Trying to make dinner on a budget? Here are 10 weeks worth of really cheap meals for dinner!
Readers often ask for easy, budget-friendly dinner recipes here at The Frugal South. So today I’m sharing LOTS of recipes in one post!
For a year I shared my weekly dinner meal plan here on the blog. I made affordable, healthy, and easy dinners a habit, so now I have a huge collection of go-to dinners that I make regularly!
So here’s ten weeks’ worth of my favorite dinner recipes for really cheap meals. These recipes are perfect for my year of meal planning… I hope you find some inspiration for planning meals!
Really Cheap Meals: Week One
Panko Crusted Cod – WinCo Foods
Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet – The Kitchen Charlatan
Homemade Marinade for Chicken, Steak or Pork – The Frugal South
Cornbread Beef Tamale Pie – Bon Appetit
Slow Cooker Baked Beans – EatingWell
The Best Fried Rice – Gimme Some Oven
Slow Cooker Cheesy Tortellini – Damn Delicious
Easy Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie – Six Sisters Stuff
Week Two
This week features some of my all-time favorite dinner on a budget recipes!
Don’t miss the Bean & Cheese burritos and Monterrey Chicken Skillet.
Monterrey Chicken Skillet – Budget Bytes
Spinach & Cheese Strata – Damn Delicious (I use this as a rough guide and add ham and red pepper)
Bean & Cheese Burritos – Money Saving Mom (I’m loading the freezer up with some for fast lunches)
Kung Pao Chicken & Vegetables – Budget Bytes
Southwestern Burgers – Country Living
Spinach & Ricotta Calzone – Italian Food Forever
Week Three
Crockpot Butter Chicken – Half Baked Harvest
Cashew Rice Pilaf – Budget Bytes
Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach Tortellini – Tastes Better From Scratch
Copycat Bucca di Beppo Meatballs
Garlic-Herb and Parmesan Roasted Red Potatoes – Brown Eyed Baker
Slow Cooker Steak Chili – Perry’s Plate
Green Chile Cornbread – Simply Recipes
Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake – The Frugal South
Really Cheap Meals: Week Four
This weeks’ favorites include my Asian Veggie Peanut Noodles (add chicken if desired) and one-pot red beans and rice.
These recipes are easy to adapt to a vegetarian diet if needed.
Kielbasa, Onion, Pepper and Potato Hash – The Two Bite Club
Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili – The Simple Veganista
One-Pot Red Beans and Rice – Southern Bite
Asian Veggie Peanut Noodles – The Frugal South
Week Five
Easy Sweet & Spicy Mexican Cole Slaw – Virtually Homemade (I would suggest cutting the amount of cumin in half – I wished I had)
Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata – The Chunky Chef
Smothered Beef Burritos – That’s Some Good Cookin’
Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin – Laura’s Sweet Spot
Easy Stromboli – Southern Bite
Homemade Italian Dressing – Five Heart Home
Week Six
Cheesy Bacon and Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes – Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Spanish Chickpeas and Rice – Budget Bytes
Croque Monsieur with Poached Eggs – Alexandra’s Kitchen
Best Marinade for Chicken & Steak – The Frugal South
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup – Fresh Family Meals
Easy Pepper Steak with Rice – Gimme Some Oven
Creamy Tortellini Veggie Bake – Chelsea’s Messy Apron
Really Cheap Meals: Week Seven
My favorites this week include the cheesey chicken bacon ranch pasta (I leave out the ranch) and the pulled pork sliders, a regular in our house.
And my pumpkin zucchini bread is a year-round favorite here, not just in fall.
One Pot Spanish Chicken and Potatoes – A Pinch of Yum
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup – Epcot’s Le Cellier
Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta – Flavor Mosaic
Butternut Squash, Crispy Kale and Fontina Pizza – Half Baked Harvest (Will simplify and make liberal changes to this recipe)
Pulled Pork Sliders – Blog Chef
Cranberry Apple Coleslaw – Sweet Little Bluebird
Mexican Posole (Pork Soup with Hominy) – Southern Boy Dishes
Pumpkin Zucchini Bread – The Frugal South
Week Eight
Garlic Parmesan Potatoes Au Gratin – Foodness Gracious
Easy Sweet & Spicy Mexican Coleslaw – Virtually Homemade
Baked Potato Bar – Moneywise Moms
Garlic Butter Spinach Pasta – Diethood
Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas with Ground Beef and Cilantro – Kalyn’s Kitchen
Southwest Chicken, Black Bean and Veggie Rice – The Frugal South
Week Nine
Revolutionary Mac & Cheese – Big Rigs ‘n Lil’ Cookies
Garden Veggie and Ravioli Skillet – Half Baked Harvest
Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas – Food & Whine
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries – Creme de la Crumb
Slow Cooker Sweet Pork Barbacoa – The Girl Who Ate Everything
Quinoa Fried Rice – Gimme Some Oven
Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake – Love Grows Wild
Week Ten of Really Cheap Meals
5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili – Gimme Some Oven
Dead Easy Steak Marinade – Alexandra Cooks
Black Eyed Pea Salad – Plain Chicken
Kicked Up Corn Maque Choux – Emeril Lagasse
Spanish Paella Two Ways – My Kitchen Antics
Crockpot Chicken Fajita Freezer Meal – New Leaf Wellness
I hope this roundup of really cheap meals for dinner recipes on a budget is helpful for your meal planning.
Any questions? Please leave a comment below or send me a message on The Frugal South’s Facebook page!
fitoru fitness
Sunday 10th of May 2020
What a great roundup! looks like I have a few weeknight dinner ideas