If you’re looking for cheap, healthy meals, these ideas are guaranteed to satisfy any of your cravings. With more than a month’s worth of nutritious meals on a budget, you’ll soon learn how to use inexpensive but flavor-packed ingredients to bring well-balanced meals to your table.
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Moroccan Chicken and Cauliflower Stew
Carson Downing
Budget dinner price: $2.97 per serving
Choose your own adventure with this North African-inspired feast. The chicken, chickpea, and veggie stew can be made on your stove top in a Dutch oven, or you can hit fast-forward with a pressure cooker or go low and slow with a slow cooker. Using either of these methods will treat you to a healthy meal on a budget that’s low in calories, high in protein, and nicely spiced with cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne.
Turmeric-Ginger Marinated Chicken
Andy Lyons
Budget dinner price: $2.93 per serving
The spice—and the price—are right for this Indian-inspired cheap, healthy meal. Serve the turmeric- and ginger-infused grilled chicken on a bed of basmati rice (included in the price estimate) to round out the meal. Save leftover sliced meat to tuck inside warm pita bread or a tortilla for a lunch wrap the next day.
Mini Meat Loaves, Green Beans, and Potatoes
Blaine Moats
Budget dinner price: $2.29 per serving
Meatloaf secures a top spot on the list of easy, cheap, healthy meals when you use lean ground beef and boost the filling factor with inexpensive spuds. And don’t you love how sheet-pan dinners like this one require so little cleanup time? Cooking everything on one foil-lined pan speeds it up.
Pizza Primavera
Budget dinner price: $2.29 per serving
You’d be hard-pressed to find a delivery pizza as affordable as this homemade healthy dinner recipe. Start with store-bought whole wheat flatbreads to make the Mediterranean meal a practical choice, even on a weeknight.
Cottage Cheese Alfredo
Jake Sternquist
Budget dinner price: $1.21 per serving
Noodle dishes are known to be easy on the wallet, but they’re often short on protein. Here cottage cheese goes a long way to add a rich flavor and a little extra protein to cheap, healthy meals like this one. Whole wheat noodles help too.
Cilantro-Lime Pork
Karla Conrad
Budget dinner price: $1.70 per serving
Low in fat (6 grams per portion) yet high in protein (a strong 28 grams), this five-ingredient slow cooker pork recipe checks all the boxes. Healthy? Yes. Simple? Only 10 minutes of prep required. Affordable? Indeed—it’s one of the lowest-cost options in this collection of cheap, healthy meals.
Egg and Soba Noodle Bowl
Budget dinner price: $1.31 per serving
Here’s a cheap, healthy vegetarian meal you’ll want to make again and again. With 13 grams of protein and a nice portion of hunger-taming broth and noodles, this soup will fill you up for hours. Soft cooked eggs join fresh veggies in this cozy, crowd-pleasing Asian noodle soup.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Jason Donnelly
Budget dinner price: $1.82 per serving
Breaded with whole wheat panko and baked instead of fried, this eggplant Parmesan is 600 calories less than some classic recipes. Keep your nutrition streak going by grabbing a couple of zucchini at the store to spiralize, toss with the rest of the marinara, and serve under the baked eggplant. Voilà—a budget dinner recipe for four that tastes up to par with its restaurant competition.
Skillet Lasagna
Jacob Fox
Budget dinner price: $2.57 per serving
A few decades ago, “stretch the meat” was the mantra for cutting costs at dinnertime. It’s still a great strategy for making cheap, healthy meals even more affordable. Here wide egg noodles, mushrooms, and a bit of cheese extend 8 ounces of ground beef to provide five hearty servings. One bite will be all the proof you need that you can absolutely make satisfying suppers without making meat the main event.
Chicken with Parmesan Noodles
Blaine Moats
Budget dinner price: $2.10 per serving
You only need 20 minutes and $12.60 worth of groceries to pull off our chicken and pasta dinner for six. To maximize your cheap, healthy dinner recipes, never let any ingredients go to waste. Instead, use any leftover pesto in these quick and easy pesto recipes.
Scalloped Potato and Ham Soup
Brie Passano
Budget dinner price: $0.81 per serving
Turn budget-friendly ham and potatoes into a delicacy by making this creamy soup and topping it with crispy breadcrumbs. Not into ham? Try this with sliced smoked turkey instead.
White Bean Tuna Salad
Andy Lyons
Budget dinner price: $1.36 per serving
Your favorite Tuscan-inspired restaurant may not be the first place you’d head to get inspiration for healthy meals on the cheap. But much of this Italian region’s cuisine is humble and healthy. Tuscan cooks are fond of using cannellini beans. Here the beans partner with other great Mediterranean diet-friendly ingredients for a true-to-Italy dish that won’t break the bank or your nutrition goals.
Jammy Egg Salad
Grant Webster
Budget dinner price: $2.67 per serving
On the hunt for affordable, healthy meals that work for dinner or brunch? Get cracking—eggs, that is. Here protein-rich, budget-friendly eggs pair with other pantry staples for a cheap and easy recipe under 300 calories per serving. Save even more money when you substitute dried herbs you have on hand for the fresh herbs.
Quick and Easy Chili Recipe
BHG / Abbey Littlejohn
Budget dinner price: $0.72 per serving
Start planning your next chili night now. This low-cost ground beef chili recipe can be prepped in 25 minutes. Make the chili ahead and come home to a healthy dinner loaded with veggies and 32 grams of protein per serving.
Chili-Pasta Skillet
Jason Donnelly
Budget dinner price: $1.61 per serving
Not only does this well-balanced pasta recipe clock in at under 300 calories per serving, but it also takes only 20 minutes to prepare. Comforting chili flavors, pasta, and cheese make this meal a family favorite. Oh yes, and it all comes together in one pan.
Fajitas
Jacob Fox
Budget dinner price: $1.25 per serving
Grilling vegetables brings out their natural sweetness; in this recipe, they’re spiced and seasoned to give the fajitas extra flavor. Bonus: If you grill no matter the season, this dish belongs in your regular rotation of budget-friendly healthy dinner recipes because you can find these veggies any time of year.
Southwestern Meatball Soup
Brie Goldman
Budget dinner price: $1.23 per serving
This dump dinner might be the easiest of all: It requires no chopping or measuring. How easy is that? Pantry ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time, and great flavor combine to make this a cheap, healthy dinner idea for any night of the week.
Greek-Inspired Quinoa Salad with Feta and Lemon Dressing
Carson Downing
Budget dinner price: $1.50 per serving
Easy, cheap, healthy meals don’t get fresher or more flavorful than this. The 20-minute recipe features favorites from the Mediterranean diet, including quinoa, feta cheese, olives, and peppers, for a meal bursting with flavor that still feels light.
Copycat Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Brie Goldman
Budget dinner price: $2.24 per serving
We’ll never say no to pasta dinners, but sometimes, we’re more in the mood for potatoes. On those nights, we turn to gnocchi, a traditional potato-based Italian dumpling. This healthy dinner brings together chicken, spinach, and a plethora of seasonings to make one delicious dinner that you’d never guess is budget-friendly. The veggies amp up the nutrients, too.
Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach
Kritsada Panichgul
Budget dinner price: $1.48 per serving
Just two pans and 20 minutes later, a serving of this recipe fulfills 20% of your daily iron intake. It’s a great choice when you’re looking for low-sodium recipes too. It makes four side-dish servings, or double each portion for a cheap, healthy dinner recipe for two that rings in just under our main-dish limit at $2.96.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
BHG / CARA CORMACK
Budget dinner price: $1.19 per serving
When you need a cheap, easy, healthy meal, it’s time for a stir-fry. The pre-chopped broccoli saves time in the kitchen and keep you below your grocery budget without sacrificing nutrition. Lighten the meal more by opting for low-cal bottled hoisin sauce and low-sodium soy sauce.
Veggie Mac and Cheese
Andy Lyons
Budget dinner price: $1.29 per serving
Mac and cheese probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of nutritious dinner ideas. (You probably associate it more with an indulgent childhood lunch.) But when you use whole-grain pasta, broccoli, carrots, and reduced-fat cheese, it transforms into a healthy dinner recipe on a budget.
Bubble Pizza
Grant Webster. Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman. Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
Budget dinner price: $1.39 per serving
Inspired by the casseroles you may have eaten growing up, this bubble pizza recipe starts with canned biscuits and ground beef. Round out the cheap dinner idea with pizza sauce and shredded cheese. If you’d like, you can add more of your favorite pizza toppings like mushrooms, olives, and peppers.
Dump and Bake Chicken Alfredo
Rachel Marek
Budget dinner price: $2.84 per serving
A squeeze of lemon helps cut through the richness of this easy chicken casserole recipe. As one BHG home cook shared, “I think dump and bake pasta dishes are my new favorite thing—how simple and tasty!”
Irish-Italian Spaghetti
Rachel Marek
Budget dinner price: $2.71 per serving
Cream of mushroom soup and condensed tomato soup are the secret to this easy dinner idea. With just 15 minutes of prep, you can have a comforting bowl of pasta on the table that everyone will love.
Skillet Taco Pie
Blaine Moats
Budget dinner price: $0.80 per serving
A pound of ground turkey is the start of this budget dinner. Round out the meal with crushed taco shells, black beans, and salsa. Add your favorite veggies on top. We like a mix of diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce.
Lemon-Pepper Air-Fryer Shrimp and Veggies
Jason Donnelly
Budget dinner price: $2.70 per serving
Shrimp is a surprisingly budget-friendly protein option. Here, we’re rounding out the meal with inexpensive pantry staples like veggies and pasta. You can have the whole dish on the table in just 20 minutes.
Porcupine Meatballs
Rachel Marek
Budget dinner price: $0.33 per serving
Many of us at BHG grew up eating these ground beef and rice porcupine meatballs. Today, we love the skillet recipe for a quick weeknight meal. Serve this budget dinner with white rice and frozen veggies for a well-balanced meal.
Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast
Grant Webster
Budget dinner price: $2.50 per serving
This slow cooker recipe has earned rave reviews since we first published it. As one BHG home cook raves, “This recipe is so good. It’s a hit with everyone each time I make it. A repeat dinner for us.”
Swamp Soup
Jake Sternquist
Budget dinner price: $3.00 per serving
If you can’t find fresh turnip greens, this is a great place to use inexpensive canned greens. Round out the recipe with bean, andouille sausage, and dried pasta. Spice up the chicken broth a package of vegetable recipe mix.
Dirty Martini Pasta
Rachel Marek
Budget dinner price: $2.67 per serving
This pasta recipe is filled with all the must-have ingredients to make a great martini. Toss spaghetti in our quick vodka sauce that’s flavored with lemon, butter, blue cheese, and olives. A sprinkle of fresh parsley adds the finishing touch.
One-Pot French Onion Pasta
Jacob Fox
Budget dinner price: $1.23 per serving
If you love the flavors of French onion soup, but want a more substantial meal, try this easy pasta recipe. Here thinly sliced onions help make the sauce along with two kinds of cheese, dry white wine, and beef stock. This one-pot pasta recipe comes together in under an hour.