Budget meals- ideas wanted

[Anonymouseky]

I’m trying to have a budget meals week once a month to cut back on costs. My children are quite fussy eaters. What are your best budget friendly meal ideas? Here are a few of mine:

Jacket potato with beans/ cheese/ salad
Beans and cheese on toast
Soup and chunky bread
Pasta with homemade pasta sauce and veg
Veggie sausages, mash and carrots

We are not vegetarian, but do tend to cut back on meat for health reasons. Thanks :)

Fried egg and homemade chips (in the oven) with/veg,beans or mushy peas

Do they like rice OP? If so, we make a quick egg fried rice with peas (and any other veg they like) - super easy and cheap!

macaroni cheese with salad / crudites
fish finger wraps or tacos
chicken & broccoli pesto pasta
spanish omelette or frittata
make sure you're getting enough protein in them if you don't eat much meat or they'll be hungry

@Anonymouseky

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/budget-recipes

https://beatthebudget.com/all-recipes/

There are also many threads on this site, should you need extra 😋

Pasta, chickpeas and veg are the corner of a lot of our cheap meals
If we are having meat in a pasta sauce we often add a tin of chickpeas or beans to make it go the meat go further.
We do a tumble down meals too, so we might have roast chicken on the Sunday using the breasts, Chicken pasta on Monday with the legs and wings topped up with pulses, strip the carcass down on the Tuesday for a noodle broth.

We make use of frozen veg and fruit too which can get us through a cheap week.

Your list is basically our normal meals anyway OP, I've never thought tons about the cost, everything we do is on a budget really! We actually are vegetarian too.

I make stews quite often with some type of tinned pulse but whatever is in e.g. Chickpeas, black beans, butter beans - and basic veg like onion, red and yellow bell peppers (my kids won't eat green!), tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, sometimes often add veggie sausages to them too.

Eggy bread is a big hit here with veg or salad or baked beans etc.

Omelette also with cheese and whatever veg we have in that the kids will eat e.g. onion, red/yellow bell pepper, spring onion.

Curries with frozen mixed veg in and rice.

Baked potato with tuna mayo and grated cheese,
Sausage, egg and beans,
Pesto pasta
Spaghetti bolognese
Chicken and lemon risotto

Tuna pasta bake sub fresh parsley for dried.

Chicken & veg stew using thighs rather than breast.

cooking a roast chicken chop it up and make quesadillas one day, chicken fried rice the next and have whatever’s left for sandwiches.

Cook a ham and use a small amount in this recipe and then the rest for sandwiches.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pearl-barley-bacon-leek-casserole

This is a lovely veggie stew with beans . I just serve with normal mash.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/somerset-stew-cheddar-parsley-mash

I also make a variation of this rice and beans dish although my kids won’t eat it and my husband thinks it’s not a proper dinner. But it is cheap as chips.

https://veggiechick.com/super-easy-black-beans-and-rice/

I need more ideas too, I was randomly looking up homework bits for my eldest and had come across these https://www.twinkl.co.uk/search?q=budget+meals&c=244&ca=110&ct=parent&r=parent&fco=0 didn't realise they did more then just colouring sheets and homework bits!

Toad in the hole

Thanks all. There are so many great suggestions. I’m looking forward to trying them 😀