Searching online for budget-friendly dinner ideas is an excellent way to feed your family without spending a fortune on groceries. Plenty of recipes available are quick, easy, and delicious.
These ideas include easy broiled chicken tenders, sheet pan dinners, chili, sloppy joes, and mango salad with peanut dressing.
Pressed for time? No problem! Even if you’re short on time, you can create a delicious meal in under an hour.
Easy broiled chicken tenders
Broiled chicken tenders are easy to make a perfect weeknight dinner. To make this meal even easier, you can marinate the chicken in a ziptop bag. Once the chicken is marinated, bake it for about 16-18 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Serve with dipping sauces, such as honey mustard or ketchup.
Chicken tenders are tender and soft, which makes them easy to eat, even for toddlers. Their coating also adds a nice layer of flavor and texture. They are also delicious when dipped into marinara sauce, ketchup, or even applesauce. These tenders are also great with a salad or rice bowl. Or you can even chop them up and serve them with tacos. To make easy you only need tenders, all you need is a few ingredients. First, coat the chicken in flour. This will help the breading stick better. Next, add the seasonings. You can use all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour.
Sensitive to flour? Try your favorite wheat-free or gluten-free option instead.
Next, prepare your breading station. Prepare three shallow dishes. One dish should be filled with seasoned flour, the other with seasoned eggs. Make sure that all three are evenly mixed together. The breading station should be set up near the oven. Once the chicken is well-coated, place it on the rack. In this way, it will bake evenly without flipping.
Sheet pan dinners
If you want to save money and make dinners quickly, try using sheet pan recipes. They are fast to prepare and clean up, yet still provide a complete meal. You can also create low-carb, vegetarian, and low-fat sheet pan dinners. With minimal ingredients, these meals are also great for leftovers.
You can make sheet-pan dinners with various vegetables, including potatoes and green beans. You can also use skirt steak or any other cut of beef and serve it with a side dish such as potatoes and green beans. These meals can also be a good source of protein and are healthy.
If you’re hosting a dinner party, consider making sheet pan dinners to impress your guests. These dinners can be as fancy as a dinner at a nice restaurant but are also quick and easy enough to serve your family on a budget. Try preparing dinner as a family, and enlist the help of your spouse or kids if possible. Research shows that routine, working together, and learning new skills can all help build resiliency.
Another easy, delicious, and healthy dinner recipe is Chinese takeout. Sesame chicken and broccoli is an Asian takeout favorite and can be cooked in just thirty minutes. It comes with a light lemon dressing, making it the perfect spring or summer meal.
Mango salad with peanut dressing
If you’re looking for a delicious salad that’s low-cost and low-calorie, mango salad with peanut dressing is a wonderful option. This salad uses just four ingredients and provides a satisfying, tropical treat. It also provides about 70 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. It’s also high in minerals. Think copper and folate. Furthermore, it contains vitamins A, B6, E and K. It also includes shredded carrots and purple cabbage. It’s also high in fiber and protein.
Mangoes are inexpensive and plentiful throughout most of the year, making mango salad an excellent choice for a healthy dinner. The secret is combining the right flavors and a fresh lime peanut dressing. This salad also tastes great served over kale, one of the healthiest plant foods.
Mango salad with peanut dressing is a quick and easy meal full of fresh summer flavors. It’s an excellent option for a light dinner and can serve as a side dish or salad. The dressing is easy to make and can last in the fridge for 3 days.
To make the dressing, add the ingredients to a food processor. Add the ginger, garlic, and peanut butter. Process until smooth. You can add soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, sesame oil, and sriracha. Process for a few minutes to blend well. Transfer the dressing to a jar and serve it.
TIP: Add a can of well-drained, tasty garbanzo beans to this salad for extra protein.
Chili con carne
Chili con carne is a hearty, low-cost dinner idea that will fill your bellies without sacrificing flavor. This versatile dish is often served on a bed of crispy lettuce, with a side of grated carrots or mixed pepptastehe flavor of chili is enhanced by the use of different types of beans and spices.
You can make this delicious chili in advance and freeze it. The leftovers will last for up to two days in the fridge or freezer. This recipe is also a perfect option for families with kids, as it is both nutritious and affordable. To save even more time and money, you can prepare chili con carne in advance, making it a one-pot meal you can serve at any time.
If you have a vegetarian or vegan family, you can use vegetarian beans or vegan mince in the recipe. Just remove any raw bits of meat beforthemadding it to the pot. You can also increase the chili powder in the recipe if you prefer a spicier dish.
Chili con carne is one of the most economical and flavorful dinner ideas you can try at home. It is incredibly simple to prepare and only needs a few ingredients. It can be served as a side dish or as a main dish. You can also serve it over rice for a hearty dinner that is low-cost and delicious.
Bean and cheese quesadillas
These vegetarian quesadillas are delicious and filling. They are cheesy and slightly sweet. They are also easy to make with only a few essential ingredients. They’re a tremendous budget-friendly dinner option because they’re cheap and can be made in less than an hour. They’re also fun to serve, nutritious, and substantial.
This delicious Mexican dish is made with beans and cheese and takes only fifteen micompletes to make. It’s a filling and hearty meal and can easily be prepared using oil-free cooking. You can even bake these delicious vegetarian quesadillas for a healthier meal.
To prepare beans and cheese quesadillas, make some tortillas with black beans, salsa, and cheese. Spread the mixture evenly on each tortilla, fold the top half over the filling, and then cook the quesadillas until golden brown.
To make these delicious vegan quesadillas even more budget-friendly, make them in advance and store them in the refrigerator. They keep well in the fridge for up to two days. The avocado will slightly brown during storage, but do. It’srry, it’s still safe to eat. If you’re planning to make these quesadillas ahead of time, you can bake them in a pan. The quesadillas can be reheated on low heat when you’re ready to eat them.
Bean and cheese quesadilla is a definite WINNER. If you’re on a budget, don’t skimp on the toppings. To add a little extra flair to your quesadilla, top it with chopped green onions and sour cream.
Sloppy Joes
Despite rising beef costs, this classic sandwich is a good way to “stretch” your meat budget.
Sloppy Joes are a delicious, budget-friendly dinner option that’s easy to make at home. Just a few simple ingredients and a few minutes of prep time make this meal easy to prepare. A green salad and a toasted baguette round out this filling, protein-packed dish.
Ground beef and green bell pepper are staple pantry ingredients. You can use fattier beef if you’re on a budget–just drain off the oil and dispose of it properly. Canned tomatoes are also a great choice. A can of sloppy joe mix is typically flavored with ketchup, but some recipes use English or Worcestershire sauce.
Ground beef is the perfect meat for a homemade Sloppy Joe. Cook it until no longer pink, then crumble it into small pieces. Once done, mince it finely and mix it with ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, cornstarch, and water. Taste the resulting mixture to determine if it needs additional seasonings. If you have extra ground beef, you can freeze Sloppy Joes for later use.
However, don’t be afraid to try other affordable ground meat options. At my house, we often enjoy our own concotion–Sloppy Does. You guessed it–made from venison we harvest each season! Overcome the dry texture of ground venison with tomato products for an excellent version of the classic, tasty sandwich.
Sloppy Joes are a great budget-friendly dinner option because they’re easy to prepare. Traditionally served on a hamburger bun, you can serve sloppy joes on a tortilla, baked potato, or atop rice. If you don’t feel like cooking the meal, you can make the sloppy joes the day before and have them on hand to heat when you’re ready to serve them.
The Takeaway: These Budget Friendly Meals Can Help You Serve Healthy Meals Despite Rising Food Prices
Although food prices continue to rise, you must still eat well to stay healthy. Creative use of more costly ingredients, or affordable substitutes, can help stretch your food dollars.
Have you tried these budget-friendly meals? What are your favorite cost-cutting foods and ingredients? We would love to hear on social media. Until the next blog post, have a happy DIY day.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
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