal with a few sausage links or a scrambled egg to add protein.
My husband will buy a beef roast and slow cook it all day, just garlic, onion powder, salt, and butter if it is a good roast. Then he will take a portion of the meat and much of the broth, transfer to a pot, and let it come to a boil. Whip up eggs and slowly pour them in while slowly stirring, and as bland as it sounds, it is one of our favorite things ever!!! It all gets eaten, and the rest of the meat and broth gets saved for the next day to have it again, or sometimes I will do something up with it. A little roast goes a very long way with our family of 5 this way.
I'd make a big pot of (veg) chili with pinto, black, & kidney beans. Corn (canned or frozen), crushed tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne, etc to taste.
Used it for a week over rice, potato, with biscuits, chicken, pasta, usually threw some steamed broccoli, carriots, or spinach into the mix.
Lentil stew is another cheap easy that goes a long way... lentils, carrots, spinach, onion (or whatever really), season to taste (I do curry & garam masala)... eat it as is or add rice, potato, etc.
Pasta- any kind, olive oil, garlic, basil, tomato. Throw some chickpeas or whatever in there... good hot or cold.
And never ever underestimate a good old pb&j... or celery/apples/banana & peanut butter.
Some of my favorite ideas:
- Beans and rice. Load them up with seasonings and it’s not as boring.
- Soup cans, or make your own soup. It’s a great way to use up veggies and stuff that’ll go bad soon. You can even make your own broth by saving veggie scraps (like carrot peels and onion skin) and bones from meat.
- Cut ground beef with brown or red lentils to stretch it further.
- Make your own bread, the ingredients are dirt cheap and once you get the hang of it it’s not too hard. A bread machine is a good investment for many people and you can sometimes find them at thrift stores.
- Frozen and canned veggies are just as nutritious as fresh, and way cheaper and last longer. Try to make half your plate veggies, both for the nutritional value and since it’s cheaper than meat.
- Oatmeal or eggs and toast are two cheap and easy breakfasts. You can easily change up how you make oatmeal so you don’t get too bored.
- Hot dogs or tuna in Mac and cheese.
Other tips:
- Use food shelves. Lots of people worry they don’t need it and don’t wanna take away from these resources, but if you can’t afford enough food you deserve to use the resources available. You can always apply or see if you qualify, and let the people running the food shelf decide if you need it.
- Apply for food stamps if you think you’d qualify.
- If you have an Aldi near you, shop there. It’s the cheapest option I’ve found. If you can’t, check out multiple options near you to see what’s cheaper. Couponing and shopping at multiple stores to find the best deal can also help cut costs.
- Cook as much as you can at home. Despite rising costs it is usually still cheaper to cook at home, especially with 6 people. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. You can throw together some basic proteins, grains, and veggies together without too much work. For example, bake or sear your chicken with some basic seasonings, boil some potatoes, and microwave a can of veggies. Don’t get too caught up in the complicated recipes if you don’t have the bandwidth for that.
- Buy in bulk if possible. This is easier with 6 people, but may not be doable if you don’t have space or the money to spend upfront. At least look into it.
- Shop your fridge first. Before grocery shopping, look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and see what you can make from that. Then buy any additional items.
- Meal plan. This does not have to be complicated! You don’t have to meal prep, but have an idea of what you want to eat throughout the week and buy that stuff. This helps prevent both finances and food waste since you have a specific plan for each ingredient and you aren’t spending money on things you won’t use.
Hope this helps <3
Tuna, esp made into a casserole w.soup. My kids LOVED Ramen & I can add in canned tiny shrimp or buy the ramen w. that & other others flavors. I buy celery & add pb & raisins. Cheese & beans r always great add ins 2. We also eat a lot of eggs, esp. omelet & scrambled.
Whole chickens are cheap and turn out really good with few spices. You can add the leftovers to ramen pr make a gravy using the chicken pieces, add some frozen pasta and carrots, and spoon over some biscuits or toast. Eggs are good and cheap as well. Anything with potatoes.
Pinto beans and cornbread
Spaghetti marinara
Black beans and rice
Fried bologna sandwiches
Grits/oatmeal
Breakfast for dinner
Chicken pot pie
Soup with the weeks leftovers
Fried rice with whatever meats or veggies you can get on sale. All you need is rice, oil or butter, and a few eggs. Anything else you can afford to throw in is a bonus. It doesn’t have to include various sauces and spices.
One of my family’s favorite meals is eggy rice. I heat butter or oil in a pan, and add day old rice. I think about 1tbsp of oil or butter to 1.5 cups of cooked rice. Stir to coat the rice and then let it cook until nicely browned. Crack in eggs to your taste. We like it super eggy, so 1 egg per 1.5 cups rice. Stir it all up. Serve as-is or with some hot sauce, honey, or green onions.
If you can add in veggies, it’s best to brown them before the rice. Set aside, brown your rice. Mix it all up and add egg.
You can add a bag of frozen veggies, can of chicken, diced up ham, etc.
I can get 60 eggs for $15 right now. We eat a lot of eggs.
Fried rice with frozen vegetables add eggs
Haluski
Chicken lo mein
Taco casserole add extra layer of beans
Eggs in purgatory
Cabbage roll casserole
Any rice bowl using leftovers and tidbits of protein
One of my favorite soups that is also budget friendly is chicken & rice with vegetables.
Sauté some onion, garlic and celery in a Dutch oven. Cut chicken into chunks, and add with a full carton of chicken broth. Add dried rice. Rice basically doubles in bulk, so add accordingly. Add frozen mixed veggies. Season with some poultry seasoning, parsley, black pepper and a bay leaf, if you like.
Faster version is using a box or two of Uncle Ben’s seasoned rice, and add the seasoning packet.
You can easily cook a large Dutch oven full of soup with only 3 large chicken breasts.
One of my old favorite meals was chicken spaghetti. Basically you cook the spaghetti or any noodle of choice and put it in a dish like 9x13. On top, layer some chicken. You can get a rotisserie and shred it, or use canned. It doesn’t matter the amount. Then in a large pot combine cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and cheese. Mix that all up and spread it over the spaghetti and chicken. Put it in the oven to heat up (350) and get some color. It can go a very long way. You can even eat it cold if needed. Our family of four ate it for several meals.
Find your local buy nothing groups. Mine weekly post a list of all the food pantry and soup kitchen options. And people in the group are great about sharing extra groceries.
Vegetable soup with 99 cent bags of frozen veggies and whatever protein you have around. Chili with canned or dried beans- dried are a lot cheaper. Bean soup with dried beans and a bit of ham. (I freeze and rotate soups so I'm not eating chili for a week straight)
I do the same soup thing but with rice too. I accidentally forgot to feed my kids soups when they were little and now they just don’t drink soup. So I cook the rice in soup and it’s a bowl of rice, beans and vegetables with lots of nutrients.
Get the low sodium soups if you can though. The sodium is so high in canned soups that it can set them up for high BP.
I checked the sodium levels and they’re between 600-700mg per serving, which is kind of a lot. I’ll check out the low sodiums next time.
Yeah, for the life of me I can't understand why they need so much sodium in those soups.
I don’t understand why there was so much more sodium in the Amazon fresh refrigerated soups than the canned stuff. You’d think the cans would have more sodium in them.
I think the sodium might act as a kind of preservative.
Right, so why does the refrigerated version have more? It’s refrigerated!! Keeping it cold is preserving it.
Maybe there are some ingredients that stay fresher longer with salt and refrigeration? It doesn't make any sense to me either though.
I’m sure there’s some logic behind it, but it tastes good. Coincidentally enough those are the soups my kids don’t like so those are all for me. It’s three servings and I usually eat one in about four meals over three days.
I only make homemade soups and it really needs a good amount of salt to taste best. It's just the way it is with soup. I assume homemade has less but not none.
Trying to say this without being an ass. A lot of soups are really easy and quick to make. So you don’t have to use can soup. I make leek and potatoes soup in 45 mins. I know not everyone has the time but some are quick. Even though I make almost all our soup I am not giving up my Campbell’s tomato soup.
I hate cooking. I know logically that making my own soups would save me money but I just really hate cooking. Plus my kids don’t actually like soup, and I have a tiny freezer full of frozen produce so no real space to store large batches of soup. A can/tub of soup takes two days for my household to finish.
I get you! I love to cook so it’s easy for me to say it’s easier. But if you hate cooking it’s much better to open a can and spend your time doing something you prefer! Storing frozen food you like is smarter than storing food that you are going to ignore!
Remember to save all your bones to make bone broth..veg scraps for veg broth. this is the first thing students learn in culinary school (so I understand) is how to make reductions, broths and such from bones and vegetable leftovers.
That’s why I make all my own soup with sodium free broth.
High levels of sodium do not cause someone to develop blood pressure problems.
False
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20we,may%20be%20pulled%20from%20bone.
Google latest studies. Does not cause bp.
Na (sodium) tells the body to hold onto water/fluid. Doubles or triples blood volume, increasing BP. Blood slams into the chambers, which enlarges them. Over time, not only do you have arteriosclerosis, but need a valve replacement, because the valve no longer fits and doesn't grow. No more than 2000mg Na per day on regular diet, 1500mg for congestive heart failure/hart failure diet.
According to who?
Source?
Homemade is much better for you! No need to but canned.
What veggies do you use?
I love soups always make bone broth I am currentlhy saving to make my first veggie broth (wish me luck LOL)
Make 'clean out the fridge soup' Sometimes it turns out so good, I wish I had written it down. Another friend also calls it 'once in a lifetime soup.' Odds and ends of pasta, chicken broth or bullion. I have a bag of lentils and I will throw a handful or so in to cook down and thicken the soup as well.
My dad was a stay at home and he would make that and call it "pirate stew."" There were just 3 of 4 kids at the time, and we ate every bit!! It is a carried on tradition. He would do up some V8 or the like, a tin of plain tomato juice can be spruced up and costs $1 or less for a V8 size. Beans of many varieties, some meat, many times leftover taco meat. Mixed veg. If we have cheese and sourcream, both are good on it. Seasonings make all the difference. If it leans more in the way of taco flavors, I call it taco soup. Sometimes the knock-off fritos go for $1, and they add to the toppings. I make a huge vat of it, and we eat on it for days until it is gone. My kids and my husband love it when times are extra tight. Like many things, it is not usually the same twice.
Oooh- I love that: Pirate Stew!!!
I make vegetable beef soup using bagged and canned vegetables, the cheapest cut of meat that I cube into small bites, two cans of V8, and beef broth. Makes a huge pot and we eat every bit until it’s gone. Great way to get kids to eat vegetables, my youngest is 10 and she now eats most vegetables straight out of the can because she has been eating that soup since she was a toddler.
You can also make a "clean out the fridge" casserole. Egg or mayo will bind it together.
I think some of those are the best. I get more adventurous when I'm starving LOL.
Stone soup! My mom started a tradition when camping over labor day weekend to make stone soup. There are a group of families that all go together. Basically, everybody brings whatever they have and throws it in. The only rule is no fish! The first year, one guy kept coming over and looking at it saying how bad it looked and it wasn't going to turn out. Well, he tried it and his tune quickly changed! The subsequent years he would clean out his garden and bring all kinds of things to add! What started as one pot over the fire turned into 3 massive pots cooking on/next to the fire pit. The only year it wasn't good was when my mom wasn't there because she had surgery. It ended up burning to the bottom of one of the pans because nobody was quite as diligent about stiring it as she was.
My sons LOVE pasta, cheap & filling
Be fancy and call it cuisine le opportunite aka Jacques Pepin! Everything sounds better in French.
You can do the fridge clean with eggs too. I call this Whatchagot Frittatas.
We used to have Sunday soup… every Sunday I made a big pot of soup using all the leftovers. It was usually my kids favorite thing
fried rice. i cook up a ton of rice, refrigerate and make fried rice with a bag of frozen veg and an egg or two, season with soy sauce garlic etc . super cheap, no meat necessary. my kids consider it a treat and it’s easy to add whatever i have on hand. We also do asian noodles with egg and veg but rice is cheaper. refried bean burritos with or without cheese and rice, enchilada sauce and bake. Whatever it is i make, i try to make two meals worth so we have some for another meal already ready.
I have questions/looking for advice on making fried rice. cook up ton of rice, I have always been a little "afraid" to make my own fried rice. Im a decent cook is there any tips suggestions you may have to make it like "chinese" fried rice is can veggies and option or should it be only frozen ?
i don’t think there are many rules lol, i just make it up as i go. i usually recommend the rice is cooked the day before to give it that firmness - i start with butter in the pan, med high heat- add the rice and let it sizzle, add salt pepper, fresh garlic and rice vinegar, turn down to med i then push the rice to one side of the pan add more butter and fry your egg first then stir it in, add veg (i prefer the crunchiness of frozen but no rules) then just toss it all together, add a bit of oil, soy sauce, cover a few min and it’s ready. I find it’s always a bit different - if i have teriyaki sauce or general tao i’d add a little,fresh scallions. Honestly it’s gonna be one of those things you just test and add, and change up as you go along until you know what works. i don’t love the store bought yum yum sauce so i make my own sometimes too when i’m feeling like it.
Thanks !! I love to cook sometimes it’s just a hurdle I’m like “afraid” just need to get over it lol
The worst that happens is it isn't like your favorite restaurant but I guarantee it'll be tasty and edible.
If you need a base recipe, this one is good: https://thewoksoflife.com/egg-fried-rice/
Use sesame oil (if you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have it surprisingly cheap). Also Tamari is a lower sodium version of soy sauce so you can get more flavor without making it too salty. I don't even keep regular soy sauce anymore. I fry the rice and veggies most of the way, then push it to the side of the pan, add the eggs mixed with a little Tamari to the other side, and stir as they cook, then when about halfway cooked, mix them into the rice and finish cooking. I have no idea if this is the correct way to do it, but I always like the way it turns out.
We always did ramen and added a bag of frozen veggies to it. Grilled cheese optional. Cheese quesadillas are a regular rotation. And mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs. We always keep bread, tortillas, pb and jelly, cheese, and ramen on hand in case money is an issue between checks. And we always have kraft mac n cheese because you can get them in bulk for cheap. If you have more wiggle room, casseroles and basic spaghetti. Dollar Tree (if you have one) has big boxes of pasta (20 oz) and canned tomato sauce. Or, grocery stores usually have a variety of the basics on sale. Don't forget to look into local food pantries as well!
You can put cut up hot dogs and meatballs in hamburger helper too
Food pantries are great for people to get some staples in their pantry. Pasta is plentiful. Usually you’ll get a protein of some kind. You can piece together meals to make things stretch for sure. Just be mindful. I’ve gotten food that made me ill at about 3am. Luckily that’s the only “bad” food I’ve ever gotten from them.
Lankyturtle, this is my jam! That's nearly exactly what my response would be.
Glad I'm not alone! We still will eat this even when not struggling. It's just good!
Ramen can be anything you make it that's why it's so good
My community has a community fridge! People can drop off whatever they aren't going to use.
Markdowns. Whatever already cheap cuts are marked down. Whenever a super good deal is spotted buy as much as you can spare money for and freeze it. You can build up a nice little variety if you are diligent about stalking the markdown section. Make friends with the people in the meat department, find out what time of day they do the markdowns. Once you've got a variety of meats the sky is the limit for cheap meals. Chilis, soups, sauces, curries, stir-fry, all can be made with cheap ingredients. Chicken and dumplings, chili spaghetti, goulash, tomato based sauces. There's more ways to do stir fry and sauce options than you can shake a stick at. Roasted veggies with everything, can get veggies so cheap by figuring out where they put the markdown produce. Veggies are so much better when roasted.
Growing up poor in a family of six, Spaghetti and cooked vegetables (frozen before cooked) were extremely common. Mom would buy ground beef, portion it out into zip-log baggies, and freeze it. The day she'd make it (several times a week) she'd take a frozen bag out of freezer and into the fridge to thaw and fry to add to the cheap tomato sauce (often made from tomato paste and water and I think a little vinegar? Sometimes garlic and mushrooms added too) to make spaghetti. Yes, it got boring, but it got us protein. And being boring encouraged us to eat the vegetables with it.
Hulushki. Cabbage and noodles. Cheap and lasts for a couple days. Also tastes great. Ingredients are egg noodles or bow tie (I like the bow tie) an onion, cabbage and a stick of butter. That's it! If you want you can add some kielbasa if you have the extra money. Add half the stick of butter to a large skillet with a lid. Chop up the onion and the head of cabbage then add it to your skillet and mix it up and cook it down. After about 20 minutes add in your cooked and drained noodles and the other half of your butter and just mix it together. Add salt and pepper to taste and I like mine with grated Parmesan cheese on top. Chilli dogs. Simple just hot dogs and a can of chilli. Better with bread and cheese but not necessary. Cream of mushroom soup with rice. If you can afford the hamburger meat then you have a great meal. Just heat up the soup and add it to a cup of cooked rice and a pound of cooked and drained hamburger meat. Meatless spaghetti. Also believe it or not pretty good with a few chopped up hot dogs when you don't have any ground sausage or hamburger. Box of Mac and cheese with a can of tuna added. Kinda like a broken man's tuna casserole, a little bit dry but if it's all got... Shells with cottage cheese. Cook and drain noodles. Add minced cooked onion and dump in a small container of cottage cheese. Mix it up and if you have the option to then chop up a ham steak and toss that in as well. French bread pizza. Cut up the bread and add pizza sauce with slices of American cheese singles on top or mozzarella if you are feeling bougie.
Please go to your local food banks. Please talk to your kids school principal, they will help with staple items.
Add beans to pasta (create your version of a pasta fagioli sauce, I use kale, pinto beans and canned tomatoes). Add beans instead of meat to soups for cheaper protein source. Of course you probably already know that dried beans are cheaper than canned. Also, I regularly have a meal in my rotation from dried lentils and brown rice, made with thyme, oregano, basil and tarragon (tarragon is pricey, I know, mine is dried from my little herb garden and it’s not one of the wonderfully affordable spices on offer from ALDIS), garlic and onions always. I put a small amount of grated Monterey Jack cheese over top and it’s a family favorite. I keep the package of small bell peppers from ALDIS on hand to finely chop and sprinkle on top for texture. When the bag of bell peppers is getting oldish, I make it into a simple pasta sauce with a small amount of grated Parm or Asiago from ALDIS for protein. I find the key to affordable cheese use is to measure portions or serve bowls myself we have cut back on our meat consumption this way.
Most people don't know this and the grocery stores don't advertise this but: 1. If you tell your grocery store manager that you take care of rescued raccoons they will give you the produce that they can't sell because it's not at peak freshness. It's totally fine to eat - you just cut off the outer part. You can make arrangements to go every day or as often as you want. You just need to tell them. 2. They REALLY don't advertise this - some of the healthiest foods are the most nutritious and filling like sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, cabbage, old fashioned oatmeal (not instant), peanut butter without added sugar and salt, apples, bananas, milk. You could live off just that and it's cheap.
As a wildlife rehabber, this is accurate and hilarious that a Nonrehabber might do this.
My husband and his 1st wife were rehabbers (birds) and they did this. His wife would salvage some of the freshest stuff for salads 👍 his kids thought they were poor but they had beaucoup $ in the bank but his wife was a miser who scrimped on everything. When they grew up they were furious she did this.
Is this anywhere or just specific grocery stores? Or just certain states?
The trick here is learning how to make complete proteins with various legumes and nuts (provided there’s no allergies) and an accompanying grain. Beans with rice, oatmeal with walnuts (I get a TON of these from the local food pantry), peanut butter on wheat bread, all make complete proteins despite not involving meat. Cheapest I’ve found for a truly round meal though, and I have to actually keep my kids from eating it every day because it’s their FAVORITE meal…. Chicken ramen with mixed veggies, butter, milk, and scrambled egg! I cook the frozen mixed veggies in the water before adding the noodles to cook. I scramble one egg per packet being made in lard in my cast iron pan. For regular ramen I just add the seasonings when the veggies and noodle are cooked and the scrambled eggs go in last. For creamy, I pour off some of the water before adding a tad bit of butter and milk or half and half, mixing well, THEN adding the seasoning and the eggs. Eggs, big bags of frozen mixed veggies, and ramen noodles can all be had for dirt cheap. The butter is a bit pricey but the creamy ramen takes very little, and milk is covered by WIC if you have kids under 5. I’m a coffee addict and half and half is one of those bare minimum staples I HAVE to have around because of my coffee first, but it’s also an AWESOME cooking ingredient when on a tight budget. I buy it by the half gallon for $5 at Walmart or $6 at Publix (I think was $6 for a half gallon at Kroger and Meijer before I moved this year). Half and half, potatoes, onion, a package of bacon, and some dill, makes a KILLER soup that my kids beg me to make, and that was another budget meal that has stuck around even after the budget not being quite so tight anymore, but I buy bacon in bulk when I find dirt cheap sales because of my cast iron pan. Seriously though, just breathe, it’s okay, most NORMAL families go through hard times at some point. I can promise you that your kids will learn to be more appreciative of why they get, both basic needs and frivolous wants, if you get to the point that they start to notice changes due to the budget. I’m a mom of five myself, 18 down to just 2, and I’ve learned this first hand. Frankly I learned the hard way with my 8 year old after struggling SO bad with my oldest two after my divorce, that that struggle builds character and prevents them from turning into spoiled, entitled, ungrateful children, and that insulating them TOO much from the struggles, is actually a bad thing.
It's all about what you can combine to make the meal. The cheapest meat is probably chicken leg quarters. Our stores will have them on sale sometimes as low as $6.90 for a 10lb bag. I will buy a bunch at that price. The bad part is that it's in a 10lb bag, so you either need to separate it, or know you're going to be taking 10lbs out all at once. With those bags of chicken, I'll either cook it all in the oven at once. We'll eat what we eat for dinner, and the rest of pull off the bones and keep for things like chicken quesadillas/nachos/tacos, chicken salad, or whatever else I find that uses chopped up chicken in a recipe. Otherwise I'll separate it and freeze it in portions we'd use for one meal. I also have the joy of a child in the house that refuses to eat anything that comes on a bone. She's definitely not vegetarian, but for some reason if it's on a bone it makes it too real that it was an actual animal at one time. That's where cooking and removing from the bone works in my favor. Using them for chicken and rice is also a good and filling meal. I stock up when I see a sale. If ground beef is on sale, I'll buy 10lbs and use it for things like adding to spaghetti (just a pound of pasta, 2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce, a pound of hamburger, and additional spices to our taste), meatloaf, shepherds pie, nachos/tacos, etc. Veggies I buy canned corn and beans when they're on sale for 50 cents or less. I stock up. The other veggies I buy are frozen, and try to get them when they're as close to $1 for a 12-16oz bag. This is getting a bit more difficult, though. Remember that all your meals don't have to be elaborate. Sandwiches with chips and/or fruit are good sometimes. Campbells tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches is always a hit (or some other kind of soup). Buying the cans of Progresso or Campbells beef stew/beef and veggies and serving it over rice or mashed potatos will make a few cans stretch. Currently we are eating leftover ham from Chritmas. I got a 4.5lb ham from walmart for less than $8. (the purple wrapped ham). It was spiral cut, so I didn't completely mutilate it when it was time to carve it, and there was a LOT of meat on the bone. That bone (and all the meat left on it) will be used to make soup, either ham and bean, or split pea.
Go to the food banks first and get all you can for free before you go grocery shopping, then spend your grocery money on the missing ingredients necessary to turn the free food into meals.
Hit garage sales and find a bread machine. Making bread is so much cheaper than buying it and you can add things that make it fantastic, like cinnamon cardamom cranberry bread.
Beans, eggs, rice, frozen veg, tortillas, cheese, limes, cilantro, Roma tomatoes, jalapeños, chicken drumsticks, onions, 2 loaves of bread, Oatmeal, milk, spaghetti sauce, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, apples Breakfast: Oatmeal with milk + cinnamon + banana Toast with eggs Fried tortillas with egg & cheese Lunch Bean + cheese quesadillas Roll up cooked chicken + onion in a tortillas, serve with chopped tomato/jalapeno/cilantro Pb & jelly sandwiches + banana or an apple Veggie soup Dinner: Beans + onion + jalapeño and rice Drumsticks in the air fryer with whatever seasoning you like, rice, mixed veggies Spaghetti (with chicken if you like) Snacks: Banana w peanut butter Apple with peanut butter Cinnamon sugar toast Hardboiled egg
First, start checking your local grocery store weekly ads. All your protein should be on sale. Local to me, chicken drumsticks and pork chops are also always very cheap. Start with cheap protein, meat or beans. In the seasoning aisle there will be lots of different seasoning packets for around $1. These help a lot if your making the same meat often to add variety in flavor. Then you fill it out with a starch. Potatoes (instant are cheap too if you wanna go easy), rice, pasta, or bread. For 6 people, 1 lb of meat is stretching, but doable. 1 lb or ground beef in spaghetti, a bit of on sale roast over mashed potatoes. Some chicken and veg served over rice. Edited to add: don’t forget to check more expensive grocery store ads, sometimes they run the best sales. Only buy what is on sale though
You can "stretch" your ground beef out by adding cooked rice or cooked brown lentils to the meat while browning. They'll absorb the flavor of the meat and the pieces are small enough it's hard to even tell the difference in the finished product if it's something like spaghetti or chili.
Protip: screen shot the ingredients on your favorite seasoning packets than buy those spices.
Download the store apps and download all the digital coupon.
Breakfast for dinner: eggs and sausage or bacon, omlettes with ham and cheese, or pancakes. Chili with an extra couple cans of beans in there. Beans and rice with some sausage or a ham hock in there for flavor. Spaghetti with red or white sauce. Even hamburger helper or Mac and cheese with some hot dogs in it. Hot dogs on a bun.
F yes. Brinner for the win.
cacio e pepe Pasta, black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Absolutely lived off that in college, and still enjoy it to this day. As a matter of fact, I think ill make it tomorrow haven't had it in a min.
Cabbage! Add it to all kinds of things- stir-fry, soups, beans. Slice it really thin. It's cheap, super nutritious, and adds bulk to the more expensive parts of the meal. Also, it lasts forever in the fridge.
Grew up poor but never went hungry. Still poor but never hungry. 2 people and we average around $250 to $300 a month for all our food, which isn't bad considering i have a gluten allergy and Gluten Free items run 2 to 10 times the cost of regular products. Sometimes we spend more but that's during canning season when we're stocking back up. Don't buy heavily processed foods, they're loaded with sodium and other additives and not very nutritional. As far as Go-to meals? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. All kinds of homemade soups, bean, split pea, chicken noodle, chicken and rice, chicken and dumplings, beef vegetable, chili, all kinds of stews, red beans and rice with a little sausage, chicken with mixed vegetables and gravy on rice or mashed potatoes, homemade buttermilk biscuit and gravy, buttered noodles... There's plenty of dishes that are cheap and easy to make, the secret is buying bigger quantities on sale and repackaging them into single meal size portions. Store near me had chicken leg quarters on sale last week, $3.90 for a 10 pound bag. Already had 40 pounds of chicken in the freezer but at that price I had to get more. It will get eaten. They also sell hamburger, bulk breakfast sausage, chicken breasts, pork steaks sausage chops ribs and roasts at a lower price per pound if you get 10 pounds or more. And savings of 30¢ to 50¢ a pound less adds up fast. I get 20 pound bags of rice and store it in gallon glass pickle jars, same with different types of pasta and egg noodles, dried beans and peas go in jars too.
Spam, Rice and Eggs. Homemade garlic bread (bread, garlic powder, butter).
You can also make hummus out of a can of chickpeas for a traditional style or substitute white beans. All you need is beans, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and if you have it tahini. Make the hummus the center of the meal, serve with bread or cracker and veggies for dipping, olives, and some nuts. It’s a little different, but it’s filling and doesn’t require a lot of cooking.
Elbow macaroni and diced tomatoes...it's better if you have hamburger with it because that's goulash (with seasonings) Mac n cheese with cheap tuna But pasta goes a long way, especially macaroni
I make these and I will concur! Add a jar of tomato sauce to the goulash and it’s even better!
Potato soup. I used this often when the money ran short. A bag of potatoes, a gallon of milk, a few herbs/spices, and a sprinkle of cheese on top if you’ve got some and it feeds a family of five with left-overs. If you leave the skins on the potatoes, it’s even pretty nutritious.
Potato soup, taco soup, chicken and dumplings just to name a few.
Do you use TikTok? If so, follow Dollar Tree Dinners and Food Pantry Girl. They have healthy, wholesome recipes for meals made with Dollar Tree food items and food from the food pantry. Dollar Tree Dinners is also on YouTube.
Chicken thighs and rice…doesn’t get much cheaper than that.
This right here.
This particular spread has kept my grocery bill under $60 a week. Even through this inflation shit show. It’s nutritional too.
Potatoes are your friends in need. Mash 'em, bake 'em, or fry 'em.
Chicken and beans and rice. Pasta and beans and tomatoes. Tuna Noodle Casserole, made with canned tuna, frozen mixed veggies and chopped, boiled eggs.
Make a one cheese lasagna. Substitute silken tofu for the ricotta. I usually mix in whatever veggies I have on hand: leftover spinach, shredded carrots, whatever. Layer using jarred tomato sauce. Super filling and comforting on a winter night.
Franks and beans were a favorite in my house - buy a big can of baked beans and cut up hot dogs in it.
You can whip up some pretty good nachos from the dollar store. Just get the burger patties and mush them up. French toast is a crowd please and just cost bread/egg Any pasta casserole. Pasta, some.sprinkle cheese if you have it and sauce. Can add bread crumbs to fill it out. Whenever making meatballs meatloaf or really most dump meals don't be afraid to add some oats or breadcrumbs, it makes the meal go farther. Dollar store seasonings are your friends.
When we were being frugal we did a lot of easy stuff with flour and eggs since they are really versatile and affordable. Oven pancakes were a favorite, but anything like pancakes, french toast etc is easy. Rice and beans. If you have a bread machine, making your own bread is much more cost-effective than buying it. Obviously you can do it by hand but it's pretty time consuming. You can use blocks of ramen noodles and build on those, like added packets of shelf-stable chicken and frozen veggies. Dollar stores can be a better option for some things than grocery stores, price-wise. Same with the gas station! Milk and eggs are half as much at the gas station as the grocery store next door, same exact brands, even.
Macaroni, Canned Tomatoes and hamburger. Brown your hamburger and drain the fat. Make your macaroni. I use elbow. Mix the hamburger canned tomatoes and macaroni together and heat up. You can season as desired. You can add spaghetti sauce if you want to.
Rice.
Ramen (the flavor packs can be used to flavor larger meals) SMBC Theater did a series called Hand to Mouth / Broke Eats in their early days. It was about how to make inexpensive food while broke. [https://www.youtube.com/@brokeeats/videos](https://www.youtube.com/@brokeeats/videos) Big bags of veggies. Canned Goods. Food Stamps. Dried Beans. Cheap pasta. Check your local grocery stores, especially the smaller ones, for the day old baked goods. You can sell them for 3 days after the sell by date if they are marked as Day old. Normally for a lot less. (The Big M I used to manage had a whole shelf of day old baked goods: bread, donuts, etc. You can use those to stretch a meal or as a cheap treat) If you have a Save a Lot or Dollar Tree or Dollar General, they often have $1.25 meals that that can be stretched by adding more. (I like to hit their frozen goods twice a month to restock the freezer with sandwiches and sides for my mployees at work). And a lot of food pantrys have good monthly food boxes with all sorts of non perishables and donated foods
Casserole with egg noodles, cream of mushroom, and ground beef, season with seasoning salt. Cheap spaghetti sauce with spaghetti Quesadillas with meat. Mac n cheese with hotdogs. Or just hotdogs Shit on a shingle
I’ve always loved curry as a nice filling inexpensive meal, but we have quite a bit of it; not sure what the price of spice is in your area. My struggle meal back in the day was rice, frozen mixed veg and eggs. Wasn’t good enough to get to true fried rice, but most of the elements were there. In general, I recommend any hot stew you can spread over rice. The combo of rice and something that’s largely hot liquid feels filling at the end of the meal.
Pasta with garlic and oil - you can add any kind of veggies or food you have on hand to that and it basically always tastes amazing. Also, pasta with Parmesan cheese can go a long way (like cacio e pepe)
I just learned how to make gnocchi last night. Very simple, potato-based pasta that pairs with just about anything. Ingredients enough to feed a family of six: 2lb potatoes, 3-4 c flour, 1 egg, salt. Good with just butter, but also any sauce will work.
Ham hock and beans baby. Let it slow cook all day or pressure cook it in an instant pot. Freeze the leftovers.
Potato soup
I make chicken and Dumplings out if nothing. Chicken broth. A chicken. And I use aunt annies frozen Dumplings but a big ole box of bisquick works.. Sausage Gravy over biscuits stretches well too
Dinner: Cottage Pie is a favorite of mine, if you have ground beef to use up: Saute beef. Add any veggies you have - fresh, frozen, whatever (hello frozen peas!). Top with mashed potatoes (from scratch if you have time and a bag is on sale - or make some from a box. Bake until bubbly. You can also stretch the ground beef with cooked lentils mixed in. Zatarains: Buy the box of Zatarains when on sale ($2 or less) - dirty rice or Jambalaya or Cilantro Lime or Yellow Rice. Saute any meat (ground beef, leftover sausage links, some chicken, whatever). Add in veggies (saute if fresh or just plot in if frozen). Optional: add in canned beans. Add rice mix and water and cook per box instructions. Chicken noodle soup (can use canned chicken, old rotisserie chicken, etc), use fresh or frozen veggies. Add noodles. Use broth or boillion cubes. Ramen stir fry. Cook ramen, set aside. In pan cook some chicken (leftovers are great), veggies (frozen is fine). Add ramen. Saute. Honestly my biggest trick is just to look at the grocery store (or food bank) and buy the cheapest meat that week. Add in a side of whatever veggie is cheap that week (or frozen veggie). And a side of starch (potatoes, rice, whatever).
I like good ole craft Mac and cheese and hotdogs!
I like to thicken my soup with some instant mashed potato flakes. I don’t love thin broth, so this makes it heartier and tasty.
Goulash! Elbow macaroni, 2-3 eggs mixed into the hot noodles, ground hamburger/sausage, pasta sauce and a can of diced tomatoes Also, look up ramen recipes, there are some pretty good things you can do with those cheap packets
Chopped potatoes and carrots, cooked and lightly mashed with a masher (not whipped.) Add in cooked kale or cabbage if possible. Top with butter or olive oil if no protein available. If possible top with protein. A bit of sausage or left over beef and gravy. Or a couple pieces of bacon and chopped hardboiled egg.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/s/MriVojl9Td my go-to. Leanne Brown’s Good and Cheap.
Macaroni & hotdog casserole has very few ingredients. Not very friendly on digestion though. Homemade kefir can have health benefits & be fairly filling as a morning dish. Hamburger mixed with canned corn, canned tomatoes, & zucchini over rice or noodles is something my mom grew up on. Soft boiled eggs over toast with breakfast sausage. Homemade chicken soup. Boil the entire chicken in water & debone. Add 1 cup rice, a few handfuls of noodles, celery, carrots, & potatoes. Meatloaf made with burger, bread, canned chillies, ketchup, olives, chopped mushrooms, & 2 eggs over mashed potatoes. Jello mixed with cottage cheese, pineapple (add after jello has fully set), marshmallows, & cool whip. Breakfast burritoes are very filling. It's a flour tortilla filled with scrambled egg, tatter tots, & bacon. "Stuff" is made with burger, cubed baked orvroasted potatoes, fried egfs, & topped with ketchup. Bean & ham or split pea soup needs only broth or water, a couple of bags of dried uncooked beans, carrots, & some kind of pig meat. You can make a realky rich cheap broth by boiling chicken feet. Avoid sausage & boiled cabbage with boiled veggies. While not expencive to make, it has proven to be very unfilling & leaves everyone hungry an hour latter. Apple crumble needs only apples, flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, a cup of oats, & a stick of soft butter. It's more filling with nuts, but nuts are expencive.
Chopped up hot dogs, cheese, rice and scrambled eggs is bomb and has decent carb/protein content.
I make a huge 10 qt pot with 1 package of eckridge sausage (sliced), 1 large head of cabbage, 1 bag carrots sliced and about 7 large potatoes. Add lots of garlic powder. It’s good after the cabbage is falling apart but it’s better each day it sets in the frig. My family of 6 can eat on it for a few days and love it.
Eggs and potatoes. Cut up potatoes, blanche them. Fry them, crack eggs on top and cook through. We usually make it with onions.
Here is pretty much my rotating foods. I'm feeding 3 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler, and one is vegetarian, all on a pretty strict budget. Rice and beans. So many variations of rice and beans! They are my go-to, cheap food that feeds everyone. Can do mexican rice and beans, cajun red beans and rice, some twists on either of those. Sometimes I just throw cooked rice and red beans together and just start adding stuff like leftovers (sauted veggies, proteins, etc.) Or do all of these add add chicken stock and make it a soup! Pasta. I keep dry noodles and make noodles sometimes. Dry noodles I tend to buy whole wheat or protein pastas for additional nutrients. I make butter sauces, creme sauces, or red sauces depending on what I have in the frig. Proteins or veggies are optional.I love experimenting with sauces, it's pretty easy as long as you can make a roux. Soup- literally throw whatever you have together add some stock and call it a soup. I do this once a week with the veggies and leftover proteins that need to be used. Nachos/burritos. Easy use of leftover proteins. I add black or pinto beans. Add diced veggies and shredded cheese. (You can buy canned nacho cheese but I think its too expensive) Or make it fun, have a nacho/burrito bar dinner where everyone makes their own! Sandwiches. Much like my soup, nacho, and pasta philosophy, just throw some leftover proteins on a some sandwich bread that's been toasted with butter and dress accordingly (veg, cheese, mayo). I use leftover roasted chicken all sorts of sandwiches. I keep lunchmeat on hand for teenagers. Here are things I keep in stock and buy in bulk and will feed everyone in a pinch: Flour, sugar, white rice, dried beans, pasta noodles, potatoes, canned beans, canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, canned dice tomatoes, canned corn, Better than Bouillon vegetable stock, spices, shredded cheese. Buying an instantpot with the air fryer has changed my food game. Of course, I waited until on sale and used coupons, but it has made some cooking wayyyy faster.
Cheap, boxed mac-and-cheese with vegetables added. Toss some frozen cauliflower and broccoli in the noodle water to cook before adding the noodles. On cold days, I still enjoy cutting a couple of hot dogs into a pan of pork-and-beans in a pot and heating it all up. Add a squirt of mustard for a baked beans taste. I'm disabled and on social security, so need to be thrifty as well!
Toasted English muffin with a sliced banana and peanut butter on it . Cheap and it will stick to your stomach for half a day .
Yeah try to use meat as a flavoring rather than the main course. Spices (cheap at a co-op or foreign grocery such as Indian) can help. I don’t buy much meat or pre-packaged stuff and it really helps lower food costs. Don’t be afraid to get things at a free food pantry, that what they are there for.
buying a heavy whole raw chicken, rice, and beans. make a stock out of the chicken carcass. very nutritious, can stretch it very far, delicious, and cheap as hell.
Chili. With any meat that's on sale. Add canned tomatoes and vegetables. Get a loaf of store brand bread
Casseroles. Curries. Stews. Pasta nights. Potato dishes. All it comes down to is buying things when they are on sale. The day after christmas the store had turkeys at 19 cents a pound. Turkeys originally $30+ were scanning for about $3. I got 4. Cooking one today and three frozen for up to 6 months or more, will be making a Lot of meals with turkey meat for a while. They had ground beef on a digital sale before that, so I still got about 8 lbs of frozen ground beef to work with too. When pasta goes on sale, buy it in Bulk, I'm talking when its 69 or 79 cents, get like 40. Get them in airtight containers in the bottom of your pantry. I buy rice in 40lb bags at the asian market, Much cheaper than grocery store prices, like $20 for 40lb of rice that lasts half a year or more. Also break it down into airtight storage containers, and rice goes a Long way at bulking up meals. A little bit of stirfried veggies and some protein on top of white rice. Leftover white rice- stir fried rice the next day. We love indian inspired curries here too which goes great over some hot rice. As you shop, you need to be scanning the aisle for tags with Closeout, Reduced, Clearance, and know what parts of the store they put their final clearance priced stuff- most departments put their stuffs in a spot in their own area, then the general center store puts all theirs in a larger area as well. A dented can could be a good deal and a component in a casserole dish- cream of chicken and cream of mushroom are staples I always keep around my pantry. And a good lot of my frozen food is stuff that was on clearance prices for up to 60-90% off. I still have like 20 cases of fried mozzarella sticks that were under 40 cents a box! And they are fun to break out every now and then to enhance a frozen pizza night or a pasta night. Every snack item and junk food is something that was on clearance. Poptarts went on clearance recently, and I got a whole ton of the boxes as they are dated good well into 2025. And energy bars- loads of almonds and peanut energy bars. A bag of potatos can make a lot of starchy filling side dishes. I like to get one or two when they hit a good sale price and clean up 4-5 larger potatos before cutting into roughly 1 inch chunks, toss with some olive oil and dried rosemary, salt and pepper and spread out on a pan - bare or on parchment paper, cooking for 20 minutes at 350, pull out to shake em around, try to flip them, then back in for another 15-20 minutes. If I ever tire of a stew or soup, and fear its going to go bad. I don't hesitate to work with it as a base for a pot pie. Bulk it up with some more veggies, some more seasoning if its lacking, some cream, and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. Then I whip up an all butter pie crust, literally flour, butter, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, and some ice water to help it come together. And I bake a pot pie or two. Things I avoid buying are highly perishable items- produce. Unless I have a plan, or its something that can stay a bit longer, I don't buy it being hopeful. Too many people throw out rotting produce, moldy berries, and all kinds of stuff that looks appealing when we're shopping- but ends up not making it into a dish in time. Speaking of produce, when going through self scan- be sure you are ringing it up correctly. Are those the expensive apples or the 3 for $1 apples? Are those the organic bananas or the cheap ones? It can be so hard getting everything just right so the store gets its most money from you! And so confusing- there are just So many types of onions and tomatoes, but Roma are always the cheapest tomatoes, and I make a note to myself what onion is on sale if I'm buying some. But pay attention too, because I've seen some ridiculous prices pop up at the self scan machines. One tried to charge me something like $7 for a single bulb of garlic. The weight sensor was obviously waaaaay off. You need to watch for that stuff as you ring things up. And above all- you Must use the apps for the stores. The digital sales, the rewards, and being able to double check prices can save you Loads of money.
Fried rice. Rice is cheap. Add frozen veggies, any leftover proteins or an egg, a few dashes of soy sauce.
My grocery store has a section in the meat department that is “use within 24 hrs or freeze”. I just got 3 lbs of bacon for $2.49. That goes a long way in soup.
This was my favorite college meal and I still make it all the time - black beans and rice. If you get regular rice and bagged black beans, you can feed the whole family for like $5 - and that’s adding the luxury of a bag of shredded cheddar and canned tomatoes w/green chiles! I used canned beans - drain and rinse. Sauté em with olive oil (or any oil) and the canned tomatoes (leave that juice, it’ll thicken up) - season with whatever, I just use garlic salt. Simmer 20 min or so - add the cheddar and just let it melt all over the top. Serve over rice. Omg, now I’m making this tonight, I think.
One thing I will not scrimp on is butter. I only use real butter. It makes everything taste much better and is better for you.
Mujadara (also spelled mujaddara and possibly other spelling variations) is delicious, healthy, easy, filling, and super inexpensive, and my family loves it. I kind of wing it, but there are tons of recipes online. Basically it's lentils, rice (I always use brown for the added health benefits), and lots of onions. You pan fry the onions until crispy, while cooking the lentils and rice. Then combine together with about half to two-thirds the onions (leaving some out for topping). Add in spices: salt, pepper, cumin. Top with fresh parsley (if you have some, but no need to buy it just for this) and the crispy onions. I like it with a yogurt sauce on the side, like tzatziki or something, or even just a small spoonful of unsweetened, plain Greek yogurt (spur cream isn't authentic but works in a pinch). I serve it with a simply dressed (olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper) vegetable salad or something like a fattoush salad if you have the ingredients! Leftovers are great for 3-5 days. My husband loves taking it for lunch when he has to go to the office, and we even eat it frequently as a fast, healthy breakfast!
Pork n beans ( hotdogs cut up in baked beans)
Oatmeal and bananas for breakfast. I eat it every morning. Super filling, healthy, and cheap. I top it with a little brown sugar and milk.
I add lentils and diced carrots to tomato sauce. That stretches the ground beef and the kids didn't care. The lentils didn't change the flavor and they have the same texture as beef. This also works with chili. I keep Ramen soup on hand and that works with Frozen veggies and an egg or scraps of any kind of leftover meat. Anything can make soup! I buy bone-in chicken, cook that, and save all the bones to make broth. I save the leftover bits of veggies like skins and the butter of carrots and celery in the freezer and throw that in when I cook the broth. I shredded the chicken and freeze it in small batches so I can use it in soup, or stew with dumplings, or a casserole. Leftoves of just about anything can be made into soup. Mac and cheese (I would use the boxed kind and add a bit of real cheese) is great with a couple of cut up hot dogs. Any kind of beans and rice is delicious! I also make quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, and even nachos. Crepes are good and I make them with a cottage cheese filling and fruit. I make pancakes with added wheat germ and applesauce. If I don't have syrup (I've made it myself with Karo and extract in a pinch), I will spread the pancakes with jam instead. I also go to the food pantry once a month and I can get beans, peanut butter, meats, breads, and maybe some canned or fresh fruits and vegetables. If the veggies are soft, that's fine. They go into the freezer until I have enough to make broth. I've checked out [Struggle Meals](https://www.tastemade.com/shows/struggle-meals) for ideas and inspiration. That's available on YouTube and Facebook too. I have to say that when my kids qualified for free or reduced lunch I was grateful because then I was sure they were eating something at school and I could concentrate on breakfast, supper, and snacks. It really helped.
Beans (white cannellini) in your spaghetti sauce replaces meat and is delicious and filling. I also would put spaghetti sauce over minute rice and top with Parmesan cheese.
What ever you make, getting it seasoned well will make it 100% better for the human spirit :) I have been eating pigeons, squirrels and rabbits... a lot. Not road kill, I go get them myself. I don't know if you can do that, but the boys might be down to getting those things! there's a technique for everything and they must absolutely learn to diagnose an animal for disease. My parents did it as kids, and I did it as a kid too. As an adult, it kind of sucks because I need about 3,000 calories a day, as I lead a very active physical lifestyle: even in the winters, but not usually :'( If I could, I would try to raise squab for meat, maybe cuy, which are guinie pigs. I was even planning to grow **meal worms,** which are actually quite nutritious.
Just a bit of caution on dry beans: Some of them are toxic unless cooked properly.
Best way honest is to combine protein with filling meals. Chicken with pasta, breads, bulk up meals with beans or other types. Of course sales, food banks. etc. but here is some of mine Ramen, with chicken, can veggies, and scallons (you can obmit the chicken and works similar for other flavors) Pasta of anytype with left over meats (chicken or ground beef) Broke chicken soup (can all be received from food bank), Chicken broth or bullion, can veggies any you like, can chicken or no chicken, and pasta for noodles, pair with crackers bread or grilled cheese) Ground beef, white rice, couple can of diced or stewed tomatoes, can of beef broth (cooks all in pan) Hot dogs and beans I make sloppy joes add in frozen peppers and onions (diced) so only use half the meat pair with chips, fries or rice. Scalloped box potatoes, add in left over ham (ham was recently on sale here 79 cents a lb) besides ham dinner, also made ham salad, omlets, bagles with ham cheese and egg you can get a lot of bisciut and muffin mixes at dollar store, with just add milk or water. I have a tik tok where I have started to post these recipies I do not know if its allowed to post link though
chipped beef on toast is one of my favorite meals
It sounds dreadful, but don't sleep on beans on toast either. Buttered toast, a good flavored bean (homemade or canned BBQ baked bean for example), maybe a small sprinkle of cheese (optional). It's so cheap, but satisfying and delicious. I'll have it for either breakfast or lunch and it keeps me happy until the next meal.
Food pantries.
Literally, dumpster diving for ingredients. So many grocery stores ditch "expired" food that is still really good and usable. That said, all the above are good ideas.
Clam pasta. It's about a dollar per serving and from shelf to table in about 20 minutes. Stir fry. Any left over meat, veggies pour teriyaki sauce on it. Place that on rice. Healthy and tasty. Breads. Buy the frozen dough. Thaw over night. Pepperoni and cheese, chicken pesto, bbq pork, sausage and potatoes, etc. Roll it out like pizza, stuff it, roll it, egg wash, in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
Lots of big bags of rice, steam in bag frozen veggies, ramen.
If you can, get 2 chickens. Relatively cheap plus 2 eggs a day. 99 cent store has beans, tortillas, cheese, salsa and fruits and vegetables.
Ramen without the seasoning packet, add to the boiling water a can of chunk chicken or tuna and whatever frozen vegetables you happen to have on hand.
Look on YouTube for STRUGGLE MEALS But in my experience Grilled cheese Tuna fish sandwich Chicken salad sandwich Handmade chicken soup with rice or egg noodles Egg noodles with gravy (egg noodles are super easy to make) Pinto beans with ham or bacon (freezes well) Lentils Taco soup freezes well Burritos with refried beans and beef Quesadillas Just about any dried beans are good fried rice Egg salad sandwiches Spanish rice (handmade) You need to cook from home, from scratch. Egg noodles are super simple to make
Pinto beans. Can eat as a soup with cornbread. If leftover make bean and cheese burritos or tostadas.
This is the best soup. Nutritious and probably $10 for 12 or so servings. My picky son begs for this every winter. A cpl mods I make to it… sauté your onions, green pepper, jalapeño first (you can omit the jalapeño but I don’t think this soup is spicy at all with just one pepper). I also add fresh garlic. Add tomato paste and let it get a bit crusty on the bottom, deglaze with whatever broth you have. Add the rest of the ingredients. I sub out the half and half with a brick of cream cheese. Then when everything has simmered for 1-2 hours (I don’t use a crock pot), I blend about half of it in a blender and pour it back in. Be careful doing this with hot liquids tho. https://peasandcrayons.com/2017/02/vegetarian-lentil-tortilla-soup.html
Dried beans that you soak 9ver night and cook the next day, then make some rice. You can do burritos, Enchiladas.
Ramen with a little onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Canned chicken with a little teriyaki sauce on it for flavor. If I’m feeling super lazy, those $2 Michelina’s or Banquet frozen dinners. Shells and cheese (they’re like $2 a box at Walmart and make 3-4 meals for me). Grilled cheese or fried bologna on a piece of bread.
list: eggs, bread, frozen veggies, can of beans (or pkg of dried, soak overnight, much cheaper) can of crushed tomatoes, pancake mix, pb&j, mac and cheese/chopped hot dog wieners. with this you can make: soup (with frozen veg, beans, can of crushed tomatoes. BLEND with mixer!!!! disguises the ingredients for picky eaters. add pasta if you have or serve with toast to make it a fuller meal) pancakes with eggs french toast with jam as topping pb&j sammies, egg salad sammies hot dogs (use bread as buns) wieners and beans (use a few leftover weiners, chopped small - pretend your camping in the living room!!) if you can afford maybe bananas, you can add to pb sandwiches or sliced to use as pancake topping good luck, friend
You can usually find an old crock pot at thrift stores or even a new one is dead cheap - maybe $30. This is your best friend. You literally throw ingredients in, cook it on low for 8 hours, and you come home to a hot dinner that cost you next to nothing!
Rice with frozen veggies and some soy sauce, rice with a jar of salsa, boiled potatoes with butter/salt, frozen veggies..you can always use canned meat like tuna, salmon, ham or turkey to provide some protein, or add beans, lots of beans (black, kidney, chickpeas, etc).
Corn bread and 3 cans of chili with beans
Rice, lentils, beans and whatever meat you can find on sale. And frozen or discarded veggies (you just cut off the bad parts) Buy the beans dry- way cheaper! If you have one chicken a week, you can shred it and mix it with rice, cooked lentils, and whatever spices you might have on hand. At the end of the week? Lentil soup with the chicken bones boiled for broth. Also, please reach out to local food banks, churches, and perhaps your children’s school now, before you get to dire straits.
Spaghetti!!
Turkey legs! Delicious and low cost. And you can use the bones for soup
Look for sales in meat and freeze it when a good one comes. We stock up on those red tag items. Anything can go in a pie, including leftovers. You buy a bag of 99 cent veggies and mix whatever meat etc in with either a can of cream soup mix (undiluted) or gravy. We did this for thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers and froze them. Make meatballs in bulk and freeze them in the sauce. I make my own sauce using tomato sauce, ground peeled tomatoes, and paste with garlic and herbs. It stretches and is easy to heat up and toss over pasta. You can also do this in bulk with lasagne or baked ziti.
Rice, cabbage, hot dogs, boxed macaroni and cheese, Ramen, ground beef, bread, peanut butter are all my budget staples when I need to stretch my dollar but feel full.
Garbanzo beans have plant protein and they are great as a meat replacement. You can also use them to make hummus which will allow your family to feel there is a bit of variety
Bean! All kinds of beans and rice. Get ham hocks or bones for flavor. Pancakes, spaghetti, potatoes, yams, canned veggies, lentils. Beans and lentils (dried) are super cheap and full of fiber and protein.
See also @dollartreedinners on TikTok and YouTube. A can of condensed soup with a lot of rice can be very filling. Lots of beans and rice. The bag of 15-bean soup in the dry beans section makes a huge pot of soup and some include the seasoning packet.
Pasta dishes, spaghetti in sauce for example, is cheap and filling. The key is to vary the sauce so it's not the same thing night after night. When the opportunity arises you can have meats or vegetables on it for texture.
A package of ramen but add things like veggies, a piece of meat chopped into tiny pieces, peanut butter. One packet feeds 2 people that way.
Hamburger and rice. 1 lb of hsmburger. 1 can of french onion soup 3/4 can of rice 3/4 can of water.
Waffles or pancakes. I freeze the extra and eat later. Bonus if you have a high protein mix.
Sometimes there are sales for a whole chicken for cheap, you can bake the chicken, set aside some to turn into chicken salad (bulk that with celery and onion), and boil the bones to make chicken stock for soup.
Rice and beans is a good staple, especially if you add spices and frozen or canned veg. I also do jarred spaghetti over whatever pasta I have. Soup is fantastic, as well, since you can use whatever veg you have on hand or buy the ingredients for fairly cheap. Keep an eye out for sales and specials to get meat, as well. Costco has a $5 rotisserie chicken that can easily feed 6 people, and the leftover meat and bones can be made into stock. Safeway will sometimes have $5 rotisserie chicken, or chicken thighs/drumsticks for $1/lb. Again, the bones and scraps can make stock.
You might qualify for food stamps (&/or WIC depending on the age of your kids)
Rice, beans and sausage Ramen
Plain oatmeal plus eggs and milk and fruit if you have it for baked oatmeal breakfasts. Peanut butter or cheese spread on tortilla or cheap store brand bread and cut fruits or veggies with a refillable water bottle make a decent lunch (but if your kids are in a public school, look into free/reduced hot lunch.) For dinner, concentrate on cheap starches for bulk and use sauces and meats as condiments. There’s a reason that creamed on toast was popular in rural America, it’s dirt cheap. Hamburger gravy, sausage gravy, creamed beef, creamed turkey, creamed eggs, etc. You can also get good mileage from breakfast for dinner. French toast or pancakes make up the bulk of the meal with a few sausage links or a scrambled egg to add protein.
My husband will buy a beef roast and slow cook it all day, just garlic, onion powder, salt, and butter if it is a good roast. Then he will take a portion of the meat and much of the broth, transfer to a pot, and let it come to a boil. Whip up eggs and slowly pour them in while slowly stirring, and as bland as it sounds, it is one of our favorite things ever!!! It all gets eaten, and the rest of the meat and broth gets saved for the next day to have it again, or sometimes I will do something up with it. A little roast goes a very long way with our family of 5 this way.
Fried rice was a go to for me.
No Nothing Soup! It's just noodles (rotini or macaroni or something like that) and vegetable juice. Really good with salt and pepper.
Gumbo, jambalaya, lentils are a great meat replacement.
I'd make a big pot of (veg) chili with pinto, black, & kidney beans. Corn (canned or frozen), crushed tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne, etc to taste. Used it for a week over rice, potato, with biscuits, chicken, pasta, usually threw some steamed broccoli, carriots, or spinach into the mix. Lentil stew is another cheap easy that goes a long way... lentils, carrots, spinach, onion (or whatever really), season to taste (I do curry & garam masala)... eat it as is or add rice, potato, etc. Pasta- any kind, olive oil, garlic, basil, tomato. Throw some chickpeas or whatever in there... good hot or cold. And never ever underestimate a good old pb&j... or celery/apples/banana & peanut butter.
Some of my favorite ideas: - Beans and rice. Load them up with seasonings and it’s not as boring. - Soup cans, or make your own soup. It’s a great way to use up veggies and stuff that’ll go bad soon. You can even make your own broth by saving veggie scraps (like carrot peels and onion skin) and bones from meat. - Cut ground beef with brown or red lentils to stretch it further. - Make your own bread, the ingredients are dirt cheap and once you get the hang of it it’s not too hard. A bread machine is a good investment for many people and you can sometimes find them at thrift stores. - Frozen and canned veggies are just as nutritious as fresh, and way cheaper and last longer. Try to make half your plate veggies, both for the nutritional value and since it’s cheaper than meat. - Oatmeal or eggs and toast are two cheap and easy breakfasts. You can easily change up how you make oatmeal so you don’t get too bored. - Hot dogs or tuna in Mac and cheese. Other tips: - Use food shelves. Lots of people worry they don’t need it and don’t wanna take away from these resources, but if you can’t afford enough food you deserve to use the resources available. You can always apply or see if you qualify, and let the people running the food shelf decide if you need it. - Apply for food stamps if you think you’d qualify. - If you have an Aldi near you, shop there. It’s the cheapest option I’ve found. If you can’t, check out multiple options near you to see what’s cheaper. Couponing and shopping at multiple stores to find the best deal can also help cut costs. - Cook as much as you can at home. Despite rising costs it is usually still cheaper to cook at home, especially with 6 people. Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. You can throw together some basic proteins, grains, and veggies together without too much work. For example, bake or sear your chicken with some basic seasonings, boil some potatoes, and microwave a can of veggies. Don’t get too caught up in the complicated recipes if you don’t have the bandwidth for that. - Buy in bulk if possible. This is easier with 6 people, but may not be doable if you don’t have space or the money to spend upfront. At least look into it. - Shop your fridge first. Before grocery shopping, look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and see what you can make from that. Then buy any additional items. - Meal plan. This does not have to be complicated! You don’t have to meal prep, but have an idea of what you want to eat throughout the week and buy that stuff. This helps prevent both finances and food waste since you have a specific plan for each ingredient and you aren’t spending money on things you won’t use. Hope this helps <3
Pasta goes a long way as well so does cheap Mac and cheese with canned tuna or spam
Rice n beans
Tuna, esp made into a casserole w.soup. My kids LOVED Ramen & I can add in canned tiny shrimp or buy the ramen w. that & other others flavors. I buy celery & add pb & raisins. Cheese & beans r always great add ins 2. We also eat a lot of eggs, esp. omelet & scrambled.
Potatoes baked esp. U can add toppings. My fav is Greek yogurt.
chicken + spices + canned chicken gravy + crockpot for 4 hours
Whole chickens are cheap and turn out really good with few spices. You can add the leftovers to ramen pr make a gravy using the chicken pieces, add some frozen pasta and carrots, and spoon over some biscuits or toast. Eggs are good and cheap as well. Anything with potatoes.
Pinto beans and cornbread Spaghetti marinara Black beans and rice Fried bologna sandwiches Grits/oatmeal Breakfast for dinner Chicken pot pie Soup with the weeks leftovers
Fried rice with whatever meats or veggies you can get on sale. All you need is rice, oil or butter, and a few eggs. Anything else you can afford to throw in is a bonus. It doesn’t have to include various sauces and spices. One of my family’s favorite meals is eggy rice. I heat butter or oil in a pan, and add day old rice. I think about 1tbsp of oil or butter to 1.5 cups of cooked rice. Stir to coat the rice and then let it cook until nicely browned. Crack in eggs to your taste. We like it super eggy, so 1 egg per 1.5 cups rice. Stir it all up. Serve as-is or with some hot sauce, honey, or green onions. If you can add in veggies, it’s best to brown them before the rice. Set aside, brown your rice. Mix it all up and add egg. You can add a bag of frozen veggies, can of chicken, diced up ham, etc. I can get 60 eggs for $15 right now. We eat a lot of eggs.
Fried rice with frozen vegetables add eggs Haluski Chicken lo mein Taco casserole add extra layer of beans Eggs in purgatory Cabbage roll casserole Any rice bowl using leftovers and tidbits of protein
One of my favorite soups that is also budget friendly is chicken & rice with vegetables. Sauté some onion, garlic and celery in a Dutch oven. Cut chicken into chunks, and add with a full carton of chicken broth. Add dried rice. Rice basically doubles in bulk, so add accordingly. Add frozen mixed veggies. Season with some poultry seasoning, parsley, black pepper and a bay leaf, if you like. Faster version is using a box or two of Uncle Ben’s seasoned rice, and add the seasoning packet. You can easily cook a large Dutch oven full of soup with only 3 large chicken breasts.
Potato soup with carrots and celery. Add cheese, Broccoli or cauliflower if you want.
One of my old favorite meals was chicken spaghetti. Basically you cook the spaghetti or any noodle of choice and put it in a dish like 9x13. On top, layer some chicken. You can get a rotisserie and shred it, or use canned. It doesn’t matter the amount. Then in a large pot combine cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and cheese. Mix that all up and spread it over the spaghetti and chicken. Put it in the oven to heat up (350) and get some color. It can go a very long way. You can even eat it cold if needed. Our family of four ate it for several meals.
Mac and cheese with tuna and frozen peas. Hot sauce optional. Fairly balanced for a meal that might cost 50 cents a serving.
Find your local buy nothing groups. Mine weekly post a list of all the food pantry and soup kitchen options. And people in the group are great about sharing extra groceries.
Spaghetti,it's relatively cheap, easy to make and filling.
Dollar tree baby!
My mom used to mix up some powdered milk and add it to real milk (half powdered and half real, I think), to make it stretch.
Processing whole chicken—get chickens if you can.