Cheap meal ideas

[Iiiiop]

What’s your favourite cheap meals? Due to having to cut my hours (health wise) our budget is now down, I know on budget threads people tend to say aldi, but our only options are Tesco and coop. We’re quite good at bulking with lentils already but wondered if anyone had any go to recipes in the bag they always go back to? It’s just me and dh at home so were pretty open to any type of food or ingredients

Egg and beans on toast

Egg and tomato stir fry with rice

Burrito bowls - rice, beans, veg and any toppings you can pull together (eg sour cream is common but I rarely have it but almost always have yogurt in the fridge so would sub that in)

Soup

potatoes, carrots, leeks & onion plus 3 chicken stock cubes absolutely delicious and cheap

thank you!

Egg and tomato stir fry sounds delicious!

We’ve fallen out of making soup lately, so definelt going to get back on that

Im on a very tight budget. There's 1 adult, 2 older teens (so literally 3 adults), I spend £70 every 10 days.
We shop online at tesco due to my disability I dont have a choice but shopping online helps assist me to keep to my budget.
I batch cook, meal plan and have some really cheap meals eg eggs, beans, tomatoes on toast.
I bulk buy herbs and spices, rice, pasta, etc.
In the winter I make a batch of soup each week for lunch.
My meal plan is a
rice dish (eg Jambalaya, savoury rice with chicken),
a pasta dish (bolognaise, chicken, sausage),
Chicken, sausage with veg and mash,
Jacket potato day,
something on toast night,
chilli or curry night,
bourito or fajitas night.
This week gammon is on offer at tesco so I plan to buy two, cut them into 2 and freeze which will do 4 main meals and any leftovers I'll use for sandwiches. So although I have a menu plans I change it depending on whats on offer.

Chilli and jacket potatoes
lentil dhal and salad and hummus
fajitas with beans and mushroom filling

Thank you so much! That is so helpful, especially as you’re in the same boat with Tesco only, stealing your weekly meal theme and going to have a look at the gammon offer in Tesco!

Pulses are your friend here, as are bulk buying dried pasta/rice. Often buying a 3kg bag is much cheaper per 100g than 1kg bag etc.
buy whatever veg supermarket has cheapest that week and make soup
very strong cheese means you use less to make something like cheese sauce, works out much cheaper
use frozen veg
big bags cheap apples and stew them to use in all sorts of yummy desserts

I would make
homemade tomato based pasta sauce (freeze extras, can make variations on flavours)
homemade cheese/white sauce, again freeze portions
bean chilli
lentil dahl
homemade refried beans
chickpea curry of some type
egg dishes
jacket potatoes
soups
make pizza dough - add some of your homemade tomato sauce and cheese, whatever else you have to top them
gratin anything - white, cheese sauce type thing, add beans, spinach, cooked veg, top breadcrumbs and bit of cheese and grill
make sausages go further by chopping up and using in jambalaya/rice type dishes or pasta or Spanish type sauces
peanut butter toast/sandwiches/whatever
homemade pulse based burgers (can freeze)

some good tips here https://realfood.tesco.com/budget-meals.html

Thank you all so much, I really love mumsnet on threads like this, just the amount of information, tips and ideas I would never have thought of.

In a similar vein an above, Sainsbury have whole chickens half price. Worth getting a couple and jointing or cooking and stripping and using the carcass for soup.

Similar to pp having a set routing to meals saves us.

Sunday - roast. I often use Aldi super six veg or frozen so I can get better portion control. 1/3 of meat served.
Monday - wraps with 1/3 meat, onions and p peppers. Buy a three pack and freeze what you don’t use. Use left over wraps for lunch time quesadillas.

Tuesday - final 1/3 of meat, curry / pie / pasta / potato cakes / stir fry

Wednesday jacket potatoes, if you have to buy four use two on Sunday for your mash or roast. Or cook all 4 and freeze two for following week. Microwave before finishing in oven or air fryer to save energy.
Thursday - pasta or rice night, very basic with any cold meat chopped in and veg that needs using up, add an egg if it’s rice.
Friday - something on toast / noodles night
Saturday - batch cook stew / curry / bolognaise. Bulked out with pulses, lentils, pearl barley.

Breakfast I buy a giant tub of yoghurt, frozen fruit and granola. You can just toast some oats and chuck that on. Or wheat biscuits or porridge.

Lunch - giant vat of soup or cous cous with bits in, or a sandwich.

If you are having a ‘lighter’ dinner such as jacket potato or something on toast, consider adding a pudding.
for example depending on where you live, there may be free seasonal apples or plums.
I’m thinking crumbles, rice pudding, baked apples, custard etc especially if oven already on.
Yes I know it’s a bit of sugar but more nutritious than chocolate etc.
Full fat yogurt can be a £1 for a good sized tub that will do 4 portions. (Add toppings such as half a large banana, sliced)
If I make a fruit crumble I make double size. I take a portion to work for breakfast (work long shifts)
it’s not that different to having granola but much nicer!
For sandwiches I sometimes buy 2 x chicken breasts and roast or air fry them - with lemon or Chinese spice or whatever you have. (A bigger pack is even cheaper but if pushed for time 2 is still much better value than buying sliced ham etc)

Oh and something else I like - crumpets or bagels instead of bread. I find them much more substantial/filling. Delicious with peanut butter, marmite etc.

Edited - wrong thread!

Its also just DH and myself, no kids. I do an online shop at Sainsburys for things I can't get at aldi because they price with aldi. For example, Sainsburys chicken thighs this week are the same price as tesco, but because I've bought them before, they often give you a better rate for regular products.

-I use this app because eating what is in season, tends to be cheaper https://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/
-I'm on this app where people share food for free. You sign up within your local area and can also ask for things. olioapp.com/en/

-Frittata. Eggs, some cream or milk then any veg you have. Tomatoes, ham and onions, left over roast veg, potato/spinach then served with a salad
-Baked potatoes
-If we have a chicken on Sunday it lasts us days. The chicken is used in sandwiches, pasta bake, stir fry and/or chicken sweet corn or chicken noodle soup
-When making a bolognese, I grate in carrots, courgettes, celery etc to bulk it out
-I bulk cook rice then freeze it. I've never measured the electric usage, but I doubt it costs as much as cooking multiple lots of rice each time I need it. It also saves time. Lastnight I defrosted 1 container of rice and made fried rice. I had 2 rashers of bacon, a tiny piece of cooked pork leftover, added frozen peas and corn, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce and scrambled an egg in the fry pan. You can add any veg or meat you have.
-Multiple pasta recipes are veggie or use little meat- puttanesca, carbonara (not traditional but I also add peas and/or mushrooms if I have them), mac and cheese with left over cheese, pasta alla norma or pasta all sarde using tinned sardines.
-Soups are also cheap. Generally I use a smoked ham knuckle or bacon then whatever veg I have in the fridge- swede, onion, potatoes, celery, carrots etc. Split peas make it thicker. I make a huge batch and freeze left overs in portions.

Making a quiche with all my limp veggies.
Equally I do a very good special fried rice with fridge bits.
White bean and tomato bake tastes like pizza.

Tinned sardines in olive oil,use the oil in a pan. Fry 2-3 cloves of garlic in it, add half a jar of small capers, fry for a bit then add the sardines, mash them down and add fresh tomatoes, the riper the better (or I roast mine for extra sweetness). Season and add a squeeze of fresh lemon and some chopped up parsley. Serve with wholemeal spaghetti. It’s delicious and cheap.

Another favourite - boil and mash some potatoes, add savoy cabbage (I add mashed sprouts too or any leftover veg) and chopped chives. Mash it all in and add an egg yolk to bind and season. Make patties, place on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes turning once. Add a poached egg to top each patty and serve with more veg or to splash out, bacon or smoked salmon scraps. I make 8 patties and we have the same meal for lunch the next day.

I have porrige one night a week

I made this last night which is a nicer version of jacket potato with beans https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/loaded_potato_wedges_22372