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10 Weeks of Really Cheap Meals

Trying to make dinner on a budget? Here are 10 weeks worth of really cheap meals for dinner!

10 weeks of easy and cheap dinner recipes

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

week 1 meal plan

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

 
week 2 meal plan

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

week three of dinners on a budget

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

week 4 meal plan

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

Beef Biryani – Pinch of Yum

Week Five

week five of dinners on a budget

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

week 6 meal plan

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

week 7 of dinner on a budget recipes

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

week 8 meal plan

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

week 9 meal plan

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

week 10 of dinner on a budget recipes

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!

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fitoru fitness

Sunday 10th of May 2020

What a great roundup! looks like I have a few weeknight dinner ideas

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