No need for takeout tonight—make your own Mediterranean-style pizza. Who needs takeout when you can make your own sweet and savory pizza from scratch? This sweet and spicy seafood dish will be the highlight of your week.

Customize these vegetarian enchiladas to your liking—beans, peppers, guacamole, you name it. Spoon this flavorful stew atop a bed of white rice for a warm and hearty meal.

These spicy beef tacos are quick, easy, and best of all—they're wallet-friendly. Now that's a triple threat. These colorful fajitas, drizzled in a tangy vinaigrette, will make you forget about tortillas entirely. Throw in leftover chicken or turkey—yes, you heard us right! Let your slow cooker do all the work—and then reap the benefits with this hearty pork stew.

A veggie, mozz, and sourdough medley is the the ultimate first course. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, among other publications.

His book Somebody Scream: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power was nominated for a Zora Neale Hurston Award. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he teaches writing and communications. Marcus received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

If you're looking for cheap, healthy meals, these ideas are guaranteed to satisfy any of your cravings. With more than a month's worth of nutritious meals on a budget , you'll soon learn how to use inexpensive but flavor-packed ingredients to bring well-balanced meals to your table.

Choose your own adventure with this North African-inspired feast. The chicken, chickpea, and veggie stew can be made on your stove top in a Dutch oven, or you can hit fast-forward with a pressure cooker or go low and slow with a slow cooker.

Using either of these methods will treat you to a healthy meal on a budget that's low in calories, high in protein, and nicely spiced with cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne.

This traditional Southern comfort dish is said to bring good luck if you eat it on New Year's Day. But we're so obsessed with this cheap, healthy meal, we eat it all year. Instead of calling for bacon or ham, our vegetarian variation of this rice and black-eyed peas dish features several spices and heaps of veggies, including bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and frozen corn.

The spice—and the price—are right for this Indian-inspired cheap, healthy meal. Serve the turmeric- and ginger-infused grilled chicken on a bed of basmati rice included in the price estimate to round out the meal.

Save leftover sliced meat to tuck inside warm pita bread or a tortilla for a lunch wrap the next day. Meatloaf secures a top spot on the list of easy, cheap, healthy meals when you use lean ground beef and boost the filling factor with inexpensive spuds.

And don't you love how sheet-pan dinners like this one require so little cleanup time? Cooking everything on one foil-lined pan speeds it up. You'd be hard-pressed to find a delivery pizza as affordable as this homemade healthy dinner recipe.

Start with store-bought dough to make the Mediterranean meal a practical choice, even on a weeknight. Look for the dough in the refrigerated section of your supermarket or ask your local pizza shop if you can purchase an extra pound of their secret recipe!

Noodle dishes are known to be easy on the wallet. Not so much. Fortunately, a small handful of heart-healthy nuts can go a long way to add a rich flavor to cheap, healthy meals like this one.

Whole wheat noodles help too. Low in fat 6 grams per portion yet high in protein a strong 28 grams , this five-ingredient slow cooker pork recipe checks all the boxes. Only 10 minutes of prep required. Indeed—it's one of the lowest-cost options in this collection of cheap, healthy meals.

Here's a cheap, healthy vegetarian meal you'll want to make again and again. With 24 grams of protein and a nice portion of hunger-taming broth and noodles, this soup will fill you up for hours.

Meat-like portobello mushrooms , tofu , and a poached egg join fresh veggies in this cozy, crowd-pleasing Asian noodle soup. Breaded with whole wheat panko and baked instead of fried, this eggplant Parmesan is calories less than some classic recipes. Keep your nutrition streak going by grabbing a couple of zucchini at the store to spiralize , toss with the rest of the marinara , and serve under the baked eggplant.

Voilà—a budget dinner recipe for four that tastes up to par with its restaurant competition. A few decades ago, "stretch the meat" was the mantra for cutting costs at dinnertime.

It's still a great strategy for making cheap, healthy meals even more affordable. Here wide egg noodles , mushrooms, and a bit of cheese extend 8 ounces of ground beef to provide five hearty servings. One bite will be all the proof you need that you can absolutely make satisfying suppers without making meat the main event.

Instead of refried beans, this flavorful Mexican entrée —ready in 30 minutes—features a creamy cauliflower puree. If you're hungry and have leftover chicken or shrimp , toss them in too.

the serving size can be cut in half for an easy, healthy dinner recipe for two on a budget. To maximize your cheap, healthy dinner recipes, never let any ingredients go to waste. Instead, use any leftover pesto in these quick and easy pesto recipes.

Turn budget-friendly shaved cooked ham into a delicacy by serving it on mashed sweet potatoes and topping it with cranberry sauce. This healthy dinner recipe on a budget offers a taste of Thanksgiving any time of year. Not into ham or craving more holiday spirit? Try this with sliced smoked turkey instead.

Your favorite Tuscan-inspired restaurant may not be the first place you'd head to get inspiration for healthy meals on the cheap. This sheet pan dinner works with whatever veggies you already have and requires basically zero effort.

Most of the time spent is waiting while the sheet pan is in the oven, and there are minimal dishes to clean when it's all said and done.

What more could you need? Craving BBQ pulled chicken? Good news—this slow-cooker recipe makes it easier than ever to create delicious, tender, and extra-flavorful pulled chicken right at home with minimal effort. Get the Brown Sugar BBQ Chicken recipe.

Get the Mexican Chicken Casserole recipe. We've all been there: You're craving homemade pizza , but you want it fast —no time to deal with rolling out finicky pizza dough.

The solution? Grab a loaf of French bread , and get ready for the pizza hack of a lifetime. Get the French Bread Pizza recipe. This is probably THE simplest recipe The chicken falls apart and becomes immensely tender, flavored with the familiar flavors of chunky salsa and taco seasoning , and brightened up with bursts of lime juice.

Serve this over rice, in lettuce cups, as tacos Get the Crockpot Salsa Chicken recipe. Tostadas might just be the perfect meal—these crunchy corn tortillas are easy to buy or make!

AND they can act as a vehicle for whatever toppings you like. Here, that means creamy refried beans and a chile-spiked shredded chicken topping, but feel free to get creative. Get the Chicken Tostadas recipe. Use your favorite jarred or homemade salsa verde to make this extremely easy and flavorful dish.

Everything cooks in the same pot for a mess-free and, most importantly, quick weeknight dinner. It's about to be one of your new favorites. Juicy pork tenderloin seriously deserves its own spotlight. We keep the seasoning simple here: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder. If you want another flavor profile, the world is your oyster: oregano and Italian seasoning, ranch seasoning, taco seasoning , or even just salt and black pepper will do.

Get the Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin recipe. Is there anything better than a one-skillet meal? It all comes together in just 40 minutes with minimal prep too!

72 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Weeknight Meals · Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage · Teriyaki Chicken Thighs · Easy Tamale Pie with Peppers · Hearty Pasta Fagioli 65 Easy And Cheap Dinner Ideas That You'll Want To Make On Repeat · 1. Sweet Potato And Black Bean Burritos · 2. Chili Lime Baked Tilapia With 61 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Do the Most With the Least · Pasta With 20 Cloves of Garlic · Smoky, Spicy Creole Red Beans and Rice · Vegetarian

Video

Discounted recipe inspiration - Missing 72 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Weeknight Meals · Inside-Out Stuffed Cabbage · Teriyaki Chicken Thighs · Easy Tamale Pie with Peppers · Hearty Pasta Fagioli 65 Easy And Cheap Dinner Ideas That You'll Want To Make On Repeat · 1. Sweet Potato And Black Bean Burritos · 2. Chili Lime Baked Tilapia With 61 Cheap Dinner Ideas That Do the Most With the Least · Pasta With 20 Cloves of Garlic · Smoky, Spicy Creole Red Beans and Rice · Vegetarian

If you're looking for cheap, healthy meals, these ideas are guaranteed to satisfy any of your cravings. With more than a month's worth of nutritious meals on a budget , you'll soon learn how to use inexpensive but flavor-packed ingredients to bring well-balanced meals to your table.

Choose your own adventure with this North African-inspired feast. The chicken, chickpea, and veggie stew can be made on your stove top in a Dutch oven, or you can hit fast-forward with a pressure cooker or go low and slow with a slow cooker.

Using either of these methods will treat you to a healthy meal on a budget that's low in calories, high in protein, and nicely spiced with cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne. This traditional Southern comfort dish is said to bring good luck if you eat it on New Year's Day. But we're so obsessed with this cheap, healthy meal, we eat it all year.

Instead of calling for bacon or ham, our vegetarian variation of this rice and black-eyed peas dish features several spices and heaps of veggies, including bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and frozen corn.

The spice—and the price—are right for this Indian-inspired cheap, healthy meal. Serve the turmeric- and ginger-infused grilled chicken on a bed of basmati rice included in the price estimate to round out the meal.

Save leftover sliced meat to tuck inside warm pita bread or a tortilla for a lunch wrap the next day. Meatloaf secures a top spot on the list of easy, cheap, healthy meals when you use lean ground beef and boost the filling factor with inexpensive spuds.

And don't you love how sheet-pan dinners like this one require so little cleanup time? Cooking everything on one foil-lined pan speeds it up.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a delivery pizza as affordable as this homemade healthy dinner recipe. Start with store-bought dough to make the Mediterranean meal a practical choice, even on a weeknight. Look for the dough in the refrigerated section of your supermarket or ask your local pizza shop if you can purchase an extra pound of their secret recipe!

Noodle dishes are known to be easy on the wallet. Not so much. Fortunately, a small handful of heart-healthy nuts can go a long way to add a rich flavor to cheap, healthy meals like this one. Whole wheat noodles help too. Low in fat 6 grams per portion yet high in protein a strong 28 grams , this five-ingredient slow cooker pork recipe checks all the boxes.

Only 10 minutes of prep required. Indeed—it's one of the lowest-cost options in this collection of cheap, healthy meals. Here's a cheap, healthy vegetarian meal you'll want to make again and again.

With 24 grams of protein and a nice portion of hunger-taming broth and noodles, this soup will fill you up for hours. Meat-like portobello mushrooms , tofu , and a poached egg join fresh veggies in this cozy, crowd-pleasing Asian noodle soup.

Breaded with whole wheat panko and baked instead of fried, this eggplant Parmesan is calories less than some classic recipes.

Keep your nutrition streak going by grabbing a couple of zucchini at the store to spiralize , toss with the rest of the marinara , and serve under the baked eggplant. Voilà—a budget dinner recipe for four that tastes up to par with its restaurant competition.

A few decades ago, "stretch the meat" was the mantra for cutting costs at dinnertime. It's still a great strategy for making cheap, healthy meals even more affordable. Here wide egg noodles , mushrooms, and a bit of cheese extend 8 ounces of ground beef to provide five hearty servings.

One bite will be all the proof you need that you can absolutely make satisfying suppers without making meat the main event. Instead of refried beans, this flavorful Mexican entrée —ready in 30 minutes—features a creamy cauliflower puree.

If you're hungry and have leftover chicken or shrimp , toss them in too. the serving size can be cut in half for an easy, healthy dinner recipe for two on a budget.

To maximize your cheap, healthy dinner recipes, never let any ingredients go to waste. Instead, use any leftover pesto in these quick and easy pesto recipes. Turn budget-friendly shaved cooked ham into a delicacy by serving it on mashed sweet potatoes and topping it with cranberry sauce.

This healthy dinner recipe on a budget offers a taste of Thanksgiving any time of year. Not into ham or craving more holiday spirit? Try this with sliced smoked turkey instead. Your favorite Tuscan-inspired restaurant may not be the first place you'd head to get inspiration for healthy meals on the cheap.

But much of this Italian region's cuisine is humble and healthy. Tuscan cooks are fond of using cannellini beans. Here the beans partner with other great Mediterranean diet -friendly ingredients for a true-to-Italy dish that won't break the bank or your nutrition goals.

When coming up with cheap, healthy meals, consider cooking with whitefish. The affordable and lean protein is mild enough to please even picky eaters. Enjoy it on these crowd-pleasing tostadas perfectly seasoned with chili powder, garlic, and lime.

On the hunt for affordable, healthy meals that work for dinner or brunch? Get cracking—eggs, that is. Here protein-rich, budget-friendly eggs pair with other pantry staples for a cheap and easy recipe under calories per serving. Save even more money when you substitute dried herbs you have on hand for the fresh herbs.

Start planning your next chili night now. This low-cost slow cooker chili recipe can be prepped in 25 minutes. Stir everything together in the slow cooker early in the day and come home to a healthy dinner loaded with veggies and 14 grams of protein.

Sticking to healthy meals on a budget often means driving past your favorite eatery and straight home. But with nutritious restaurant remakes like this, you can don't have to miss out on take-out flavor while saving money, sodium, and calories. Not only does this well-balanced pasta recipe clock in at under calories per serving, but it also takes only 20 minutes to prepare.

Comforting chili flavors, pasta, and cheese make this meal a family favorite. Oh yes, and it all comes together in one pan. Grilling vegetables brings out their natural sweetness; in this recipe, they're spiced and seasoned to give the fajitas extra flavor.

Bonus: If you grill no matter the season , this dish belongs in your regular rotation of budget-friendly healthy dinner recipes because you can find these veggies any time of year. Burger night just earned itself a healthy vegetarian upgrade.

Here we blend fiber- and protein-rich chickpeas with warm spices, sear them to crisp perfection, then serve with crunchy, good-for-you veggies. Whole wheat noodles, no-salt-added canned tomatoes, and shrimp make this delicious meal surprisingly low-cal and nutritious.

Use frozen shrimp instead of fresh to cut the cost of the seafood. Just don't skip the pinch of crushed red pepper flakes—they give this healthy meal on a budget just enough kick. How many cheap, healthy meals can you make without chopping anything? This is one of the rare few.

It's a no-knife-needed, "dump and done" slow cooker recipe for when you have no more than 10 minutes of hands-on prep time to spare. I love a good meatball when I'm looking for a cheap meal. You can form meatballs in advance to save some time at dinner, or freeze half for later if you're cooking for one or two!

This Instant Pot chicken pasta is a dump and go recipe that will for sure enter your weekly dinner rotation. From Simple Living Recipes. If you like hamburger helper, you'll love this healthier homemade option! Tuna melts are those things I make when I am scrambling for dinner and don't feel like cooking.

Just whip up a quick tuna salad, top some halved english muffins with it, add a slice of cheese, and bake until warm and melty! Canned tuna is cheap and healthy, and for a boost of nutrition you can use whole wheat or sprouted grain English Muffins. I like to serve them with whatever fruit or veggies I have lying around.

Because you use dried beans for this recipe, it's so much cheaper than using canned beans and your slow cooker does all the work for you! I do recommend soaking the beans before cooking this, so you'll need to plan ahead a bit, but you only need a few minutes of prep.

Come home to a delicious meal all ready to go. Stovetop and Instant Pot instructions also included. Greek Lentil Soup is so healthy and nutritious and packed with flavor.

If you have fresh herbs growing, it's a great excuse to use a bunch of them, but you can also use dried. A bag of lentils only costs a couple bucks and this batch serves Feel free to omit the red wine, use water instead of stock, and decrease the olive oil to save some money.

I always stick half the batch in my freezer for another meal later. Your email address will not be published. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Great suggestions, Elizabeth! In this day and time and with a not to rosy outlook, we are going to have to make some adjustments away from meat centric meals to other high protein ingredients. We are trying in our home.

They go along way and leftovers freeze really well. Waste not, want not! Meals like you suggested are very delicious and satisfying. Keep those recipes coming!! Hope you and your family are doing well. Many thanks from your friends on the Eastern Shore of MD for your hard work!

You make it easy for us. So glad you liked these suggestions and thanks for taking the time to write this comment! I keep an inventory list on the fridge of what I have in freezer.

It works as well as looking at a restaurant menu! But I have to remember…. label and date containers before they get tucked away. I just use masking tape! Tacky, but it works. I do the same thing! And I used to use masking tape but now I use a dry erase marker, which washes right off of containers.

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How to Start a Food Blog Subscribe. menu icon. search icon. Facebook Instagram Pinterest RSS Twitter YouTube. Home » Budget Meals » 20 Cheap Dinner Recipe Ideas. Sheet Pan Sausage and Sweet Potatoes.

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Photo Credit: simplelivingrecipes. One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta - One Pot Pasta. English Muffin Tuna Melts. Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup Instant Pot and Stovetop Friendly.

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