"Lots Of Protein And Very Filling For Less Than $1": 23 Wildly Cheap Yet Filling Meals People Make When They're Low On Funds
I don't know about y'all, but I struggle to eat on a budget, and it feels like groceries get more and more expensive every day. So recently, when Reddit user SouthEmergency7292 asked, "What's your go-to cheap and easy meal?" I was keen to see the responses.
People had really great advice about budget meals with simple ingredients, and I am definitely adding all of them to my repertoire. Here are some of their best suggestions, along with some added tips and prices!
1."Frito pie. Chili, cheese, and Fritos. Classic Texas staple."
Also, you don't need to use Frito's — "Generic corn chips are fine."
"Came here to say this. Butter a pie dish, then add layers of canned chili, Fritos, green chilis, and cheese until the dish is full. Tent with foil and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Uncover and brown the cheese if you like. Let it cool and serve with salsa or sour cream. It's high calorie, though; you could eat an entire bag of Fritos this way."
Estimated cost: ~$8-$13 for about five servings*
Fritos: $4.48 or $1.97 for generic
Chili: $2.16
Green chilis: $0.84
Cheese: $1.97
Salsa: $1.98
And/or sour cream: $1.24
Check out a more involved recipe for Frito pie — involving ground beef — here.
*Note: There are ranges in cases of generic vs. brand name options, and also when the recipes involve ingredients the commenters named as optional, which will be left out on the lower end of the estimates.
2."Salsa Verde chicken. Season up some chicken breasts. A fajita seasoning works well. Put in a slow cooker. Cover with a jar or two of a quality salsa verde. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Pull out the chicken breasts and shred them, or pull them apart with a pair of forks. Put the chicken back in the slow cooker, squeeze a lime or two into the pot, and stir to mix the chicken and salsa verde thoroughly. Cook for another 1 to 2 hours. You can serve it in tortillas like a taco or burrito, put it in a bowl, or dump it on a plate. You can add cheese, sour cream, or guacamole when serving. Cheap, easy, a variety of ways to serve, makes a lot of food, and extra can be frozen for another time."
Estimated cost: ~$10.50-17 for about six servings
Salsa Verde: $2.62
Chicken breast: $5.45
Lime: $0.25 (can add as many as you want)
Tortilla: $1.98
Guacamole: $2.98
Cheese: $1.97
Sour cream: $1.24
Check out a simple recipe for salsa verde chicken here.
3."Mexican cornbread: corn meal, corn, onions, chopped jalapenos, and cheese baked in a 450-degree preheated cast iron skillet."
Estimated cost: ~$6 for one loaf/cake
Cornmeal: $1.56
Corn: $0.64
Onion: $1.23
Jalapeno: $0.84
Cheese: $1.97
Check out a more involved recipe here.
4."If I am too lazy or broke to get all the real ingredients, I make what I call 'Noncheladas.' Take a few taquitos (frozen from the store if you already have some in your freezer, or grab some from the rollers at 7-Eleven). If they're frozen, nuke them for a couple of minutes to thaw. Place them in a shallow glass casserole dish. Pour canned red sauce on, cover with shredded cheese, then bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce. They're like 80% as good as hand-rolled enchiladas with homemade sauce but with 10% of the effort."
"Good enchiladas aren't difficult to make; they're just time-consuming with a lot of cleanup, so sometimes 'noncheladas' are where it's at."
Estimated cost: ~$12 for 16 enchiladas
Taquitos: $4.98
Red sauce: $1
Cheese: $1.97
Salsa: $1.98
Sour cream: $1.24
Hot sauce: $1
5."Breakfast burritos. It can be as simple as scrambled eggs and tater tots in a tortilla, but you can add pretty much anything to it. Beans, sausage/bacon/ham, salsa, onion, tomato, cheese, etc."
"Eggs, salsa, and cheese make a good breakfast taco, too. You can add meat if you have it."
"I use Mexican-style chorizo and eggs for those burritos. I fry the chorizo, add the eggs, and mix them up (onions and peppers are good). The chorizo is dirt cheap, which is good between jobs. Here is what we use."
Estimated cost: ~$8-$17 total (for up to 10 tacos/small burritos)
Chorizo: $1.34
Eggs: $2.68
Cheese: $2.98
Tater tots: $2.97
Salsa: $1.98
Tomato: $0.21 per Roma tomato
Black beans: $0.86
Tortillas: $1.98
6."Chili without meat added is very cheap and not unhealthy, and it's super good! Just beans, crushed tomatoes, a diced onion, and chili peppers; add spices, and there you go."
You can also make your own chili (vegetarian, or you can add meat) with chili beans ($0.86), tomato sauce ($0.48), diced tomatoes ($0.88), diced onions ($1.46), and anything else you want!
Just buying canned chili ($2.16) is very cheap too! But you can get a more customized version with fresher ingredients if you make it yourself.
7."English muffin pizzas."
"I recently got an air fryer, and this is one of my favorite things to make with it. I bake mine until the cheese is caramelized around the edges and the pepperonis are crispy. I also like shredding fresh basil onto them. It's good shit!"
"Bagels and frozen Naan also work really well! (Thaw the Naan first.)"
"If you only have bread, you can make the slightly sadder 'pizza toast.'"
Estimated cost: ~$4-6.50 for a serving of six
English muffins: $1.50
Cheese: $1.97
Tomato sauce: $0.67
Pepperoni: $2.37
8."Chicken thighs, rice, and zucchini. Probably $2/serving, but that's likely on the high side."
"Chicken thighs are so underrated. I have an instant pot, and I steam them. They fall off the bone after 25 minutes. You're able to cook a full pack at a time, and they're moist. They reheat as well as when they're fresh.
I like making rice and gravy with them and a green vegetable like broccoli or peas. Sometimes, though, I get those Tastybite packages with the tikka masala instead when they're on sale.
"I mix cooked chicken, rice, artichoke hearts, and pesto sauce, and it is easy but feels fancy."
"Roasted zucchini is my fave. Here are a couple of tips:
Season with salt after it comes out of the oven. I find if I season before, the salt pulls some of the liquid out of the veg and ends up on the tray instead of in my mouth.
Do nice big pieces, like 1-1.5 inches. If you roast zucchini that's cut too small, it just gets kind of mushy before it can get some nice color."
Estimated cost: $14 for around seven or eight servings (the version with artichoke and pesto is slightly more expensive)
Chicken thighs: $9.06 (for a value pack; $1.77 a pound)
Rice: $0.92
Zucchini: $0.93/each (probably want at least four to go with that much chicken)
Or sub in broccoli for: $0.94
Or artichoke hearts and pesto for: $2.22 and $2.10
9."Tuna pasta. Tuna, mayo, peas, black olives, rotini pasta. It's easy to make a huge batch for very little time/money investment, keeps well in the fridge, and is good to eat hot or cold. It's one of the main things my mom used to make for dinner when we lived on public teachers' salaries, and it's still a comfort food for me as well as a good budget option."
Estimated cost: $9 for about eight servings
Tuna: $3.22 (for four cans)
Mayo: $2.12
Peas: $0.64
Black olives: $1.97
Rotini pasta: $0.98
Check out a more detailed recipe for tuna pasta here.
10."Velveeta shells and cheese with either tuna or hamburger added. If I do tuna, I like adding microwave-steamed broccoli to it. Bonus seasoning at the end with Tony Chachere's."
Estimated cost: $3.50-12 per three servings (the ground beef version and seasoning drive up the price, and would have leftover beef)
Velveeta shells: $2.98 or $1.48 for generic
Tuna: $0.88 (may want two)
Ground beef: $4.74
Broccoli: $1.16
Tony Chachere's: $2.94
11.And for a single serving: "Tuna packet and macaroni cup. About $3 with about 350 calories and 25g protein, 40g carbs, and 15g fat. Surprisingly, it only has about 1000g sodium, too."
Estimated cost (actually even cheaper than OP said): $1.75 per serving
Tuna pack: $0.88
Macaroni: $6.98 for eight single-serving cups
12."Spaghetti with garlic, chilli flakes, parsley and butter."
"I use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, but it’s such a good, simple recipe. Aglio e olio is a classic!"
Estimated cost: under $6 for a serving of eight
Spaghetti: $0.98
Chili flakes/crushed red pepper: $1.44
Parsley: $0.98 fresh or $1.12 dry
Butter: $2.26
13."Zatarain's Dirty Rice with ground beef or really whatever leftover meat I have in the fridge."
Estimated cost: $7 for a serving of nine
Zatarain's Dirty Rice: $2.64
Ground beef: $4.34 (probably want two for this much rice)
14."Beans and rice."
"This is mine. A can of black beans (drained or not, but if you drain them, add a bit of water to the pan). Add 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 cumin. I cook them on the stovetop until they are bubbly. Then, after removing them from heat, I add a splash of red wine vinegar.
I make white rice in the rice cooker. It's fast, easy, super cheap, and requires minimal clean-up. Plus, it doesn't heat up the kitchen too much when it's already really hot outside."
Estimate cost: ~$3.50 for 10 servings if you already have assorted spices/omit spices, ~8.50 for 10 servings if you don't
Black beans: $0.86 (will want 2-3 cans to go with the bag of rice)
Rice: $0.92
Salt and pepper: $1.76
Onion powder: $1.12
Garlic powder: $1.12
Cumin: $1.28
15."Whole chicken in the crock pot. After pulling it off the bones, you can eat it for about three days over rice with jarred chicken gravy. Then you boil the chicken overnight in the crock pot and make soup the next afternoon."
Or, if you don't want to cook the chicken: "I buy rotisserie chicken, and I use the carcass to make bone broth. I cook it for 2.5 hours in an instant pot."
Get a rotisserie chicken for $4.97 or a raw whole chicken (twice as big as the rotisserie) for $7.64.
16."Philly Cheesesteaks. Heat the oven, put the buns in, cook the meat with some onions, and throw in some cheese towards the end. Boom: delicious Philly Cheesesteak."
"I know the American culture is to say 'eww,' but that is why beef heart is $2 to $3 per pound. It tastes like steak and is almost as tender as a filet mignon. Try it; it is only cheap because of cultural stigma. It is really easy to befriend and order straight from a rancher on Facebook."
Estimated cost: ~$8.50 for six sandwiches
Rolls: $2.58
Beef liver (I'm not seeing heart): $2.62
Onion: $1.23
Cheese: $1.97
Check out a fancier recipe for a Philly cheesesteak here.
17."Spaghetti O's with meatballs: $1.23 a can. Cheap, fast, easy clean up and filling."
18."Cream of Mushroom soup and crackers. Heat it up and let the crackers soak up the excess liquid. Lots of protein and very filling for less than $1."
Estimated cost: ~$2.50 for two and a half servings (with leftover crackers)
Cream of mushroom soup: $0.68
Crackers: $1.74
19."One of my easy go-to's is spaghetti and meat sauce. Brown some ground meat (sometimes I add chopped garlic and onion if I have extra time), mix with a jar of pasta sauce, and make some spaghetti or other pasta to go with it."
"So easy. Boil a big handful of noodles, brown ground beef, add a jar of WinCo spaghetti sauce, drain the noodles, mix everything together, and top with Parmesan cheese."
Estimated cost: ~$8-$14 for eight servings
Spaghetti: $0.98
Ground beef: $4.34 (will want one or two)
Tomato sauce: $0.48 (will want two)
Parmesan cheese: $1.97 for fresh (may want two) or $5.48 for a large bottle of grated parmesan
Garlic: $0.68
Onion: $1.23
20."Pork chops with Shake 'N Bake. I'm fucking 40, and those fuckers are just as delicious as they were when I was 9. Add some mac and cheese, and you will have a tasty meal."
Estimated cost: ~$14-16.50 for six to eight servings
Shake 'N bake: $3.98 or $1.67 for generic
Pork chops: $11.31 for ~3lbs
Macaroni: $0.58 (probably want two boxes)
Check out a recipe that uses homemade shake 'n bake here.
21."Top ramen. Incredibly cheap but incredibly good. I eat it with hot sauce. It's literally its own meal, at like 30¢ per pack."
"Yes! I top it with Sriracha, vinegar, boiled egg, and spinach or sprouts. Probably my favorite meal."
"I crack an egg or two into mine for protein, then add soy sauce, garlic, ginger powder, green onions, and red pepper."
Get a 12-pack of ramen for $3.68 here, and check out this article for ideas of ways to upgrade your ramen dish!
22."Toast. And if you've got other food prepared, spread it on toast. Lasagna? Spread some on toast. Chinese or Indian food? Spread some on toast. Mac & cheese? Spread some on toast."
Get bread for toast for as cheap as $1.
23.And finally, it may seem simple, but..."Good eggs. Making eggs is easy. Learning to make good eggs takes some time and practice--but once you get it down, it's pretty easy and very rewarding to eat some good eggs you know not everyone else knows how to make."
"For scrambled eggs, watch some YouTube videos on how to get fluffy curds that aren't overcooked. I didn't even realize there was such a thing as overcooked and underfluffed scrambled eggs for most of my life. The keys are to keep fluffing them with a fork after you pour them into the hot pan, and then remove them from the pan before they're done cooking so they can set on the plate (because they'll continue cooking after you remove them and end up overcooked).
For fried eggs, some people like crispy edges, and some like soft edges. I like over medium, soft edges. Getting the yolks just the right level of runny but still getting the whites completely done so they're not gooey takes some practice. But again, once you get it down, it's quick and easy in the morning.
And then there are all the ways to add cheese and all the other things.
I also like flipping them with the pan, not a spatula. I'm pretty sure that makes them better."
More tips: "For scrambled eggs, add one half shell of milk per egg. If cooking in bulk, save the salt, pepper, and tarragon until the cooking process or the salt can make the eggs watery. If you're cooking personal amounts and doing so immediately, you can add seasoning now; it will not make a difference and will ensure your seasoning is perfectly distributed.
Put a little bit of butter in the pan, and cook low and slow.
Be careful not to stir vigorously, or you will break up the cooked egg and mix it into the uncooked egg, and your eggs will be sloppy and grainy. You must be gentle with scrambled eggs. You just need to occasionally pull the cooked layer off the bottom of the pan with a spatula. But you are not making an omelet, so also make sure to keep them moving gently. Serve it a little bit loose; it will firm up on the plate."
The cheapest eggs are about $2.68 for a dozen. You can also get milk for $1.68, salt and pepper for $1.76, and tarragon for a bit more at $4.58.
What's your favorite easy, cheap meal to make when money's tight? Let us know in the comments!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
