There are several ways to cook cheap dinners that taste delicious, but some of these recipes may not be good for you. For instance, you may be tempted to buy boxed mac&cheese and frozen peas, but you can easily double or triple the ingredients and get a healthier meal. If you are feeding a large family, make extras, and save money by buying in bulk.
One of the best budget dinners is shepherd’s pie. This is a hearty, filling, and nutritious dish made with 90% pantry staples. You can even opt for a vegan version using lentils or beans in place of ground beef. Beans provide clean, high-protein protein, and are about 25% cheaper than ground beef. If you’re cooking for a large family, you can reduce the cost of tacos by switching to beans and lentils.
Another inexpensive dinner is sloppy joes. Made with tomato paste, onion, and meat, this dish is rich in flavor and filling. Simply spoon the soup into hoagie rolls and eat! Another cheap dinner is double-baked stuffed potatoes. The flavors are similar to those of vegetable soup, but sloppy joes have a distinct taste. One way to make sloppy joes is to use the cheaper skirt steak.
If you don’t have the time to make a full meal from scratch, you can make a batch of pulled pork. While many people think pulled pork is a time-consuming dish, you can make it while you’re at work. You can also buy a whole ham and freeze it for later use. It is a great meat for the freezer and can stretch for several weeks without losing its flavor.
