How much does your average family meal cost and what do you consider a cheap meal??

[Wozzzzzaa]

I used to be able to feed 6 of us (2 adults and 4 kids) for £4 per meal at the very cheapest, and probably £6-7 per meal on average but with the cost of groceries increasing, it's impossible to hit the £5 target.

Just curious about everyone else's average spend, and what price you would consider to be a cheap meal?

Last night we had gammon, jacket potatoes and beans. £7.00 for 6 adults/older teens. My son came shopping with me to buy the gammon and commented that he now realises why we eat so many meals based on mince, or stuffed full of vegetables.
Gammon (1/3 of a joint) £4
Potatoes: £1.30
Beans: £1.50
Butter: 20p

I must be such a glutton compared to so many of you. A baked potato is a lunch or the side dish for me, not a dinner.

Bean stew with a baked potato on the side, sure, or a fish fillet, green vegetables and a baked potato, but not just a spud with beans or cheese for a main meal!

Cheapest meals here are usually pulses based - chana masala and rice, or rajma and dal with a paratha. Lazy dinner of veggie burgers with coleslaw and salad probably comes in at around £1.80 a head, as well. Dairy and fish definitely bump the cost up significantly.

As a side note, the cat food we buy has gone up £4 a big bag in just 3 months, so even the moggies are getting costly to feed.

Tonight is chicken stew. It should cost about £6.50, and we will have some left over.

One pack of chicken drumstick fillets* £2
Onions, carrots, leeks, potatoes. About £2
Flour, butter, stock cubes, Worcester sauce, mustard, herbs and other flavourings. About £1, (though obviously there is a startup cost there)
A load of bread. About £1.50

*I'm not keen on drumstick fillets because they take so long to remove all the sinews, but there were no chicken thighs left at Lidl when I went shopping.

My cheapest meal is a veggie curry with chickpeas or beans and brown rice that leans heavily on a £m couple of )1.50 veg boxes from Lidl and/or veg on offer such as 40p carrots.

But it's only one meal out of a week... I don't think we do many for anything close to £1 a head. Let alone 50p.

Even the kids' marmite on toast, soya milk and fruit when they come home from school costs more than 50p each I think.

Try these recipes. Meant to be budget friendly.

https://www.lovepork.co.uk/collections/budget-friendly-recipes/?utm_source=Retail&utm_medium=On+Pack+Sticker&utm_campaign=LP+Autumn+2023&utm_content=QR+Code+Sticker

I think toad in the hole is a pretty cheap meal, too.
When kids were younger, I used to add 8 chopped, cooked, nice sausages to 2 tins of baked beans and fried onion/peppers, top with mashed potato and a little grated cheese and baked in the oven until golden. It used to make 4-6 portions. Sometimes we'd have the fried onions and peppers on the side, rather than in it.

Also used to boil pasta or spaghetti, drain and then to the saucepan of drained pasta, I'd add ~2 tbsp of tomato puree and 3 beaten eggs for 4 people. Then mix well, and the heat from the freshly drained pasta and pan, cooks the egg through. I would then serve it with grated cheese on top.

We average £6 a meal for 4 and a baby. £8 if we're having Salmon or Steak. Use lots of veg and little meat.
Stew and dumplings today - £5 at most could easily feed 6.
smoked sausage sandwiches with peppers onions and cheese yesterday about £6
Teriyaki salmon, veg and rice - £7. Salmon from Iceland - 4 pieces for £3.33