36 Cheap Dinner Recipes To Help Stretch Your Food Budget

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As grocery prices continue to climb, families are looking for easy and economical meal options to stretch their food budgets. Gathering all the ingredients for your favorite dishes can be a financial challenge, but affordable eating doesn’t have to be boring or pricey!

We’ve compiled some of the best dinner recipes that are both budget-friendly and delicious. Many of these recipes utilize pantry staples you likely already have. These suggestions will help you maximize your spending while ensuring everyone is satisfied and well-fed.

Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters

A plate with chicken, rice and lemons on it.
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

With an air fryer, you can achieve crispy skin and tender meat, creating a meal that will leave you craving more. You can achieve the coveted crispy skin and succulent meat without excessive oil.

Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Chicken Legs Recipe

Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe

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Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

This slow cooker cajun chicken alfredo pasta recipe is everything your dinner menu has been missing. Made with chicken breasts, smoked sausage, and tasty seasonings, you have no choice but to let the slow cooker do the work and have dinner prepared in no time.

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe

Sweet Potato Lentil Tacos

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Image Credit: Homestead How-To

This Sweet Potato Lentil Taco recipe offers a delicious and unique twist on traditional tacos. Combining sweet potatoes and lentils with a touch of spice from jalapenos, this Mexican-inspired main dish is as good as it is healthy and enjoyable.

Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Lentil Tacos

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole

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Image Credit: Homestead How-To

This casserole dish blends spicy and savory flavors with delicious chicken and bacon bites. It has so much flavor and is super easy to throw together. Enjoy it for a lazy weeknight dinner or eat it the next day for lunch.

Get the Recipe: Homemade Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Stir Fry

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Stir Fry
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

 Four-ingredient sheet pan teriyaki stir fry: This marinated chicken is paired with stir-fried vegetables, baked in the oven, and tender, fluffy rice. It’s a simple weeknight chicken dinner that the whole family will devour.

Get the Recipe: Sheet Pan Teriyaki Stir Fry

Easy Lentil Bolognese Pasta Recipe

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Image Credit: Homestead How-To

This vegetarian Bolognese packs a flavorful punch. It is made with pasta, lentils, onion, carrot, and celery simmered in a rich tomato sauce in a cast iron pot. It captures the warmth and depth of traditional Bolognese without using meat, providing a delicious and hearty alternative to a beloved classic.

Get the Recipe: Easy Lentil Bolognese Pasta Recipe

Hearty Vegetable Soup

vegetable stew in green dish
Homestead How-To

Load up on this vegetable stew, which has plenty of veggies to make a filling and flavorful meal. It’s perfect for fall or winter meals. Serve with bread on the side.

Get the Recipe: Hearty Vegetable Soup

Easy Grilled Chicken Lemon Spaghetti

Grilled Chicken Lemon Spaghetti
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

This summery lemon spaghetti, with juicy grilled chicken and a zesty citrus kick, will have everyone asking for seconds. Combining grilled chicken, spaghetti noodles, salty Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, and lemon zest, this dish is as beautiful as it is delicious, bursting with vibrant colors and flavors.

Get the Recipe: Easy Grilled Chicken Lemon Spaghetti

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara
Image Credit: Homestead How-To

Make a classic Italian dish quickly with this Spaghetti Carbonara recipe. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect for any night.

Get This Recipe: Spaghetti Carbonara

Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole

A plate of lasagna on a table next to a fork.
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

This delightful dish combines the beloved flavors of a classic everything bagel—savory, aromatic, and loaded with a medley of herbs and spices—into a comforting, make-ahead breakfast marvel. Perfect for lazy weekends, bustling mornings, or simple dinners, this recipe promises a symphony of tastes and textures that will elevate your breakfast game to new heights.

Get the Recipe: Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole

Vegetable Fried Rice

fried rice recipe
Homestead How-To

Packed with flavor, this classic fried rice is ready in minutes. It’s the perfect quick and easy weeknight meal. You’ll never buy takeout fried rice again.

Get this Recipe: How to Make Fried Rice

Sheet Pan Chicken Green Beans and Potatoes

Chicken and green beans on a baking sheet.
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

Consider this easy 30-minute sheet-pan chicken, green beans, and potatoes dinner. All you need is a sheet pan and a few ingredients to make a complete meal for your family or friends.

Get the Recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken Green Beans and Potatoes Recipe

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas
Image Credit: Cooking Gorgeous

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry is a delicious, warming, and affordable Indian dish with squash, chickpeas, warming spices, and creamy coconut milk. This cozy one-pot curry is perfect for cold autumn nights.

Get This Recipe: Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry

Fellah Koftesi

Fellah Koftesi
Image Credit: Cooking Gorgeous

Fellah Koftesi is a delicious vegetarian bulgur dish made with simple ingredients like bulgur, semolina, onion, tomato, and pepper paste. Serve this traditional Turkish recipe as a main, appetizer, or side dish.

Get This Recipe: Fellah Koftesi

Air Fryer Rice & Beans Stuffed Peppers

air fryer stuffed peppers
Image Credit: Cooking School Dropout

These bell peppers are filled with rice and beans for a vegan twist, but can also be filled with ground turkey or chicken for meat lovers.

Get This Recipe: Air Fryer Rice & Beans Stuffed Peppers

Fricase de Pollo

Cuban Chicken Fricassee
Image Credit: Sugar Spice N Everything Nice

Cuban chicken fricassee, or Fricase de Pollo, is a hearty chicken stew cooked in a robust tomato sauce. This typical Cuban dish is easy, inexpensive, and a perfect comfort food!

Get This Recipe: Fricase de Pollo

Loco Moco

Loco Moco
Image Credit: Gypsyplate

Loco Moco is a fun and delicious Hawaiian dish featuring rice topped with a beef patty, smothered in gravy, and finished with a sunny-side-up egg. How cool!

Get This Recipe: Loco Moco

Thai Vegan Yellow Curry With Potatoes And Tofu

vegan yellow curry with potatoes and tofu
Image Credit: Best Served Vegan

Skip the takeout and make this Thai vegan yellow curry with potatoes and tofu. It’s a comforting weeknight dinner with vegetables that the whole family will love!

Get This Recipe: Thai Vegan Yellow Curry With Potatoes And Tofu

Ground Chicken Noodle Soup

ground chicken noodle soup
Image Credit: Homestead How-To

This ground chicken noodle soup is a classic.  This comforting and hearty dish is made with lean ground chicken, fresh vegetables, and flavorful herbs. It’s a simple and satisfying meal that will warm you up. This Chicken Soup Recipe is perfect for craving comfort food or feeling under the weather.

Get the Recipe: Ground Chicken Noodle Soup

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Image Credit: Simply Scrumptious

This stuffed pepper casserole is easy to make and delicious to eat. It’s a quick and budget-friendly meal with bell peppers, rice, and sausage. It comes together in less than 30 minutes.

Get This Recipe: Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

pumpkin and sweet potato soup
Image Credit: Aussie Homecook

This homemade pumpkin and sweet potato soup is comforting and packed with flavor. With roast pumpkin and sweet potato, it’s budget-friendly and simple to make.

Get This Recipe: Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Image Credit: The Savory Cipolla

This quick, creamy sun-dried tomato pasta recipe requires just a handful of ingredients. You can customize it with any veggies to create your own favorite version!

Get This Recipe: Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

butternut squash soap recipe ingredients
Image Credit: Homestead How-To

This recipe boasts a rich, creamy texture and a deep, roasted squash flavor that just about anyone will love. Combining sweet, nutty butternut squash and coconut milk creates the perfect blend of flavors. This roasted butternut squash soup will warm you to the bones in those cold months.

Get this Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up Bake

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up Casserole
Image Credit: Homan At Home

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up Bake is cheap, easy, and ready in 30 minutes. At under a dollar per serving, it’s a family-favorite budget recipe.

Get This Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up Bake

Italian Meatballs

Italian meatballs
Image Credit: Drive Me Hungry

These Italian meatballs are soft, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Made with ground beef and breadcrumbs, they’re baked in the oven for easy cleanup. Ready in under 30 minutes for a quick, easy, and budget-friendly dinner.

Get This Recipe: Italian Meatballs

Chickpea Curry

Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry With Sweet Potatoes & Red Peppers
Image Credit: Recipe This

Cook up this delicious slow-cooker chickpea curry with sweet potatoes and red peppers. This vegetarian curry is healthy and flavorful and makes plenty of leftovers.

Get This Recipe: Chickpea Curry

Minced Beef Cobbler

Slow Cooker Minced Beef Cobbler
Image Credit: Recipe This

This slow cooker minced beef cobbler is easy to prep and cook. It’s a frugal yet flavorful dish that reminds you of old-fashioned childhood cobbler recipes.

Get This Recipe: Minced Beef Cobbler

Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

chicken teriyaki
Image Credit: Drive Me Hungry

This chicken teriyaki recipe is versatile and can be made with chicken breast or thigh! Glazed with a 3-ingredient teriyaki sauce and served with rice, it’s a simple, delicious dinner.

Get This Recipe: Chicken Teriyaki Recipe

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Alfredo

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Alfredo
Image Credit: The Cooking Duo

This classic Italian dish features homemade creamy white alfredo sauce with heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and savory seasonings. Easy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is ready in under 30 minutes!

Get This Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Alfredo

15 Bean Soup

15 Bean Soup
Image Credit: Fantabulosity

This 15-bean soup is packed with nutrients and filling and is perfect for using leftovers from your fridge! It’s relatively cheap, making it a great weeknight dinner choice.

Get This Recipe: 15 Bean Soup

Black Bean Curry

Black Bean Curry Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Image Credit: Summer Yule

Cheap, easy, and vegan! This black bean curry has been a family favorite for decades.

Get This Recipe: Black Bean Curry

15-minute One-pot Pasta

15-minute one-pot pasta
Image Credit: Little Sunny Kitchen

Easy 15-minute one-pot pasta made with basic ingredients! This pasta recipe is perfect for busy people or those who don’t like spending too much time in the kitchen. It’s simple, frugal, and delicious!

Get This Recipe: 15-minute One-pot Pasta

Falafel

Falafel
Image Credit: Little Sunny Kitchen

Falafel is one of the Middle East’s most popular dishes. It is naturally vegan, healthy, and incredibly delicious!

Get This Recipe: Falafel

Instant Pot Fajita Rice

Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Rice
Image Credit: Budget Delicious

This easy Instant Pot Fajita Rice is loaded with juicy chicken and cheese. Top it with your favorite toppings for a meal your whole family will love.

Get This Recipe: Instant Pot Fajita Rice

Greek Rice

Easy Greek Rice (Pantry Meal, GF, Vegan)
Image Credit: Recipe From A Pantry

This simple Greek Rice uses pantry staples and only a few minutes of active cooking. With just a few basic ingredients, you can turn this into a delicious Mediterranean dish.

Get This Recipe: Greek Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Image Credit: Recipe From A Pantry

Pineapple Fried Rice is bursting with flavor, tender vegetables, and sweet pineapple chunks. This pineapple fried rice recipe comes together quickly and is ready to serve in just 15 minutes!

Get This Recipe: Pineapple Fried Rice

28 Best Set it And Forget it Slow Cooker Recipes

Bbq pulled pork in a white bowl on a wooden table.
Image Credit: Easy Everyday Recipes

Slow cookers are fantastic for whipping up everything from breakfast to dessert. They’re a lifesaver for simple weeknight meals in the summer and fall and offer cozy comfort food during the chilly winter months. Here are 28 slow cooker recipes to try this week.

28 Best Set it And Forget it Slow Cooker Recipes

24 of Mom’s Best Casserole Recipes You’ll Love

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Image Credit: Homestead How-To

Casseroles are perfect for any time of the year when you’re looking for something warm and comforting. They’re easy to make, never go out of style, and are great for both quick weeknight meals and special occasions. So, grab your casserole dish and get ready to try out these 26 tasty homemade casserole recipes.

24 of Mom’s Best Casserole Recipes

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