Are you a busy person looking to save money on groceries and and make frugal meals? I’m sure you’ve seen the cost of living continue to rise. If you’re anything like me, you’re looking to save money while still enjoying tasty dishes. Did you know that you can save money on food all while still enjoying delicious, frugal dishes?
Let’s go over the entire process of creating frugal meals and frugal cooking, including determining:
- Cheap foods to buy when broke or on a budget, including grains, starches, protein, vegetables and fruits
- How to make the cheapest grocery list for a month
- Tips on frugal meals and how to save money on your grocery bill
Additionally, in this article, I’ll go over how you can create frugal meals for the following situations:
- How to make frugal family meals
- The best cheap meals for college students
Read on to learn about the best frugal meals and groceries.
Filling Cheap Foods to Use When Preparing Frugal Meals
Before I dive into how to create a grocery list, how to shop on a budget and different dishes to make, let’s start with the basics: the ingredients needed to make them! Ever feel overwhelmed at the grocery store with the amount of variety? It’s so easy to just walk in and pick up anything off the shelf without having made a list before. However, it’s best to create a grocery list. Why? Generally, if you plan ahead of time, you end up spending a lot less on groceries. Additionally, if you have a plan, you’ll feel a lot less overwhelmed. Win-win for your wallet and your mental health!
Before we get into how to create the cheapest grocery list for a month, let’s review the best cheap foods to buy. These ingredients will help you create the ultimate cheapest grocery list for a month.
Here is the list of the cheapest and most filling foods to purchase and how they’re cheap and nutritious.
Lentils
Packed with protein, lentils are an excellent option to add to your list of cheap filling foods. Packed with fiber and protein, they are an easy and essential addition to a healthy diet. You can buy lentils either canned or dried. Personally, I prefer canned lentils. They’re more expensive than dried lentils, but they’re super convenient – and they’re still low enough in price for one to make really cheap meals. You don’t have to soak and clean dried lentils, cutting down on meal prep time. They’re still super cheap and you can add them to a ton of different dishes, including:
- Shepherd’s pie
- Tacos
- Green salad
- Pastas
- Chili
- Roasted salmon
… and more! The possibilities are endless.
Beans
Beans should be a staple in everyone’s diet and especially those who want to create super cheap, frugal meals. They’re also high in protein and fiber. If you eat beans, you’ll feel quite satisfied – they’re filling! If you think beans are boring, think again! You can add them to dishes like salads, stews and as a side salad. If you’re feeling bored with them, why not add in some spices to a dish?
Beans come in both canned and packaged varieties. Just like lentils, I prefer canned beans. You don’t have to soak the beans and cook them for 40+ minutes – just open the can, rinse them and add them into your favorite dish.
Rice
A cheap, filling and nutritious staple, rice should be part of everyone’s grocery list for making frugal meals. Rice has over 15 essential vitamins and nutrients including B vitamins, folic acid, iron, zinc and fiber. Rice is low in calories and is incredibly filling, which is why it’s one of the best and cheapest foods to buy when broke – or if you’re just on a budget. You can create so many dishes with rice. Here are some frugal dinner ideas with rice as the main starch:
- Stews
- Coconut curry
- Indian curries
- Stuffed bell peppers
- Burritos
- Tacos
- Risotto
- Stuffed squash
… and more!
Pasta
If you’re serious about frugal eating, you must include pasta on your grocery list for frugal dinners and lunches! Pasta contains fiber, magnesium and other essential vitamins and minerals and is a great cheap food to buy when broke. White pasta is generally cheaper than whole grain pasta, but it’s still quite cheap. If you’re trying to save as much as possible and practicing the cheapest way to live, go for the white pasta.
Pasta is great because there are so many dishes you can make, including:
- Casseroles
- Pesto bakes
- Lasangas
- Fetticine alfredo
- Carbonara
… and tons more!
One more note on pasta: as I mentioned, white pasta isn’t the healthiest. If you want to stay healthy, why not buy white pasta half the time and the other half of the time, buy brown pasta? There’s nothing wrong with trying to save as much as possible, but there’s a subtle difference between being cheap vs frugal.
There’s nothing wrong with cutting out spending short-term to kickstart your savings. However, if you’re always pinching pennies, you’re sacrificing your long-term health. If you don’t eat healthy, nutritious food, in the long run, you may have health issues. Find a balance where you shop for ingredients that don’t break the bank but are still good for you!
Potatoes
Potatoes are another filling, delicious and nutritious food and are one of my favorite budget foods. Why? They’re chock full of Vitamin C and can be added to a variety of dishes. Why not add it to a chilli? You can also do baked potatoes as the main course – just add some protein, vegetables and sour cream on top!
If you’re bored of the same old Yukon Gold potatoes, why not mix it up by buying some sweet potatoes instead? They’re great in soups and as an autumn side dish.
Potatoes can be boiled, mashed, baked, sliced, chopped… there are so many cheap potato recipes you can try out! Check out this article for some ideas for budget potato dishes.
Tomatoes
One of the most versatile fruits (tomatoes aren’t vegetables!) – tomatoes should be included on everyone’s grocery list. Use them to make sauces, soups, stews, salads and more. Tomatoes are one of the cheapest fruits and vegetables to buy. Personally, as a single person, I go through at least 3 or 4 of them per week. If you’re a family of 5, you can easily go through a lot more of them.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is another excellent choice for one’s list of budget foods. It’s filling, nutritious and cheap. When you think about oatmeal, which dishes come to mind first? I’m sure you’ve thought of conventional oatmeal and overnight oats. While you can create sweet dishes by topping the dishes with fruits and nuts, how about savory ones instead?
Check out this list of savory oat dishes. You can add eggs, vegetables and tons more to oats to create something new!
Bananas – A Top Budget Food for Making Frugal Meals
If you’re on a tight budget, be sure to add bananas to your list. These tasty fruits are packed with potassium and other essential nutrients. Additionally, they’re incredibly versatile. You can use them in the following recipes – and there are so many more not mentioned here!
- Muffins
- On cereal
- Blended in a smoothie
- In a fruit bowl
- For homemade banana nice cream
- In a pancake recipe
Peanut Butter
One’s list of cheap filling foods isn’t complete without peanut butter. It’s incredibly filling, tasty and can be added into sweet and savory dishes. You can make anything from an African peanut stew, peanut butter cups or smoothies. It’s a great breakfast food to spread over your morning toast.
If you want to be healthier, try natural peanut butter. It’s more expensive than regular peanut butter, so if you’re really going for the cheapest grocery list, stick with regular peanut butter.
Frozen Vegetables
Why frozen vegetables as opposed to fresh? In addition to being cheaper than fresh vegetables, they’re just as nutritious. What’s more is that you can keep them a lot longer than fresh vegetables. If you’re someone who has a busy life and easily forgets about what you have in your fridge and on your counter, you won’t need to worry about frozen vegetables. They last a lot longer – several months in the freezer, in fact! When you have frozen vegetables in your freezer, it’s easy to create frugal healthy meals – all you have to do is pull out some veggies from the freezer. No need to wash or chop.
Tips for Frugal Meals
Now that I’ve covered the list of top frugal meals you should include on your grocery list, let’s go over some essential tips to help you create frugal meals. These tips cover everything from planning, grocery shopping, meal prep and ensuring you don’t waste food. Let’s get into it.
1. Check Your Pantry, Fridge and Freezer
Before you even step food into a grocery store, let alone make a list, you’ll want to check what you already have at home! It’s easy to throw away food you didn’t eat, but that’s not a great move if you want to save money and make the cheapest meals! The first step in creating frugal meals is to use what you already have.
Let’s just say that on average, you throw away a half a bag of potatoes, 2 tomatoes, 4 bananas and your leftovers from this week. These ingredients cost you around $10.
If you throw out leftover food every week, you’re wasting up to $520 per year ($10 x 52 weeks) on perfectly good food – that’s a good chunk of change that could go towards a vacation, repaying off debt or buying more groceries! It’s more convenient and faster to just shop without looking in your fridge or freezer. However, in the long run, it’ll cost you.
2. Make a Grocery List
Before you head to the supermarket, it’s crucial to know what you’re going to buy. I know, I know – it’s so much easier to just go and buy what you need. “Isn’t it just as easy to walk the aisles and see what I need?” you might say. Guess what? Generally, without planning ahead, one tends to spend a lot more on groceries.
Think about it. It’s so easy and tempting to just throw some chips or soda in your cart. While there’s nothing wrong with a treat every once in a while, if you make it a habit, you’ll start moving away from your frugal habits.
For example, if you typically spend an extra $20 on stuff you don’t need every week, over the course of a year, you’ll end up spending over $1,000 extra – $1,040 to be exact. That’s a good amount of money!
How do you make time to create your weekly shopping list? First off, set aside some time each week to check your fridge, freezer, cupboards, decide on meals and prepare a list.
Personally, I like to dedicate 2 hours to an inventory check, meal planning and creating a list on Sunday afternoon before I go grocery shopping for the week. Choose a day of week and time that works for you. There’s no wrong time – just pick a slot that works best for you when you know you’ll be able to commit to meal planning each week!
3. Price Comparing at Grocery Stores and Supermarkets
You’ve made a grocery list. Congratulations, you’re one step closer to creating tasty, frugal meals! Time to go to the grocery store, correct? Hold on – before you go, it’s important to keep in mind that grocery stores often have different prices. What does this mean for you? You’ll want to compare supermarkets’ prices. Use an app like Flipp to help you compare the price of specific items on your list.
Are you new to price comparing and feeling overwhelmed? Just start with the core items on your list – like eggs, bread and milk.
Another tip: be sure to set a budget before your shopping trip. If you’re not sure exactly how much you spend in one week, set a rough estimate. This will allow you to account for any sales that might happen – or any extra items you forget to add to your list. Are you under budget? Nothing wrong with a little treat. I see you eyeing that chocolate bar. Go on – put it in your cart. Treat yourself! Just don’t make it a daily occurrence – it won’t become a treat anymore and you’ll blow your budget in the long-run!
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4. Use the Same Ingredients
One of the easiest ways to save money on groceries? Choose several core fruits, vegetables, grains and meats that you’ll use in all your recipes throughout the week.
For example, let’s say you choose the following:
- Fruit of the week – banannas
- Vegetables of the week – broccoli and carrots
- Grain of the week – brown rice
- Meat of the week – chicken
The goal is for you to make all your dishes using these ingredients. For example, using this list, you can have:
- Oatmeal with bananas
- Chicken, brown rice, carrots and broccoli for lunch
- Chicken chilli (containing carrots) with brown rice on the side
- Banana muffins
As you can see, the ingredients are used more than once in multiple dishes.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t buy or use any other fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. The goals is to use these as much as possible. By buying more of one item, you can save money and time on creating delicious meals. You’ll also save money because you’ll be less likely to throw out rotten food. If you use more of the ingredient, you’ll use it up before it expires, reducing the risk of wasting money on food.
5. Meal Prep with Your Core Ingredients
You’ve planned, shopped and planned some more. Time for the fun part – cooking! Once you have 3-4 meal ideas ready and your core ingredients ready, you’re ready to make your meals for the week.
Meal Prepping Steps
If you truly want to make frugal meals, you’ll want to partake in meal prep. What is meal prep? Essentially, it’s creating a large batch of one meal, portioning it into containers, and eating it for the same meal every day. Why meal prep? Well, when you buy in bulk, you’ll save money. The cost per unit on larger packages of food is generally cheaper.
Additionally, if you meal prep, you’ll save time on cooking. If you cook once or twice per week, you’ll spend less time in the kitchen. Another benefit? You’ll avoid decision fatigue – exhaustion from the necessity of choosing what to eat every day. If your meals are prepped, you’ll be set to go!
Choose a Designated Day to Meal Prep
Just as you do with planning and shopping, choose a day when you’ll meal prep. Personally, I also like to prep on Sundays after I’ve gone shopping. I like having a designated day to get all my meal and grocery tasks out of the way. Again, choose a day that works for you. You can even split it up – for example, shop on Saturday and prep on Sunday. On the day of your choosing, cook the meals and portion them.
Create a Grocery List
If money is tight, eat the same thing every day. However, if money isn’t terribly tight and the thought of eating the same thing every day bores you, why not choose 2 dishes instead of 1? You can have each dish every other day. Another idea: make a dish that allows you to mix and match ingredients. Batch cooking on a budget doesn’t have to be boring!
For example, let’s say you want to have a bean salad this week, but the thought of the same one every day bores you. Here’s a sample grocery list:
- Lentils
- Six-bean mix
- Quinoa
- Farro
- Olive oil
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Onions
- Olives
- Bell peppers (3 colors)
With this list, you can make tons of different types of salads! Here are 3 you can try out, with olive oil as the dressing:
- A lentil salad with quinoa, tomatoes and cucumbers
- A six-bean salad with farro, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and olives
- A lentil and six-bean salad with quinoa, bell peppers and cucumbers
This is just one example of the hundreds of combinations you can make. Get creative and have fun with it! Frugal meal planning doesn’t have to be boring – in fact, it can be fun and easy! If you’re not sure where to start, begin with one or two items. Each week add a new frugal food item or two to your list and plan recipes around the items.
Don’t be too cheap either. If you’re scrimping pennies and eating as cheaply as possible, you might miss out on trying new foods. Keep in mind that there’s a difference between being frugal vs cheap. A frugal person plans ahead, shops smart and spends wisely, while a cheap person tries to save as much as possible with no regard to quality. Don’t sacrifice your health or mental wellbeing. Cooking should be fun and you should enjoy eating the dishes you cook!
6. Buy in Bulk
I touched on buying more of one ingredient to save money, but what about buying for longer than one week?
By buying more of the same ingredient, you’ll save money. How? Generally, larger packages of some items, such as beans and grains, are cheaper than buying smaller packages. This is because the cost per unit is cheaper.
One important note to keep in mind: not everyone has the privilege of buying in bulk. If you’re able to, you are very fortunate! With that in mind, please be sure to avoid buying too much in bulk. If we always clear the shelves, we won’t leave anything for the single mom who can only afford to buy 1 package of rice at a time.
Frugal Family Meals
I’ve covered some handy tips on what to buy, how to go about grocery shopping and some meal prep ideas to save time and cut down on decision fatigue. What if you’re a family looking to create frugal meals? It’s pretty simple, actually. Follow the steps I mentioned previously. The only difference? You’ll be buying and doing meal prep in larger portions.
As mentioned previously, meal prep is awesome for several reasons:
- Saving money by buying in bulk
- Cutting down on time spent cooking
- Enjoying less decision fatigue because your meals are already decided upon
Creating frugal family meals is important because it will allow you to save money for other important things in your life! Think about it. Even if you save just $20-30 a week because you’re making frugal meals, an extra $30 a week saved is $1,560 a year! If you undertake proper financial planning by saving that amount consistently over a long period of time, you can benefit from compound interest.
Stuck on what to make for dinner? Check out this great article from Frugal Thrifty Mom for ideas on frugal meals for families that you can make in 30 minutes or less. If you’re keen on making super cheap family meals, stick with the essentials: pasta, rice, beans, and lentils – then make variations of dishes using these ingredients.
Frugal Friday
Feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of making all of your meals frugal? Don’t know which frugal recipes to try out? If you’re just starting out on your frugal journey, why not commit to making and consuming frugal meals on just 1 day per week?
For this specific day, decide on one frugal meal for each time of day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – that are budget-friendly, easy to make and won’t take too long to assemble.
A frugal meal plan can help you stay on track. Search Frugal Friday on Pinterest for some great ideas on budget-friendly meals and to find a frugal meal planner as well.
Remember, being frugal should be fun – it shouldn’t be a chore. Also, if you have enough money to spend on groceries and aren’t struggling, don’t be afraid to occasionally treat yourself. The cheapest way of living can save you lots of money, but if you’re constantly pinching pennies, you’ll spend too much time stressing out. Relax and enjoy life – along with the occasional treat!
College Meals Cheap
How does a college student make meals for cheap? Frugal cooking on a college budget can be easy. Read on for some tips on how to grocery shop and cook on the cheap without sacrificing quality.
If you’re a college student or have a son or daughter in college, I’m sure you’re also trying to save as much as possible! Maybe you’re surviving on a mixture of savings, financial gifts from family, student loans and part-time employment income. It’s possible to find healthy and cheap food without sacrificing your health. When you’re a student, you need energy and strength to get through those late-night study sessions and exam periods!
Here are some tips on how to grocery shop and create college meals cheap and easy. Let’s go over two scenarios when talking about cheap foods for college students and finding the cheapest college meals:
1. Living in a dormitory and using the on-campus dining
2. Living off-campus and buying and cooking your own meals
How to Make and Eat Frugal Meals while Living in a Dormitory
1. Stock Up on Filling Foods
If you’re living in a dorm and have an on-campus meal plan with dining dollars, you may have a set amount of money on your meal card. This means that each time you pay for a meal, it gets deducted from your account. How do you save money with on-campus dining? Fill up with healthy foods earlier in the morning so you don’t binge on expensive and unhealthy food later in the day.
It’s easy to just go for the fried and starchy stuff. If you’re the type of person who gets up late (no morning class), it’s tempting to just grab a croissant and coffee. Not so fast! Go for the nuts and fruits for breakfast. It might feel counterintuitive to go for more expensive foods to eat like nuts, but they’re actually part of any good frugal meal plan. Why? You’ll feel fuller longer and will likely spend less on food later in the day. Personally, if I don’t eat enough in the morning, I end up buying a lot of (usually unhealthy) food I don’t end up eating – throwing food away means you’re literally throwing money down the drain!
2. Stock Your Fridge with Healthy Snacks
If you have a refrigerator in your dorm room or apartment, go to the grocery store and stock up on healthy and filling snacks. Similarly to eating filling, healthy foods early in the day, if you snack throughout the day, you’ll be less likely to binge on unhealthy and expensive foods. Healthy frugal meals and snacks can include filling foods like peanut butter, energy bars, fruit and nuts.
3. Get a Water Bottle
Buying bottled water can really add up! Invest in a nice BPA-free water bottle and you’ll not only save money long-term, but you’ll help the environment out too. Most college campuses have refillable water stations, so it’s no trouble to refill between classes. It might seem obvious to get a water bottle, but it’s really one of the best frugal hacks. You won’t be spending tons of money on bottled water, and you’ll also help the planet out!
Living Off-Campus
If you’re serious about saving money and doing college meals cheap, plan, plan plan! Every week, set aside an hour or two to:
- Go through your pantry, fridge and freezer to see what ingredients you have
- Choose budget-friendly meals and make a grocery shopping list
- Stick to your grocery list
1. Plan Ahead of Time
Each week, review what you already have laying around your house. Don’t throw out that half-full can of beans in the fridge. If it’s still good, use it in another recipe for next week! It’s also important to continually check what you have in your cupboards. While canned foods are good for a while, if you don’t use them for years, they’ll eventually expire – a waste of money! Also be sure to check your freezer. No one likes freezer-burnt vegetables!
2. Choose Budget-Friendly, Frugal Meals and Make a Grocery List
Once you’ve taken inventory of your fridge, freezer and cupboard, it’s time to decide what you’re going to eat for the week. Doing college meals cheap means focusing on ingredients that are inexpensive, filling and nutritious. If you’re doing meals on the cheap, it’s best to focus on he ingredients first, then create meals around them. For example, let’s say you use this as your list for the week. This is a sample list of some frugal foods that are filling and nutritious.
- Tomatoes
- Bananas
- Rice
- Whole grain bread
- Oatmeal
- Pasta
- Tomato sauce
- Lentils
- Peanut butter
- Frozen fruit
Once you have your list, it’s time to think of some meals surrounding these core ingredients. You can buy other ingredients too – for example, almond milk and spices for your smoothies and entrees. The grocery list I provided is just the list of core ingredients you’ll use in your meals.
Here is a sample meal plan of cheap filling foods a college student can have in one week, assuming they eat the same thing every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner:
Breakfast
- Oatmeal with bananas and blueberries (thawed from frozen)
Snack
- Peanut butter banana smoothie with almond milk
Lunch
- Whole grain bread with peanut butter and bananas
Dinner
- Pasta with tomato sauce and lentils
Of course, this is an example of someone on a pretty tight budget who wants to make very cheap meals and doesn’t mind eating the same thing every day. If you’re not interested in extreme frugal living, you can add in another meal or two to your lunch and dinner routine to make it a little bit more interesting.
If you’re really on a budget, in addition to making a grocery list, try out an extreme budget meal plan. There are tons of Pinterest templates you can use to help you out.
3. Stick To Your Grocery List
If you’re serious about doing college meals cheap and living frugally while in school, always, always bring a list to the store! Generally, when someone brings a list to the grocery store and sticks with it, it’s a lot easier to avoid spending money on unnecessary items. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional snack or other treat, but over time, going over budget can really hurt your spending! Focusing on frugal food with the occasional treat (one per week or so) will help you stay on track.
Conclusion – Frugal Meals
There are so many ways to make frugal meals and still make delicious and nutritious dishes for you and the entire family. If you plan ahead, price compare and buy budget foods in bulk, it’s easy to live frugally, save money on groceries and make really cheap meals!
Remember to have fun and enjoy the process of planning, shopping and cooking! Once you make and keep frugal habits, you won’t want to stop!
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Janita is a frugal living expert and owner of Frugal Fun Finance. With over five years of personal experience finding and trying out the best ways to make and save more money, she's eager to share her knowledge. Janita's strategies have helped her save thousands of dollars for funding investments and traveling to over 20 countries.
Janita completed training in personal finance at The University of Western Ontario and McGill University, two prestigious Canadian universities. Her expertise has been shared on GoBankingRates, Yahoo Finance, and NASDAQ.com.
