100 Low Budget Meals Anyone Will Love Every Day
Grocery prices keep going up every time I go to the store. I recently wrote an article about some of the Great Depression Era Meals. Wow, thanks so much to all my readers for giving me, even more, ideas to add to the list. Here’s the deal, I don’t see the grocery prices coming down anytime soon, so today I decided to put together 100 low budget meals anyone will love.
If you are like me I can’t wait until my garden is ready to harvest! I save so much money by having a garden! Yep, salads every night, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.
I make my own ranch salad dressing, or just use balsamic vinegar with olive oil. Yummy! I watch for the meat in the clearance area or I don’t buy meat at all. I admire people who have access to real grass-fed meat without the antibiotics and hormones added.
100 Low-Budget Meals
One thing I would invest in is a skillet for these meals. If you can get your hands on a good skillet, go with this skillet. When it comes to giving you 100 low-budget meals, I don’t skimp. I tell you about all my favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. Keep reading to discover them all!
Breakfast Meals:
When it comes to breakfast, you can’t skimp! Even if you are on a budget, there are things that you can do to save money and still eat well. You don’t need to starve to eat on a budget. Check out these budget meals.
1. French toast and scrambled eggs
2. Cheese toast with fruit cocktail
3. Scrambled eggs and bacon
5. Smoothie with fruits and veggies
6. Pancakes and scrambled eggs
7. Waffles with fresh fruit
8. Eggs in a blanket (cut a whole out of the middle of a piece of bread and replace it with an egg then cook both in a frying pan)
9. Hard boiled eggs and fruit
10. Oatmeal with raisins (super budget meals if you buy oatmeal in bulk)
11. Cream of wheat with hard-boiled eggs
12. Breakfast quiches
13. Breakfast burritos
14. Eggs Benedict
15. Over easy eggs with sausage links
16. Toast and fried eggs
17. Link sausage wrapped up in a pancake
18. Egg baked muffins (baked omelets in muffin tins)
19. Leftover cold pizza
20. Homemade cinnamon rolls with scrambled eggs
21. Cold cereal with fruit
22. Homemade granola
23. Granola Bars
24. Homemade muffins with grated carrots
25. Homemade muffins with grated apples
26. Fried potatoes and eggs
27. Homemade whole wheat toasted bread with canned peaches
28. Hash with eggs
29. Doughnuts with scrambled eggs
30. Bagels and cream cheese
31. Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich
32. Fried Egg and bacon sandwich
33. Biscuits and sausage gravy
Luncheon Meals:
I don’t know about you, but lunch is my favorite meal of the day! These lunch meals will keep you on target financially and they are still so delicious! Keep reading to discover the different low budget meals that you can eat every single day.
34. Bagel with sliced turkey and carrot sticks/apple slices
35. Peanut butter and honey sandwich/carrot & peaches
36. Turkey, avocado, spinach wrap with plums
37. Chicken burrito with salsa
38. Almond butter on celery sticks and apple slices
39. Tacos with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese
40. Sandwich with mashed beans and celery sticks
41. Tomato sandwiches with lettuce
42. Grilled cheese sandwiches with carrots and apples
43. Bean soup with cornbread (soups are super budget meals)
44. Homemade hummus with crackers and apple slices
45. Tomato soup with crackers, cheese, and grapes
46. Smoothies with fruits, vegetables, and chia
47. Egg salad sandwich with sliced pickles
48. Turkey, cheese panini sandwich with tomatoes
49. Whole wheat bread with chopped can of chicken, mayonnaise and carrot sticks
50. Salad with tomatoes with sliced hard boiled eggs and chopped bacon bits with apples on the side
51. Salad with peas, bacon, cheese, chopped eggs and bell peppers with dressing and fruit cocktail on the side
52. Bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches with carrot sticks
53. Crackers with chicken salad and fresh grapes
54. Chicken salad with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and cashews over lettuce
55. Cooked rice and beans with salsa
56. Grilled tuna sandwich with carrots and apple slices
57. Hot dogs with relish, celery sticks and apples
58. Chili hot dogs with grated cheese, apples and carrots sticks
59. Ham salad sandwiches with sliced pickles and grapes
60. Ground leftover roast beef and mayo with carrot sticks and peaches
61. Sliced roast beef sandwiches with celery and grapes
62. Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese (super low budget meals)
63. Corn dogs with carrot/celery sticks and apple slices
64. Chef salad, lettuce, cheese, ham cubes, sliced eggs, sliced celery, and beets
65. Chipped beef on toast with peas and apple slices (my favorite super budget meals)
66. Macaroni and cheese with green beans and applesauce
Dinner Meals:
I can’t forget about dinner. When it comes to dinner, this is one meal that families spend the most time together. You can make a budget meal without breaking the bank. Check out these ideas!
67. Homemade flour tortillas with beans, cheese, lettuce, and fruit cocktail-My favorite tortilla maker: CucinaPro 1443 Flatbread and Tortilla Maker
68. Homemade corn tortillas with the meat of choice, cheese, lettuce and sliced apples ***My favorite corn/whole wheat & spinach tortilla recipes:
Corn-Whole Wheat & Spinach Tortillas.
69. Chicken enchiladas with small salad and fruit of choice
70. Spaghetti with meat sauce over cooked pasta with small tossed salad and fruit of choice
71. Chicken chili with homemade cornbread
72. Vegetarian chili with homemade breadsticks and fruit of choice
73. Lasagna with meat and a tossed salad with rolls
74. Vegetarian lasagna with salad
75. Bowtie-spinach salad with craisins and mandarin oranges and breadsticks
76. Pork loin cooked in a slow cooker, serve with vegetables of choice and fruit
77. Pork chops grilled, served with tossed salad and fruit
78. Barbecued ribs with tossed salad and fruit
79. Barbecued chicken with a tossed salad and fruit
80. Baked chicken with pasta salad and fruit on the side
81. Roasted vegetables and fruit on the side.
82. Homemade pizza with tomato sauce and grated cheese. Add a salad and fruit
83. Homemade calzones with tomato sauce and filling of choice. Add a tossed salad
84. Noodles and tomato sauce with green beans and canned fruit
85. Stew with vegetables and fruit of choice
86. Corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes
87. Chicken and broccoli casserole with fruit on the side
88. Chicken and rice casserole with green beans and fruit on the side
89. Tacos with fried hamburger, beans, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Fruit on the side
90. Chicken enchiladas with tossed salad and fruit on the side
91. Taco salad, cooked hamburger, cheese, kidney beans, lettuce, broken tortillas chips, and Catalina type salad dressing
92. Flank steak sliced very thin (barbecued in foil) serve with grilled veggies and fruit on the side
93. Foil dinners with the meat of choice, carrots, celery, and onions, cook in the oven or on the barbecue
94. Tostadas with beans, grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and lots of salsa (one of my favorite budget meals)
95. Spinach wraps with chicken salad and a fruit salad
96. Salad bar, lettuce, tomatoes, grated cheese, chopped ham, olives, grated hard-boiled eggs with a dressing of choice
97. Potato bar with chili, broccoli, grated cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, and sliced olives
98. Tuna casserole with green beans and choice of fruit
99. Hamburger Casserole with snack ramen and frozen peas with the fruit of choice
100. Turkey breast with homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and cranberry sauce
More Budget Meals:
What is the Cheapest Meal to Make?
If you were only able to make one meal, which mean would it be? What is the cheapest meal to make? Some of the cheapest meals you can make are listed here, but sticky rice and black beans and rice are the cheapest.
What Do You Feed a Budget Crowd?
What happens if you’re trying to feed a budget crowd? Rice is always a great go to when you need to feed a lot of people on a budget. Soup, pasta, and tacos are also great large crowd food options.
What Should You Eat When You Are Broke?
If you are broke and don’t have much to choose from, you may be wondering what you can eat. Beans are a great option because they are full of protein. Oats are another inexpensive option for when you are broke, but also hungry.
Final Word
If you have any more low budget meals please share them with me. Let’s pass the information on to everyone you think would enjoy these meals. I thank you for your comments. May God bless this world, Linda
One of the cheapest meals we had growing up (occasionally) and the easiest was dinner of boiled eggs, home canned fruit and toast. It sounds more like a breakfast but it can be eaten for any meal. It was so easy! I still eat this way sometimes when I just don’t feel like cooking a meal for one!!
A neighbor has her groceries delivered due to mobility issues and no car. She said that she typically orders the same thing each time and she has seen the prices rise significantly. Her last order was $11.00 more than the previous order and she says she didn’t order anything different. When one is on a fixed income in retirement, $11.00 is a significant blast to our budgets.
One thing that I do is this: I use the envelope system. I have a certain amount budgeted for food and when that cash is gone, no more groceries. It makes me much more aware of what I purchase and what I waste. Of course, over time, I have built my food storage so that IF the prices at the store go up, I am not going to go hungry!! But, it does make me much more conscientious when I shop.
I, too, am waiting anxiously/eagerly for my little garden to start producing! I look forward to saving a bit of money on my salads.
Hi Leanne, I use the envelope system for all my cash purchases. The few bills I have are all on automatic payments. I agree that $11.00 is a huge increase. I monitor my expenses all the time. When the cash is gone, we do not buy anything. Linda
I agree with your neighbor about the prices of groceries rising recently. I live in Washington State and my local Walmart now has a service where I can order online and schedule a pickup. While ordering my groceries I thought the prices had gone up so I grabbed a receipt from last month and compared prices and every item has increased from 3 cents to a whopping $4.00. I then grabbed a safeway ad and compared prices and name brand products are within a few prices of each in price. I’ve always thought that safeway brand products were as good as name brand and they have superior local produce so I’ll be watching and buying carefully from safeway and my local independent grocery Fuller Shop N Kart from now on.
Hi Carol, it’s critical we watch our pennies because they add up for sure. I watch for case lot sale where I can get some foods we eat all the time for almost half price. I would compare every add, money is money. Linda
My garden is producing so I’ve been eating sauteed/steamed snow peas and asparagus for breakfast for almost five weeks now. I’m also tossing the snow peas in salads, or stir frying them with a bit of chicken and other garden veggies. The snow peas I’m growing are Oregon Giant, Alderman (aka Telephone Pole) and Mammoth Melting.
My bush and pole beans are up but not producing yet. Same for squash, though it’s blooming and so are tomatoes and cucumbers.
The snow peas are so productive I’m blanching and freezing some of the surplus, giving some to neighbors, and (as of now) are allowing some to go to seed–both for fresh peas and dried peas and so I’ll have some more seed to sow this fall and next year. I planted them last fall and over-wintered them in hoop houses. It’s nice enough here in NW AZ to grow most cool weather crops outside year-round.
The flip side of that is it gets warm early enough for lettuce, bok choi, turnips, beets, chard, and spinach to bolt–which mine have done already. My DiCiccio broccoli is flowering so I’ll be saving some of that seed for fall too. I grow mostly heirloom varieties both for their flavor and so I can garden sustainably by saving seed.
Speaking of bolting, I’m allowing a few Kuroda carrots I planted last fall to go to seed. They are seriously challenging Scarlet Nantes as my favorite for fresh eating or cooking.
Keep up the good work Linda.
HI Ray, oh my gosh, you are rocking with saving seeds AND growing and harvesting vegetables! I love your comment! Linda
Soup!! I boil all my roast chicken and turkey carcasses into stock. Strain, add salt, leftover chicken, carrots, celery, shredded cabbage (whatever vegetables you want really), noodles. Feeds a crowd. I also put in thermoses for kid lunches.
If you want to save the stock- strain it into mason jars while hot and put lids on. Don’t skim off the fat! The fat acts as a seal to preserve the stock! Let it sit until room temp, fat will rise to the top, and jars will seal. Stores in fridge for months. Use in place of water to make rice or soup.
Hi Allison, I love your comment, yes indeed soup can feed a crowd!! We all grew up on making soups and adding a little more to the pot if someone stopped by! I love the broth idea! Linda
Thanks Linda, today I’m doing a succession planting of carrots and trying three new to me varieties. Bambina, as the name suggests is a short carrot that is going into a large pot next to a San Marzano tomato. Red Cored Chantannay is going into a second large pot next to one of my wife’s hybrid Bonnie’s Original Favorite tomatoes. Red Samurai is a very sweet carrot that is going into a third large pot next to a Cherokee Purple tomato and then in a raised bed next to Contender bush beans.
I’m also transplanting a Suyo Cucumber, a couple of Black Mountain Watermelons and a couple of cantaloupe out into the gardens today.
I planted some Seneca Sunrise sweet corn on April 29, but it’s not up yet. The Black Beauty zucchini I transplanted on April 22 are blooming nicely, so squash soon.
Time to start harvesting shell peas, which are really just snow peas I let go to seed. I will leave some on the plants to actually form dried seeds for this Fall’s crop.
Busy, busy, but I love this time of year when cool weather crops are fading and warm weather crops are coming in, providing some new varieties of flavors.
Hi Ray, oh my gosh!!!! I LOVE hearing what you have planted!! I have got to try some of those carrot varieties! I get so excited when I hear people are gardening! Life is so awesome, Ray!!! Linda
Seeds are magical to me. I live in an area where I can basically grow food outside all year round, but Spring, when buds are swelling and leafing out and new growth is everywhere, and flowers (in our case lilacs, gazanias and hyacinths) are blooming is always special. Spring here in Arizona is my favorite time of the year–until Fall, when that becomes my favorite time of the year. 🙂
I enjoy your posts and hope you keep on coming up with new, useful topics.
HI Ray, I love your statement, “seeds are magical to me”!!! I love flowers and it sounds like you have a lot of them! Life is so good when we can grow our own food and flowers!! Great comment, Linda
Hi Linda, Just wanted to add some ideas that really work for me. When I cut the ends from scallions (green onions), I plant then in the soil and in a few weeks, you have new scallions to pull and start all over again. This also works for any veggie that has roots growing from the end of their stalks. I’ve done leeks, celery, romaine, butter lettuce, leaf lettuce, etc. If you can’t get them planted into soil right away, place them in a very shallow dish with water, to keep the roots viable. If you try this, please let me know how it works for you.
Hi Suzanne, oh my gosh, I have got to try doing all of those vegetables. I love this! Linda
Heartily agree re prices. I shop at Trader Joe’s so as to get all of the fresh organic food i can and in my area, they have the best assortment as well as the best prices on organics. But i have noticed that each time i go in to shop, many of the items have increased a dollar to two or three dollars more. Since i live on a small fixed income as a senior on Social Security, this is a real hardship for me. As well, i have a chronic disease which means no canned food due to the high salt content, and i much prefer wholesome fresh veggies anyway. But with the present political system we have, i do not see things getting better.
Hi Mary, oh you are so lucky to have a Trader Joe’s near you. I do not have one and I would love to shop there. I’m worried about the prices going up all the time as well. I love fresh vegetables. Have you looked at frozen vegetables? I’ve been buying a few bags of frozen veggies when they go on sale. They are a bit harder to find that are organic, I will say that. But I like frozen broccoli and carrots, isn’t that funny? But they are all cut up and ready to steam! I grow a lot of my veggies and dehydrate them and freeze them. But sometimes they go on sale and I stock up on those I can eat in the next couple of months. Linda
Quick, great taste, economical and things we always have in the cupboard:
*Pasta cooked, set aside.
*Skillet, saute garlic and onion pieces in olive oil(cancer protection for women)
*add green peas and stir while heating on low heat
*add pasta and stir lightly, add Italian bread (toasted bread with butter/garlic powder)
One of my favorite meals.
HI JayJay, oh my this sounds delicious! This is my kind of recipe, thank you! Linda