31 Cheap Dinners for “I Have No Pantry Staples” Nights (Just a Fridge, a Mood, and a Plan)

All of us have run into the age-old problem. You get home from work exhausted, ready for a home-cooked meal, but there’s no ingredients to be found.

The pantry’s sparse, the fridge is bare, and you need something you can throw together with very little that still satisfies all your cravings. So here’s 31 cheap dinners that will make do with what you have, whether that’s a lone chicken breast or a few random vegetables sitting in the back of the crisper drawer.

1) Egg And Cheese Quesadillas

Egg and cheese quesadillas is kind of a combination that’s more surprising. It wouldn’t be the first thing you’d think to put together, but it is supremely comforting.

Scramble your eggs the way that you like them. Salt and pepper go a long way here, and when they’re just about done, add your favorite cheese. Roll them up in a tortilla and let it toast in the pan until the tortilla has a little bit of a crispy crust.

You would never think that four ingredients could come together to form something so satisfying. If you have some sour cream, mix it together with some hot sauce to dip on the side. Five minutes and dinner served.

2) Rotisserie Chicken Salad

This is ultimate convenience food that still keeps health on the forefront. At the beginning of the week, make sure you grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store just for a night like this.

After that, it’s really up to you. Make a base of lettuce, even chopped cabbage or mixed greens, and then find whatever vegetables are sitting there waiting to be used. A bell pepper, cucumber, jarred olives, and add some cheese for richness and substance, like feta or goat cheese.

After that, find your favorite dressing that you have on hand. If you’re really at the bottom of your ingredients, you can just mix together some olive oil and balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper for a homemade vinaigrette. It’s quick, it’s simple, it’s filling, it’s high in protein, and it packs a lot of nutritional punch.

3) Cabbage And Sausage Skillet

I love cabbage because you can keep it in the refrigerator and a head of cabbage lasts a long time. So on a night when you’re scrounging for ingredients to cook something, cabbage is always there ready.

Slice up your cabbage into thin pieces and chop up your favorite sausage. I like to brown my sausage in a bit of butter for extra flavor and then throw in all that cabbage. It’s going to look like a lot, but it’s going to cook down very fast, and at the end you’ll have a dish that’s savory and texturally super satisfying with the crunch from the cabbage. You can season it to your liking.

I like to eat this with a little bit of Dijon mustard and some caraway seeds sprinkled on from the pantry. This is a great dinner for a cold night where you don’t want to be in the kitchen slaving away for a long time.

4) Fried Rice

If you’re like me, you always have some leftover rice in the refrigerator, whether from last night’s takeout or the pot of rice you made for dinner. Take some of that and stir fry it with your favorite veggies, eggs, and leftover chicken if you have it.

My favorite thing to do is keep some frozen shrimp on hand and add them during the last couple minutes of cooking. That really elevates the dish and makes it taste like something that came from a restaurant. Finish with soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds from your seasoning cabinet.

You won’t believe how fast this comes together, and you also won’t believe that you didn’t have to go shop a huge grocery list to make it.

5) Loaded Baked Potatoes

Most of us have a few stray potatoes waiting to be used. Instead of turning on the oven and baking them for an hour, poke some holes with a fork or knife in your potato and wrap it in a damp paper towel. Microwave it for seven to eight minutes depending on the size of the potato, and boom, microwave baked potatoes.

After that, the toppings are really up to you. Sour cream, cheese, broccoli, green onion, hot sauce, a little bit of chicken. This is a really great vessel for leftovers, and it’s family friendly because your kids can top them as they wish.

6) Tuna Melts

Tuna melts are not just for the elementary school lunchroom anymore. With a few ingredients you can really take it up a notch, and most likely you have a can or two of tuna sitting in the back of your pantry like I do.

Mix it together with either mayonnaise or Greek yogurt if you have it. I like to do celery, onion, salt, pepper, and a little bit of onion powder in mine, and a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar gives it great flavor.

After that, spread it on your favorite bread, add whatever cheese you like, and put it under the broiler for just a couple minutes till the top gets crispy. This is supremely comforting, and I really like to eat it with potato chips on the side.

7) Tortellini Soup

This comes together so quick, and tortellini has a rich, savory quality about it that covers a multitude of food issues. Bring some boxed chicken broth to a simmer or a slow boil and then add in some frozen or shelf-stable tortellini. They even make a refrigerated version that’s really great.

Cook until the tortellini start to float to the top. That’s when you know they’re done. At the last minute, you can throw in some greens or spinach that’s on its last leg for some color and extra vitamins.

I like to top this with grated parmesan and crushed chili flakes, and I really love to eat this with a hunk of crusty bread. You really don’t need much else. This is one of my favorite things to make when I’m feeling under the weather and don’t want to spend a lot of time chopping or cooking.

8) Eggs And Greens Toast

Sometimes I want to have eggs for dinner just because they’re so simple, but on their own I feel like they need a little something extra. It doesn’t really feel like dinner sometimes if I don’t have a vegetable with it.

So after I scramble my eggs, I add some spinach or greens. Even frozen spinach would work great here if you thaw it and squeeze out the extra moisture. You just don’t want your eggs to be watery.

Make your favorite toast. I really like ciabatta or sourdough. Add some butter and jam, and dinner is served. And who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?

9) Snack Board Dinner

Can we say adult lunchables? Who doesn’t love a reason to stand over the counter with a variety of your favorite things and just munch? This is a great way to use up odds and ends.

Any deli meat you have on hand, fruit, cheese, make it as fancy or unfancy as you want. Toss it all on a plate if you’re really feeling lazy. I like to add a few chocolate covered almonds to round it out. This feels really fun, and you don’t have to take out a single cutting board.

10) Ground Meat Skillet

I make this all the time. I keep ground beef on hand just for this reason. This is so simple it truly doesn’t even need a recipe, but you can just brown your ground beef with any spices that you feel up for.

Depending on the night, I change up the seasoning. Sometimes I do taco seasoning, sometimes I’ll do steak seasoning, and then I add whatever veggies I have on hand, usually onion and bell pepper and some frozen corn. Cook it till it’s to your liking, and you can add a touch of water to make it a little saucy at the end.

If you want to put cheese on top, that’s great. I like to serve this over rice. It’s super fast, super filling, super high in protein, and it never gets old because you can take it in a lot of different directions.

11) Pancakes And Eggs

Most of us don’t think to pull out the pancake mix for dinner, but with a couple of tweaks it can be really substantial, not to mention fun. You can mix a little bit of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese into the mix to boost the protein content.

You can fry or scramble a couple eggs on the side, and you can top your pancakes with maple syrup and chopped fruit. I like banana, or if I’m feeling a little crazy, I even put some peanut butter and jelly on top. You’re still going to be full and satisfied, and breakfast for dinner can make a weeknight feel a little less boring.

12) Bean And Cheese Burritos

Keeping canned beans on hand is great, and usually refried beans come in super handy on a night when I’m short on ingredients and time. Heat your canned beans or refried beans, and once they’re bubbling and hot, add in some cheese of your choice.

Wrap that mixture up in your favorite tortillas and toast them and eat them as is, or add leftover protein, veggies, salsa, sour cream, or some diced avocado. Don’t even bother to try to make guacamole, diced avocado works great here. These are quick, cost-effective, and a crowd pleaser.

13) Tomato Soup And Grilled Cheese

This is a nostalgic comfort food, and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love it. Whatever tomato soup you have works, so if you have a can of soup, great. In a pinch, you can take a jar of marinara sauce and heat it up with a splash of cream on the stove. Voila, makeshift tomato soup.

Make a grilled cheese with your favorite cheese. If you’re really low on ingredients and you don’t have butter, you can even use mayonnaise to make your grilled cheese. I actually like that better than butter on a grilled cheese. Use your grilled cheese as a vessel for dipping. It’s really as simple as that.

14) Ramen With Egg

Don’t be quick to turn your nose up at ramen. It really is very versatile and super convenient to have on hand. Make your ramen as prepared and then add in your favorite frozen veggies. I like edamame and spinach.

Soft boil a couple of eggs for a protein boost. I like to add a little bit of sesame oil or even a drizzle of peanut butter for a peanut noodle vibe. Just go easy on adding anything salty because the ramen is usually very salty on its own.

Then top it as little or as much as you desire. Green onions and hot sauce make great finishers here.

15) Sheet Pan Sausage And Veggies

This is a true set it and forget it meal. Chop up whatever sausage you have. I like to use chicken sausage here. As far as your veggies go, I like to pick a starchy veggie and then a couple of others, so butternut squash or sweet potato, diced up, and then brussels sprouts, broccoli, or bell pepper.

Toss it all with some olive oil and seasoning. Keep it simple or spice it up, add a little cayenne for a kick, and cook that all together for about 35 minutes and that is dinner.

I like to top this with my favorite sauce. Ranch is great here actually, surprisingly, or even a little bit of honey mustard, but it’s really up to you.

16) Chicken Caesar Wrap

I love wraps because I don’t have to turn on a stove or an oven. Take your favorite tortilla and either use some cooked chicken breast you have on hand, or make it even simpler and use rotisserie chicken from the store.

Grate some parmesan cheese, fresh or Romano, and add your favorite Caesar dressing and romaine lettuce. Within minutes you have basically a handheld salad. If you want to kick it up a notch you can add some croutons, and I like to add a tiny bit of lemon zest for an extra punch.

17) Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl

I think it’s unfortunate that cottage cheese has gotten a bad rap over the years, but it seems like it’s making a comeback. My favorite is the Good Culture. It’s much creamier and thicker than other brands and it makes a surprisingly quick and simple dinner.

If you don’t like the texture, you can blend it until smooth and you’re still getting all that great protein without the texture that some people find off-putting. Then you can top it with whatever you like. You can go savory with some sun-dried tomatoes, cucumber, and some diced pepper.

I like to top mine with some balsamic glaze. I tend to keep that in the fridge, but if you don’t have it you can just do a drizzle of olive oil and chili flakes. Sometimes I like to go in the other direction and do this with some berries and honey and a sprinkle of granola, which cures your sweet tooth and still gives you lots of protein, so you have an excuse to call this dinner.

18) Black Bean Nachos

Black bean nachos are another great vessel for leftovers. Lay your favorite tortilla chips out on a tray and preheat your broiler. After that, take anything you have, cheese, black beans, pinto beans, finely chopped veggies, and broil that, but watch them close so your chips don’t burn.

Once they come out, top them the same way you would tacos. I like pickled jalapenos, plain Greek yogurt, and a squeeze of lime. This is great to serve a crowd of hungry kids fast, and nobody will have any reason to complain. Who doesn’t love nachos?

19) Butter And Cheese Pasta

This dish reminds me of my childhood in the best way possible. Cook your favorite pasta. I like fettuccine here. Save a little bit of the pasta water after you drain, then just toss it with butter, parmesan, and a little bit of that pasta water.

If you’re feeling really ambitious you can add in some frozen veggies, but most times I just like to top this with some black pepper and salt. It’s comforting, it’s quick, and it speaks for itself.

20) Gnocchi Skillet

Gnocchi is great because you can keep it on hand and it lasts a long time, so grab one of these out of your pantry on a night where you’re all out of ideas. I prefer refrigerated gnocchi over shelf stable. The shelf stable one can have a bit of a stale quality.

Heat some olive oil up in a pan and throw your gnocchi in until they start to turn just golden brown. After that you’ll be surprised at how simple it is, but you just need to toss in some greens. I like arugula here for a peppery bite, and then a splash of cream.

I like to do sun-dried tomato and some chopped basil, or if you don’t have fresh herbs, because again we’re short on ingredients, grab some jarred pesto and throw a spoonful in there. This really doesn’t need much. If I have grilled chicken I may throw that on top, or even some chopped bacon for a salty, comforting twist.

21) Chicken Dumpling Soup

There are many times where I want a quick, comforting soup but I don’t want to have to stand over a pot all afternoon. Simmer some chicken broth, beef broth, or veggie broth, whatever you have. Don’t let that limit you, any of those are fine.

Bring your broth to a simmer, then scramble a couple of eggs and stir the soup while you pour them in. It’s kind of like an egg drop soup but more substantial. If you have greens or veggies you want to throw in at the end, that’s great.

Top it with a little bit of chili oil and some sesame seeds. When this dish comes together, it smells almost as good as it tastes.

22) Hot Dogs And Slaw

Don’t hate on hot dogs. They’re a quick, economical source of protein, and with a little bit of extra time you can really make them into something that feels special.

Cook your hot dogs, and then before you serve them, if you have cabbage in the refrigerator you can shred that up. Add in a scoop of mayo, a dash of sugar, a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper, and there you go, homemade coleslaw. This really makes your hot dog feel like a real meal, and you’re actually getting some veggies in without even truly realizing it.

23) Veggie Omelet

Eggs are something that I always keep on hand for nights like this. Cook up any veggies that are looking a little bit lonely in the refrigerator. My favorite combo is cherry tomatoes, spinach, and onion.

Scramble your eggs and pour them in. Let them cook low and slow. If you break your omelet you can tell everyone you meant to make scrambled eggs. I like to add a sprinkle of goat cheese at the end and top with some hot sauce. If you have some crusty bread to finish it off, even better.

24) Fish And Salad

With the right seasonings and the right cook time, frozen fish can feel elegant and delicious even on a weeknight. If you have fish sticks and that’s all you have, that can be a great addition here too.

Season your fish the way that you like and cook it till it just reaches a temperature of 135. Make sure that you don’t cook it far beyond that or it’s really not going to taste great. I like to do this with a bagged salad mix. I usually keep a couple of those on hand for veggies, crunch, and flavor, and to make up for the fact that it’s frozen fish.

Altogether this is satisfying and quick. If you’re cooking fish sticks or fried fish, a quick tartar sauce is a great way to make it a little more exciting.

25) Creamy Pasta

This is a shortcut way to make something that is Alfredo-esque without the time commitment. Cook your favorite pasta and reserve some of the pasta water before you drain it.

After that, heat your pan with a little bit of butter, some cream cheese, and about a half a cup of that pasta water until it forms a nice sauce. Then toss with your pasta. That’s truly it. Season to taste.

Add a little bit of pepper flakes or a squeeze of lemon juice to make it a little bit different, and then add some leftover chicken or frozen shrimp for some protein and substance. Quick, delicious, homemade creamy pasta.

26) Pizza Toast

These are all the comforting and familiar flavors of pizza without the takeout price tag or the hard work of making your own pizza dough. You can take whatever bread you have. I like to use a naan or a flatbread.

Top it with your favorite sauce, marinara, pesto, Alfredo, even barbecue sauce works great here. Sprinkle it with your favorite cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, whatever you have on hand will work, and your favorite toppings. I like sausage and mushrooms. You could also do some chicken breast and red onion with that barbecue sauce for a barbecue chicken pizza, and broil it till it’s all melted and bubbly.

It truly is as simple as that. This is great for kids because they can pick whatever toppings they want, or even for a night where you just want to throw a few things together. It’s hefty enough to make a full meal and gives you those takeout vibes you might be looking for.

27) Lentil Soup

I love keeping dried lentils on hand because they’re versatile and cook super quick. Saute your favorite veggies and a can of tomatoes until they’re nice and soft. Add in your lentils and broth, or even water with a bit of bouillon, and just let it simmer till those lentils are tender.

I like to add in some warming spices like smoked paprika and cumin, and even a dash of curry powder can give this some great dimension. It’s filling, it’s got plant-based protein and fiber and loads of vitamins. This is a great, quick, feel-good meal.

28) Chicken Nuggets And Dips

You can’t go wrong with some frozen nuggets. If you’re feeling super ambitious you could make them yourself, but on a night when ingredients are low, frozen nuggets will definitely do the trick.

The dipping sauces are where you can really get creative. I like to do a makeshift ranch with some Greek yogurt, herbs, salt, and a dash of red wine vinegar, but really anything will work here, even honey mustard. If you’re feeling grown up you can add a side of sliced veggies, or if you’re like me and you have a lone box of mac and cheese in the pantry, why not make this the ultimate comfort food?

29) Shrimp Tacos

This is a great place to use frozen shrimp you have sitting around in the freezer, or some breaded frozen fried shrimp are also a great addition here. If you do thaw your shrimp, just make sure that you pat it dry before cooking so it’s not watery.

You can use taco seasoning here and give those shrimp a quick sauté with some onions and bell peppers if you have them. They really only take about three minutes to cook on their own. Then just take your favorite tortillas, corn or flour will work, some diced fresh tomato or shredded lettuce, and if you have some leftover coleslaw you can put that on there.

There are a lot of components that can really make this dish stand out, but top it with a squeeze of lime juice and sour cream, and some leftover salsa if you have it, and it gives it a really fresh bite. This tastes like something that you really planned ahead to make, when in reality it just takes a bit of quick thinking and a few ingredients.

30) Loaded Mashed Potatoes

It may seem weird to use instant mashed potatoes as the base for a dinner, but you’d be surprised how many of your favorite restaurants do that exact same thing. Cook your instant mashed potatoes with some warm milk instead of water to give them more body and richness, and add a little bit of melted butter or a splash of olive oil if you have it.

Season them how you like and then top with whatever protein you have. I love chicken thighs here if I have them, but I’ve also been known to just throw on some leftover chicken breast or cooked ground beef for kind of a lazy shepherd’s pie with some frozen peas.

You can top it with a sprinkle of cheese if you want, or really mix it up with the veggies, but instant mashed potatoes are comforting in a way that other foods just aren’t. Add some protein and veggies and you have a quick, easy dinner.

31) Leftover Veggie Frittata

This is a great way to use up your eggs, and it’s quick and cheap. Take any leftover chopped veggies or even roasted veggies you have from the week and warm them up in your pan. I like to go a little bit versatile with the seasonings to give those leftover veggies some new life.

Scramble your eggs with a splash of milk for creaminess and pour them over those veggies. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. This is great with tater tots or frozen hash browns on the side and some hot sauce or even ketchup. Just make sure that you add a little bit of oil to that pan so your eggs don’t stick when you go to serve your frittata.

Pantry & Tools I Reach For on Fridge-Cleanout Nights

• Hontent Glass Food Storage Containers with Lids. For the rotisserie chicken on Monday that powers the salad, wraps, and Friday’s frittata.
• ThermoMaven Instant-Read Meat Thermometer. Pulls the chicken nuggets, the sheet pan sausages, and the cabbage skillet protein at the right temperature without guesswork.
• Rubbermaid Box Grater. Earns its keep on the loaded potatoes, the butter-and-cheese pasta, the savory cottage cheese bowl, and the tuna melts.