30 Frugal Meal Ideas (for when you’re broke) + Video

A collage of frugal meals.

Check out this list of 30 extremely frugal meal ideas for when you’re broke and need to feed your people on a small budget. Here you’ll find lots of cheap breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas, so read on to save money my friend.

A collage of frugal meals.

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30 Frugal Meal Ideas (for when you’re broke)

Most people overspend on food simply because there are too many options at the grocery store. Think about what our ancestors ate: meats, vegetables, breads, soups, etc. They kept it simple because they didn’t have a lot to choose from.

If we take a page from history and limit our dining options as our grandparents probably did, then we’ll end up healthier and be able to save a lot of money in the process.

WARNING: If you’re afraid of carbs then this list is not for you. When you have no money, carbs are your friend because they’re cheap and filling.

Also, if you’re interested in getting cash back on grocery purchases that you’re already buying such as milk or produce then you’ve got to check out IBOTTA.

I use this app regularly to save money on my grocery bill. No coupons needed. They have offers for almost every store and you can even use it when you do a grocery pick up at Wal-Mart. Now on to the frugal meal ideas!

Want more Cheap and Frugal Meal Ideas and Recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:

40 Groceries to Stop Buying and Start Making to Save Money
50 Cheap and Easy Recipes for When You’re on a Budget
35 Frugal Recipes to Make When You’re Broke
35 Frugal Foods to Buy When You’re Broke

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A collage of frugal breakfasts.

Breakfast

Egg Muffins with Toast

Baked Oatmeal or Regular Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

Brown Rice with Butter and Sugar

Cinnamon Sugar Toast with Yogurt

Banana and Yogurt

Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Veggies

Pancakes with Fruit

Fried Potatoes and Eggs

Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

Homemade Waffles

A collage of frugal lunches and dinners.

Lunch

Leftovers

Cheese and Crackers with Fruit

Pasta Salad with Fresh Veggies

Turkey or Ham Sandwich and Fruit

Beans on Toast

Baked Potato and Side Salad

Grilled Chicken Salad with Veggies

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Peanut Butter and Jelly with Fruit

Homemade Tuna Salad Sandwich with Fruit

Dinner

Spaghetti with Homemade Tomato Sauce and Homemade Bread

Beans and Cornbread

Homemade Bean and Cheese Burritos

Vegetarian Chili

Chicken Noodle Soup and Homemade Bread

Super Simple Beans and Rice

Homemade Vegetable Soup and Homemade Bread

Breakfast Bowls

Spanish Rice with Beef

Chicken Legs  with Veggies and Homemade Biscuits

I hope you’re inspired by this list to keep your meals simple and save some money in the process. What meal ideas would you add? Be sure to check the comment section below for tons more ideas!

These inexpensive meal ideas will get you through when your wallet is empty!

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121 Comments

  1. I like to do black bean taco salad. Beans thaw quickly and adding taco seasoning is an easy way to spice them. Under 15 minutes and I have a simple, inexpensive and tasty meal!
  2. I love your blog. You have so many helpful tips and recipes. I really appreciated your post on the freezer meals. I am trying to become more frugal, but it isn't working too well. The cost of groceries is killing me.
    1. Thanks Julie! I'm sorry your having trouble with spending on groceries. I hope some of my tips can help. It's hard to stick to a budget, especially in the beginning, but if you can make it a habit then it gets easier! Good luck!
    2. Have you ever tried oat milk? It is super easy to make...and costs roughly 0.75 a gallon vs 2.15 a gallon for cow milk (Aldi's skim milk price). Making my own yogurt saves lots of $ for us too. Hope this helps
  3. We have breakfast for dinner every week on Wednesday night. I love not having to worry about dinner, the kids love it, my husband loves it, and it's cheap! We have cracker and cheese picnics or even sometimes popcorn and fruit for lunch. The kids LOVE it! Great list, thanks for sharing!
  4. I am so excited I started following your blog on Bloglovin the other day! I honestly put on my to do list for tomorrow to make a list of frugal, healthy meals! ;) pretty sure I am just going to print yours and add any I think of down the road! We just had our second baby and have decided for me to stay home so our budget is definitely getting tighter!
  5. Hi! Thanks for the post- helpful ideas for this missionary mama! Just an FYI - I think in the title of your blog you mean for when "you're" broke, rather than "your." :)
  6. We do lots of beans, like black and reds, with rice, cilantro, salsa, and a little cheese. Basically taco filling. The kids also like mac and cheese with hotdogs, homemade pizza from scratch, scratch breads/biscuits/rolls/buns. They also enjoy homemade cinnamon rolls with scratch caramel sauce or homemade icing. Really, when you're low on money, crack open an old fashioned cookbook and you'd be surprised what is low cost and tastes good, and can be healthy (ok, so cinnamon rolls don't rank up there on that one). Betty Crocker is a wonderful friend. :)
  7. Great ideas for good food on a small income! We eat as frugally, and yet as healthy as possible, as we grow our own veggies as much as possible, and stock up on meat when it is on sale . I also dehydrate fruit when it is on sale for snacks for later. Thanks for sharing your ideas on how to eat frugally :)
  8. I have found this to be so true. We keep getting simpler and simpler when it comes to our meals as our income decreases. Food is such a pleasurable experience, yet at the end of the day, we just need to fill the tummy and nourish the body. We don't need to eat gourmet meals. Your list looks a lot like mine. We eat a lot of Mexican inspired meals/casseroles as the rice and beans are so economical. Thanks for the post!
  9. Eggs, potatoes, and onions fried together are a go to for me--also oatmeal with a banana...or, since I grew up in Asia and rice is everywhere, rice with something, anything, even fried eggs, is an automatic cheap and easy meal!
  10. I found this post from the Frugal Friday Link Up Party. I wanted to say, wow I am always broke. I end up eating roman noodles and mac and cheese a lot! I love all the meal options you have shared. Thank you.
  11. Thank you for this list! It's really helpful! I wouldn't call us "broke", but since the price of food has skyrocketed and our budget hasn't, it's gotten WAY tighter!
  12. I also found this link through thrifty Thursday. Great post!! Another idea is to google ideas for making your own mixes. Fake it frugal is an excellent website that tells you how to make your own box brownie mix, corn meal muffin mix and bisquick. My husband is on 60% of his salary due to disability and I am a stay at home mom...so we have to be frugal everyday. I have also googled my favorite restaurants for copy cat recipes...this helps you prepare better tasting foods at home and not have the expense of eating out!!
  13. I make spicy pasta bake. Which is just rotel or deifratelli seasoned tomatoes. Pasta cooked till al dente. Add basil oregano and italian seasoning to the can of tomatoes and reduce down them by about half. Mix pasta, tomatoes together and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on it. Add some freshly grated parmesan cheese an top and bake until golden brown. This is a dish that I always have the ingredients for in my pantry and fridge. I buy cheese when its on sale then freeze it. I freeze my hunk of parmesan cheese too. I take it out of freezer and grate it while its frozen.
  14. Thanks for posting. I ate like this(your list) in college and when i had my first apt. I'm living on my own again, after twelve years, and on Disability~ so getting used to a sigle income AND a fixed income all in one fell ~swoop. So this is a great reminder for me how to do frugal living all over again~ and feel richer inside for it !
  15. My family loves chicken fried rice. It's just rice, chicken, veggies and a couple of eggs. Also, great for using up leftovers.
  16. love your blog. going to PIN it! we love beans and cornbread, with toppings for the beans of cheese, onions, bacon, whatever we have in the fridge... it's a great winter night meal. thanks for sharing!
  17. My family loves Arros Con heuvo frito. Basically white rice with a fried egg on top. Almost like fried rice when you mix it up. It is a poor mans meal in Cuba.
  18. I love your blog it is great. One meal my family loves is rice and beans( casamiento) sautéed onions and green pepper, add rice and beans let it simmer for five minutes. Enjoy it!
  19. Raising children, I found some tips that worked best on a budget. #1 being when you need to add meat to a item ask the butcher for 2 dollars of meat. As in 2$ of hamburger, or bacon, meat sliced small for stir fry etc. Other recipes for no boredom at meals are : corn tortilla filled with graded carrots, rolled like toquito and fried. Topped with sour cream. And quesadillas, spaghetti squash with sauce. Savory chicken squares, made w 1 cream cheese, 1 roll croissant dough, 1/4 cup onions, celery. 1 can chicken chunk. Mix and put 1/4 mixture in (2 triangles together press to make square) square of croissant dough. Bake 350 for 25 min. Enjoy.
  20. An inexpensive salad is gelatin with shredded carrots and cabbage or any vegetable you like; for a dessert add any fruit to gelatin, we always use some of the juice for the liquid.
  21. Love you ideas. I find that people have had this idea that a meal is not a meal with out large helpings of meat. Our for fathers didn't have that option so they had lots of veggies and a little meat. We would all be in much better health if we followed their example. We eat little carbs lots of salad and a little meat. I like to have fruit for dessert. I keep hearing that people can't afford to eat this way. Rubbish. In reality veggies have now got cheaper than meat. Keep up the good advice
  22. My mom used to make what was called Grace, Fried potatoes, eggs and meat of your choice (ham, hamburger or sausage) I make this also and is very easy to put together. It was from an article where a preacher was coming for dinner and they didn't have much to eat and the mom threw this together and said "By the Grace of God may we have enough."

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