So recently I I ask Members of the BuzzFeed Community to share your favorite budget foods that don’t feel cheap. This is what they had to say:
1.
“What I made tonight: Bow pasta, bacon, microwaved broccoli and garlic. Use the bacon fat and a little butter to heat the garlic, add the broccoli and pour it over the cooked pasta. I use whatever I like.” It was left over from my bacon from breakfast, so it’s not really ‘expensive.’ The whole meal is like $5 and makes three or four servings.”
two.
“A traditional Venezuelan meal! It’s delicious, filling, nutritious, and incredibly inexpensive. Start with some rice and beans. Then add some arepas. They’re a simple type of bread made with PAN (cooked white cornmeal), salt, water and oil that you make on the stove, if you can fill the arepas with some protein such as meat, eggs or cheese, to complete the meal include some fried plantain, or fried bananas if necessary, it will cost you only a few dollars at most for food.”
3.
Black beans soaked overnight, then cooked with water, a bay leaf, thyme, chopped green and red bell pepper, and a little garlic until soft. To serve, make rice with water (or chicken broth if you have it), onions, and thyme. Then, when the rice is cooked, add the chopped coriander. Serve beans over rice.”
Four.
“A simple potato soup: you just need a few potatoes, an onion, garlic, broth (chicken or vegetable), cream cheese, and whatever toppings you want.”
5.
“Zucchini Lasagna – Slice the zucchini and top with your favorite pasta sauce (pesto, tomato, etc.). Then add some cheese and put in the oven for 20 minutes.”
6.
“Mujadara! Recipes vary from family to family, but this Lebanese staple of lentils and rice is warm, flavorful, comforting, and satiating. This recipe it’s great, but crispy onions shouldn’t be optional; they give the dish that extra touch”.
7.
“Tuna fritters. Can of tuna, an egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix in a bowl and fry up like a crispy tuna pancake. Absolutely delicious and nutritious for CHEAP.”
8.
“Honestly, when in doubt, I make vegetarian burrito bowls. Some grains (rice, quinoa, etc.) with some canned black beans and corn. I also like to add some bell peppers and sweet potatoes.”
9.
“I like to buy a rotisserie chicken and use it for a meal (we often have the chicken in a salad for two nights, but it can be used in many ways). After eating the meat, put the bones and other meaty bits in a bag cheesecloth in a large pot of water and boil for a few hours.
10
“My household’s favorite low-cost, low-effort meal is a chili-topped baked sweet potato. Sounds a bit questionable, but don’t rule it out until you try it. We’ve used homemade and canned chili for this, and both work amazingly well. You get protein, veggies, and all the satisfaction of your favorite chili dips in one cozy meal.”
eleven
“Vegetable soup! You’ll probably spend like MAX $10-15 on ingredients and get about five or six meals out of it. I make a living off of this as a chef haha.”
12
“Add lentils and/or vegetables to ground beef dishes. I’ve been doing this for years with sloppy joes, tacos, meatloaf, etc. I used to do this to increase the nutritional content and add protein, fiber, and vegetables to ground beef dishes.” my kids diets. But now? It’s because of the cost of groceries. The spinach helps the meatballs hold together. The ground carrot, celery, bell peppers, and onions add flavor and texture to the meatloaf. the lentils with the ground beef and season and no one notices”.
13
“Not the most balanced meal, but it sure is hearty and tasty! Spaghetti cooked in olive oil, with white onion and fresh garlic. Boil the spaghetti al dente, then add to the garlic and onion stir fry. Sometimes I add black olives if I have them in the fridge (and they last forever). It’s all you probably already have in your cupboard and you can buy in bulk for little money – it also only takes 10 minutes to make.”
14
“Frittatas: You can use up leftover protein and veggies, cook it all in one pan, and pop it all in the oven.”
fifteen.
“Chicken and Meatballs! If you make it from scratch, it goes a long way with leftover chicken broth, bones for bone broth, and can easily feed a large family or split up and freeze for multiple meals.”
sixteen.
“I’m Indian and I really think rice is a blessed food. Super cheap and you can literally eat it at every meal. Breakfast: Fried egg with runny yolk, rice, soy sauce. Lunch: Mock fried rice with frozen vegetables, old leftover rice, soy sauce/sesame oil, egg, whatever meat you have on hand (or none at all!) Dinner: can of spiced chickpeas (Chana masala) over rice Truly the best cheap but hearty and healthy meals come from rice. “
17
“Loaded Baked Potatoes! Bake a potato and top it with any number of items. Taco Baked Potato with ground beef, onion, jalapenos, sour cream, and avocado. Greek Baked Potato with Feta, Chickpeas, and Kalmata Olives. Potato baked with curry with curry powder, peas and chickpeas…there are so many options one can make depending on what you have at home It’s versatile and you can have as many or as few ingredients as you need AND it’s super filling Remember: seasonings and spices are your friends (especially when it comes to giving sour cream that extra flavor!)”
18
“Buy a cheap bag of dry pea/bean/lentil mix, soak overnight, then cook for a couple of hours with basic curry spices, a bit of paprika (honestly, whatever you like and taste good with curry), and add some kind of fat (coconut milk or butter) to the curry as it cooks. You can also add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top when ready. Make some rice and add some chopped fresh vegetables or some frozen veggies (really, whatever you have or a sale). Voila, you’ve got a meal that’s under $5 and will last for multiple dinners. And it’s delicious.”
19
Sweet potato taco boats. Bake sweet potatoes (or red potatoes, but the sweet ones are especially good) whole with skin (about 50 minutes at 400), then split them open and top with taco-seasoned black beans, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. So delicious, incredibly good for you (tons of vitamins and fiber!), and so little effort.”
twenty
“I take a package of hotdogs and cut them into little bite-sized medallions. I throw them in a pot to get a little color on the edges and then add a large jar of sauerkraut (drain about 2/3 of the juice) then I simmer it until everything is nice and warm.Sometimes I accompany it with whatever frozen veggies or can of baked beans I have on hand, or we eat it on hotdog buns with fries for a quick and cheap dinner. .”
twenty-one
“I love making this pasta dish with red peppers and beans. I simmer the pasta and beans until al dente, then in a sauté pan I toss a thinly sliced red pepper in oil and paprika over high heat. medium, then add the beans and pasta to the pan to coat them. Season with salt, obviously, then voilà! Tasty, cheap, highly nutritious, and ready in about 15 minutes.”
22
“Macaroni and cheese with tuna and peas mixed in. Also a one pot meal.”
23
“Easy Fried Rice: 3 cups of cold cooked rice, bag of frozen vegetables, 2 slightly beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and then fry the vegetables . side or remove from pan and scramble egg. Mix with vegetables, add rice and soy sauce, cook until hot. Boom: cheap and easy fried rice.”
24
“Toss frozen cheese tortellini with some frozen veggies and Italian dressing. Cover and put in the fridge, thaws for lunch and you have a delicious cold pasta dish. Cheap and easy and goes well in a kid’s lunch!”
Do you have a favorite inexpensive food? Tell us everything in the comments!
