25 Cheap Healthy Dinners for Tight Budgets

It’s often a struggle to balance nutrition with budget when it comes to cooking at home. Why does it seem like we always have to sacrifice one or the other? Cooking cheap healthy dinners can almost seem impossible sometimes! 

Cheap dinners? Yes. Healthy dinners? Also yes. But cheap AND healthy dinners? Uhh nope. Cooking on a budget can be quite a challenge! With the hefty price tags on vegetables and proteins, the task of putting together nutritious meals while sticking to your budget can leave you feeling hopeless and discouraged.

Plus, when you do find the few and in between recipes that work, your family can become quite bored of the same meals over and over and over again. That’s why I’ve done some research to put together this list of cheap healthy dinners that your family will absolutely love! Finally, you can add some wholesome meals to the mix, without blowing your budget!

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These days, every time I walk into a grocery store, I feel to scream when I see the prices. Food prices have been steadily increasing while my paycheck has been stuck in 2015. And it seems like I’m not alone. According to Pew Research Center, a whopping 69% of Americans stated that food price hikes have been making it more difficult for them to eat healthy!

This is when we need to start becoming creative and experimenting with different budget recipes. I’ve put together some of the best cheap, healthy dinners below.

However, in tough times, going the extra mile to save money can make the world of difference with our finances. Do take advantage of the budget hacks at the end of our list of cheap healthy dinners to save hundreds of dollars on your food & grocery bill!

25 Cheap Healthy Dinners for when Money is Tight

1. Chicken Burrito Bowl

This Chicken Burrito Bowl recipe from The Shortcut Kitchen features a flavorful combo of rice, beans, cheese, spicy shredded chicken and other traditional burrito ingredients. This is super simple to make, easy on your pockets and ingredients can be swapped out to suit your budget and preference!

2. Keto Chicken Vegetable Soup

You can’t go wrong with soups when it comes to cheap healthy dinners. And this Keto Chicken Vegetable Soup from Dr. Davinah’s Eats is no different! This low-carb dinner option is quick and easy, yet packed with flavor and nutrition!

Using a few simple ingredients, you will have a bowl of comfort in your hands in no time at all!

3. Spicy Shrimp Bowl

Your family will fall in love with this Spicy Shrimp Bowl with Rice and Peach Avocado Salad from A Latin Flair! In just 30 minutes, you will have this healthy, flavorful dinner from pan to plate.

And when your budget is extremely tight? Simply switch out protein or veggies for cheaper options!

4. Chicken Sausage and Butternut Squash Sheet Pan Meal

Who doesn’t love a good sheet pan meal? This Chicken Sausage and Butternut Squash Sheet Pan Meal from Pink Owl Kitchen is hearty and wholesome and will quickly become a family favorite in your household!

The chicken sausage makes a delicious, budget option for a protein and the butternut squash can always be replaced by cheaper, in-season veggies.

5. Chicken Ramen 

This Chicken Ramen recipe from The Love of Ginger checks all the boxes – nutritious, easy, comforting and oh-so-full-of-flavor! This recipe includes ginger and garlic which are both loaded with nutrients, hardboiled eggs, sliced chicken and rice noodles. 

If it’s one thing, this is definitely not a recipe that is short on nourishment. I’m pretty sure you’ll be adding this to your dinner rotation week after week!

6. Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipes is yet another cheap healthy dinner from The Love of Ginger. Using ground meat is a great way to stay on budget without compromising on nutrition!

These wraps are quick and easy and will be on your plate in under 30 minutes. The recipe uses a few simple ingredients and is absolutely delish!

Pssst! Did you know you can save more money by meal planning? Meal Planning saves me thousands of dollars every year! Not sure how to get started? Grab a copy of my free Meal Planning e-guide below.

7. Taco Casserole

This Taco Casserole from Get Inspired Everyday will add fun and flair to your cheap healthy dinner lineup! This recipe is naturally gluten free and so delicious, your family will be begging for this every single week!

8. One Pot Chicken Curry Pasta

There are three things that I absolutely love – one pot meals, curry recipes and pasta. And this One Pot Chicken Curry Pasta from Bless This Meal has meshed all three of my favorites into one mouth-watering meal!

This recipe features creamy pasta, tender chicken, bold spices and a coconut curry sauce. Yum! Done in just 30 minutes, I love adding this to my cheap healthy dinners for the week!

9. Zucchini Tomato Mushroom Casserole

Low-carb and gluten-free, this Zucchini Tomato Mushroom Casserole from LikeHotKeto makes a great meatless dinner or can be served with a budget-friendly protein of your choice. This easy dump-and-bake casserole will become your go-to, cheap and healthy dinner recipe each week!

10. Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad

This Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad from Let Us Munch Lettuce is healthy, tasty and great for meal prepping! Feel free to substitute ingredients for cheaper alternatives for an even more budget-friendly dinner option!

11. Black Bean Curry

This Black Bean Curry recipe from Summer Yule is vegan, gluten-free and a budget meal that does not skimp on nutrition. It uses cheap pantry ingredients and spices for tons of flavor and definitely gives you value for your dollar!

12. Creamy Parmesan Basil Shrimp

I’m a sucker for a good creamy pasta dish! And this Creamy Parmesan Basil Shrimp recipe from Fox and Briar checks all of the boxes! It’s a restaurant quality dish without the restaurant quality price tag.

Plus, if you want to make this keto, simply serve with spaghetti squash or zoodles instead!

13. Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup

This creamy Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup from My Rad Kitchen combines delightful flavors for an absolutely delicious family dinner! Packed with nutrition, this comfort food will be a staple in your weekly dinner rotation!

14. Harissa Chickpea Stuffed Peppers

This Harissa Chickpea Stuffed Peppers recipe from Balancing Bowls is delicious, hearty and healthy! This is a great recipe for leftovers in the refrigerator that need to be used up. It’s versatile and flexible – just what you need when you’re on a budget!

15. Lamb Mince Ragu

If you love the deep flavors from slow-simmered meals, you’ll love this Lamb Mince Ragu recipe from Mad Creations! This recipe is incredibly simple and super delicious. Plus, you can use any ground meat that is cheapest when shopping!

16. Green Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

This Green Lentil Shepherd’s Pie recipe from Thriving in Parenting is a much loved classic dish with a vegetarian twist. This dish incorporates simple and cheap ingredients for a flavorful and cozy meal!

17. Sweet Potato and Ground Beef

You will love this Loaded Sweet Potato and Ground Beef recipe from Right At Home with Violet! It combines mouthwatering flavors, is seasoned to perfection and is a simple, healthy comfort food that is kid-approved. Win!

18. Shakshuka

Shakshuka is a hearty and saucy breakfast or brunch meal that is super healthy and delicious. It’s perfect for evenings when you don’t mind having breakfast for dinner! This Shakshuka recipe from Sunglow Kitchen is simple, flavorful and can be on your plate in just 20 minutes!

19. Dutch Oven Chili with Beef and Bacon

This Dutch Oven Chili from Simple and Fraiche is a hearty bowl of comfort with smoky bacon, tender beef and beans. This makes for a perfect cozy dinner on a budget that will leave you feeling extremely satisfied!

20. Lasagna Soup with Cottage Cheese

As a 30 minute, one-pot meal, you’ll be able to whip together this Lasagna Soup with Cottage Cheese from Simple and Fraiche in no time! Delicious, creamy and protein-packed, this will make an appearance on your meal plan every single week!

21. Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken

Who doesn’t love a recipe where the crockpot does all of the work? This Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken from Eating On a Dime is a nutritious, one-pot meal that is hearty, filling and oh-so-satisfying! 

This recipe uses simple pantry staples and is super easy on your pockets!

22. Chicken Stir Fry with Frozen Vegetables

A budget meal using pantry staples and freezer goods, this Chicken Stir Fry with Frozen Vegetables from Mae’s Menu will be a part of your dinner rotation week after week! This dish is adaptable so feel free to switch out ingredients to suit your family’s taste and budget!

23. Black Bean Burger

Burgers for dinner is always a huge hit in our home! Your family will love this healthy Black Bean Burger from Buttered Veg. It’s budget-friendly, nutritious and is the perfect option for your next meatless dinner night!

24. Arroz con Pollo

This Arroz con Pollo or One Pot Chicken and Yellow Rice from A Latin Flair is packed with Latin flavor that you’ll just can’t get enough of! Filling and flavorful, this budget recipe is a must on our list of cheap healthy dinners!

25. Crispy Chipotle Herbs Muffin Tin Potatoes Stacks

This Crispy Chipotle Herbs Muffin Tin Potatoes Stacks recipe from A Latin Flair is crispy, golden goodness on a budget! As a fun and creative dinner option, your family will be begging for more!

Bonus Money Saving Tips for Saving Money on Food & Groceries

• Meal Plan to Save Money

When you meal plan, half the work is already done when it comes to cooking at home! Ok ok… maybe not half the work. Quarter perhaps? I guess what I’m trying to explain is that meal planning is pretty damn important!

Meal planning sets you up for a successful week of cooking. Sometime during your weekend, you should make it a priority to plan and write down all of your meals for the upcoming week. And yes, that includes every breakfast, every lunch and every dinner!

When meal planning to save money, ensure that the meals on your list are budget-friendly options that are also healthy and nutritious. That’s right, lobster and caviar will not be making it on your meal plan this week!

If you do plan to get takeout one evening, be sure to include that on your meal plan too. Also, double up on recipes and plan for a few leftover days – anything to simplify cooking your cheap healthy dinners! Trust me, as a tired mom, I get it.

When money is tight, meal plans can also be created around the ingredients that you already have available in your pantry and kitchen garden. Less groceries to buy equals more money in your pockets! 

Not sure how to get started meal planning? This $5 Meal Plan is a gamechanger! It will simplify your meal planning, help you stay on track with your food budget, and can help you save hundreds of dollars every month. Each meal costs about $2 per person (or less!). Try it here (with no strings attached) for FREE (for two weeks).

• Make a Grocery List (& Stick to it)

Once you have your meals all planned out, the next step is to make a grocery list based on your budget and the ingredients that you’ll need for the week. Don’t forget to doublecheck your pantry for the ingredients that you already have. No wasting and overspending over here!

When making your grocery list, keep an eye out for ingredients that can be swapped out for cheaper alternatives. Most recipes are flexible and can be altered a little to suit your budget and taste buds. Simple habits like switching to in-season veggies or frozen / ground proteins can help you save a ton. Which brings me to the next tip.

• Stick to your Budget

When you’re trying to save money, sticking to your grocery list and grocery budget is a must! There are several little hacks and tricks I use to try to stay on budget.

Ordering groceries online for delivery is a gamechanger! Have you ever gone to the grocery store with your grocery list but got sidetracked by the yummy desserts, pretty displays, seasonal decor and the dollar bins? I don’t know how but I end up with 93820165 things more than what I had on my list.

Shopping in-store on budget takes some serious self control – something I don’t like risking (lol). If you’ve got this level of self control, by all means go ahead! But I can attest that shopping online takes the temptation out and helps me stick to my list and my budget.

If you want to go shopping in-store, try to limit your grocery shopping to one designated day. And go with your blinders on – blind to everything but what is on your list!

Remember that you should not be grocery shopping while hungry (especially when in-store with wafts of bakery goods in the air), if you want to prevent overspending. Also, generic brands are just as good (sometimes even better) as name-brands and help you save so much money!

• Use Cashback Apps to Save Money

My TOP money-saving hack when it comes to saving money on groceries is taking advantage of cashback apps! Cashback apps pay you money for doing your shopping via their app. Now imagine getting paid every time you doing your grocery shopping? Awesome, right?

So, how does this work? Well, instead of going directly to the website of your preferred grocery store, you can use an app like Tada to do your shopping. Tada partners with hundreds of retailers including many large and popular grocery stores.

When you access these stores via the app, you get back a percentage of what you spend. It’s basically free money. You get cashback for items you were planning to buy anyway. It’s a no brainer when you’re trying to save money!

Using a Cashback App such as Tada can earn you hundreds of dollars over time because every little adds up!  In fact, why not take advantage of the $15 Welcome Bonus from Tada when you first get started?

• Start a Kitchen Garden

Cheap healthy dinners are a breeze when you have a kitchen garden at arm’s length! In a time where fruits and vegetables are Mr. Fruit and Queen Vegetable, having these at home can actually cut your grocery budget by half and eliminate the need to compromise on nutrition when planning and cooking dinners for the week!

Starting a kitchen garden requires very little effort and money. Replanting chives or the seeds of your favorite vegetables can be done in just a few minutes, with just a few dollars. And oh-what-a-big-difference does it make! 

• Meal Prep to Simplify the Cooking Process

Set yourself up for success by meal prepping in advance! Use your weekends to cut up vegetables and marinate meats and then store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. When you know dinner is as simple as tossing your ingredients into a pan, you’re more likely to stick to the plan!

• Increase your Income

Hey, even a frugal nut like me can admit that frugal living and saving money can only get you so far when it comes to improving your finances. The real magic happens when you combine your frugal efforts with side hustling and increasing your income!

True financial freedom comes when you CHOOSE to make cheap healthy dinners rather than NEED to because you’re broke and desperate. Thankfully, we live in the age of the internet and there are lots of ways to make money without even leaving your sofa. 

Choose a side hustle, stick with it and increase your income. You’ll thank me later.

Additional Info on Cheap Healthy Dinners – FAQs

How do I feed my family with $10?

Feeding your family with $10 is easy. If you want your meal to be nutritious while sticking to this budget, simply select an in-season vegetable, a cheap protein and a cheap carb such as pasta. However, tough times call for tough measures! I have fed my family of 4 with less in the past!

In fact, I have fed my family on just $2.71 a day with this $19 Weekly Meal Plan! Yep, that included three square meals a day! Sometimes you just need to get innovative and creative!

How do I eat healthy when I’m broke?

There are several things you can do to eat healthy, even if you’re broke. In-season fruits are vegetables are often much cheaper and ingredients from your favorite recipes can be switched out to include these cheaper alternatives instead.

Upkeeping a kitchen garden is also a great way to eat healthy when you have no money. A kitchen garden is inexpensive to maintain and is extremely beneficial when you’re trying to a stick to a healthy, budget-friendly diet and meal plan!

You can also try meal planning and including recipes like the cheap healthy dinners that I’ve included on this list, using generic brands to save money and using cashback apps like Tada.

How do I cook healthy on a tight budget?

You can cook healthy on a tight budget by meal planning, using cheap recipes, sticking to your grocery list, maintaining a kitchen garden, buying generic brands and using in-season fruits and vegetables!

Related Posts on Cheap Healthy Dinners

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Cheap Dinners for a Family ($29/Week Meal Plan)

Cheap Dinner Ideas that Cost $1 per Person

Final Thoughts on Cheap Healthy Dinners

All of these cheap healthy dinners are sure to become a huge hit in your household! Now your dinner line up can be fun, exciting and best of all, wholesome and nutritious – all while sticking to your budget!

Are there other cheap healthy dinners that you swear by? Share with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

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25 Cheap Healthy Dinners