We all experience some times where we are on a tight budget. Maybe that time is only during college, and you are lucky enough to get a good-paying job with degree in hand. Maybe that time is during the holidays, when food budgets are stretched with all the family get-togethers and parties. Maybe that time is your whole life. Maybe you have plenty of cash to spare, but want to use it for things other than extravagant meals.
Whatever the case, making a frugal meal definitely does not have to be tasteless and boring!
With my “Less Than 5” category, I am aiming to create and share recipes which take less than $5, less than 5 minutes to make, and/or less than 5 ingredients. Bonus points for me if all three apply!
I will update this post periodically as I continue to add more “Less Than 5” recipes. This one will be specific to meals which will cost less than $5 per serving. So if you only have a few dollars in your pocket, you are better off reading these recipes and heading to the grocery store than blowing it all at once on a dollar menu. These recipes will (mostly) be filling and somewhat healthy for pennies a plate.
First let’s get the classic budget recipes in a list:
- Peanut butter & jelly sandwich
- Macaroni & cheese (though with the price of cheese soaring, I don’t know about homemade mac n cheese anymore)
- Ramen noodles
- Beans & Rice
- Tuna salad sandwich
Now these are a little bit more creative:
- Miso Soup
- Big Kid Ramen (egg + spinach)
- Tuna Salad Puffs
- Honey baked sweet potato
- Microwave apple crisp
- Spanish Rice – a great side dish, or beef it up with beans for a main
- Cottage cheese & broccoli pasta
- Turkey BLT – pick up turkey bacon when it’s on sale, it has so many uses!
- Vegetarian Burgers
- Ham & greens frittata – really anything can go into a frittata. You just need a few eggs, beans/rice/veggies/meat, and an oven-safe pan
- Peanut butter banana sandwich
- Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
- Chili Mac – especially if you make this vegetarian using just tomatoes and beans, this is a super cheap & filling meal
- French Onion Soup
- Beef & Broccoli – buy bags of frozen veggies on sale for $1 or less
- Vegetarian Stir Fry
- Mexican Street Corn
- Broccoli Cheddar Rice
- Stuffed Bell Peppers
Do you have any recipe ideas that are less than $5? Please share in the comments!