Frugal Meals

50 Frugal Meals to Make When You’re Broke

When looking for ways to save money, reducing your grocery bill is a good place to start.

Cooking at home and shopping smart are two very important money saving tips for families.

By purchasing inexpensive frugal foods, you can speed less of food while still eating good and healthy meals.

In this blog post, I’m going to share with you 50 frugal meals you can make when you’re broke.

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50 Frugal Meals to Make When You're Broke

Frugal Food Tips

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Frugal Foods to Buy

Before we jump into our frugal meals let’s start with identifying some frugal foods.  Here is a list of 50 Frugal Foods you can buy that will help you create these dishes.

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50 Frugal Meals to Make When You’re Broke

Here is a listing of cheap meals you can make when money is tight.  You’ll find frugal recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Meals on this list are frugal and most of them are healthy as well. Use this to keep track of the recipes that your family likes.

Frugal Meals - French Toast for Breakfast

Frugal Breakfast Meals

1 – Fried Egg Grilled Cheese Sandwich – Great Grub Delicious Treats

2 – Potato Hash with a Fried Egg – Cooking NY Times

3 – French Toast – All Recipes

Frugal Meals - Tomato Soup for Lunch

Frugal Lunch Meals

4 – Peanut Butter Apple Wraps – Ready Set Eat

5 – Tuna Melts – All Recipes

6 – Fried Bologna Sandwiches (Southern Style) – Genius Kitchen

7 – Egg Salad for Sandwiches – All Recipes

8 – Tomato Soup – Inspired Taste

Frugal Meals - Spaghetti

Frugal Dinner Meals

 9 – Barbecue Beef Stew – Living On A Dime

10 – BBQ Pork Sandwiches – Natasha’s Kitchen

11 – Bean & Cheese Freezer Burritos – Graceful LIttle Honey Bee

12 – Beef Stroganoff – Hip Foodie Mom

13 – Black Bean Burgers – Food Network

14 – Budget Shepherd’s Pie – Diva’s On A Dime

15 – Chicken Broccoli Alfredo – Damn Delicious

16 – Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole – The Pinning Mama

17 – Chicken Carbonara – My Incredible Recipes

18 – Chicken Lo Mein – Popsugar

19 – Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs – She Wears Many Hats

20 – Cole Slaw – Shugary Sweets

21 – Corn Bread – High Heels & Grills

22 – Cream of Carrot Soup – Four Hats & Frugal

23 – Creole White Beans with Chicken – Budget Bytes

24 – Frito Chili Pie – Pioneer Woman

Related Post: Kitchen Gadgets for Fast & Healthy Eating

Frugal Meals - Broccoli

25 – Garlic Bread – Food Marriage

26 – Green Salad – Babble

27 – Hamburger Steak – Four Hats & Frugal

28 – Homemade Pizzas – Yummy Addiction

29 – Homemade Pizza Sauce– Cherish Bliss

30 – Instant Pot Chili – The Free Range Life

31 – Jambalaya – Budget Bytes

32 – Kielbasa and Potato Skillet – Mom Needs Chocolate

33 – Kielbasa Hash – The Two Bite Club

34 – Louisiana Red Beans & Rice – Budget Bytes

35 – Mexican Taco Bake – Kraft Recipes

36 – Oven Fries – Taste of Home

37 – Pan Roasted Corn – Ready Set Eat

38 – Penne Rosa with Chicken – Oh So Delicioso

Frugal Meals - Fried Rice

39 – Pork Fried Rice – The Woks of Life

40 – Ravioli Lasagna – Mrs Happy Homemaker

41 – Salsa – Pioneer Woman

42 – Sloppy Joes – Pioneer Woman

43 – Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings – All Recipes

44 – Spicy Green Beans – Domestic Superhero

45 – Taco Soup – I Heart Nap Time

46 – Tater Tot Bake – All Recipes

47 – Texas Toast Pizza – Crafty Morning

48 – Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps – Skinny Taste

49 – White Chicken Enchiladas – Recipe Tin Eats

50 – {Zucchini} Poorman’s Crab Cakes – The Free Range Life

It’s time to start saving money and eating healthy.

Leave a comment and share some of the frugal meals that your family enjoys.

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50 Frugal Meals to Make When Money is Tight

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38 thoughts on “50 Frugal Meals to Make When You’re Broke”

  1. Wow this is so comprehensive and has sorted me out for the rest of the year! Love frugal food even when money isn’t tight as it celebrates ingredients with simplicity. I’m enjoying reading through all of these.

  2. Haha I love the premise of this post! I think we could all stand to cut down our food budget a little bit.

  3. Hi, thank you for this. As a vegetarian and that doesn’t eat eggs, a mom to 2 make young adults, do you have a list that would be as comprehensive as the one you posted?

    Thank you

  4. Shawn,
    Hi!
    I am new to your site and I am really glad I read about these menus on a very strict budget. It is just my husband and I now and sometimes the money for groceries just doesn’t go far enough. With these recipes, not only will our food money go further but we will also be able to eat all 3 meals a day. This is doubly important for us as we are Type 2 diabetics and need to eat at least 3 meals a day but preferably, 6 small meals a day. With the simplicity of the ingredients and preparation of the meals time consumption for making them is lowered quite a bit also. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I look forward to finish reading these articles and future ones as well.

    1. Hi Georgia,
      Welcome to the site. I’m glad you found this article helpful. Make sure you check out our 50 Frugal Foods post as well as get your free copy of our 25 Frugal Food tips. Once you get the 25 frugal food tips you’ll be on our mailing list where you’ll get lots of other freebies to help you save money.

      Shawn 🙂

  5. I am a Senior leaving on a Pension and these meals will surely be on my List and help me to save on Groceries as I have most of this always in the fridge too. They are healthy and will fill me and my Husband up nicely and even have leftovers. Yeah

  6. Hi there , I am a Senior and My Husband and I are living on a Pension so Budget is tight, this will surely help and give us healthy and good recipes to eat , most of the ingredients I always have on hand too. They look so Yummy and Love the Chicken Carbonara recipe looks yummy and will even have some leftovers too YEAH , what more can you ask. Thank You

    1. Shawn ShaLest Jones

      Hey Sonia, It’s good to hear these recipes are helpful. I like that they are made from simple ingredients as well. Come back and let us know how you like the recipes.

      Shawn

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