20 Budget-Friendly Dinners Everyone Will Love From baked pastas to hearty stews, these tasty meals are easy on the wallet. Close Credit: Brie Goldman When you’re stretching your dollars, what you cook is extra important. We’ve gathered our favorite inexpensive dinners to help you make the most of a shoestring budget. These recipes excel at maximizing what you have, utilizing affordable proteins like chicken drumsticks, canned beans, or tuna, and putting meat to work for flavor so that a little goes a long way. Another strategy is to harness more affordable pantry staples to maximize flavor and bring on the umami. From baked pasta to stovetop stew, these tasty budget dinners are sure to become family favorites. 18 Cozy Winter Dinner Recipes for Any Night of the Week 01 of 20 Creamy Baked Ziti Credit: Bryan Gardner This irresistible vegetarian dinner feeds eight and starts with two cans of tomatoes, half a package of cream cheese, and some low-moisture mozzarella. Serve it with vegetable sides or a crunchy salad. View Recipe 02 of 20 Kitchen Sink Chicken Stew Making the most of your budget means adapting recipes to work with what you have or what’s on sale. That’s where this hearty stew comes in, not only does it use chicken drumsticks, but you can swap the vegetables for what’s in your crisper drawer, think kale for collard greens, bell peppers for green beans. Plus, you can add in other vegetables to stretch the dish, like that sweet potato lingering on the kitchen counter. View Recipe 03 of 20 Spaghetti and Eggplant Meatballs Credit: Jacob Fox Our delicious vegetarian take on the Italian-American classic is just as satisfying as the meaty original. Eggplant is mixed with white beans, breadcrumbs, and egg and flavored with garlic, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. The balls are broiled, then finished in a pot of tomato sauce and served over spaghetti tossed with plenty of Parmesan cheese. View Recipe 04 of 20 Tuna Casserole Credit: Rachel Marek A classic comfort food dish for good reason, this warming and filling main uses mostly pantry ingredients. Pair it with a favorite colorful vegetable for a well-rounded meal. Bonus budget points if you use stale bread to make your own breadcrumbs. View Recipe 05 of 20 Quick Broccoli Frittata Credit: Frank Frances Don’t save the eggs for brunch! A frittata is a great choice for a budget-friendly dinner. In this vegetarian version, white cheddar and frozen broccoli give the bake a deeply savory flavor. Add in or swap out other vegetables, like mushrooms, bell peppers, or peas. View Recipe 06 of 20 Slow Cooker White Bean Soup Credit: Lennart Weibull A true set-it-and-forget-it winner, this substantial soup is packed with Great Northern beans, leeks, butternut squash, and spinach. This recipe is also a reminder to never toss your Parmesan rinds; adding them to soups like this or bean dishes adds a magical richness and depth of flavor. View Recipe 07 of 20 Baked Potatoes Credit: Romulo Yanes Whether you bake a sweet potato or a white potato (Idaho, also known as russets, are best), the result is a filling base for all kinds of toppings, from fan-favorite grated cheese and chili to white beans and broccoli, or just about any sautéed vegetable you can think of. Usually, we bake potatoes in the oven, but this slow cooker variation is stellar. View Recipe 08 of 20 Mushroom and Black Bean Tortilla Casserole Credit: Brie Goldman This layered casserole is like a Tex-Mex lasagna. Corn tortillas replace the pasta, and a frugal yet super-tasty mix of canned black beans, salsa, and Monterey Jack cheese makes it a crowd-pleaser. View Recipe 09 of 20 Chicken and Dumplings Credit: Brie Goldman Classic comfort food and a meal that’s easy on the budget, chicken and dumplings is a winner dinner. We use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you can swap in whatever chicken is the best buy at the store, such as a cut-up whole chicken. Stretch the meal by adding more vegetables to the delicious gravy, and no one will mind if you add more dumplings—in fact, they may well be asking for more! View Recipe 10 of 20 Chicken and Kale Casserole Credit: Anna Williams Stretch your leftover chicken with this cozy pasta bake that feeds eight and sneaks in two bunches of kale (or boxes of frozen kale) along with a creamy, cheesy sauce and pasta shells. View Recipe 11 of 20 Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie Credit: Jason Donnelly Cozy and filling, shepherd's pie is a good way to stretch ground meat. and not just the best-known beefy version. Our ground turkey take on the potato-topped pie has a filling that includes carrots, onions, and celery—basically your whole meal in one casserole dish. View Recipe 12 of 20 Big-Batch Vegetable Soup Use what you have is the basic tenet of budget-savvy cooking. That’s where this recipe comes in. You can customize it to fit the mix of vegetables you have on hand or the ones you see on sale at the store. And whatever combination you use, the result is a big batch of warming, wholesome soup. View Recipe 13 of 20 Vegetarian Chili Credit: Johnny Miller No one will miss the meat when they try this hearty, cozy vegetarian chili. It’s made with canned black and pinto beans. Cook the beans from scratch for an extra boost to your budget. View Recipe 14 of 20 Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta Credit: Brie Goldman Canned sardines are super healthy and a good shoestring budget pick. Stock up when they are on sale, and you’ll have them on hand for when you need a quick meal like this pasta, a favorite of Martha's. View Recipe 15 of 20 Fried Rice Credit: Jason Donnelly The best recipe for cleaning out your fridge is fried rice. It’s also a great formula for stretching pricier ingredients like meat. This recipe uses half a pound of ground pork, but you can swap in ground chicken or turkey, or go with tofu or a vegetable-only approach. We also like sneaking beans into our fried rice sometimes! View Recipe 16 of 20 Sausage, Kielbasa, and Lentil Rice With Spinach Credit: Chris Simpson Lentils and rice—two powerhouse pantry staples—combine with crushed tomatoes and spinach to make a saucy and filling accompaniment to smoky Polish sausage. View Recipe 17 of 20 Cabbage-Vegetable Soup A true grandma classic, this robust soup uses long-lasting vegetables like green cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and celery that don’t break the bank but deliver on flavor. View Recipe 18 of 20 Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew Credit: Marcus Nilsson Hearty, healthy, and kind on the wallet, this vegetarian stew makes a wonderful cold-weather dinner. Serve it with rice, cous cous, or polenta. View Recipe 19 of 20 Macaroni and Cheese Credit: Andrea Araiza Whether you prefer the saucier stovetop version or are a fan of the baked casserole, mac and cheese is a winner. This version from John Legend is our most budget-conscious version; it uses extra-sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses and evaporated milk. The result is a rich dish and no leftovers! View Recipe 20 of 20 Chicken Tortilla Soup Credit: Jason Donnelly It’s quick, easy, and a touch spicy, and a great way to use up leftover chicken, which also means the prep is quick. Adapt the garnishes to suit your crowd and your wallet, swap the cotija cheese for the cheese in your fridge, use diced onion if you don’t have scallions, and add some canned beans to make it even heartier, but don’t skip the crunchy corn tortilla chips—they’re essential. View Recipe Explore more: Food & Cooking Menus & Menu Planning