Just because your meal is on a budget doesn’t mean it has to be boring or leave you feeling hungry afterward. Meals like these are simple, affordable, and they come in at under $3 a meal.
Many of them rely on pantry staples like beans, eggs, rice, or inexpensive vegetables to make a meal feel more filling.
1) Tomato Garlic Spaghetti
This is a pasta with a simple tomato, garlic, and olive oil sauce. Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that it’s not delicious. This is a staple of many Italian meals for a reason.
I would add some white beans to this meal for an inexpensive boost of protein and fiber without sacrificing a lot of texture and flavor from this classic dish.
2) Black Bean Tacos
This is seasoned black beans in tortillas with a crunchy cabbage and lime topping. To make this one even more effective, you can cook the dried beans ahead of time and lower the cost per serving even more.
Shred and use up any cheese that’s going bad in your fridge. It doesn’t matter what type, that’s going to be a delicious topping for these tacos.
3) Sheet Pan Sausage
This is sausage roasted with inexpensive vegetables and served over rice. It doesn’t matter particularly what it is; if it’s in your fridge or if it’s on a discount at the store, it can go over rice.
Sausage is a more affordable protein option, and it’s going to be higher in sodium and saturated fat. This means you’re going to stay fuller for longer while spending less money.
You don’t even need to use a large amount of sausage. Fill most of the pan with vegetables, and you will have a delicious filling meal that doesn’t seem like you’re trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
4) Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
Mashed chickpeas mixed with mayo or yogurt, mustard, pickles, and vegetables. Tuna salad, but make it chickpeas.
They are easy to keep dried in the pantry, and then all you need to do is soak and boil them with a little bit of salted water, and they taste absolutely delicious mashed in with this salad. Canned works as well if you want them ready to go right away.
This is a great thing to keep on hand if you want both protein and fiber at a more affordable rate.
5) Egg Fried Rice
A delicious classic. Rice fried with eggs, frozen vegetables, and soy sauce turns into a delicacy when it’s fresh off the stove.
This is a great place to use smaller portions of leftover meat or vegetables that aren’t enough for another full meal. It’s always irritating when you have half a container of something that’s not quite enough for a dinner. This is a great way to use it up.
Everything tastes delicious when it’s mixed in with egg fried rice.
6) Lentil Soup
This is lentils simmered down with onions, carrots, garlic, and other delicious seasonings.
When making this recipe it’s especially good to use dried lentils because you don’t have to soak them first. Having to wait and plan ahead to soak something takes a lot of the convenience out of it, so dried lentils are my recommendation for this.
There are many types available, so you can experiment with which one you like the best flavor and texture of, and it’s inexpensive to explore new options.
7) Creamy Peanut Noodles
These noodles are tossed with a peanut butter and soy sauce mix. Add some vinegar or lime for even more interest. This recipe will make you think twice before picking up another pack of ramen noodles.
Peanut butter is going to help add some protein and fat, which is going to keep you fuller for longer while still using inexpensive ingredients.
You can bulk it up with any type of vegetables. Either cook them together with the noodles if you would like them soft, or leave them crunchy on top, which is also delicious.
8) Loaded Baked Potatoes
A classic baked potato topped with broccoli, cheese, and sour cream or yogurt. This is another inexpensive and versatile ingredient that you can change up with lots of different types of toppings, but you don’t have to break the bank.
Potatoes are a great source of potassium, and you can control the cost and nutrition with the type of toppings that you’d like to add. You can even scoop out the centers to make twice baked potatoes by mixing your toppings in with the baked mash.
9) Cabbage And Noodles
Sauteed cabbage with onions, tossed and cooked with noodles.
An entire head of cabbage lasts quite a while in the fridge on its own, much longer than individual bags of coleslaw mix. So it’s a really useful vegetable if you’re trying to avoid wasting your produce and make sure that your hard-earned money is not going in the garbage and turning moldy by the end of the week.
By cooking the cabbage and onions, they’re going to release their natural sweetness and make a delicious, delicate meal with the noodles.
10) White Bean Skillet
This is white beans cooked with garlic, greens, and a little bit of broth to give some flavor.
Beans are a really great way to make a dinner filling by adding protein and fiber that’s going to keep you full for longer, without paying for a more expensive meat to add to the meal. The beans have a very neutral flavor, so you’ll just taste the garlic and whatever vegetables you decide to cook with the broth.
Feel free to use bouillon cubes as well, as that’s a great affordable way to have something ready to go in your pantry that doesn’t break the bank and won’t go bad.
11) Breakfast For Dinner Omelet
Eggs filled with vegetables and cheese; this is a great way to clear everything out of your fridge.
This is an excellent meal for when your fresh groceries start to run low but you still want something that has a delicious, strong flavor.
12) Eggs In Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes are packed with flavor, and even when they’re from a can, they’re actually picked when they’re the most ripe, so they’re still going to have that delicious tomato flavor, especially when they’ve been cooked a little bit in with the eggs.
Add some paprika, cinnamon, and cumin to give it an extra spice.
13) Tuna Quesadillas
This has the flavors of a classic tuna salad but cooked inside of a tortilla. Canned tuna is an excellent shelf-stable option, and it’s easy to stock up on when it goes on sale. Have it waiting for you for a rainy day and enjoy something that is fresh and warm.
Tortillas can even be put in the freezer if you don’t go through an entire pack at once. Just make sure to defrost them a little bit on the counter or on the defrost setting in the microwave so they don’t break when you first start to fold them.
14) Red Beans And Rice
Seasoned kidney beans served over rice. You can add any other proteins that you have available.
Rice and beans are both inexpensive pantry staples that you can buy in larger quantities to help reduce the price. They can be used across a lot of different meals and have a very long shelf life.
Changing the seasoning, sauces, or vegetables that you serve with this dish is going to help it feel fresh every time, and still delicious and filling.
15) Creamy Tomato Pasta
Pasta with a creamy tomato rosé sauce and seasonings. You can use milk, cream, or yogurt to get a delicious rosé effect with this pasta sauce.
Add in some frozen vegetables for an inexpensive way to add more nutrients and flavor to this dish.
16) Burrito Bowls
You can start off with a base of rice and beans and then add toppings like cheese and salsa. Corn, lettuce, and whatever other vegetables you have easily make the final touches for the bowl much more substantial.
A way to save yourself some time, effort, and money is to cook a larger batch of the rice and beans, because then you can easily turn it into leftover lunches for the next few days. Change up the toppings or salsa that go with it and it feels fresh every single time.
17) Pasta And Chickpeas
For this meal, chickpeas and garlic are cooked with tomato paste or tomatoes themselves, and then dry pasta is added after. As the pasta cooks, the starch is going to make a thicker sauce that everything cooks together with.
This meal comes together well on its own. It has a lot of richness because the pasta is cooked in the broth and sauce itself, and adding chickpeas is just going to give you even more protein and fiber without having to buy a separate meat entree.
18) White Beans On Polenta
Creamy polenta is going to be the base of this meal. White beans and cooked greens can be added on top. Garlic and chili are going to give it a lot more flavor, and frozen spinach works just as well here.
If you’re someone who likes to eat polenta regularly, you can use plain cornmeal. That’s going to be a much better, more affordable option than the specialty instant packages, which are often marked up for just a little bit of seasoning.
Often those salts and seasonings are something you already have at home, so you shouldn’t spend your money twice when you have it already in your pantry ready to go. Some seasonings you can even pre-mix if it becomes a staple meal that you like often.
19) Veggie Hummus Wraps
You can roast vegetables like zucchini, carrots, onions, or peppers until they’re tender and flavorful. Spread hummus on a tortilla, add the vegetables, and then roll everything together for a simple handheld meal.
If hummus is something you eat a lot, you can make a batch yourself and have a lower cost per serving by using chickpeas that you have at home. It’s a lot easier than you think. All you need is a little bit of oil and lemon and you have a very good hummus base that you can add other flavors to, like garlic or red pepper, which are really common combinations.
This is an excellent way to add more protein and make something more filling, whether it’s just a snack or alongside an entire meal.
20) Chicken Drumsticks And Rice
You can take some skin-on chicken drumsticks and roast them until the outside is crispy and brown. These will have drippings in the pan that you can add to some broth, water, and lemon to make a delicious sauce, and then serve over cooked rice.
Stores will often have chicken on sale if it still has the bone in or if it takes a little bit of preparation yourself. This is a great way to make sure that you’re getting a good deal for the amount of chicken that you have.
Also make sure that you’re looking at the price per pound or price per kilogram instead of just the price of the package, because that’s going to give you the real cost of the amount that you’re getting.
21) Split Pea Soup
Split peas cook down really easily into a thick, hearty soup. Something like browned onions and sauteed carrots is an easy addition if you have them available, and adds a lot of flavor.
While being very affordable, split peas have a lot of protein and fiber like other legumes, which helps turn a very simple soup into something much more substantial. The texture and flavor of the soup is really delicious.
If you have some pieces of bread that are getting a little bit stale and you wouldn’t eat on their own, toast them up in the oven with just a little bit of butter and salt, and that will be a delicious big crouton to eat with this split pea soup.
22) Upgraded Ramen
This dish starts off with very inexpensive packaged ramen noodles, and by adding frozen vegetables and an egg, it’s going to feel like a full meal. Presentation is really going to help in this one.
An extra step that you can take is doing a soft boiled or poached egg. That works really well with the noodles. Split it in the middle and the yolk will mix with the broth.
Speaking of the broth packet, only use about half of it, and use a dash of soy sauce as well. This broth packet is packed full of flavor, and you can use it with seasonings for a lot of other dishes as well.
23) Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Bake sweet potatoes, or even microwave them, until they’re soft. Cut them in half and then load them up with black beans and salsa. Cheese or some plain yogurt can be added on top for extra creaminess as well.
When roasted in the oven at about 425°F, sweet potatoes will naturally peel themselves if you don’t like the skin, or you can leave the skin on for a little bit more fiber to make it much more filling. The roasted flavor of cooking them at a higher temperature really adds to the depth, and it almost caramelizes the outside of the sweet potato.
This is one that I like to do for breakfast as well. Bake the sweet potato and then add an egg with cheese on top.
24) Vegetable Curry And Rice
For this one you want to cook the onions first until they’re soft with curry seasoning, then add the other vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, or peas. A very small amount of coconut milk will make the sauce really creamy, and then the finished curry is ready to serve over rice.
If you don’t use coconut milk very often, you can save smaller amounts of the can or package in an ice cube tray and put them in the freezer. When they’re frozen solid, pop them out and put them in a Ziploc bag so that they don’t get freezer burnt.
Then when you want to make something cooked with coconut in it, you can take just one small amount and save the rest for later.
25) Baked Mac And Cheese
Cook inexpensive macaroni noodles and coat them in a simple homemade cheese sauce. You can serve it straight from the stovetop, or you can bake it in the oven if you want it to have a brown, crispy top.
You can take this normal side dish and mix in something like peas, broccoli, or corn to have vegetables without spending money on making a whole separate dish. The added fiber will help make it feel much more filling than just the macaroni and cheese on its own.
26) Seafood Pasta
Canned tuna or sardines can be cooked with garlic and olive oil to elevate them and make it feel like an expensive restaurant dish. Adding a bit of lemon is never a bad idea with seafood, and some toasted bread crumbs will give a nice texture and crunch while being inexpensive.
Canned seafood is an excellent affordable option to still give you the protein and healthy fats that are found in a lot of fish, at a much lower price than having to buy fresh fillets, especially if you live somewhere that’s not near a lot of fresh seafood.
27) Dirty Rice
For this dish you can take pre-cooked rice and mix it with sauteed onion, garlic, and celery if you have it on hand. Adding some beans is going to make this much more filling, and the seasonings really are the star of the show for this one. They’re going to give a lot of savory and spicy flavor, while the onions and celery add depth as well.
Even though it’s really big and heavy to carry from the store, investing in a larger bag of rice absolutely pays off over time. The price per unit is much, much lower for the larger bag. Just make sure you look up how to store it properly for whatever type of rice that you purchase.
28) Veggie Frittata
Whisk up some eggs like you would for an omelet, then combine any leftover cooked vegetables you have in a baking dish. Cook it in the oven until the eggs are just set, and make sure that any vegetables that have a lot of water are drained first so that you don’t have a lot of extra moisture in your frittata.
You want to be able to pick it up like a slice of pie. You would be surprised that once you fill up the pie pan, it actually doesn’t take that many eggs to go around all the vegetables and fill them up. This is a great way to use up extra vegetables and stretch an already affordable ingredient much further.
29) Grilled Cheese And Tomato Soup
For this classic meal, cook the grilled cheese until the bread is golden brown on the outside and the cheese is fully melted. Pair it with tomato soup, which you can make creamier with a splash of milk or cream, or even mix in some yogurt.
It doesn’t matter what name is on the label for any of these ingredients; they will always taste delicious together. Add some seasonings directly to the cheese on the inside of your sandwich, as well as to your soup, to mix it up a little bit.
