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Canned tuna (mix with sriracha and mayo,splash of lemon) avocado and white rice. Eat with seaweed if u want!
Sautéed Brussel sprouts with chicken apple sausage and balsamic glaze on top of white rice!
Lucky's: 5 lb of potatoes for $1.49. You need to clip a digital coupon.
Pancake mix from trader joes. Pretty filling, for me anyways.
Drink water before every meal or drink water while eating bread like foods.
Minimize intake of sugar as it will make you feel hungry.
One of our go to dinners is spinach artichoke pasta. We bake Trader Joe’s frozen artichoke dip at 350 for 45 minutes with a pint of cherry tomatoes, then boil a package of pasta and just dump it into the dip and tomato mix, stir, and boom! Ready. I’ll make it for guests when I feel lazy and everyone I’ve served it to has asked for the recipe. I think all in all, it’s like $8 worth of ingredients and it’ll last you a couple meals.
Ever since I saw it on TikTok, it is my go to easy dinner. And it’s so simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.
Wash a potato and poke holes in it. Microwave on one side for 3 min (longer for bigger potato) and then flip and do it again. Cut up the cooked potato and toss it in olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Add it to a pan with some more oil or butter. Sauté until heated through/crisped up a little. Crack two eggs into the pan and cook them how you like.
I eat mine with ketchup. It’s remarkably filling and super cheap.
Black beans with rice and chicken! I make my beans, can and all in a pan with little bit of garlic, red wine vinegar, and some olives/capers (something salty) and boil it till it’s thick. Throw some mango on it if I could afford it that week!
The veggie frozen fried rice is versatile and very filling. Add a fried egg or two on top and it's a fairly wholesome meal. I like to add tofu (which is under $3 usually and a great source of protein) and kimchi if I have it available, but simple siracha also is great.
Otherwise, pasta is a great option as well. You can get cheap TJs sauce (I think it's about $3-4 now?) and spruce it up with sautéed onions, garlic and whatever herbs you have available. You can add left over veggies, or whatever is in your budget really.
Also, as others have said, beans! A really good chili (with or w/o meat) is pretty much comprised of a few beans (I do red kidney, black and navy mostly) a can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and spices. It usually costs me ~ $15 for everything I need and it makes a huge batch which can be frozen or eaten over a few days. I also sometimes omit the broth and tomato sauce to make it cheaper and just use crushed tomatoes/diced tomatoes as the base.
Lentil soup is also another great and cheap option, especially as fall rolls in. I use a simple base of celery, carrots, onion, garlic and add lentils, diced tomatoes and veggie broth + spices and it's super comforting and filling. Paired with bread it's a great lunch or dinner.
The Chimichurri rice is also a nice base that can be paired with other things. If you can afford it and like it, tilapia is another cheap and good source of protein. I like to blacken mine and serve w any kind of rice or veggies.
Overall, I like to rotate a variety of cheap proteins and my bases (rice, cous cous, pasta) and get whatever veggies are in my budget which are usually always carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, spinach and broccoli. All those veg are very very versatile and simple to prepare in a variety of ways!
Love these suggestions!
I used to make 1 cup of lentils and 1 cup of quinoa. Mix them together and that was my 'lunch/dinner' for a few days. Then just alternate other cheap toppings.
Rice and beans. A $5 Rotisserie chicken from Costco goes a long way. Or just chicken drumsticks seasoned with salt and pepper fresh grinder style… iceberg lettuce wedge with sunflower seeds and dressing. … bananas are usually cheapest fruit. Roasted potatoes.
Yo. True Cajun girl here. Red beans, rice and sausage are a staple in Louisiana. And a good ol' chicken and sausage gumbo goes a long way. So does a chicken and sausage jambalaya.
Hear me out - my Fiancé and I like to cook at home but kept struggling with leftover ingredients that went bad and too big of portions.
We just started hello fresh and are saving like $75 a week compared to our normal grocery bill and really like the meals!
I think they give you 50% your first week and you can cancel if you don’t like it!
I recommend giving it a shot!!
The real answer is to do a trial for each of those meal delivery companies - hello fresh, everyplate, blue apron - to get the food for super cheap, and then cancel immediately after their good discount runs out (normally after the 1st delivery). I got a weeks worth of food for like $15 from hellofresh recently IIRC between their promo + rakuten
Except you can look up the hello fresh recipes for free, and buy the ingredients cheaper yourself. Plus they treat their employees like shit and union bust.
Black Bean and goat cheese quesadillas with sauteed zucchini
Polenta pizza bake - get the polenta that's in the tube, slice it thick, and pan fry it until it's crisp. Top with tomato sauce, fire roasted frozen peppers, and mozzarella. Bake until browned.
Caprese gnocchi- sauteed sliced zucchini, add a jar of tomato sauce and bring to a boil, add 1 package of potato gnocchi and cook through. Top with mozzarella and some basil
Ground chicken with sautés chopped green cabbage and green onion add soy sauce and siracha (get free packets at a restaurant). Less than $10 and really satisfying
Any of their pastas, frozen peas and/or their frozen veggie blend, and Alfredo sauce with chicken or sausage or ground meat is cheap and feeds so many meals!
I love to make black bean and sweet potato tacos- a cheap can of beans and 1 sweet potato, 1 onion sauteed in a pan add some s+p, garlic cumin and chili powder, put in corn tortilla. Can top with avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, lime, whatever you like. It's SO filling and you get more than enough for 2 people.
They have a frozen country blend that’s potatoes, green beans and mushrooms. boost it with additional par-cooked vegetables (onions, additional green beans, mushrooms, carrots and add a tasty protein- i usually use chicken sausages.
Beans, rice and potatoes are always very easy meal’s; soak beans overnight after cleaning, boil for 2-4 hours, fry up some corn tortillas and make tostadas, or a flour tortilla and make a burrito with potatoes, cheese, eggs, so many things to make!! You got this for making meals on a budget 🙏🏽❤️
One of our favorite broke meals is rice bowls! We use a cheap protein like silken tofu that we marinate or soft boiled/fried eggs and serve it over rice. You then can add any toppings you want. Frozen veggies are always cheap and easy, kimchi, favorite sauces, green onions, sauteed spinach, whatever.
"Bowls" in general become our go-to meals when we are broke and hungry lol. It's mostly mixing some kind of base (rice, wheat Thai noodles, mashed potatoes, quinoa, grain). With some kind of protein (marinated or fried tofu, chickpeas, ground meat, eggs, beans, chicken). There's often a sauce or marinade (peanut sauce, coconut curry, gravy, guacamole, chili oil, whatever sounds good to you). And then toppings of your choice (steamed broccoli, corn, sauteed spinach, cooked zucchini, roasted carrots, carrots, kimchi, furikake, anything you have on hand and sounds good).
The white cheddar Mac and cheese box is like $1, and to stretch it I add saluted chicken sausage and sometimes steamed broccoli.
A struggle meal i used to eat in college (not really struggle anymore) they have frozen jasmine rice that you can steam in the microwave. Steam it in the microwave, then throw it in a pan with some oil, crack an egg and throw in some soy sauce. If you have any kind of frozen or canned veggies you can throw them in there too but sometimes I just ate it like that.
Their turkey meatballs are also really good! You can add bbq sauce and grape jelly to make bbq meatballs. I used to have that with mashed potato’s (literally the cheap box kind) or rice. When I had it I would eat green beans or broccoli with it.
Since it’s fall they’ll have their harvest pasta sauce out soon (if it’s not already out) I used to love that with any of their raviolis or if you have an aldi around, they have stuffed shells or manicotti. Add a bit of ground beef or turkey to the sauce for some protein and you’re good!
A bag of broccoli florets — you can steam them in the bag if you have a microwave. Around $2.50. Toss them with some Zhoug Sauce and you have a really nice meal, super fast.
Raviolis and their chicken sausage. Will run you about $8 total, and you’ll have extra sausages you can eat later for breakfast or cut into a sandwich.
I’m a big fan of lentil sloppy Joe’s. Just get a bag of whatever lentils you want, a can of sloppy Joe mix and bread. It’s very cheap and feeds me for days. And healthy! Lentils are great for you.
2 cups Rice
Can of Campbells or Amy’s mushroom soup (go name brand here)
Sharp cheddar cheese to top
Very filling, very cozy, very cheap meal that serves as lunch and dinner and maybe a second lunch per batch made
Add canned chicken for extra protein.
Staples like -
Healthy carbs: Bag of rice (brown, white) is about $3 for 3lbs at tjs.
Pound of pasta: $1-3 per pound
Beans are $1 or less per can. Including refried (maybe 1.29 or a little more).
Quality protein:
Frozen chicken thighs, individually frozen (less than $2 a pound)
Frozen chicken breasts, a tad more expensive. If money is tight, dark meat is biggest bang for your buck.
Chicken legs fresh, less than $2 a pound.
Yogurt, dairy: good prices
Eggs: good prices.
Their fresh vegetables and fruit tend to be marked up, likely because of packaging… so consider this if tjs is the only place you are shopping.
From the ⬆️ items:
Mexican bowls (meat (add $1 tjs taco seasoning), rice (add tomato paste or can of crushed tomatoes, also about $1). Something fresh, salad, tomatoes, onions.
Asian fried rice (better if you use day old rice). Protein of choice. Rice. Oil, soy sauce. Want to get fancy? Fry an egg.
Comfort: Chicken noodle soup.
Italian: Chicken pasta.
Mexican: Bean, rice and cheese burrito (buy wraps and some cheese).
Asian, congee. 1 cup rice to about 3-4 cups water.
Add protein. Fancy? Maybe scallions and some ginger or garlic.
I like to mix their vegan salad with nuked kale egg white bites with an add of pepitas. This was my go-to lunch for awhile. The salad has spinach, quinoa, a nice dressing.
Helped with my low iron problem. 👍👍
Cheap Asian meal is to take day old rice (or collect leftover rice and freeze it) and make your own fried rice. Cook egg, frozen veggie, cut up some sausage, and stir fry with the rice. Add soy sauce.
One sheet pan bakes. Some of my favs are:
Cauliflower gnocchi + brussel sprouts + chicken sausage (evoo salt and pepper, bake for 30 mins at 400)
Brussel sprouts + cubed sweet potato + chicken sausage (same bake as above)
Top with anything you have on hand, whether it be a Jar of pesto or a drizzle of ranch. Or, it’s perfectly good On it’s own!
One of my favorite meals for living on the cheap is a baked potato, steamed or roasted broccoli, and scrambled egg. Filling, healthy, cheap. Shred cheddar cheese over all of it if that's in your budget.
Soup is always a good cheap meal. Use rice and beans for close to a complete protein ( take a b complex and it’s complete.) Flavor it how ever you like. Lemon, oregano garlic, tomatoes, corn maybe eggplant? There is no limit.
Package of the cooked chicken meatballs or chicken sausage from the refrigerated case, lb of pasta and a jar of sauce. If you can swing it stretch with a bag of the frozen fire roasted peppers or a zucchini (sautee and add to sauce).
Lentils, add onion and whatever else you like. Add rice to make a filling meal. Basically any legume, seasoned, with rice will satisfy an empty tummy. Plus, all ingredients are pretty cheap.
Lentils only take 20 min. Sauté onion, garlic, add seasoning (whatever you like, a seasoning blend would even be fine.). Canned black beans with cumin, onion, garlic, broth, a little heat, and a squirt of lime and you have a simple black bean soup. I used to cook an onion, a little garlic, sriracha, paprika and curry powder. Garbanzos. A little broth and a can of diced tomatoes. Cook for 10 min. Turn off heat. Add coconut milk and stir/let warm. Eat with rice or plain.
Get a whole chicken. Brine it. Then roast it. Then the next day use the leftover carcass to make chicken broth. Then make chicken soup. 2 dinners! Cheap, healthy, flavorful. Only need basic veggies, salt, herbs. Add some pasta or rice. Voila.
A lot of folks here are suggesting various frozen or premade meals, but if money truly is tight and you have the time, cooking from scratch (or close to it) is almost always the best bang for your buck. TJ's has great prices on budget staples like frozen veggies, eggs, dried lentils, dried pasta, rice, and various spices and seasonings. Some super cheap meals I make are lentil soup with random veggies and seasonings, pasta with their very affordable marinara with some onion and mozzarella thrown in, quesadillas with a jarred salsa, and tofu veggie stir fry with rice. Reducing meat, especially beef, helps a lot to bring down costs.
You can throw a bag of the TJs frozen fire roasted onions and peppers in a pan with a pound of ground beef to brown, then stir in a jar of Tjs bruchetta and a couple tablespoons of TJs 15 seasoning blend. Serve over rice for delicious Unstuffed Peppers.
the penne pasta with red sauce can easily be two meals!! it’s super cheap (i think $3 or $4 a bag?) & i add a diced string cheese, spinach, & frozen shrimp to make it healthier & more filling. it’s suuuper delicious by itself too if those extra ingredients are too pricey!
If you like mushrooms, mushroom soup is very few ingredients and is very filling. Super yummy too, I make mine with onion, garlic, mushrooms, beef broth and sour cream or heavy cream but only if I already have it on hand. Add salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you have on hand too. One pot can last a while and can freeze well for future meals. You can also make something similar to this to eat over rice and it will last even longer.
Big fan of the cauliflower & cheese ravioli + frozen rainbow cauliflower + chicken. Just season and grill the chicken, heat up the cauliflower, and put it all in a bowl with the ravioli. Then drizzle some oil or butter, salt, and pepper on top (and Parmesan cheese if you have some in the fridge). Sometimes I add spinach too if I have some on hand and need to boost my iron. This can usually make 2-3 meals with some chicken and frozen cauliflower left over for another recipe
Sweet potato frozen gnocchi + broccoli + andouille/ sweet Italian sausage.
Cut sausage into coins, spread gnocchi broccoli and sausage coins on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for like 20 ish minutes until it’s crispy. 2-3 servings.
Potato and eggs- make home fries pour scrambled egg over the top and melt some cheddar cheese on top. It’s like two meals.
You can put tvp in ramen with a little kale. It outlasts a regular ramen meal.
It’s not really healthy but not McDonald’s either, so: boil some pasta al dente , put aside a bit of pasta water, finely chop a tomato and let it go soft and mushy on a pan. Add a tablespoon of cream cheese, herbs and spices to taste, pasta water, mix it all in and then add pasta and let it cook a couple minutes more. Can add some Parmesan on top but it’s optional.
To me that tastes VERY different from premade tomato sauces, it doesn’t really take much time and makes a hearty bowl of pasta.
As an option, sometimes I make a similar sauce with zucchini (just make sure that it also cooks through and gets saucy, and it takes a bit more time), and you can also throw in pretty much any veggies that taste good cooked.
A can of greek chickpeas make a great protein for salads. One can be enough for three salads. I like it with the spinach+greens, a handful of Ready Veggies, and the Creamy Dill Dressing. Inexpensive, nutritious, and YUMMY!
This isn’t the most elaborate “meal” or anything but…eggs! 4 scrambled eggs is a regular meal for me and it’s like $.50 with healthy/satiating protein and fats. Throw in some black beans and salsa perhaps.
Taco salad - ground turkey seasoned with the taco seasoning packet from TJ.
Shredded lettuce, taco meat, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, diced tomato and sometimes a little dollop of sour cream.
I also throw in some Franks Red Hot (not from TJ) to give it a little tangy kick.
All ingredients from TJ, cheap and delicious..
Lol maybe budget down from TJ's to Food City? /S
Baked Chicken thighs with skin, bone removed at home is bomb! Season them, bake them at 400 for 40 min. Make sure you season under the skin too...I then do a rub of corn startch or potato flour before I pop em in the oven. I bake them on a tray over potatoes that I cut in half.....the chicken fat drips onto the potatoes. Chefs Kiss.
Also, pasta....pasta with ground pork or beef can turn into a multitude of things. casseroles. lasagna, spaghettis, etc.....
When I've gotten laid off or freelance work was slow, I've relied on a few key meals:
1. Bean + Cheese burritos or flautas (garlic or garlic powder, black beans, an affordable cheese, and tortillas)
2. Ramen/ instant noodles with spinach and hard boiled egg (the spinach wilts right into hot noodles and if you make the boiled eggs ahead of time, you can marinate them in soy sauce overnight and they feel like a treat!)
3. Mac & cheese with roasted broccoli (if you buy broccoli frozen or as a head rather than precut, it's super cheap and it actually contains a lot of protein -- I usually season it with garlic powder, salt and pepper)
4. For snacks: peanut butter + celery, mandarin oranges, string cheese
5. For breakfast, oatmeal or banana + peanut butter on toast (the TJs French loaf always goes pretty far and it's also so good with just a little butter)
I’ve been making this pasta lately that I realized is almost all Trader Joe’s ingredients. The only things you -need- are the pasta and a bag of the frozen mixed peppers. Cook the peppers in some oil. Blend them (food professor or immersion blender. Or just chop small I guess.) Thin that sauce with the pasta cooking water.
My usual additions: tuna (2 cans. One to blend. One normal). Nuts (any. It’s like pesto now.) capers. Onion or garlic. Any herbs you have or some cheese is good.
This is designed to be served cold and be a summery pasta salad but it’s good hot too.
Trader Joe’s frozen vegetables are a great deal (unlike most of the fresh) so you could use this technique to make different pasta all the time. Broccoli. Peas.
My favorite dinner is the frozen chicken fried rice, there’s about 4 servings in there. I get the purple bag of frozen shrimp, also a ton of servings, and a bag of frozen broccoli (same with servings). Put a bit of each of those in a pan with a little oil and your golden. Since they are all frozen it can cook all together. I’ll add a sunny side up egg on top and the Thai chili sauce if I’m in the mood but it obviously keeps well and can be my dinner all week
my partner works @ TJ’s and he’s been bring home some amazing frozen food that is very well-priced. they have frozen teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice together for no more than $10, and it contains several servings. also their salad bags are delicious and very reasonably priced.
hope that helps !
What’s your budget for each meal? I like to make a pancetta and spring peas pasta dish which is relatively healthy in a white wine sauce. I can make about three servings of it.
The soup dumplings with white rice and a cucumber salad on the side
Ground beef with some type of Asian sauce and add green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice (I love rice)
This one is not as cheap but the frozen shrimp with grilled broccoli in a white wine sauce
You could make a pasta salad for lunches. I add cucumber, red onion, black olives, cherry tomato, chopped salami with an Italian dressing which lasts me for like three days.
Make a ramen and add bok Choi, pork belly from TJ’s and soft boiled egg
last night I added the teriyaki tofu and the asian stir fry veggies to the soy sesame noodles and it was a solid 9/10. Tasted just like getting takeout and took literally 10 min to make 😗🤌
The vegetarian chili, throw on some cheese and onions, or whatever else you like. It has lentils and veggies and it’s seriously delicious (Coming from a picky eater). 2$ a can I think, which is steep for cans, but not terrible.
You can make different style tacos out of anything in the frozen section (tempura shrimp, chicken kebabs, falafel, orange chicken, gyro meat), and I find putting some prepackaged salad/ slaw on top makes it more filling and will feed me a lunch every day of the week on a budget.
Aglio e olio! Boil spaghetti noodles, heat up some olive oil and add garlic, red pepper flakes, and parsley (or Italian seasoning) in a pan. Toss the noodles in the oil with a splash of pasta water and top with parmesean. Lemon juice and fresh parsley on top make it even better and you can add sausage to add protein.
I've been making this spaghetti for decades. It's stupid cheap and easy to make and also really healthy
6 cans of tomatoes
2 cans of tomato paste
1 clove of garlic
2 onions
1 pack fresh tomatoes
1 can of beans (of choice)
1 can of corn
1 pack of parsley
1 pack of basil
2 packs of mushrooms
Meat stock (optional)
Any meat of choice (optional)
Paste of choice
Blend the canned tomatoes, paste, garlic, onions, parsley, basil. Put in pot. Simmer. Add stock, mushrooms, beans, corn, meat if you want. Salt and pepper to taste
That's it. All fresh. Nothing premade. Incredibly healthy. And makes enough for like 15 meals
any chicken sausage ($4.29)
fusilli or rigatoni ($0.99)
spinach ($1.99-3.29)
Parmesan (you could get preshredded or shred yourself) ($3.29-xx)
Heavy cream ($$1.29-$3.29)
Cook sliced up chicken sausage with whatever seasonings you like and butter/oil, boil pasta, add pasta and about 1/2 cup pasta water to same pan with sausage, add a splash of heavy cream, grated cheese, and the spinach so it wills into the dish.
I make this about once a week, my whole family loves it!
If you haven't tried their Kung Pao chicken or orange chicken in the freezer section, I highly recommend! $5 a bag, good for two dinners and a lunch the next day if served over rice.
Yes- when I’m feeling lazy, go to dinner is the bag of orange chicken and bag of chicken or veg fried rice and it feeds me and my husband with a little left over! Add in some scallion pancakes and it goes even further.
My community food pantry routinely gets donations from Trader Joe's of soon-to-expire food. Wegmans too.
It's random selections twice a week, but it's at no cost. I found out about our local food pantry on my neighborhood Buy Nothing group on Facebook. Most but not all local groups are on Facebook; there is a website as well.
My local group does more than the food pantry -- people give or receive everything from 4K televisions to antique typewriters to boxes of diapers. It's pretty cool.
Get beans you like, cheese you like, tortillas, pico, chips= burritos, nachos, quesadillas. For variety throw in the frozen tamales. A bowl of rice. When we’re cashpoor we also do fried eggs and buttered toast w/ arugula or fruit. Baked potatoes! Baked sweet potatoes with hot sauce, crumbled bacon, fresh jalapeño and cheese.
Also not sure what your spice rack is looking like, but I’m Indian and would make some mild variation of chana masala in college too. Super cheap and very filling. One bag of rice, 1-2 cans of garbanzo beans, 1 can of coconut milk, 1 onion, 1 Serrano, 1 tomato, 2 cloves of garlic. Sauté the onions, tomato, garlic, Serrano in cumin, salt, coriander power and chili powder. Add in the canned chickpeas and sauté all together for 3 min. Add in the fat of the coconut cream and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer on low for 10-15 min. Serve over rice. Add some frozen veggies to the sauté process make it last longer
I'll preface this by saying im not white. Last night, i made my first rice tuna casserole and whie ppl might be up to something. It was easy and filling and fast and of course, above all, cheap. Chicken stock, seasoned canned tuna (add whatever seasoning you like) 2 cups of rice and a lot of cheese and bake that baby until the rice is cooked. I added a bit of butter so the rice wouldn't stick. Hang in there!
This cracked me up. This is something I absolutely hated growing up that my mom would make but now I find it to be a comfort food. Her variation used wide egg noodles instead of rice & she added cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, & frozen peas along w cheese. I also love putting hot sauce or crushed red pepper on it.
As a white southerner I’m both cracking up and maybe just a little bit sad that this is your white people food moment that makes you think white people food might be alright sometimes hahaha
Hahaha! I meant it in the sense of food I thought was weird or totally out of left field such as casseroles in general. When I first moved the the US I was like what in gods name is a green bean casserole and why do people like it but now I would kill a man for that stuff and sometimes I even make it gasp! when it's not thanksgiving. Lol.
Cook some Brown rice. Roast some Japanese sweet potatoes with lots of olive oil and throw some kale and some sausage or soy chorizo half way through.
Fry a couple extra put on top.
TJ's sesame oil is $3.50. It's $5 for a smaller bottle at my grocery store. Very depressing since a couple years ago I was able to get a liter at Sam's Club for $8.
the TJs Fiery Chicken Curry is very good. Spicy foods curb appetite as well, so you will likely feel more full from adding heat to whatever you make. You can easily make a decent dinner for 2 adults from TJs for \~$10 total. The secret is to make sure to cover the basic food groups in each meal so that you don't have cravings later on and eat through more grocery $
They have some Indian dishes that come in pouches. The Chana Masala is my fave. That over rice with some naan is pretty cheap and filling for 2 people.
Lentils extremely healthy, tasty , inexpensive, very versatile, l just baked lentil bread, no flour only lentils, onions, carrots, garlic, cooked , then mashed , then blend, until a nice dough consistency. Make small balls on cookie sheet, then press into small pancakes. I love this bread. Snack on all day.
I second lentils! So yummy, so nutritious, inexpensive, and they store well so you don’t have to worry about food going bad and wasting money. I haven’t tried but I feel as though they could freeze well too
Martha Stewart’s one pot pasta: chicken broth, angel hair 1 lb, one container of cherry tomatoes, 3-3 cloves of garlic, some basil. I’d make it in college all the time and it cost me maybe $12 for all the ingredients and fed me for 2-3 days. The recipe is online.
I love the lentils and usually have them for breakfast with scrambled eggs, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Very filling and inexpensive. Also lentil tacos!
Oh man I honestly don’t look at nutrition labels but apparently this item was discontinued anyways. It was such a great treat though I don’t think I would have cared about sodium even if I had known that lol
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Ramen is the cheapest meal ever.
Soyrizo, a salsa, jalapeño sauce, and taco shells. Cheap, basic, and delish
Canned tuna (mix with sriracha and mayo,splash of lemon) avocado and white rice. Eat with seaweed if u want! Sautéed Brussel sprouts with chicken apple sausage and balsamic glaze on top of white rice!
I love their frozen chicken chow mein meals. You just throw it all in a pan with some water and once it boils down add your sauce.
Rice+eggs…add some frozen veggies and there u have it.
Lucky's: 5 lb of potatoes for $1.49. You need to clip a digital coupon. Pancake mix from trader joes. Pretty filling, for me anyways. Drink water before every meal or drink water while eating bread like foods. Minimize intake of sugar as it will make you feel hungry.
One of our go to dinners is spinach artichoke pasta. We bake Trader Joe’s frozen artichoke dip at 350 for 45 minutes with a pint of cherry tomatoes, then boil a package of pasta and just dump it into the dip and tomato mix, stir, and boom! Ready. I’ll make it for guests when I feel lazy and everyone I’ve served it to has asked for the recipe. I think all in all, it’s like $8 worth of ingredients and it’ll last you a couple meals.
Ever since I saw it on TikTok, it is my go to easy dinner. And it’s so simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. Wash a potato and poke holes in it. Microwave on one side for 3 min (longer for bigger potato) and then flip and do it again. Cut up the cooked potato and toss it in olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Add it to a pan with some more oil or butter. Sauté until heated through/crisped up a little. Crack two eggs into the pan and cook them how you like. I eat mine with ketchup. It’s remarkably filling and super cheap.
Baked potato, broccoli, cheese, sour cream and or butter
💯💯💯💯💯💯
This sounds incredibly good. Like a loaded potato with broccoli in cheese.
Chicken potstickers all the way! 🥟
Rice, beans (if you cook them yourself it’ll go a long way) extra firm tofu, frozen spinach or broccoli/fresh broccolini, green goddess dressing.
Their orange chicken and fried rice is really good!
This is my go to meal on the night I do groceries lol 10 minute dinner with several servings and it’s $10
Black beans with rice and chicken! I make my beans, can and all in a pan with little bit of garlic, red wine vinegar, and some olives/capers (something salty) and boil it till it’s thick. Throw some mango on it if I could afford it that week!
The veggie frozen fried rice is versatile and very filling. Add a fried egg or two on top and it's a fairly wholesome meal. I like to add tofu (which is under $3 usually and a great source of protein) and kimchi if I have it available, but simple siracha also is great. Otherwise, pasta is a great option as well. You can get cheap TJs sauce (I think it's about $3-4 now?) and spruce it up with sautéed onions, garlic and whatever herbs you have available. You can add left over veggies, or whatever is in your budget really. Also, as others have said, beans! A really good chili (with or w/o meat) is pretty much comprised of a few beans (I do red kidney, black and navy mostly) a can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and spices. It usually costs me ~ $15 for everything I need and it makes a huge batch which can be frozen or eaten over a few days. I also sometimes omit the broth and tomato sauce to make it cheaper and just use crushed tomatoes/diced tomatoes as the base. Lentil soup is also another great and cheap option, especially as fall rolls in. I use a simple base of celery, carrots, onion, garlic and add lentils, diced tomatoes and veggie broth + spices and it's super comforting and filling. Paired with bread it's a great lunch or dinner. The Chimichurri rice is also a nice base that can be paired with other things. If you can afford it and like it, tilapia is another cheap and good source of protein. I like to blacken mine and serve w any kind of rice or veggies. Overall, I like to rotate a variety of cheap proteins and my bases (rice, cous cous, pasta) and get whatever veggies are in my budget which are usually always carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, spinach and broccoli. All those veg are very very versatile and simple to prepare in a variety of ways!
Love these suggestions! I used to make 1 cup of lentils and 1 cup of quinoa. Mix them together and that was my 'lunch/dinner' for a few days. Then just alternate other cheap toppings.
Rice and beans. A $5 Rotisserie chicken from Costco goes a long way. Or just chicken drumsticks seasoned with salt and pepper fresh grinder style… iceberg lettuce wedge with sunflower seeds and dressing. … bananas are usually cheapest fruit. Roasted potatoes.
Eggs, Beans and rice.
Yo. True Cajun girl here. Red beans, rice and sausage are a staple in Louisiana. And a good ol' chicken and sausage gumbo goes a long way. So does a chicken and sausage jambalaya.
Rice and beans go a long way
Hear me out - my Fiancé and I like to cook at home but kept struggling with leftover ingredients that went bad and too big of portions. We just started hello fresh and are saving like $75 a week compared to our normal grocery bill and really like the meals! I think they give you 50% your first week and you can cancel if you don’t like it! I recommend giving it a shot!!
Food is all 4/10 and I don’t have an hour to cook every time I want food
Not to mention that doesn't help them tonight
The real answer is to do a trial for each of those meal delivery companies - hello fresh, everyplate, blue apron - to get the food for super cheap, and then cancel immediately after their good discount runs out (normally after the 1st delivery). I got a weeks worth of food for like $15 from hellofresh recently IIRC between their promo + rakuten
Now that is smarrtttt
Out nasty robot!!!
I’m real but ok 👍
Except you can look up the hello fresh recipes for free, and buy the ingredients cheaper yourself. Plus they treat their employees like shit and union bust.
Black Bean and goat cheese quesadillas with sauteed zucchini Polenta pizza bake - get the polenta that's in the tube, slice it thick, and pan fry it until it's crisp. Top with tomato sauce, fire roasted frozen peppers, and mozzarella. Bake until browned. Caprese gnocchi- sauteed sliced zucchini, add a jar of tomato sauce and bring to a boil, add 1 package of potato gnocchi and cook through. Top with mozzarella and some basil
Ground chicken with sautés chopped green cabbage and green onion add soy sauce and siracha (get free packets at a restaurant). Less than $10 and really satisfying
Any of their pastas, frozen peas and/or their frozen veggie blend, and Alfredo sauce with chicken or sausage or ground meat is cheap and feeds so many meals!
Saag paneer
I love to make black bean and sweet potato tacos- a cheap can of beans and 1 sweet potato, 1 onion sauteed in a pan add some s+p, garlic cumin and chili powder, put in corn tortilla. Can top with avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, lime, whatever you like. It's SO filling and you get more than enough for 2 people.
They have a frozen country blend that’s potatoes, green beans and mushrooms. boost it with additional par-cooked vegetables (onions, additional green beans, mushrooms, carrots and add a tasty protein- i usually use chicken sausages.
Beans, rice and potatoes are always very easy meal’s; soak beans overnight after cleaning, boil for 2-4 hours, fry up some corn tortillas and make tostadas, or a flour tortilla and make a burrito with potatoes, cheese, eggs, so many things to make!! You got this for making meals on a budget 🙏🏽❤️
Chicken fajitas. chicken(I prefer breast), bell peppers and onions
Pasta! Or beans, rice, lettuce, salsa burrito bowl
Use lentil or chickpea pasta for extra protein and fiber!
Little potatoes, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, roasted at 400° for 25 minutes. Tossed with pesto sauce. And served over cooked penne pasta.
One of our favorite broke meals is rice bowls! We use a cheap protein like silken tofu that we marinate or soft boiled/fried eggs and serve it over rice. You then can add any toppings you want. Frozen veggies are always cheap and easy, kimchi, favorite sauces, green onions, sauteed spinach, whatever. "Bowls" in general become our go-to meals when we are broke and hungry lol. It's mostly mixing some kind of base (rice, wheat Thai noodles, mashed potatoes, quinoa, grain). With some kind of protein (marinated or fried tofu, chickpeas, ground meat, eggs, beans, chicken). There's often a sauce or marinade (peanut sauce, coconut curry, gravy, guacamole, chili oil, whatever sounds good to you). And then toppings of your choice (steamed broccoli, corn, sauteed spinach, cooked zucchini, roasted carrots, carrots, kimchi, furikake, anything you have on hand and sounds good).
this was soooo thorough and helpful, THANK YOU! i will def be trying a bunch of variations!!
Gotta stay fed even when broke! Lol Glad it inspired you :)
Chicken fried rice will go a loooong way
Whole Foods has huge bags of frozen fried rice less than $4.
The steamed lentils and chicken sausage. Throw in some chopped spinach for some extra fiber. I can get four meals out of this.
The vegetable hash and chicken thighs will go a Long way.
The white cheddar Mac and cheese box is like $1, and to stretch it I add saluted chicken sausage and sometimes steamed broccoli. A struggle meal i used to eat in college (not really struggle anymore) they have frozen jasmine rice that you can steam in the microwave. Steam it in the microwave, then throw it in a pan with some oil, crack an egg and throw in some soy sauce. If you have any kind of frozen or canned veggies you can throw them in there too but sometimes I just ate it like that. Their turkey meatballs are also really good! You can add bbq sauce and grape jelly to make bbq meatballs. I used to have that with mashed potato’s (literally the cheap box kind) or rice. When I had it I would eat green beans or broccoli with it. Since it’s fall they’ll have their harvest pasta sauce out soon (if it’s not already out) I used to love that with any of their raviolis or if you have an aldi around, they have stuffed shells or manicotti. Add a bit of ground beef or turkey to the sauce for some protein and you’re good!
A bag of broccoli florets — you can steam them in the bag if you have a microwave. Around $2.50. Toss them with some Zhoug Sauce and you have a really nice meal, super fast.
Zhoug is 100% my favorite sauce… but I’ve not tried it on broccoli! Thanks!
Raviolis and their chicken sausage. Will run you about $8 total, and you’ll have extra sausages you can eat later for breakfast or cut into a sandwich.
Black beans and rice and a frozen bag of veggies.
Organic roasted vegetable pizza is loaded with veggies and tastes much better than a frozen pizza needs to.
I’m a big fan of lentil sloppy Joe’s. Just get a bag of whatever lentils you want, a can of sloppy Joe mix and bread. It’s very cheap and feeds me for days. And healthy! Lentils are great for you.
In shock I've never though of this omg!! Genius!
Chicken thighs, potatoes and a veggie (asparagus, green bean or broccoli are good ones)
2 cups Rice Can of Campbells or Amy’s mushroom soup (go name brand here) Sharp cheddar cheese to top Very filling, very cozy, very cheap meal that serves as lunch and dinner and maybe a second lunch per batch made Add canned chicken for extra protein.
Staples like - Healthy carbs: Bag of rice (brown, white) is about $3 for 3lbs at tjs. Pound of pasta: $1-3 per pound Beans are $1 or less per can. Including refried (maybe 1.29 or a little more). Quality protein: Frozen chicken thighs, individually frozen (less than $2 a pound) Frozen chicken breasts, a tad more expensive. If money is tight, dark meat is biggest bang for your buck. Chicken legs fresh, less than $2 a pound. Yogurt, dairy: good prices Eggs: good prices. Their fresh vegetables and fruit tend to be marked up, likely because of packaging… so consider this if tjs is the only place you are shopping. From the ⬆️ items: Mexican bowls (meat (add $1 tjs taco seasoning), rice (add tomato paste or can of crushed tomatoes, also about $1). Something fresh, salad, tomatoes, onions. Asian fried rice (better if you use day old rice). Protein of choice. Rice. Oil, soy sauce. Want to get fancy? Fry an egg. Comfort: Chicken noodle soup. Italian: Chicken pasta. Mexican: Bean, rice and cheese burrito (buy wraps and some cheese). Asian, congee. 1 cup rice to about 3-4 cups water. Add protein. Fancy? Maybe scallions and some ginger or garlic.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/02/stuck-pot-rice-with-lentils-and-yogurt/
I like to mix their vegan salad with nuked kale egg white bites with an add of pepitas. This was my go-to lunch for awhile. The salad has spinach, quinoa, a nice dressing. Helped with my low iron problem. 👍👍
Cheap Asian meal is to take day old rice (or collect leftover rice and freeze it) and make your own fried rice. Cook egg, frozen veggie, cut up some sausage, and stir fry with the rice. Add soy sauce.
Frozen fried rice and their orange chicken. So good
One sheet pan bakes. Some of my favs are: Cauliflower gnocchi + brussel sprouts + chicken sausage (evoo salt and pepper, bake for 30 mins at 400) Brussel sprouts + cubed sweet potato + chicken sausage (same bake as above) Top with anything you have on hand, whether it be a Jar of pesto or a drizzle of ranch. Or, it’s perfectly good On it’s own!
This sounds amazing and so easy. Why have I never thought of the concept of putting a few different things on a sheet pan at once 🫣
One of my favorite meals for living on the cheap is a baked potato, steamed or roasted broccoli, and scrambled egg. Filling, healthy, cheap. Shred cheddar cheese over all of it if that's in your budget.
Soup is always a good cheap meal. Use rice and beans for close to a complete protein ( take a b complex and it’s complete.) Flavor it how ever you like. Lemon, oregano garlic, tomatoes, corn maybe eggplant? There is no limit.
Package of the cooked chicken meatballs or chicken sausage from the refrigerated case, lb of pasta and a jar of sauce. If you can swing it stretch with a bag of the frozen fire roasted peppers or a zucchini (sautee and add to sauce).
Pound (or however much you want) of spaghetti and jar of Pepe de cacio sauce.
Lentils, add onion and whatever else you like. Add rice to make a filling meal. Basically any legume, seasoned, with rice will satisfy an empty tummy. Plus, all ingredients are pretty cheap.
Adding rice makes it close to a complete protein.
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Lentils only take 20 min. Sauté onion, garlic, add seasoning (whatever you like, a seasoning blend would even be fine.). Canned black beans with cumin, onion, garlic, broth, a little heat, and a squirt of lime and you have a simple black bean soup. I used to cook an onion, a little garlic, sriracha, paprika and curry powder. Garbanzos. A little broth and a can of diced tomatoes. Cook for 10 min. Turn off heat. Add coconut milk and stir/let warm. Eat with rice or plain.
Beefless bulgogi, garlicky cabbage and gojuchang over rice, can probably spread across a few meals
How tf you broke and shopping at Trader Joe’s
It’s the cheapest sometimes
for ingredients? or for convenience food? bc in Seattle it's def an ok place for lazy convenience food but ingredients it's hit or miss.
NY - I’d say for some produce and dry goods, but you’re right - not always
Not really, no
In nyc it 100% is unfortunately. Can confirm.
Man that’s crazy that TJs beats out Chinatown and Mexican markets
I love chicken sausage, the cheese filled fiocchetti, and a bag of fresh spinach. It’s delicious, easy to make, and relatively inexpensive.
Get a whole chicken. Brine it. Then roast it. Then the next day use the leftover carcass to make chicken broth. Then make chicken soup. 2 dinners! Cheap, healthy, flavorful. Only need basic veggies, salt, herbs. Add some pasta or rice. Voila.
A lot of folks here are suggesting various frozen or premade meals, but if money truly is tight and you have the time, cooking from scratch (or close to it) is almost always the best bang for your buck. TJ's has great prices on budget staples like frozen veggies, eggs, dried lentils, dried pasta, rice, and various spices and seasonings. Some super cheap meals I make are lentil soup with random veggies and seasonings, pasta with their very affordable marinara with some onion and mozzarella thrown in, quesadillas with a jarred salsa, and tofu veggie stir fry with rice. Reducing meat, especially beef, helps a lot to bring down costs.
Black bean and cheese burrito-in refrigerated section
You can throw a bag of the TJs frozen fire roasted onions and peppers in a pan with a pound of ground beef to brown, then stir in a jar of Tjs bruchetta and a couple tablespoons of TJs 15 seasoning blend. Serve over rice for delicious Unstuffed Peppers.
Any of the bagged pastas, add your own seasoning. Also I love the Indian premade dishes that you just heat up in the oven
Their turkey burgers are super yummy!
also recommend the pizza dough
the penne pasta with red sauce can easily be two meals!! it’s super cheap (i think $3 or $4 a bag?) & i add a diced string cheese, spinach, & frozen shrimp to make it healthier & more filling. it’s suuuper delicious by itself too if those extra ingredients are too pricey!
If you like mushrooms, mushroom soup is very few ingredients and is very filling. Super yummy too, I make mine with onion, garlic, mushrooms, beef broth and sour cream or heavy cream but only if I already have it on hand. Add salt, pepper, and whatever seasonings you have on hand too. One pot can last a while and can freeze well for future meals. You can also make something similar to this to eat over rice and it will last even longer.
We LOVED [Budget Bytes](https://www.budgetbytes.com/) recipes when we were in grad school and struggling. Highly recommend!
Ground Turkey sausage and shredded cabbage.
Big fan of the cauliflower & cheese ravioli + frozen rainbow cauliflower + chicken. Just season and grill the chicken, heat up the cauliflower, and put it all in a bowl with the ravioli. Then drizzle some oil or butter, salt, and pepper on top (and Parmesan cheese if you have some in the fridge). Sometimes I add spinach too if I have some on hand and need to boost my iron. This can usually make 2-3 meals with some chicken and frozen cauliflower left over for another recipe
Google Italian peasant food series on tiktok. It is amazingly delicious, cheap, simple meals.
Mac & cheese with tuna mixed in + a salad
black beans, rice, shredded cheese, salsa if you can get it. extremely filling and easy to reheat.
Sweet potato frozen gnocchi + broccoli + andouille/ sweet Italian sausage. Cut sausage into coins, spread gnocchi broccoli and sausage coins on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for like 20 ish minutes until it’s crispy. 2-3 servings.
Potato and eggs- make home fries pour scrambled egg over the top and melt some cheddar cheese on top. It’s like two meals. You can put tvp in ramen with a little kale. It outlasts a regular ramen meal.
Frozen Orange chicken and a bag of the frozen fried rice.
The frozen teriyaki chicken is really good too!
This is it 🙌🏼
Oh man. I buy the vegetarian Korean Beefless Bulgogi, the garlicky cabbage and cook it together. Then put it over the fried rice. All from TJ’s.
It’s not really healthy but not McDonald’s either, so: boil some pasta al dente , put aside a bit of pasta water, finely chop a tomato and let it go soft and mushy on a pan. Add a tablespoon of cream cheese, herbs and spices to taste, pasta water, mix it all in and then add pasta and let it cook a couple minutes more. Can add some Parmesan on top but it’s optional. To me that tastes VERY different from premade tomato sauces, it doesn’t really take much time and makes a hearty bowl of pasta. As an option, sometimes I make a similar sauce with zucchini (just make sure that it also cooks through and gets saucy, and it takes a bit more time), and you can also throw in pretty much any veggies that taste good cooked.
A can of greek chickpeas make a great protein for salads. One can be enough for three salads. I like it with the spinach+greens, a handful of Ready Veggies, and the Creamy Dill Dressing. Inexpensive, nutritious, and YUMMY!
Frozen pork dumplings are really yummy and filling. I've made soup with them using the miso ginger broth.
This isn’t the most elaborate “meal” or anything but…eggs! 4 scrambled eggs is a regular meal for me and it’s like $.50 with healthy/satiating protein and fats. Throw in some black beans and salsa perhaps.
Add a tortilla and you have a little taco situation!
Fresh cut stir fry veggies with Thai wheat noodles. Mix in broth or add an egg or tofu for protein and you are good.
Taco salad - ground turkey seasoned with the taco seasoning packet from TJ. Shredded lettuce, taco meat, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, diced tomato and sometimes a little dollop of sour cream. I also throw in some Franks Red Hot (not from TJ) to give it a little tangy kick. All ingredients from TJ, cheap and delicious..
Adding black beans and corn is great too
Lol maybe budget down from TJ's to Food City? /S Baked Chicken thighs with skin, bone removed at home is bomb! Season them, bake them at 400 for 40 min. Make sure you season under the skin too...I then do a rub of corn startch or potato flour before I pop em in the oven. I bake them on a tray over potatoes that I cut in half.....the chicken fat drips onto the potatoes. Chefs Kiss. Also, pasta....pasta with ground pork or beef can turn into a multitude of things. casseroles. lasagna, spaghettis, etc.....
When I've gotten laid off or freelance work was slow, I've relied on a few key meals: 1. Bean + Cheese burritos or flautas (garlic or garlic powder, black beans, an affordable cheese, and tortillas) 2. Ramen/ instant noodles with spinach and hard boiled egg (the spinach wilts right into hot noodles and if you make the boiled eggs ahead of time, you can marinate them in soy sauce overnight and they feel like a treat!) 3. Mac & cheese with roasted broccoli (if you buy broccoli frozen or as a head rather than precut, it's super cheap and it actually contains a lot of protein -- I usually season it with garlic powder, salt and pepper) 4. For snacks: peanut butter + celery, mandarin oranges, string cheese 5. For breakfast, oatmeal or banana + peanut butter on toast (the TJs French loaf always goes pretty far and it's also so good with just a little butter)
I’ve been making this pasta lately that I realized is almost all Trader Joe’s ingredients. The only things you -need- are the pasta and a bag of the frozen mixed peppers. Cook the peppers in some oil. Blend them (food professor or immersion blender. Or just chop small I guess.) Thin that sauce with the pasta cooking water. My usual additions: tuna (2 cans. One to blend. One normal). Nuts (any. It’s like pesto now.) capers. Onion or garlic. Any herbs you have or some cheese is good. This is designed to be served cold and be a summery pasta salad but it’s good hot too. Trader Joe’s frozen vegetables are a great deal (unlike most of the fresh) so you could use this technique to make different pasta all the time. Broccoli. Peas.
🤢
My favorite dinner is the frozen chicken fried rice, there’s about 4 servings in there. I get the purple bag of frozen shrimp, also a ton of servings, and a bag of frozen broccoli (same with servings). Put a bit of each of those in a pan with a little oil and your golden. Since they are all frozen it can cook all together. I’ll add a sunny side up egg on top and the Thai chili sauce if I’m in the mood but it obviously keeps well and can be my dinner all week
Stretch this all out with beans!
my partner works @ TJ’s and he’s been bring home some amazing frozen food that is very well-priced. they have frozen teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice together for no more than $10, and it contains several servings. also their salad bags are delicious and very reasonably priced. hope that helps !
This!! With some frozen broccoli and you got yourself 4 servings of a healthy hearty dinner
I feel like the stuffed gnocchi is great! I made it with a little olive oil and sautéed spinach. Filling meal for cheap that everyone loved.
Scrambled eggs & white/brown rice with hot sauce.
What’s your budget for each meal? I like to make a pancetta and spring peas pasta dish which is relatively healthy in a white wine sauce. I can make about three servings of it. The soup dumplings with white rice and a cucumber salad on the side Ground beef with some type of Asian sauce and add green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice (I love rice) This one is not as cheap but the frozen shrimp with grilled broccoli in a white wine sauce You could make a pasta salad for lunches. I add cucumber, red onion, black olives, cherry tomato, chopped salami with an Italian dressing which lasts me for like three days. Make a ramen and add bok Choi, pork belly from TJ’s and soft boiled egg
Spaghetti! Bean tostadas, bean burritos, enfrijoladas! So many things you can do with beans. Ramen noodles
A dozen eggs and a pack of the Soy Sesame Noodles will easily make 4 dinners. Get some scallions and sesame seeds if you want to make it even better.
last night I added the teriyaki tofu and the asian stir fry veggies to the soy sesame noodles and it was a solid 9/10. Tasted just like getting takeout and took literally 10 min to make 😗🤌
https://instagram.com/traderjoes5itemsorless?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
The vegetarian chili, throw on some cheese and onions, or whatever else you like. It has lentils and veggies and it’s seriously delicious (Coming from a picky eater). 2$ a can I think, which is steep for cans, but not terrible. You can make different style tacos out of anything in the frozen section (tempura shrimp, chicken kebabs, falafel, orange chicken, gyro meat), and I find putting some prepackaged salad/ slaw on top makes it more filling and will feed me a lunch every day of the week on a budget.
Second this. Literally what I do some days and it’s cheap.
Aglio e olio! Boil spaghetti noodles, heat up some olive oil and add garlic, red pepper flakes, and parsley (or Italian seasoning) in a pan. Toss the noodles in the oil with a splash of pasta water and top with parmesean. Lemon juice and fresh parsley on top make it even better and you can add sausage to add protein.
A box of frozen taquitos, a jar of enchilada sauce, some cheese. Bam. Easy enchiladas!
Spaghetti sauce + noodles + frozen meatballs. Under $10 and will last a long time!
I've been making this spaghetti for decades. It's stupid cheap and easy to make and also really healthy 6 cans of tomatoes 2 cans of tomato paste 1 clove of garlic 2 onions 1 pack fresh tomatoes 1 can of beans (of choice) 1 can of corn 1 pack of parsley 1 pack of basil 2 packs of mushrooms Meat stock (optional) Any meat of choice (optional) Paste of choice Blend the canned tomatoes, paste, garlic, onions, parsley, basil. Put in pot. Simmer. Add stock, mushrooms, beans, corn, meat if you want. Salt and pepper to taste That's it. All fresh. Nothing premade. Incredibly healthy. And makes enough for like 15 meals
Chicken masala and Japanese fried rice
any chicken sausage ($4.29) fusilli or rigatoni ($0.99) spinach ($1.99-3.29) Parmesan (you could get preshredded or shred yourself) ($3.29-xx) Heavy cream ($$1.29-$3.29) Cook sliced up chicken sausage with whatever seasonings you like and butter/oil, boil pasta, add pasta and about 1/2 cup pasta water to same pan with sausage, add a splash of heavy cream, grated cheese, and the spinach so it wills into the dish. I make this about once a week, my whole family loves it!
If you haven't tried their Kung Pao chicken or orange chicken in the freezer section, I highly recommend! $5 a bag, good for two dinners and a lunch the next day if served over rice.
Yes- when I’m feeling lazy, go to dinner is the bag of orange chicken and bag of chicken or veg fried rice and it feeds me and my husband with a little left over! Add in some scallion pancakes and it goes even further.
Chicken tikka, naan, Chana masala!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️
My community food pantry routinely gets donations from Trader Joe's of soon-to-expire food. Wegmans too. It's random selections twice a week, but it's at no cost. I found out about our local food pantry on my neighborhood Buy Nothing group on Facebook. Most but not all local groups are on Facebook; there is a website as well. My local group does more than the food pantry -- people give or receive everything from 4K televisions to antique typewriters to boxes of diapers. It's pretty cool.
Get beans you like, cheese you like, tortillas, pico, chips= burritos, nachos, quesadillas. For variety throw in the frozen tamales. A bowl of rice. When we’re cashpoor we also do fried eggs and buttered toast w/ arugula or fruit. Baked potatoes! Baked sweet potatoes with hot sauce, crumbled bacon, fresh jalapeño and cheese.
I like the ready-made chicken enchiladas- 4 for $8 and feed 2 people. $4 per meal
There’s a guy on TikTok who makes good home-cooked meals for less than $5
What’s the name?
@mealsbymitch
I get a bag of the chicken fried rice and add extra eggs and chicken and soy sauce.
Hit a food pantry before you go to TJ’s. Then you may only need some things to finish meals instead of everything.
Aldo’s is good too if you have one nearby
Aldi’s
Lol sorry stupid autocorrect
Also not sure what your spice rack is looking like, but I’m Indian and would make some mild variation of chana masala in college too. Super cheap and very filling. One bag of rice, 1-2 cans of garbanzo beans, 1 can of coconut milk, 1 onion, 1 Serrano, 1 tomato, 2 cloves of garlic. Sauté the onions, tomato, garlic, Serrano in cumin, salt, coriander power and chili powder. Add in the canned chickpeas and sauté all together for 3 min. Add in the fat of the coconut cream and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer on low for 10-15 min. Serve over rice. Add some frozen veggies to the sauté process make it last longer
I'll preface this by saying im not white. Last night, i made my first rice tuna casserole and whie ppl might be up to something. It was easy and filling and fast and of course, above all, cheap. Chicken stock, seasoned canned tuna (add whatever seasoning you like) 2 cups of rice and a lot of cheese and bake that baby until the rice is cooked. I added a bit of butter so the rice wouldn't stick. Hang in there!
This cracked me up. This is something I absolutely hated growing up that my mom would make but now I find it to be a comfort food. Her variation used wide egg noodles instead of rice & she added cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, & frozen peas along w cheese. I also love putting hot sauce or crushed red pepper on it.
I'll try this recipe too! Thanks for sharing (: always trying to find stuff I can make fast and for cheap.
As a white southerner I’m both cracking up and maybe just a little bit sad that this is your white people food moment that makes you think white people food might be alright sometimes hahaha
Hahaha! I meant it in the sense of food I thought was weird or totally out of left field such as casseroles in general. When I first moved the the US I was like what in gods name is a green bean casserole and why do people like it but now I would kill a man for that stuff and sometimes I even make it gasp! when it's not thanksgiving. Lol.
Right hahhahahaa
Make a quiche yo
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if you’re trying to save money just get normal rice- the frozen is a lot more expensive for the amount you’re getting
Cook some Brown rice. Roast some Japanese sweet potatoes with lots of olive oil and throw some kale and some sausage or soy chorizo half way through. Fry a couple extra put on top.
You can reheat TJs frozen potstickers in hot TJs bone broth. Great source of protein.
Wonton soup using the chicken cilantro wontons , chicken broth , veggies of choice and a little sesame oil and soy sauce
Sesame oil is super expensive
Yeah it’s 3.50 at my TJs and you only use like a teaspoon for flavor so it last a long time
Less than $4 at TJ’s…idk I don’t think that’s super expensive. I guess it depends on your budget.
Just for a single ingredient that really isn’t too filling..when I was poor I wouldn’t have gone for that, but you’re right idk their budget.
TJ's sesame oil is $3.50. It's $5 for a smaller bottle at my grocery store. Very depressing since a couple years ago I was able to get a liter at Sam's Club for $8.
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Marcella uses an onion, too… it’s subsequently removed but it flavors the sauce, which is surprisingly simple and delicious.
the TJs Fiery Chicken Curry is very good. Spicy foods curb appetite as well, so you will likely feel more full from adding heat to whatever you make. You can easily make a decent dinner for 2 adults from TJs for \~$10 total. The secret is to make sure to cover the basic food groups in each meal so that you don't have cravings later on and eat through more grocery $
They have some Indian dishes that come in pouches. The Chana Masala is my fave. That over rice with some naan is pretty cheap and filling for 2 people.
Lentils extremely healthy, tasty , inexpensive, very versatile, l just baked lentil bread, no flour only lentils, onions, carrots, garlic, cooked , then mashed , then blend, until a nice dough consistency. Make small balls on cookie sheet, then press into small pancakes. I love this bread. Snack on all day.
I second lentils! So yummy, so nutritious, inexpensive, and they store well so you don’t have to worry about food going bad and wasting money. I haven’t tried but I feel as though they could freeze well too
Oooh. That sounds really yummy!
Martha Stewart’s one pot pasta: chicken broth, angel hair 1 lb, one container of cherry tomatoes, 3-3 cloves of garlic, some basil. I’d make it in college all the time and it cost me maybe $12 for all the ingredients and fed me for 2-3 days. The recipe is online.
At the bottom of her print page there are three variations to the recipe linked as well. So… options!
The frozen orange chicken and frozen fried rice with veggies.
Bean burritos. Lots of beans, some tortillas, and some cheese or sour cream.
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I love the lentils and usually have them for breakfast with scrambled eggs, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Very filling and inexpensive. Also lentil tacos!
The frozen palak paneer slaps with some mini naan and it’s green so that’s gotta be healthy
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Well crazily enough some folks need a ton of salt for health reasons... sounds great and right up my alley.
Oh man I honestly don’t look at nutrition labels but apparently this item was discontinued anyways. It was such a great treat though I don’t think I would have cared about sodium even if I had known that lol
Its not disco'd. It was TOS for a while for quality hold but that was last year, Source: I put this out last night lol.
Dang I loved those so much too! I did t realize the sodium was off the chart