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We have a lot of favorite recipes for meal prep & dinner when on a budget. From meal prep ideas to budget-friendly dinner recipes that are tasty enough to cook for yourself or dinner guests.
If you've read the ways we regularly save money, then you know that we like to plan our meals for the week. We shop once a week, gathering all the ingredients needed to be nourished and stay on track for our budget. There's a common misconception that it costs more money to eat healthy at home, and we've spent our time in Colorado debunking that myth. It's about time we share some of the recipes that allowed the transition into being novice home chefs fun and relatively easy.Â
I want to give credit to not only our family recipes, but food bloggers who have put in the work in creating flavorful meals to cook. All I've done is put our favorite recipes in one post, but I assure you if you check out the sites that will be included throughout this post to find more recipes to love by these authors. (If it wasn't clear, this is in no way sponsored, I only want to help you hit your budget goals so you can achieve your travel goals as well.)
TIPS WHEN PLANNING BUDGET- FRIENDLY MEALS FOR THE WEEK:
Before you shop:
- Avoid product waste. When planning meals, consider meals that have similar ingredients. For example, some meals only ask for 1 cup of chicken broth, but it's typically sold in a container with four cups. Add other meals that week that will use the rest of the broth (or whatever the ingredient is.) This way you’re buying one budget-friendly item and using it all week.
- Make a shopping list. We use a shared note that we add to throughout the week, and then we stick to the exact list once we go shopping.
- Check your pantry. There may be ingredients you already have and don't need to buy and can keep your week budget-friendly
- Clip coupons and look for discounts. Most grocery stores have store apps you can download and see the current deals.
- Sign up for a loyalty program. I know that our grocery store also has gas stations, and the loyalty we have shopping there earns us discounts on gallons of gas.
At the store:
- Stick to the list. Product placement is a marketing strategy that entices you to over consume – just stick to the list. If there's something you like, add it to your list for next week. Odds are you remove it from that list because you'll realize you won't need it by then too!
- Buy in bulk. A membership to Costco or a similar wholesaler can allow you to buy in bulk. We like to buy our proteins (chicken, bacon, ground turkey) in bulk and we freeze what we don't need for the week. Pasta, rice, beans, etc. are suggestions to buy in bulk.
- Avoid Pre-Packaged or Pre-Cut Items. In the produce section will not be budget-friendly if you pay for pre-cut and pre-packages items. Taking the extra time at home to chop your fruits and veggies aren't only cheaper, but can reduce plastic waste and maybe even opt for organic options.
- Shop only once a week. Be very thorough in your list to avoid going to the store more than once a week. If you forget an item, substitute with something you already have at home. If you run to the store for one item, there's a high possibility you'll buy more than just that one thing.
And now, we cook! As you know, this isn't a food blog, so my photos won't do some of these meals justice. However, here's a list of our favorite recipes. I'll rank the recipes on a difficulty scale of 1-5. 1 being easy with a small list of ingredients to 5, meaning it's time consuming and requires more steps. In my mind these are all top recipes so I don't want to rate them on flavor, only difficulty.
BUDGET-FRIENDLY MEAL PREP IDEAS FOR LUNCH:
Our goal of lunch meal preps is to be protein focused to help achieve our health and fitness goals while at home. We also want the meal to be tasty that we want to have the same meal all five lunches for the work week.
Cobb Salad – 3! There's a lot of chopping.
Taco salad – 2! Take your favorite ingredients, for us that’s lettuce, ground turkey, tomato, avocado, corn, black beans, and a few other veggies. The key to making this delicious is to top it with lite balsamic vinaigrette. Don’t knock it until you try it!
Mediterranean bowls – 3! My husband has created this own recipe, inspired by recipes found from others.
BUDGET-FRIENDLY CHICKEN BASED RECIPES:
One Skillet Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken and Orzo – 1! Not only is this meal delicious, but it requires one skillet and is extremely easy to clean up. I like making this recipe anytime we’re having a friends over for dinner and is a recipe in constant rotation in our meals.
Skillet White Pesto Marry Me Chicken and Orzo – 2! A little messier to make at first, but this recipe is such a tasty meal, particularly in the cold months. The cream in this recipe can also make you feel like you’re indulging in something less healthy, but make no mistake as this meal is packed with protein!
Jalapeño Cheddar Stuffed Chicken with Creamed Corn – 4! one of the more complex dinners but one of the tastiest! We make this at least once a month, and if we have guests over this is one of the recipes we always consider making if we have time to clean up before service. Note: we double the creamed corn part and we get the slice pepper jack cheese to make it easier to stuff the chicken.
BUDGET-FRIENDLY SOUP RECIPES:
Smoky Potato and Kale Soup – 2! A twist on the italian wedding soup, this is an easy soup with easy cleanup. One reason I like this recipe is there’s so much flavor from the spice of the meat, to the soft potatoes sitting in a coconut cream broth.
Chicken Noodle Soup – 2! We change this recipe a little bit with chicken breasts instead of rotisserie chicken, but both ways are delicious.
Creamy Corn, Zucchini, and Bacon Chowder – 3! This soup can be vegetarian friendly if you don't top with bacon! There's quite a few steps to this recipe, but it tastes delicious and there's leftovers for the week. Keep in mind, this isn't the best budget-friendly option, but if you opt for canned corn and already have a few of the ingredients at home like broth, then it can off-set the cost. This was my favorite for a long long time when we moved to Colorado.
OTHER BUDGET-FRIENDLY DINNER RECIPES:
Homemade pizza date night – 2! Instead of going out for dinner and a movie, make homemade pizza and watch a film at home! We use an easy dough recipe and this way, you have autonomy of food toppings and amount of sauce and cheese. We pair this with one of the salad recipes you’ll find below.
Pad Thai – 4! My husband and travel partner is allergic to peanuts, so pad thai isn't a dish we can enjoy on our travels, but it is a meal we can enjoy at home! We leave the peanuts out and it's extremely delicious.
Meatloaf – 2! I still use my college roommate's meatloaf recipe and think of her every time. We pair this with something inexpensive, like canned green beans and mashed potatoes. If you want a different option, this butternut squash recipe is delicious (found in side recipes)
Cauliflower fried rice – 3! If you’re making this recipe by making your own cauliflower rice, this will be more of a 4 skill level. We eat a lot of rice in our house and this is substitute to make our meal a little healthier. We like to eat this with teriyaki steak and a side salad.
Burgers & fries – 4! We make this a few different ways; sometimes we prepare sweet potato fries from scratch sometimes we buy frozen fries. Justin has truly perfected the best at home burger, and we usually have lettuce, avocado, bacon, tomato, eggs, and homemade sauce to create the ultimate home burger.
Tacos – 2! Tacos is pretty easy, but there’s lots of topping which means more clean up. If you like TacoBell, specifically the cheesy double beef burrito, you can make this at home! We use our own recipe but this one I found is similar, except we use Greek yogurt.
Homemade carbonara – 4/5! I challenge you to make this a date night and make your own pasta. For the carbonara recipe, my husband watches an Italian guy on youtube.
BUDGET-FRIENDLY SIDE RECIPES:
Cheesy Bacon Butternut Squash – 1! Truly one of the best sides that we currently make and it’s easy to prepare, and easier to clean up! https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a56379/cheese-bacon-butternut-squash-recipe/
Italian salad – 3! My mother-in-law prepared this recipe over the holidays, and now we can’t get enough.
POST TRAVEL EASY BUDGET-FRIENDLY MEALS:
Sometimes you get home from a trip, spending more than you anticipated or you’re exhausted, and you’re looking for cheap and quick meals. I never thought I’d ever share these meals but here are our honest meals post adventure!
Orange chicken & Rice – 1! This idea would require a Costco membership. When we moved to Colorado we lived near a panda express and would order from there at least once a month. The orange chicken from Costco is so similar and we have a rice cooker to complete the meal.
Meat, sweet potato, broccoli – 2! no exact recipe for this, just a guideline we use when we are being cheaper and sweet. We roast the sweet potato and broccoli, and ever have pork chops or steak; something simple that we can grill.
Chicken, Zucchini, Stuffing – 2! I grew up with a variation of this in my family, but now I use this casserole recipe. We substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt for additional protein and sometimes make our own stuffing.
Velveeta Skillet meal – 1! This is what we call our “transition meal.” when we go from eating anything and everything on vacation to back in our routine – this is our go-to. We like to eat this first as it’s not quite the healthiest, but it’s better than some of the meals we’ve indulged on vacation. We add oven roasted broccoli to this meal for some actual nutrients.
BUDGET-FRIENDLY SNACKS & SWEET TREATS:
Scones – 3! I’ve tweaked this original recipe with substituting blueberries for dark chocolate flakes. I also sometimes put 1/2c pumpkin & 1/2c vanilla protein! The chocolate flakes helps curb sweet cravings.
Chocolate chip muffins – 2! You may be sensing a theme but I really crave chocolate and this recipe is another healthy option for us to make in the week.
No bake monster protein cookies – 2! My husband has a peanut allergy; we substitute the peanut butter for sun butter. This healthy recipe is perfect for those busy weeks that we need a pick-me-up!
Special thank you to Half-Baked Harvest and Once Upon a Chef for inspiring my husband and myself to create home-cooked meals.
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