It doesn’t matter what your goals are, we can all benefit from a simplified meal planning process to save money, prevent food waste, decrease stress, and keep ourselves healthy. These easy and cheap meal ideas will help you cook with items that you already have on hand.
Easy and Affordable Recipe Ideas
Most of these recipes are family friendly and versatile to use the items already in your fridge and pantry. The meat, sauces, seasonings, veggies, and carbs can all be swapped to fit your own preference and budget.
Use these meal ideas as a basic guideline to help you get creative with the items you already have to save money and prevent food waste.
1. Crockpot Red Sauce
🍝Crockpot red sauce is cheaper than jarred sauce and it can be made with or without meat to save money.
You can make several jars of sauce and freeze them or use the red sauce in a variety of dinners. Red sauce is great over pasta, over a bowl of roasted veggies, pizza sauce, or as base in chilis and soups.
2. Soup with leftover Red Sauce
🍲If you have leftover red sauce, use it as a base for a soup, chili, or even pizza sauce. This is my favorite red sauce soup that can be prepared with any variety of veggies that you have on hand.
Any type of grain or pasta works well with this soup and it can be made meatless if needed.
3. Homemade Chicken Broth
🍗If you purchased a rotisserie chicken recently or cooked an entire chicken, don’t throw away the bones. Place the bones with leftover meat scraps that you will not eat into a large crockpot.
Fill with water and cook on high for 4 hours. Strain the bones and meat then use the chicken broth in a soup or sauce for a pasta dish.
4. Veggie Scrap Broth
🥔Everytime you chop a veggie, save the scraps in a gallon size freezer safe bag. Store the bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Once you have a full bag of scraps, dump it into a large crockpot filled with water. Cover the veggies by 1 inch then cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Carefully pour the crockpot into a strainer with a bowl beneath it to catch the broth. Either discard the veggies or use as compost.
5. One Pan Pasta with Broth
🥘Use the veggie broth that you just prepared to make a flavorful one pan pasta dinner. This dinner can be made meatless, but ground sausage is delicious in this dish.
All you need is ground sausage, pint of grape tomatoes, onions, pasta of choice, seasoning, and veggies broth. If sausage links are one sale, go with those instead of ground sausage. You can make this dish with sliced sausage or peel the casings from the sausage links to create your own ground sausage.
6. Fridge Clear Out Chili
🌶️Chili can be made meatless to save even more money and clear out your fridge. Simple brown any type of ground meat in a large skillet if using meat.
Then add in any bean and random veggies that you have in the fridge that are ready to go bad. Toss in either a jar of opened salsa, leftover red sauce, or a can of tomato sauce for the base of the chili.
Frozen veggies also work here too, if you are trying to use up items in your freezer. You can add the frozen veggies directly into your skillet and allow them to thaw in the chili while absorbing flavor.
Season to taste with any variety of flavorful Tex-Mex seasoning. Paprika, garlic, chili powder, adobo all work great in a chili, but you can really add almost anything here.
Simmer the chili uncovered until it thickens and stir occasionally. Then serve in bowls topped with a pinch of shredded cheese.
Leftover Chili Ideas
The leftover chili can be used in a variety of ways for your lunch throughout the week. Many dishes are more versatile than you realize and can be added into your random leftovers.
Try using the chili over a microwave sweet potato or a hotdog, in a wrap or a taco, use the chili as enchilada filling, or top nachos with the chili. You can even mix the chili into leftover mac and cheese or a pasta.
7. No Cook Bean Salad
🫘Choose any 3 beans then add chopped 1 bell pepper and a chopped onion. Rinse the beans, chop the onions, and bell pepper then mix into a large bowl.
Drizzle olive oil with salt and pepper over the bean salad then enjoy cold. The veggies can be swapped for whatever you have on hand that makes sense for this bean salad. Try tomatoes, olives, corn, or leftover veggies from a previous dinner.
The bean salad leftovers can be used a side dish to a dinner, a filling for a wrap, a topping to a salad, or even mixed into a pasta dish.
8. Pasta Salad
🍝This is one of the easiest dishes to alternate ingredients to create a brand new recipe. My favorite way to make a pasta salad is with Cavatappi pasta, sliced grape tomatoes, slice mozzarella, drizzle of olive oil, dash of balsamic vinaigrette, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a large scoop of pesto.
This isn’t the cheapest pasta salad, but this is a basic recipe that can be altered to fit your budget and the items in your fridge and pantry. Instead of olive oil, you can use an Italian dressing or a vinaigrette dressing.
The seasonings can be adjusted per your preference and the tomatoes and cheese can be swapped for different ingredients.
Try a bell pepper, lunch meat, pepperoni, leftover dinner veggies, or any veggie in your fridge or freezer.
9. Ground Chicken
🍗Ground chicken is typically cheaper than a pack of chicken breasts, so if you are trying to save money this is a way to do it. In a large skillet brown the ground chicken then seasoning with any type of seasoning you prefer.
I used garlic powder and ranch seasoning for my chicken then I poured buffalo sauce over the chicken. You can make this with any type of sauce and seasonings.
Serve over sweet potatoes, nachos, mix into a pasta,in a tortilla, a sandwich, in a salad, or enjoy over rice.
10. Pizzadilla with Leftovers
🍕If you have tortillas on hand, turn your leftovers into a pizzadilla. Add a spoonful of leftover red sauce or salsa then add cheese and any meat or veggies that you have on hand.
This can be made with deli meat, mozzarella cheese, banana peppers, pepperoni, leftover meat, and any veggies. Place a thin layer of toppings and sauce then fold in half. Heat in a pan on the stove or heat in the oven.
11. Tortilla Burgers
🍔Ground beef can go a long way, especially if you can pick it up on sale. Simply brown the meat and add any meat seasoning you prefer. Add optional chopped onions and pickles to the browned ground meat.
Add the cooked meat to the tortillas with cheese and fold over. Then place on a baking sheet and cook the tortilla burgers for about 5-7 minutes or until crisp and the cheese is melted. Enjoy with a side of ketchup and a salad.
12. Sheet Pan Veggie Dinner with Rice
🥕Choose 3 veggies and roast a large tray in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. My favorite combo is broccoli, mushrooms, and onions.
Prep the veggies then place on a large baking sheet with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve the veggies of rice with a dash of bbq sauce or your go-to sauce.
13. Chicken Tenderloins
🍗Chicken tenderloins are typically cheaper than chicken breasts and can be cooked in a variety of recipes. Season and pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees or until they are cooked through.
I like to season the chicken with a basic seasoning that pairs with any type of leftover. Try garlic powder and paprika, or an all purpose seasoning.
Add any type of sauce after the chicken is cooked and serve over rice, with veggies, pasta, a salad, sandwich, or tortilla.
14. Tofu Instead of Meat
🍖I know this one might be a bit weird to get used to at first, but tofu isn’t that bad after you get adjusted to it. Tofu takes on any flavor, packed with protein, and it’s affordable.
I find it easiest to think of tofu as a ground meat. Break up the tofu like ground meat and season it in a pan like you would a ground meat.
You can also hide the texture and flavor of tofu with a melted cheese if you aren’t crazy about tofu.
15. Adult Chicken Nuggets
🍗These can be made with any type of chicken in 1 large bowl. Simply cube chicken into bite size nuggets and add them to a bowl with breadcrumbs, seasoning, and an egg.
Mix everything together in the bowl and bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy with sauce like you would a chicken nugget or use the chicken in a variety of other recipes.
16. Juicy Orange Chicken
🍊Use your leftover adult chicken nuggets to make this juicy orange chicken dinner. To make the sauce use either orange juice or fresh squeezed juice from fresh oranges.
Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with a little honey and a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Optional add in seasoning and crushed red pepper.
Pour all of the sauce ingredients in a small pot and whisk while the sauce thickens for about 7-10 mins.
17. Chicken Nugget Parm
🍝Use leftover adult chicken nuggets or frozen chicken strips in this recipe. Boil any type of pasta and mix with red sauce and chicken.
Bake for 25-30 minutes covered with foil. Then top with mozzarella cheese and cook for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Try turning this into a buffalo chicken parm if you don’t have any red sauce. Use your favorite hot sauce of buffalo sauce in place of the red sauce.
18. Lazy Meatball
🍝In a bowl mix 1lb of ground beef with ½ cup of breadcrumbs, grated cheese, 1 egg, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Mix well and form into a giant meatball then place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 55 minutes at 400 degrees.
Then top with red sauce and mozzarella cheese and cook until the cheese is melted.
Adjust the meatball ingredients to use the items you have on hand, but this is a basic outline to follow. Serve with pasta, veggies, or your other favorite side dish.
19. Roasted Sweet Potatoes Topped with Leftovers
🍠Roasted sweet potatoes are so easy to cook if you wash them then slice them in half lengthwise. Brush the orange size of the sweet potato with oil, salt, and pepper.
Then flip the potato orange face down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
Top the cooked sweet potatoes with leftover meat or veggies for a quick dinner. Leftover chili works perfectly here!
You can also cook potatoes in the microwave, but I always think they are best in the oven.
20. Microwave Eggs
🍳I often eat microwave eggs for lunch or breakfast because it only takes a few minutes and uses basic ingredients.
To make microwave eggs, crack 2 eggs in a small bowl about the size of a bagel. Whisk with a fork, add salt, and pepper then place into the microwave.
Cook for 30 seconds then stir the eggs a fork and cook for another 30 seconds. Top with a slice of cheese and cook for another 10-15 seconds.
Enjoy the eggs over toast, in a burrito, with a side of potatoes, or your favorite side.
I create several variations of this by adding in leftover chopped bell peppers, onions, or cut up breakfast sausage. Get creative with the items you have on hand because almost anything works in eggs.
21. Scrappy Salad
🥗Add your greenery of choice to the salad if you have any on hand. If not, then you can still put together a salad without greenery.
Use any protein in your fridge from a leftover dinner, deli meat, hard boiled eggs, or even a handful of nuts.
Then add in items like beans, veggies, or even fruit for a sweeter salad. Next add in a little crunch or a carb to fill you up and satisfy you longer.
You can add in a small amount of rice, pasta, or even hemp seeds or chia seeds.
For salad dressing, you can get creative and use hot sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, crushed up berries, or even a drizzle of oil.
My Favorite Salad
🍔A scrap salad is one of my favorite easy and cheap meal ideas for lunch or dinner because you can literally throw items in a bowl and call it a meal.
A cheeseburger salad is an easy and flavorful salad to put together without measuring. All you need is leftover burger meat, steak, or cooked ground meat.
🥗Then add in greenery with tomatoes, banana peppers, pickles, a handful of croutons or leftover roasted potatoes. Top your burger salad with a drizzle of ketchup and enjoy.
Where to Find Affordable Groceries
🛒You can find affordable groceries at Aldi, Lidl, local produce stores, and bulk stores if budget allows. I try to buy most of my groceries at Aldi because they are often the cheapest.
I restock on produce the following week at at my local produce store for fruit, vegetables, and a couple of items like milk and eggs.
I also, mix in my local grocery store for a few items that are not carried at Aldi or that I don’t want to buy in bulk.
I only go to my local grocery store when there is a sale or there is a specific item that I need because this store is expensive compared to other stores.
I don’t spend too much time searching for coupons because I often find that the coupons are for items I don’t need.
Aldi Vs Bulk Shopping: Which is Cheaper?
I personally don’t feel like I save much money buying at bulk shopping stores.
I’ve tested this at different stores and buying in bulk just leads me to have 36 packs of snacks my kids never want to eat again by next week.
The meat is typically more expensive or the exact same price as purchasing 3 packs at another grocery store.
I compared the price of french toast sticks at Aldi compared to another bulk store and it was almost the exact same price.
My kids don’t need to be eating sugary french toast sticks everyday for a month from a giant box. So, buying a smaller pack once a month for a treat is a better option for our family.
Price compare the popular items in your house and see what makes the most sense for your budget and shopping habits.
Cashback Apps
💰Another way to save some money is by using cashback apps that reward you for sending in pictures of your receipt.
You can also check apps like the Capital One shopping app for cashback opportunities to save on stores you are ordering from online.
Conclusion
All of these recipes are a great foundation to get you started in the kitchen. Look in your fridge and pantry for items that are about to go bad. Use these items first to save money and mix into one of the easy and cheap meal ideas.