So whether it’s your husband, your wife, or any member of the family, these are a list of cheap meals that everyone will like.
1) Sloppy Joes
Oh yes, this was a crowd pleaser in my house growing up, and super cheap. You just need hamburger buns, any will do, and then you use some ground beef or ground turkey. You mix that up with some of the yummy sauce, so it has Worcestershire, brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard in there. It comes together and it’s super good. You could easily dice up some veggies if you want to hide or add some to this meal, like mushrooms, celery, or carrots.
Toast the buns and serve that right on top. Then you can serve it with a side of veggies. You could do pickles, coleslaw, or some carrot sticks, and you have a complete meal.
2) Spaghetti Bolognese
This would be a weeknight version, a quicker version of it. You can use beef or ground turkey, and I like to add a little veggies to mine, so I would use some shredded carrots, diced up mushrooms or onions, and a can of crushed tomatoes. This is going to be super delicious when all the flavors come together, and I add some grated parmesan cheese on top.
If you didn’t add veggies to your Bolognese sauce, I would go ahead and add some more on the side. I’ll probably still add veggies on the side anyway, because I like to have a nice, colorful dinner.
3) Beef Stroganoff
Beef stroganoff is so good. I love it served over egg noodles, it’s delicious. Truthfully, this could be ground turkey stroganoff if you’re trying to cut down on beef. Then you’re going to have lots of mushrooms and a can of cream of mushroom, of course, and it’s going to give it so much flavor served over the egg noodles.
I would probably add a little more veggies if you can, so maybe a little fresh side salad. This is a complete and delicious meal.
4) Cheeseburger Casserole
So it’s like a cheeseburger, but you can make it inside the house and you don’t have to go out to the barbecue. You just make this right in a casserole dish with some ground beef or ground turkey, and you can add some pasta and some cheese, baking it all together. Then, of course, top it off with some fresh tomato, some pickles if you’d like, some shredded lettuce, and some avocado if you want. So good, a cheeseburger in a casserole dish.
5) Meatloaf
Mm, love meatloaf. You can make meatloaf with ground beef or ground turkey, I make it both ways. You’re going to need some breadcrumbs, and I like to add some sun-dried tomatoes to this to give it a little flavor and color. After you get this all together and shape it into a loaf on a cookie sheet, you’re going to bake it.
When it comes out, I like to slice that up. You can serve it in a sandwich if you like, but we usually serve it over mashed potatoes with some asparagus or green beans on the side to make it a complete meal.
6) Baked Ziti
You can take some ziti, or whatever shape of pasta you have, and add that to a casserole dish with some spaghetti sauce on top. You’re going to want to boil the pasta for just a few minutes before you add it to the casserole dish, and then it’s going to cook in there with the pasta sauce, adding whatever cheese you like. We love ricotta, or you could do mozzarella, or even cottage cheese if you wanted to. That’s going to give it a really delicious cheesy flavor when it comes out.
I would serve this with a side of vegetables like some carrot sticks, salad, or asparagus spears, whatever you have.
7) Turkey Chili
Chili is such a cozy, delicious meal. Whether you use a can of chili or you chop it all up and throw it in the crock pot, that’s my method of choice, it’s delicious either way. We like to use ground turkey, then dice up some mushrooms, carrots, and celery and throw that all in, of course with some chili powder and lots of seasoning, and have that cook slowly all the way through.
Then make some cornbread muffins in the cupcake tin, super delicious, a great combination. You could top the chili off with some sour cream and diced green onions if you’d like.
8) Sausage and Peppers
This is great because it can be a one pan meal. You take a cookie sheet and dice up those colorful peppers, or you can keep them in slices if you want. You can either chop up the sausage if you plan on serving it over rice or pasta, or if you want to serve it on a hot dog bun, then I keep those sausages whole and cook it all together on a cookie sheet. It’s a ready meal, super colorful.
9) Chili Mac
This combines two favorites in our house, chili and macaroni and cheese. You can use vegetarian chili, canned chili, or make the chili yourself. We like to use ground turkey, kidney beans, and some diced up mushrooms and carrots. Then you would combine this with some delicious pasta, and it’s delicious and a crowd pleaser for everyone.
10) Loaded Baked Potatoes
Yes, something I always forget about, and it’s so great because you could set up a cute little baked potato bar. After your potatoes are done baking in the oven, and make sure to stab them with a fork and oil them up, you just slice them open. Then you have all these fun toppings laid out on the counter, bacon bits, cheddar, sour cream, green onions, broccoli. You could even do a little chili inside if you’d like.
Such a fun and delicious meal that everyone will have a lot of fun with. It’s almost like cupcakes, but for dinner, right? You’re just decorating it yourself.
11) Shepherd’s Pie
If you haven’t had this, it’s kind of the same vibes as chicken pot pie, except you typically use ground beef or ground turkey. That bottom layer is going to be the meat, carrots, peas, and onions, and then the top layer is going to be the biscuit layer. You could also add mashed potatoes as that top layer if you’d like.
Either way, it’s going to be delicious, and it’s a complete meal made all together in this casserole dish. It’s ready to go, super warm, and it’s got your veggies, your meat, and your carbs.
12) Chicken Pot Pie
Oh yes, this is a special request in our house all the time. I use the ready-made pie crust. You could also make your own pie crust if you’re ambitious, you absolutely can, I’ve done it, and was told that the store-bought one was better. Thanks a lot, kids.
You’ll get two crusts and put one down into a pie pan. Then you’re going to boil your chicken, and I like to boil potatoes and mash those up. Then in a third pan, you’re doing your veggies, so I’ll have in there some carrots, onions, and celery, cooking those with some parsley and other seasonings. Once the potatoes are mashed, add that in with some broth, and once the chicken is cooked, you can add a little flour to the chicken and then put that in, combining everything, and then putting that into your pie pan.
As a cheat, you could use rotisserie chicken as a shortcut. This is a great meal to make the day after Thanksgiving when you have plenty of mashed potatoes and turkey leftover, you could make a turkey pot pie.
13) Black Bean Nachos
We always have a can of black beans, so this is a great idea. Use some tortilla chips, layering that cookie sheet with them, and then add the black beans on top with lots of cheese. I like some nice cheddar on top.
After that’s all bubbly and warm, you can add your cold toppings if you’d like, like some diced tomatoes, and some diced onions if you want. I will definitely be adding guacamole or avocado and some cilantro on top.
14) Chicken and Dumplings
This is so good and delicious. You’re going to use your chicken and, of course, carrots, celery, and onions, and then spoon that biscuit right on top. This is going to cook so nicely and taste so good. It’s a ready meal with the protein, the carb, and the veggies all together in here, and such a crowd pleaser.
15) Enchilada Casserole
Yes, this is a favorite from my childhood. Who wants to sit there and roll enchiladas and then try to carefully separate each one after baking? Not me. So chop up those corn tortillas into little squares, add them to a sprayed casserole dish, and then add in some ground turkey or ground beef, and some beans, like black beans would be really good. Of course, lots of enchilada sauce and cheese. After it’s baked, you can put some diced onions and sour cream on top.
If you don’t have any veggies in there, then I would go ahead and add some on the side, whatever you have, like a can of green beans, frozen broccoli, fresh asparagus, or a side salad. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just getting a little veggies or fruit in the meal.
16) Burrito Bowls
So like a burrito minus a tortilla, taking all of your favorites from your burrito. You could use some chicken, whether it’s fresh or canned chicken, which is our cheat when we’re trying to cook dinner quickly. You could do some ground turkey or ground beef for protein, then you can add some rice, like white or brown, and some beans, like black beans or kidney beans.
And then, of course, some lettuce, whether it’s romaine or my favorite, spinach. You could dice up some tomatoes, have some avocado or guacamole in there, and add some corn if you’d like. Such a delicious meal. Some cilantro on top would be my choice.
17) Chicken Fajitas
Yes, a favorite in our house, such an easy meal. You just slice up that chicken and cook it over the stove with some fajita seasoning, then slice up some colorful bell peppers and add that in. I like to shred up some carrots for a little extra veggies, then slice up some onions and cook it all together until cooked.
Then warm up a tortilla, put some Mexican cheese or cheddar down on it, and add all the fillings on top. And voila, you’ve got a delicious balanced meal with these chicken fajitas. You could add some guacamole, cilantro, and fresh tomatoes on top if you’d like.
18) Chicken Fried Rice
So like shrimp fried rice, but with chicken. Maybe you have some leftover rice from the night before, that’s preferable because you want to use cold rice. What I like to do is add some ginger, garlic, soy sauce, diced onions, and a soft scrambled egg, adding that all in the pan. Then put the cooked chicken in, mix that up, and then add the cold rice. Such a great meal. I like to add frozen peas and carrots to this to give it a little more fiber, color, and veggies.
19) Beef and Broccoli
This is a Crock-Pot favorite in our house. Tastes like takeout, but costs way less. Add that beef and broccoli to the Crock-Pot in the morning, of course with lots of delicious flavorings in there with your broth, and some brown sugar if you like. There are so many recipes, and you can have this ready in the Crock-Pot when you get home.
Then you can go ahead and cook your rice, or maybe you have leftover rice. I like to cook our rice in the rice cooker and then serve it all together, and you literally have everything you need. Fun fact, the vitamin C in the broccoli helps you better absorb the iron in the meat.
20) Egg Roll in a Bowl
Who doesn’t love egg rolls, right? Having this in a bowl is so delicious. You can use ground pork, that’s the traditional way, but you can also use turkey, and then some coleslaw mix, like the bagged kind, would be good, along with some garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, which will give you a really good flavor.
Then add that all together and eat it in a bowl. Basically, it’s like the healthiest parts of the egg roll, avoiding that crunchy outside, which is usually fried.
21) Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Yes, this is a regular request in our house, and it’s not hard. You can literally use any shape of pasta you have, and you can use whole wheat pasta. We love Goodles because it’s a high-protein pasta, and the chickpea pasta is also good. After the pasta is cooked, I strain it, then melt the butter, add the milk, shred up sharp cheddar, add that in, let it all melt, and add the pasta back in.
This is nice when you have a little extra time, because otherwise my kids would love to eat box pasta every single night. It’s really not hard to make it fresh. And you could serve it with a side of meat and vegetables too to make it a complete meal.
22) Tuna Noodle Casserole
We always have a can of tuna, and it just helps so much when you’re in a pinch and need to figure out dinner. This is going to give you lots of protein. It’s great to incorporate fish into your diet, you’re going to get lots of omega-3s, so incorporating it once or twice a week is a great idea.
It’s especially good with these wonderful, delicious egg noodles, some peas, and some cream sauce all together. Such a great and delicious meal, and you can eat the leftovers the following day.
23) Tuna Melts
Yes, this is my go-to for lunch when I don’t have any leftovers. I’ll take a can of tuna and put a little mayo and mustard in there. Then you can use whatever type of bread you have, I like whole wheat, but sourdough is good as well. Butter that bread up and heat it up on the stove.
Then I like to add cheese on both slices of bread, okay, don’t come at me, but I like lots of cheese on both sides, and then put that tuna in the middle. You could have some relish or pickles in this. I like to add some fresh spinach leaves on top for a little veggie and some freshness. Super delicious.
24) Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Ugh, such a classic. Such a great, cheap meal that is just so good, it hits home for me. There’s nothing like combining tomato soup with grilled cheese. You can make your grilled cheese on whatever bread you have, I love it on sourdough, but I’ll use wheat as well for a little extra fiber. And you can use sharp cheddar if you want, that’s my favorite.
You could do canned tomato soup if you have a can, or make it from home. You could shred up a little basil on top if you’d like. Such a delicious meal, and you know you’re going to dip that grilled cheese sandwich right in that soup. Oh yeah.
25) Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy
You can take a hamburger patty, or it can be a turkey burger patty, no one’s going to judge you, and you just skip the bun. Then you can brown it in some onion gravy for lots of delicious flavoring, and spoon it over whatever carb of your choice for the night. It could be some mashed potatoes, halved potatoes, or rice, white, brown, quinoa, whatever you like.
This is such a delicious meal. I would add some veggies with this, I feel like some green beans would go really well, but any veggies that you have around to round out this delicious meal.
26) Crock Pot Pork Roast
Because I don’t have time to cook it any other way, the crock pot comes in handy. You just add all those delicious ingredients in the morning, so the pork shoulder, onion, and your broth, and cook that together. When you get home from work, you’re going to shred that up, and then you can serve it with your carb of choice. Some potatoes would go really well with this, like mashed or halved potatoes.
And you could use the leftovers for tacos, quesadillas, taco salad, or in a sandwich for lunch the next day. Delish. Making sure to add some veggies to that meal too.
27) BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Find your favorite barbecue sauce, cook your delicious chicken thighs, and then add that to a bun. You could add some coleslaw to this if you’d like, which would give it some freshness and some veggies. And you have a complete meal.
28) Buffalo Chicken Wraps
You could take some shredded chicken, whether you cooked last night’s chicken or use canned chicken, adding some yummy buffalo sauce for a little spice. Then your tortilla of choice, whether it’s low carb, spinach, or the raw ones that I like to buy, which are uncooked so you just have to warm them up on the stove. I like to buy those, they have fewer ingredients.
Then you could use some shredded lettuce or cabbage, and you could have some ranch or blue cheese dressing on the side. I feel like some carrots and celery would go well with this, of course. Delicious.
29) Breakfast for Dinner
No one ever says no to breakfast for dinner. You can have some chicken apple sausage, bacon, ham, scrambled eggs. You can make breakfast sandwiches, or you could have pancakes, waffles, French toast. A breakfast casserole would be really good, or little breakfast muffins where you take the cupcake tins and add all your favorite ingredients like the hash browns and the eggs, all of that.
I always like to try to get a little fruit or veggies in my breakfast, so whether I’m using last night’s leftover asparagus and scrambling that up in my eggs, or some fresh spinach torn up inside my eggs while I’m cooking them, or you can just do some fresh fruit on the side. So good.
30) Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet
Kielbasa is delicious, low cost, and has lots of flavor. You can buy it already cooked if you want, and you can serve this along with some cabbage and onion. You could even slice these up into coins if you want to, or you can eat it whole. Super good, super delicious.
I would make sure to add some sort of carb with this meal, unless you’re going for a low carb option, and you have plenty of veggies in the cabbage. Super delicious.
