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Feeding a family of four or more isn't easy - I know, as a mother of four myself! That's why I put together this list of all my favorite cheap meals for large families. These are cozy, filling, delicious meals that won't break the bank. Even if you aren't cooking with kids in the house, I promise this list will be useful for you.
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Having raised four kids, I know what a challenge it can be to make dinner while keeping things on-budget. My daughter has two boys of her own now, and as they grow up I've shared plenty of my favorite budget-friendly dinners with her.
With grocery prices going up lately, it's more important than ever to get the most out of every dollar you spend! Luckily, there are plenty of ways to feed your family while keeping dinner budget-friendly. Cheap meals for large families don't need to be bland, and some of my family's favorite meals have been ones made from simple pantry ingredients that barely cost pennies per serving!
Why You'll Love These Easy Meals for Large Families
- Made with only ingredients that are budget friendly and pantry staples! No fancy steaks and rare seasonings here!
- Full of easy substitutions so you can make dinner no matter what's in the pantry!
- Portioned for big families and lots of mouths to feed! A large family meal doesn't need to be a costly one.
- Packed with flavorful yet wholesome ingredients so you can feel good about what's for dinner - and so can your wallet.
- Easy to prepare every time! When money's short, time often is too. These recipes are perfect for busy weeknights!
Cheap Family Meals
To make sure these cheap dinner ideas are as budget friendly as possible, I've chosen a selection of easy dinner ideas that have limited meat and common ingredients. In my experience, the most expensive part of m grocery bill is the meat, sauces, and pricey nuts or spices! These recipes will rely on simple, affordable ingredients.
This list will start off with family-filling casseroles, then soups, pasta dishes, and finally more budget dinner ideas.
Cheap Casserole Recipes
Cheap Soup Recipes
Soups and stews are cozy, comforting, easy, and often can be made with just a single pot. Plus they're often easily made vegan or vegetarian, and have a big focus on vegetables so your budget meal can be a healthy one, too!
Cheap Pasta Recipes
At my local supermarket, a big box of store-brand pasta is about $1, and it's the perfect size to feed the whole family - with leftovers! These pasta dinner ideas make use of easy ingredients like eggs and tomato sauce for delicious, family-filling noodles.
More Budget Dinners for Large Families
The beauty of cooking is that there are endless ways to make a great meal with easy ingredients. Here are some of my favorites! My kids loved these growing up, and loved them even more when they were in college!
Tips on Budget Meals for Large Families
- Store brands are your friend. For many products such as frozen vegetables, spices, and dried goods like pasta, store brand will taste just as good as name brand, often for a much lower price.
- Frozen vegetables are perfect for chili, soup, and casserole. Because they'll cook for a long time anyway, you don't need to worry about them being mushy. Plus, frozen veggies last just about forever and are much more affordable than fresh! I'll never be seen without a freezer full of frozen peas, corn, and spinach!
- Make use of canned goods like tomato sauces, vegetables, and meats. They tend to be much more affordable than fresh food, and will cook up just as deliciously!
- Stock up on cheap, long-lasting vegetables when they're on sale such as garlic cloves, carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery. They're used in just about everything and will last for weeks in the fridge or pantry. (Tip: Don't store onions and potatoes next to each other! They will rot much faster that way.)
- Try to avoid beef-based protein, and when you're cooking with ground beef, choose higher fat ratios like 80/20. You can always drain the fat, and they're often much more affordable.
- Sauces are expensive! When you can, make your own sauces; many of the classic bottled sauces out there are easily recreated with staples like soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and mustard.
- Try to shop seasonally for produce. Squash like zucchini and eggplant often go on massive sales around the summer, and tubers like sweet potatoes can cost as little as a few cents per pound in the fall. Always get fruit when it's in season to get the best flavor and the best prices.
- Meat with bones tends to be cheaper. I find that mixed packs of bone-in pork chops are often less than half the price of boneless, and the same goes for chicken. Bulk buy meat when it's super discounted, and freeze it! This is why I cut my own chicken wings!
- Frozen chicken is a great resource. It lasts forever, is often far cheaper than fresh, and in my experience, it often cooks up even more tender and juicy than chicken that's never been frozen. Don't ask me how that works... but it does!
- Dried herbs are great! You can use them instead of fresh in almost all recipes. If you desperately need fresh herbs, I earnestly recommend getting a pot (or cup!) and attempting to grow them yourself; you'll get an endless supply for the cost of some seeds and dirt.
- Try my Kid Friendly Easy Weeknight Dinners for Families!
Budget-Friendly Recipe Ideas
- Snacks: Try out my simple (and practically free, if you get the seeds yourself) Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, which you can make in all sorts of flavors!
- Seasonings: Seasoning packets are expensive and, frankly, tend to be made of seasonings I bet you already have. Using only pantry staples, you can make my signature burger seasoning, Italian seasoning, Taco seasoning, and of course my essential Chili Seasoning!
- Sauces: Sauces are, in my opinion, some of the most overpriced items at the grocery store. You can make almost all of them yourself, and they'll not only taste better, but be so much cheaper, too! Check out all my sauce recipes!
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