Cheap Dinner Ideas to Stretch Your Food Budget

Did you hear the news? Grocery prices are on the rise and for a time when most of us are cooking at home, this is not good news for our food budgets. To help, I’m sharing my top tips for how to save money on groceries while also sharing simple, dietitian-created and approved recipes to help you stretch your food budget. These recipes will prove that finding cheap dinner ideas doesn’t have to mean skipping on flavor or healthfulness of a meal.

How to Save Money on Groceries

Shop Seasonally

Stores will often put the seasonal produce on sale since it’s the most abundant option. For example, stone fruit and berries are typically less expensive during the summer while citrus is cheaper in the winter. This helps with variety, too!

DIY Prep

Yes, it takes more time, but prepping your own produce and cooking whole grains or beans from dry can save lots of cash. Instead of buying the peeled and chopped butternut squash, buy the whole squash and peel/chop yourself. Instacart lists a whole butternut squash at $0.89/lb while a steam in the bag, peeled and diced butternut squash is close to $3.00/12 oz. The same can be true for things like cauliflower and broccoli florets, sliced carrots, and other ready-to-cook or eat produce versus the whole variety that requires a few extra steps at home.

Go Off-Brand

Name recognition can also come at a price. Whenever possible, opt for store-brand options over name-brand to save money. The quality is often the same if not similar and the price can be significantly lower.

Make a Plan

This doesn’t mean you need to plan every single meal you’ll have for the week, but it does help to have an idea of what you’ll eat for your main meals like dinner. Be sure to pick up the ingredients you need for those meals and stick to the list!

Take an Inventory

It’s helpful to know what you already have on hand before going to the store so that you don’t end up wasting money on duplicates. Build your weekly meals around what you already have. For example, if you have a bag of quinoa that has been sitting in the cabinet for a few weeks then search for recipes that use quinoa and feature those on your meal plan. Be sure to check the fridge and freezer, too.

Cheap Dinner Ideas to Stretch Your Food Budget

In general, pasta- or grain-based dishes, blended meat and vegetable or grain dishes (mushroom + beef burgers, etc.), soups, and casseroles are all excellent ways to stretch ingredients into multiple servings. These dietitian-created and approved recipes do just that without sacrificing flavor.

One-Pan Pasta with Chickpeas and Vegetables

I love this recipe because it uses pantry staples like chickpeas and pasta while also offering tips for subbing vegetables when needed. Such an easy recipe for when you need a throw-together meal on the fly.

Vegetarian Lasagna Roll-Ups

If you’re looking for a freezer- and budget-friendly meal, this is it. These lasagna roll-ups can also be made with meat or a meat substitute if you want an additional boost of protein.

One-Pot Vegetarian Mexican Lentils

A kid-friendly meal that won’t break the bank? That sounds like a win to me! This meal also requires minimal clean-up since it can be made in one pan.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

If you need a good example of how to stretch your meat budget, this is it. By mixing beef with noodles, the same amount of ground beef can offer twice as many servings. This is a comfort meal that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser and doesn’t require picking up a boxed mix.

Blended Beef and Mushroom Burger by Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN

Blended Beef and Mushroom Burgers

Another great example for stretching your meat budget is to blend ground meats with vegetables (or whole grains). This not only helps with stretching the meat quantity, but also reduces total meat in a meal which may be beneficial for health by boosting vegetable intake.