I’ve Cooked (And Eaten) Hundreds Of Budget-Friendly Meals — These Are The 13 I’d Recommend Most Now That Everything's Expensive

And if your local grocery store is out of actual pastina, since Barilla is really the only major brand to manufacture it after Ronzoni pulled out of the game, you can easily swap the pastina for any tiny pasta shape of your choosing. Acini di pepe, alphabets, or even orzo would all be delicious choices.

Recipe: Pastina

Loosely inspired by Indian saag paneer but using coconut milk for added creaminess and roasted tofu for a paneer-like (but cheaper) chew, this recipe makes a lot of food, folks. Like, a "make it on Sunday and devour it for lunch every day of the week" amount — yet I never really get sick of it.

An entire pound of frozen spinach is the real star of the dish, which becomes velvety soft as it braises in a warmly-spiced coconut milk mixture. It also makes this dish astonishingly cheap, since using the fresh stuff would likely cost three times as much, if not more. And if I'm being 100% honest, using fresh spinach doesn't give the same luxuriously soft mouthfeel, either. All this to say, this recipe is why I always keep a bag of frozen spinach in my freezer and a block of tofu in my fridge.

Side note: If tofu isn't your thing, plenty of other cost-effective proteins will work just as nicely. I've tried this recipe with canned chickpeas, lentils, and even shredded rotisserie chicken and have thoroughly enjoyed each and every iteration, so customize away.

Recipe: Creamy Curried Spinach and Tofu

The beauty of this crowd-pleasing dinner from Ashley Marti is that it's a "Choose Your Own Adventure" feast, which means you can customize each and every component with whatever's cheapest at your local grocery store. It starts with flavorful bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and ends with rice and some veggies of your choosing.

The photo above was taken in the dead of winter, so I used torn kale and cubed butternut squash, but this dish is equally delicious when you can add in gorgeous, budget-friendly summer produce like zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and shucked corn. Basically, this dish makes an appearance in my kitchen each and every season, and I love that for me.

Recipe: Back-Pocket Chicken and Rice Skillet

I first cooked these wallet-friendly black bean tacos on a whim after stumbling upon a really, reaaaaally enticing Instagram Reel from the Plant Based R.D. I've been hooked ever since. The smoky black bean filling has a surprisingly meaty flavor and texture, especially the crispy edges that become beautifully caramelized as they bake in your oven. Not for nothing, they're also a 10/10 make-ahead work lunch if your office (or home office) has a toaster oven. Pop them in for five minutes or so, and they'll be just as shatteringly crisp as the day you made them.

Recipe: Crispy Black Bean Tacos

This gorgeously green pasta dish from Joshua McFadden, author of Six Seasons, has been a weeknight staple in my home for years. Originally, I loved it because it really only required me to purchase a bunch of kale and a box of pasta, since I almost always have garlic and Parmesan in my kitchen. Now, I'm obsessed with it because it's dirt cheap. And, you know, it's also just really pretty.

Recipe: Kale Sauce Pasta

If you hit a paywall when accessing the recipe above, you can find a very similar version here.

Inspired by butter chicken, a popular Northern Indian dish, Half Baked Harvest's butter cauliflower boasts a similar richly-spiced creaminess to the original but implements cauliflower for a cheaper (and vegan!) twist. The whole thing comes together in just about 30 minutes, and to make things even better, it's even tastier the next day.

Since the cauliflower is stewed in sauce until it's cooked through, I've found that using even-cheaper frozen cauliflower can save you more money with very little difference to the final dish — just defrost the cauliflower before you cook with it and pat it dry to remove any residual moisture.

Recipe: Coconut Butter Cauliflower

I've made these three-ingredient noodles more times than I care to admit on the internet. While two of the three ingredients, white miso and chili crisp, won't exactly be the cheapest groceries on your list, these ingredients will last you a very long time in your fridge — which ultimately brings the cost per serving down to a level that I'd classify as delightfully inexpensive.

Beans are inarguably the quintessential budget ingredient, but I can't exactly say that all recipes starring them are particularly exciting. This silky white bean skillet from Family Style Food, however, is one giant exception. You'll end up with lots of food that you can easily bulk up when it's time for leftovers, and since the recipe relies heavily on pantry staples, you likely won't even have to add many new ingredients to your grocery list.

I love a budget recipe that you can easily stretch when it's time to eat leftovers, and this one's as stretchable as they come. Eating this dish with crusty bread is highly recommended, both so you can soak up all that delicious broth and because the addition of bread keeps the cost per serving incredibly low. And when you're running low on leftovers, try bulking up this dish by adding more broth and some cooked rice to turn it into a filling soup. Trust me, I've done this more than a handful of times, and it's nearly unbelievable how many days I can make this simple dish last — in all its various formats.

Recipe: Creamy Skillet White Beans with Parmesan

The older I get, the less I want to stand over a hot stove stirring, sautéing, boiling, and ultimately sweating all over whatever I'm cooking for dinner. Enter: these sheet pan fajitas from The Modern Proper that made me realize how genuinely helpful the humble sheet pan could be.

I could eat these nightly and be perfectly happy, and if I were to do so, my wallet would be thrilled with me. The only work you'll have to do is chop up some veggies and chicken, toss them with some taco seasoning and olive oil, and roast until cooked through. Five minutes of hands-on work, tops.

Recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Adapted from a 2009 issue of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine by blogger Alexandra Cooks, I can confidently say that the simple sauce included in this recipe is one of my Top 10 sauces of all time. Really! It's garlic-forward, packs just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the heat, and every time I've served this dish, I have literally licked my bowl clean.

Even if you're not a tofu person, I have a feeling you might end up loving this one. Though it seems backward, simmering the tofu in water actually draws out some of its moisture, so you're left with tofu that has a substantial and satisfying chew. Almost like...dare I say...meat. But, you know, not meat, obviously.

Recipe: Warm Tofu with Spicy Garlic Sauce

Well Plated's chicken cacciatore is magical, for lack of a better word. I mean, you've never tasted chicken as melt-in-your-mouth tender as the stuff that this recipe produces. Allowing boneless chicken thighs to simmer in a bright, acid-forward sauce of tomatoes and white wine makes them extraordinarily tender, and as an added bonus, your home will smell incredible for hours.

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

Just when I thought I was over butternut squash soups for good, I encountered this recipe from Minimalist Baker. It made me do a complete 180. Compared to most squash soup recipes which are, in my humble opinion, overly sweet and not very compelling in the flavor department, this recipe is mouth-wateringly savory, just sweet enough without tasting like dessert, and just...really interesting. I have no notes! It's heavy on the garlic and shallot, which really counteract the sweet punch of the squash, and the addition of curry powder and chili garlic paste gives it a zing that's hard to beat.

You can easily bulk it up with some toasted bread or even some homemade croutons, like the ones above, but I honestly think it's a perfect lunch or light dinner all on its own. And listen, y'all: I know the pre-chopped packages of squash at the store seem amazing and convenient, and they are, but if you want to make this meal on the cheap, opt for whole butternut squash. It'll cost you half as much, and I promise they're much easier to break down than you might think.

Recipe: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

This soy-searing method from Andrea Nguyen, featured in Food52's cookbook Simply Genius, deserves an award. If you've ever cooked tofu before, you'll know that the prep can be surprisingly fussy for a weeknight meal. Here, there's no pressing, patting dry, or freezing required, which is music to my ears.

It's ridiculously easy, extremely delicious, and when served with budget-friendly accompaniments like roasted veggies or steamed rice, very cheap.

Recipe: Soy-Seared Tofu