23 Budget Stretching Family Meals To Make For Cheap Dinners
Trying to find the cheapest meals ever is like a obsession of mine – If you’re new here, take a look around – you’ll see TONS of budget-friendly meals, dinners, recipes and more.
Today I want to talk about meals that stretch your grocery budget to make more for your family, but cost LESS. Ready? Let’s get to it!
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If you’re cooking for a large family (or heck, even just for two people) there is NO DOUBT you’ve been stressing over how expensive food is these days – it’s just nuts!
That means, we gotta get creative and try and turn the cheapest ingredients we can find into really good meals for the fam (and yes, something them picky boogers WILL eat too ugh!)
I’ve been trying out a bunch of new frugal meals and cheap dinner recipes because, quite frankly, we’re all getting tired of eating them same ol’ thing (and yes, *I* get tired of COOKING the same ‘ol things too!)
So if you’ve been stressing about ain’t having no money like the vast majority of us have been lately, take a look at the budget-friendly… and budget stretching… recipes I’ve got below.
Cheap Meals To Try
LOTS of super cheap meals and dinner recipes on this page!
Cabbage and sausage are truly a perfect match and never more so than when fried together in this Cabbage and Sausage Skillet.
The recipe is a bit more involved than the others but really good and picky eater approved
To keep this yummy recipe REALLY cheap, but the dirt cheapest cut of "steak" (or beef) you can find.
The best-tasting things come in threes: macaroni, cheese, and good ol' cheap Spam. You know what else is amazing? This yummy recipe serves 6 which makes it VERY budget friendly!
This recipe couldn’t be easier to prep, bone-in thighs are seasoned, baked, and then popped under the broiler for crispy crunchy skin and juicy meat.
Using pasta in your dinner recipes ALWAYS makes the meal go further, creates a picky-eater approved meal AND keeps it as cheap as possible.
ANY of these pasta recipes are extremely cheap and family-friendly.
These chicken alfredo stuffed shells are stuffed full of ricotta and shredded chicken all covered in creamy alfredo sauce and cheese! Such a delicious dinner or lunch!
This Tuscan-inspired casserole is just about as easy as making regular mac and cheese, but it’s a whole lot tastier and easily feeds a big family or a small crowd. Or make a bunch and take leftovers to work for lunch.
Just a few budget-friendly ingredients, takes less than 20 minutes of prep time, and comes out to around $1 per serving.
These Baked BBQ Chicken Roll Ups are the perfect answer to the question, what should I do with leftover chicken? If you have leftovers from a chicken dinner or are trying to dress up a rotisserie chicken, then you will love these incredibly easy chicken roll ups!
These Healthy White Chicken Enchiladas are one of our family’s favorite main dishes. Easy to make and a total crowd-pleaser, they use yogurt instead of sour cream to make a creamy white sauce (with tangy green chilis). Everyone loves them!
This One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Meal comes together in no time at all and was a perfect meal for my larger family. This pasta dish can be made with your favorite pizza toppings. To keep it cheap, we bought everything at Aldi.
This easy oven Baked Apricot Chicken (with apricot jam) is a dream come true on those days when you have little to no meal inspiration and/or don't want to hit the grocery store, but want a delicious dinner! It's a one-pot meal that requires very little effort and uses staples from your pantry.
This homemade pizza chicken breast recipe is quick enough for a weeknight family dinner and kid approved! It’s also gluten-free, but full of flavor with tomato sauce, spices, cheese, and mini pepperoni!
This is a healthy and budget-friendly meal to make. You can try this meatless recipe and get a delicious and nutritious meal that your whole family, including kids, will enjoy!
If you love Mexican-style food like we do, this bean burrito recipe will be perfect for a quick dinner. It is cheap and easy to make, and it includes a creamy jalapeno sauce that's just YUM!
This is an affordable recipe that uses hamburger instead of steak. This hamburger recipe is budget-friendly and just good 'ol comfort food!
If you don’t have too many ingredients in the pantry, this tuna pasta recipe is the perfect quick recipe to feed your family on a budget! A cheap recipe that is super simple to make, and it can become a staple on your dinner menu.
This vegetarian Black Bean Enchilada Casserole is a perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner featuring layers of tortillas, creamy black bean filling, and melted gooey cheese. Like a quick and simple Tex-Mex lasagna!
Cheetos Chicken is a simple meal idea that kids go crazy for. If you struggle to get your kids to sit down to eat dinner, try this! Best of all - only THREE ingredients!
