Here are some cheap meal ideas and recipes you can use to save money on groceries! If you want to cut your food bill, using just a few of these ideas and recipes can cut your food bill a lot!
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – How We Ate For $7 A Week
In her Penny Pinching Mama video series, my mom Jill explained how she spent about $7 a week on groceries when she was raising my brother and me on $500 a month income. That was in 1988, so with inflation, it would be more equivalent to around $28.40 a week in 2022.
In this post, I will share some of the cheap meal ideas and recipes Mom used to keep our grocery budget so low.
This was our food budget out of necessity because of our extremely tight financial situation. You may not want to limit your food to just these things but, at the time, things were desperate for us and Mom was trying to figure out how to feed us within the very tight budget we had.
Don’t get stuck in these numbers. If you find yourself saying, “I could never do that…” or “That is impossible these days…”, you are sabotaging yourself and you will never reach your goals. You will need to decide if you would rather convince yourself there’s nothing you can do so you can lament your financial condition or if you want to take action to empower yourself to make your situation better.
Even if you don’t get your grocery budget this low, you can likely save money from what you are spending now. Most people can save a LOT. I’m sharing these cheap meal ideas so you can think about what your goals are for saving on your food bill and consider how you might be able to reduce your spending.
Look it over and then figure out what you might want to implement in your family budget. If you can take a couple of these cheap meal ideas and recipes and lower your grocery bill even by 10%, you will be saving money over what you are spending now. Then keep checking out our other ideas and figuring out what else best works for your family situation.
For more ideas how to save money and reduce your stress, check out:
- Eating Out – Stop Eating Your Way Into Debt!
- Car Payments – Paying Cash For A Car and When Should You Buy A Newer Car?
- How Many Clothes Do You Really Need?
Most people could save a lot more money on these things than on their grocery bills, so if you want to save the most you can, be sure to check out the above posts!
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – Basic Meal Ideas
Here are some cheap meal ideas and recipes for each meal of the day and a couple of dessert recipes. Implementing these recipes into your meals at least a few times a week will help you save more.
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – Breakfast
Here are the most common easy recipes my mom served for breakfast because they are inexpensive and a little bit goes a long way. When you’re looking for cheap meal ideas and recipes, it’s also good to remember to keep your serving sizes reasonable. Many of us eat too much food and then try hard to work it all off, especially here in America. You can reduce the waste by making just enough for your family and also by preparing their plates and serving them at the table so they’re not tempted to eat too much.
This easy homemade pancakes recipe takes about 15 minutes to make and everyone loves them! These pancakes are a staple at our house and your family will love them too! If you need cheap meal ideas and recipes, this recipe is a great breakfast basic!
Easy Homemade Pancakes Recipe
This easy homemade pancakes recipe takes about 15 minutes to make and everyone loves them! These pancakes are a staple at our house and your family will love them too!
- Yield: 15-18 medium pancakes
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour, all-purpose or wheat
5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. The mixture will be thick and lumpy.
- Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat and lightly grease.
- Pour or spoon the batter onto the griddle to form pancakes.
- Cook the pancakes on a hot greased griddle.
- Flip when bubbles break on the surface and the edges begin to dry.
Notes
If you like, you can add chocolate chips or candies to the batter for a special treat.
If you would like to make special patterns for the kids, you can add chocolate chips or candy while the pancakes are cooking. I like to make smiley faces and other patterns in the pancakes for special occasions. For Valentine’s day, I have made heart shapes in pink sprinkles, for Christmas, I have made Christmas designs, etc.
This quick and easy scrambled eggs recipe should be a staple in every home! It’s a perfect recipe for cheap meals because virtually everyone loves scrambled eggs, but also because they are hearty and provide a lot of protein! You can serve them just as is if your budget is really tight. If you want to spice them up a bit, you can also add things like salsa, green peppers, onions or cheese!
Easy Scrambled Eggs Recipe
This easy scrambled eggs recipe makes delicious scrambled eggs in just 5 minutes. Scrambled eggs are a great breakfast food, but also a tasty source of protein that is quick to make and that you can eat anytime!
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
8 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 Tbsp. milk or water (optional)
4 tsp. butter, margarine or bacon drippings
Instructions
- Stir all of the ingredients except butter in a bowl until well blended.
- Heat a skillet on medium heat.
- Add the butter, margarine or bacon grease.
- Pour the egg mixture into the skillet.
- Stir constantly for about 4 minutes until eggs are fluffy and set.
Notes
To test eggs for freshness: Place an egg in a glass of cold water; if it floats, do not use it.
Using bacon grease in this easy scrambled eggs recipe will give your scrambled eggs a richer, more delicous flavor! I highly recommend it!
In place of butter, margarine or bacon grease, you can also use 1 Tbsp. cooking oil. I would not use olive oil as the flavor or the olive oil will impact the flavor of the eggs.
This easy muffins recipe is a perfect recipe for a quick breakfast or snack. My mom used to make these often. They are delicious just as they are. If you’re looking for cheap meal ideas to cut your budget the most, you would save more money serving them plain, but you can also add things like nuts, fruit or chocolate chips for a little extra variety.
Basic Homemade Muffin Recipe
- Yield: 12-15 muffins
Ingredients
2 cups all-pourpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Mix ingredients together.
- Spoon into greased muffin cups, 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Click here for more easy and tasty Homemade Muffin Recipes.
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – Lunch
Here are some perfect cheap meal ideas and recipes for lunches. We mostly ate sandwiches for lunches because they’re cheap, tasty and filling. You can also make the fillings ahead of time and spread them on the bread just before lunch. If you send them in packed lunches, lightly buttering the inside with butter, margarine or vegetable spread will keep them from getting soggy.
This easy chicken salad recipe is one of our cheap meal ideas that you can whip up in just a couple minutes that makes delicious sandwiches, perfect for lunches at home or packed lunches. It’s a perfect way to use leftover chicken or to stretch a little bit of chicken into another meal!
Easy Chicken Salad Recipe
- Yield: 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken or turkey
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped, or 1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions
Mix all ingredients. Best if chilled for 1 or 2 hours.
This easy egg salad recipe is another tasty recipe to help use up all those colored eggs after Easter. You can make up a big batch and have it for several lunches. You can add lettuce leaves or celery for extra crunch.
Easy Egg Salad Recipe
- Yield: 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tsp. mustard (optional)
1 small stalk celery, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, chopped, or 1 tsp. onion powder (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Chill. This recipe is best if chilled for 1-2 hours.
This egg salad recipe makes enough for 4 egg salad sandwiches.
This easy chicken salad recipe is a tasty recipe you can whip up in just a couple minutes that makes delicious sandwiches, perfect for lunches at home or packed lunches. It’s a perfect way to use leftover chicken or to stretch a little bit of chicken into another meal!
Tuna Salad Recipe
- Yield: 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
3–4 (5 oz.) cans tuna, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped, or 1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Instructions
Mix all ingredients. Best if chilled for 1 or 2 hours.
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – Dinner
This easy chicken and dumplings recipe is an easy way to make chicken and dumplings like mom and grandma used to make! It’s a perfect comfort food recipe that is quick and easy to make!
Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
This easy chicken and dumplings recipe is an easy way to make chicken and dumplings like mom and grandma used to make! It’s a perfect comfort food!
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1/2–1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey, cooked
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. parsley flakes
Dumplings
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, combine broth, chicken, celery, carrots, bay leaf and parsley.
- Bring to a boil.
- In a bowl, combine baking mix, thyme, and parsley.
- Stir in milk, just until moistened.
- Drop by tablespoonfuls into the boiling broth.
- Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Then cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. DO NOT PEEK or your dumplings will be soggy.
- Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve in bowls.
- Remove bay leaf and spoon broth over the top of the dumplings.
This quick and easy beef stew is my mom’s beef stew recipe and it is the best beef stew you will ever eat! It is probably my favorite of all of the cheap meal ideas. Every time I make it, everyone raves about how great it is. It’s so great we hardly ever have leftovers! If you need a quick and easy meal to put in the crockpot or on the stove to simmer, this is the recipe for you!!
This recipe is a tasty, tummy warming recipe for cool winter days and you can easily use leftovers in places of some of the ingredients. This is a very low cost recipe and is very tasty as written, but you can feel free to modify it to your liking. If you prefer, you can add or take away veggies and if you don’t mind the extra cost, you can add more meat.
PrintQuick And Easy Beef Stew Recipe – Crockpot Beef Stew
This easy beef stew recipe makes a delicious hearty beef stew in the crockpot or on the stovetop. It’s a home cooked recipe just like grandma used to make and your family is sure to love it. This stew recipe is a great way to use leftover round steak, pot roast or other meat.
Ingredients
1/2 lb. round steak, cubed or leftover beef
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic salt, (or to taste)
1 tsp. onion salt, (or to taste) or 1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or flour
2 Tbsp. water
Instructions
- Brown the meat in a large saucepan.
- Add all of the other ingredients except the vegetables, cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water.
- Simmer for 1-2 hours until the meat is tender.
- Add the vegetables.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender.
- Mix the cornstarch into 2 Tbsp. water.
- Add to the boiling stew.
- Simmer 15 minutes, until thickened. Makes 2 quarts.
To Make This Beef Stew In A Crockpot
- Brown the meat in a pan. It does not need to be cooked through, just browned.
- Put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- In the last 1/2 hour of cooking, mix the cornstarch into 2 Tbsp. water and add to the crockpot to thicken.
Notes
- This recipes calls for round steak, but you can also use other kinds of beef or steak.
- This recipe is an easy way to use leftovers. Leftover Pot Roast is delicious in this recipe.
- You can also throw in leftover potatoes or vegetables.
- This homemade stew recipe is great with cornbread , Texas RoadHouse Rolls, or Ninety-Minute Rolls.
This Quick and Easy Chili Recipe will get you in and out of the kitchen fast! It’s a homemade chili recipe that even kids will love!
This quick and easy chili recipe is another of my favorite cheap meal ideas! If you are a chili connoisseur, it may not be for you but if you have picky eaters or children this recipe is perfect. You can adjust the amounts of the ingredients to the size of your family without doing much harm. This is also a perfect recipe to make the day before and just warm up when you need it.
PrintQuick And Easy Chili Recipe
Ingredients
3 small cans tomato soup*
3 soup cans of water
1/2 to 1 lb. cooked hamburger
Chili powder, to taste
Garlic powder and onion powder, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Put everything into a large pan.
- Simmer at least 2 hours. It’s better to let it simmer all day if possible.
I usually use at least 2 teaspoons each of chili powder and garlic powder. You can also use onions.
You can add almost anything you want to this basic recipe. Beans work well or I like to crumble in some fried sausage for extra flavor.
*I have also replaced the soup with a large can (32-36 oz.) of tomato juice and it is good, too!
This easy cornbread recipe is so delicious, sweet and moist you can eat it with nothing on it! It is the best cornbread ever! Serve with stews, chili, soups and more!
I loved drowning my cornbread in syrup until I discovered this easy cornbread recipe. This cornbread is so delicious I can eat it with nothing on it! It is sweet and moist, easy to make and has the best flavor! It’s great to use to make dressing (stuffing) or to serve with stews, soups or chili. It is so good, it will probably become a staple in your home!
PrintBest Ever Easy Cornbread Recipe
- Yield: 9 servings
Ingredients
2 cups baking mix (Bisquick)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Stir all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a greased 8×8 inch baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Notes
I like to bake my cornbread in a cast iron frying pan. I grease it with bacon grease and heat the pan in the oven while it is preheating. As soon as it is hot (about 5 minutes of so or the amount of time it takes to mix the batter) I pour the cornbread batter into the pan and bake it.
You can also easily make this easy cornbread recipe into corn muffins by pouring the batter into muffin tins.
Cheap Meal Ideas And Recipes – Desserts
When people think of cheap meal ideas and recipes, desserts don’t often come to mind, but it’s nice to have a little sweet treat, especially for the kids. Here are our favorite cheap and tasty dessert recipes my mom made for us. They make great playtime or after school snacks!
This is the best homemade sugar cookies recipe! Sugar cookies are a great treat for holidays or for kids’ snacks. These are so light and fluffy, you’re sure to love them! My mom made these for us and now my kids love Nan’s sugar cookies just as much!
The VERY Best Homemade Sugar Cookies Recipe!
This homemade sugar cookies recipe makes the best light and fluffy sugar cookies! These sugar cookies are perfect for Christmas, Valentine’s Day or a tasty snack anytime!
- Yield: 4 dozen
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
6 cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Cream together the sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla.
- Add buttermilk. Stir well.
- Add the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.
- Roll into balls and drop about 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet or silpat.
- Wet the tips of your fingers, smash down each cookie and sprinkle with sugar or colored sugar. If you prefer, you can roll out the cookies.
- Chill for 2 hours.
- When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°.
- Roll out the dough. The dough will be very sticky.
- Cut with a cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 5-10 minutes, just until golden.
Notes
- This recipe can be easily halved.
- When you make this recipe, make sure to use shortening and not butter. The shortening is what makes the cookies light and fluffy. If you substitute butter, the sugar cookies will turn out flat and crunchy instead of light and fluffy, which is not what you want in a sugar cookie.
This easy no bake fudge cookies recipe is a wonderfully chocolatey recipe to satisfy your kids on those hot summer days! These cookies are our kids most favorite recipe and older kids can easily make this recipe themselves!
No Bake Fudge Cookies Recipe
This no bake fudge cookies recipe is rich and amazingly delicious! These fudge cookies are easy to make in just a few minutes and it’s so simple that older kids can make it themselves! If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, you can leave it out and they are just as wonderful!
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Before you start, cut about a 20 inch piece of wax paper. Lay it on the counter. This serves as something to drop the cookies on.
- In a saucepan, mix milk, sugar, cocoa, and butter.
- Bring to a boil.
- Boil 1 minute. (For high altitude, let them cook 30 seconds to a minute longer.)
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and nuts.
- Mix until peanut butter is mixed in.
- Add oatmeal.
- Drop by spoonfuls on the wax paper.
- Let cool until set.
These cheap meal ideas and recipes are from volume 1 of our cookbook:
Click here to get our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks 25% Off NOW! They’re filled with tasty recipes and tips to make your life easier!
This is a great menu! We have enjoyed your Chicken and Dumpling many times now. Thanks for the good work, excellent tips, ect. that you do. We’ve been blessed by what you do as a family; in our home.
Oh thank you so much Birdie for taking the time to let us know the things are helping. We do appreciate it so much.
Thanks so much for the recipes! We use the various sandwich recipes alot! I usually use canned chicken if I happen to have it. Even with higher grocery prices, these meal ideas save a ton of money.
One thing I like to do with chicken salad, or sloppy joes, is mix it with cooked rice. It stretches the meat, cuts the cost, and isn’t “ricey”. Especially if it can sit a bit, the rice softens more with the mayo or sloppy joe mix.
Have you ever tried adding lentils? I found a recipe using them to make sloppy joes as a meatless meal. After seeing your post about adding the rice to them, I think I’ll try adding the lentils. Then I might be able to see if I think they would work as a substitute instead of just a stretcher.
When I was a child our breakfasts nearly always were pancakes, oatmeal, or grits! Cold cereal,especially sweet cereal “cost too much”. We were extremely poor and my mother “made do”. Your recipes are thrifty, easy, and delicious. Nowadays I can afford a pricier breakfast–but why bother? Your recipes are also nutritious compared to what most eat for breakfast these days. And you are correct. Many eat too much at their meals and pack on the pounds from an early age. Childhood obesity is epidemic and who is to blame? It starts at home and at the table. My siblings and I drank water and ate apples for snacks (they were always cheap and still are!) or carrot sticks. None of us were ever overweight, but we didn’t starve either. Thanks for the recipes!Quick, thrifty, easy and delicious–what more could you want?
Thank you so much for sharing your family recipes. Thanks for everything you do for us by sharing ways to save money even if we don’t listen sometimes (and want to argue like kids sometimes too).
LOL you are welcome Pat.
Thank you for these wonderful low cost ideas. When I was a child, my Mom would make SOS (hamburger in a milk gravy or dried beef in milk gravy) often and serve over toast, fried potatoes or biscuits. She called it rib sticking food. 🙂 She could use the smallest amount of meat to flavor a large batch.
Oh yes SOS was a staple when I was growing up too along with fried potatoes. You mom was right it was rib sticking food. : )
One of my favorite comfort meals!💜
I just started making this this year my children LOVE it!
LORD JESUS bless
i grew up in the 50’s we had cream of wheat or creamed chip beef over toast. sometimes for dinner, we had pancakes with an egg on top and broke the yolk – that was my favorite. I still have two of the three i mentioned.
I learned from one of your videos to add a little fat to meals to make you feel fuller for a longer period of time. I will serve my muffins with butter or peanut butter. Peanut butter is also good in oatmeal.
I also add flax, chia or wheat germ to oatmeal, pancakes, waffles and muffins for the same reason.
Cold cereal is a waste for me, as I am hungry very soon afterwards. It is also one of the more expensive breakfast choices.
I like to make a big batch of whatever I’m having and freeze it.
I have also had muffins in a mug or eggs in a mug.
I work full-time and need fast things with minimal cleanup in the morning.
Can you provide more vegetarian meal ideas please?
Bria we usually don’t provide meal ideas for special diets because there are hundreds of them now but one thing we have had many many vegetarians use our recipes and book over the years because they say the tips and ideas are so easy to adapt for what they need. People on a diabetic diet tell us the same thing.
Love your recipes and ideas. I have used many of them and they have all turned out wonderfully!! Thanks for the wonderful ideas on how to cut cost.
Whenever I feel like getting new clothes I head to the goodwill and purchase a few. Some of them still have tags on them. I love it when the tag color is half price or a dollar too. Score.
I pick up my vintage kitchen items there too. I have my Aunts, grandmothers, and my mothers but sometimes I am missing something in a set and I get it there. During COVID our Goodwill never closed and I got some awesome Pyrex sets for less than 20 for a 4 bowl set.
My grandson always shops for his sister when he is with me. So cute. He looks and says this is Hayley’s size but she won’t like it. LOL