Feeding a family every night adds up fast, especially when grocery prices keep climbing. The good news is that you don’t need expensive ingredients to put a filling, comforting dinner on the table.
These cheap meals for family dinners are built on budget-friendly staples like ground beef, chicken thighs, beans, rice, pasta, and potatoes. You’ll find one-pan skillets, slow cooker favorites, cozy casseroles, and big pots of soup that make enough for leftovers.
Every recipe below links to the full recipe with ingredients and step-by-step instructions. Pick a few for this week and save the rest for later.
Table of Contents
What Makes a Meal Cheap and Family-Friendly?
- Budget-friendly protein:ground beef, chicken thighs, eggs, and beans.
- Filling sides built in:rice, pasta, potatoes, and tortillas stretch every serving.
- Few ingredients:many of these recipes use 10 ingredients or fewer.
- Big batches:casseroles, chili, and soups that feed the whole family, often with leftovers.
Cheap Ground Beef Dinners
Ground beef is one of the easiest ways to make cheap meals for family dinners. Pair it with rice, potatoes, pasta, or tortillas, and a little goes a long way.
1. Tex Mex Ground Beef Skillet
Ground beef, rice, corn, black beans, and Rotel cook together in one skillet with homemade taco seasoning and a little cheddar. It’s ready in about 30 minutes, serves 4, and is a great way to use up leftover rice.
Get the recipe: Tex Mex Ground Beef Skillet
2. Cheesy Hamburger Soup
Half a pound of ground beef goes a long way in this creamy soup packed with potatoes, carrots, celery, and cheddar cheese. It serves 4 and is ready in about 40 minutes.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Hamburger Soup
3. Korean Ground Beef Bowl
Ground beef simmered in a sweet and savory soy, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger sauce, served over white rice. It takes about 20 minutes and only 10 ingredients.
Get the recipe: Korean Ground Beef Bowl
4. Cheesy Ground Beef and Potatoes Casserole
Thinly sliced potatoes layered with ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sharp cheddar. Simple pantry ingredients bake into a hearty casserole that serves 6.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Ground Beef and Potatoes Casserole
5. Cheeseburger Potato Soup
All the flavor of a cheeseburger in a creamy soup with ground beef, russet potatoes, cheddar, and diced dill pickles. It serves 6 and is ready in about 50 minutes.
Get the recipe: Cheeseburger Potato Soup
6. Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
Seasoned ground beef and melty shredded cheese tucked into flour tortillas and cooked until crispy. The recipe makes 6 servings in about 35 minutes.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
7. Copycat Wendy’s Chili
A big pot of chili made with ground beef, kidney and pinto beans, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and celery. The beans stretch the meat, and it serves 6.
Get the recipe: Copycat Wendy’s Chili
8. Ground Beef Gnocchi
Store-bought potato gnocchi and ground beef simmer in a creamy tomato sauce with Parmesan. It’s a one-pan dinner that’s ready in about 25 minutes and serves 4.
Get the recipe: Ground Beef Gnocchi
9. Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Ground beef patties simmered in a rich mushroom gravy turn one pound of ground beef into a comforting dinner for 5. Serve them with mashed potatoes or rice to make the meal even more filling.
Get the recipe: Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
10. Parmesan Meatloaf
A mix of ground beef and ground turkey with Parmesan, Italian herbs, and marinara on top. One meatloaf serves 6, and leftovers make easy sandwiches the next day.
Get the recipe: Parmesan Meatloaf
Budget-Friendly Chicken Dinners
Chicken thighs and simple slow cooker recipes make it easy to feed everyone without overspending.
11. Easy Baked Chicken Thighs
Just 4 ingredients: bone-in chicken thighs, garlic powder, dried minced onion, and salt. Chicken thighs are usually one of the most budget-friendly cuts, and this recipe serves 4.
Get the recipe: Easy Baked Chicken Thighs
12. Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Only 3 ingredients: chicken thighs, a jar of salsa, and taco seasoning. Shred it for tacos, burrito bowls, or rice. The recipe makes 8 servings.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Salsa Chicken
13. One Pot Chicken and Rice
Paprika-spiced chicken thighs cooked in one pot with turmeric rice, bell pepper, and peas. Dinner and side dish in one, ready in about 35 minutes for 4.
Get the recipe: One Pot Chicken and Rice
14. Dolly Parton’s 5-Ingredient Casserole
Shredded cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, buttery crackers, and melted butter. Five ingredients, one baking dish, and 6 servings.
Get the recipe: Dolly Parton’s 5-Ingredient Casserole
15. Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
Six simple ingredients, including chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, onion, and refrigerated biscuit dough, turn into a cozy slow cooker dinner for 6.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
16. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Chicken, rice, broccoli, and cheddar baked in a creamy sauce with a crunchy cracker topping. A complete meal in one dish that serves 6.
Get the recipe: Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
17. Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
Chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, stuffing mix, and green beans cook together in the slow cooker. A 6-ingredient comfort meal.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
18. Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and egg noodles simmered in broth. One big pot serves 6 and is perfect for chilly nights.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Cheap Pasta, Bean and Soup Dinners
Pasta, beans, potatoes, and canned tomatoes are pantry staples that make filling dinners without a lot of meat.
19. Baked Spaghetti Casserole
Spaghetti baked with eggs, Parmesan, cottage cheese, jarred spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella. Eight simple ingredients make 8 servings.
Get the recipe: Baked Spaghetti Casserole
20. Black Bean Burrito Bowl
Seasoned black beans and rice topped with red cabbage, avocado, salsa, and cilantro. A meatless dinner that serves 6.
Get the recipe: Black Bean Burrito Bowl
21. Minestrone Soup
A hearty vegetable soup with beans, small pasta, carrots, celery, green beans, and canned tomatoes. It serves 6 and is ready in about 50 minutes.
Get the recipe: Minestrone Soup
22. Crock Pot Potato Soup
Just 7 ingredients: potatoes, vegetable stock, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and milk. The slow cooker does the work, and it serves 6.
Get the recipe: Crock Pot Potato Soup
23. Easy Tomato Soup
Roasted fresh tomatoes, onion, and garlic blended with vegetable broth and a splash of cream. The recipe makes about 8 cups of soup.
Get the recipe: Easy Tomato Soup
24. Copycat Cracker Barrel Mac and Cheese
Elbow pasta in a creamy Colby cheese sauce, ready in about 30 minutes and enough for 8 servings.
Get the recipe: Copycat Cracker Barrel Mac and Cheese
25. Vegetable Beef Soup
Beef stew meat stretched with lots of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, celery, tomatoes, peas, and corn. One big pot makes 8 servings.
Get the recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup
Tips for Making Cheap Meals for Family Dinners
- Stretch the meat:add beans, rice, potatoes, or pasta so one pound of meat feeds more people.
- Choose budget-friendly proteins:ground beef, chicken thighs, eggs, and canned beans are easy to work with.
- Keep pantry staples on hand:rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, broth, and cream of chicken soup show up in many of these recipes.
- Cook once, eat twice:soups, chili, and casseroles make extra servings for lunch the next day.
- Use your slow cooker:crockpot recipes like salsa chicken and potato soup need only a few ingredients.
- Plan your week:pick 3 or 4 recipes that share ingredients so nothing goes to waste.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest meal to make for a family?
Meals built on pantry staples, like a black bean burrito bowl, crock pot potato soup, or minestrone, are usually the most affordable. They rely on beans, potatoes, rice, or pasta instead of a lot of meat.
How can I feed a family of 4 on a budget?
Start with cheap meals for family dinners that stretch a pound of meat with rice, potatoes, or beans, such as the Tex Mex ground beef skillet or cheesy hamburger soup. Planning meals that share ingredients also helps you spend less.
What are some cheap crockpot meals for families?
Crockpot salsa chicken, crockpot chicken and dumplings, crockpot chicken and stuffing, crockpot chicken noodle soup, and crock pot potato soup are all simple slow cooker dinners on this list.
Which cheap meals have the fewest ingredients?
Crockpot salsa chicken uses 3 ingredients, easy baked chicken thighs use 4, and Dolly Parton’s casserole uses 5.
Final Thoughts on These Cheap Meals for Family Dinners
Feeding your family on a budget doesn’t have to mean boring dinners. With ground beef, chicken thighs, beans, rice, and potatoes, these cheap meals for family dinners are filling, cozy, and easy to make on busy weeknights.
Looking for more ideas? Try our19 Easy Breakfast Ideas, ourFall Dinner Ideas, or our25 Easy Dinner Ideas Without Meat.
Save this list to your Pinterest board so you always have a cheap dinner idea ready. Which recipe will you make first?