30 Meals To Make When You Have No Money
There was a time when my family had more month than money. Sometimes you have to get creative. You may not be eating the healthiest things or the things you prefer, but at least you’re fed. Here are some ideas for meals to make when you have no money and still need to eat!
Inflation has affected us all, unfortunately. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I pray these meals to make when you have no money will be a blessing to you. We all hit tough spots every now and then, but if you’re consistently struggling, please reach out to your local food bank or churches for help.
Breakfasts:
Oatmeal
Buy the canister of oatmeal if you can. We enjoy brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk in ours. The ingredients are not much up front and it saves you a lot in the long run compared to the packets. You can add some frozen or fresh fruit you may have in the house as well.
Pancakes/Waffles
Making your own takes just a few pantry staples and not much more time than a box mix. However; a box of pancake mix is still under $2. Top them with peanut butter for an added protein boost.
Biscuits
Biscuits are pretty versatile. Whip up a batch with butter, jam, or peanut butter to make a good side. You could also use them for biscuits and gravy.
Breakfast Burritos
These can get pricey quickly, but they can also make a meal stretch. All you need is a few scrambled eggs and some cheese for a few burritos. Add salsa, bacon bits, spinach, anything else you might have.
Oat Bars
Oat bars are great because they use pantry staples and can spice up eating oatmeal everyday. I like making this the night before and having it ready for the children in the morning.
Yogurt Parfait
As with the others, you can really beef these up, but they don’t need to be. Even just a bag of granola can take these far.
Egg Muffins
Egg muffins can have a variety of toppings, but just eggs and milk or cheese if you have it can make an easy, make ahead breakfast.
Fried Potatoes
Potatoes are cheap. You can even use leftovers from your dinners to make some fried breakfast potatoes. Have them as a side to eggs or eat them as is.
Lunches:
Leftovers
This is, by far, the best way to save money on lunch. Most times, we don’t even have to double a recipe for it to stretch to an extra meal or two.
Peanut Butter & Jelly
This is classic and for good reason. We also enjoy peanut butter and honey.
Tuna Salad/Melts
Tuna is so inexpensive and full of nutrition. I eat tuna salad most days, but have tuna melts every now and then to change it up.
Bean & Cheese Burritos
My husband and I lived off of these in college. They are so simple to make and cost so little. They are great topped with sour cream if you can afford it.
Grilled Cheese
Another classic, with or without the tomato soup. Nothing says cozy winter lunch like a good grilled cheese.
Cheese and Crackers
Think adult lunchable. You can even add some pepperonis in there for a yummy and simple lunch.
Lunch Meat Sandwich
The price of lunch meat has skyrocketed. Regardless, even if you purchase one container of lunch meat, it should be able to feed several people for several days. If you can, adding some cheese and condiments will really change it up. My husband loves his lunch meat on tortillas instead of sandwich bread.
Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is another wonderful option. They even make pasta salad kits that don’t cost too much, if you don’t want to gather all the ingredients.
Beans on Toast
This one is super filling and easy to throw together. It’s not one we eat frequently in our home, but I know a lot of people enjoy this as a frugal meal option.
Dinners:
Spaghetti with Sauce
This one is simple, inexpensive, and a kid-friendly favorite. You can really play up this meal. If you have the money for some meat, 1/2 a pound of ground beef or turkey would take this far. Add a side of homemade garlic bread (think toasted sandwich or homemade bread, butter, and garlic powder) or a salad if you have lettuce. If not, just the spaghetti, sauce, and a can of green beans would be sufficient.
Beans and Rice w/cornbread
This is my children’s absolute favorite meal, believe it or not. We use either black or red beans, they like it either way. You can also use any type of rice you happen to have. If you can, we like to add some cornbread to the side. We will sometimes make it like a stew, but other times, we will make it with the bean broth drained with a veggie on the side.
Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is a favorite in our home, especially during cold and flu season. It’s so easy to grab whatever veggies you have, some chicken, and broth and throw them together. We use noodles, rice, or sometimes neither. It’s always an enjoyable and nourishing meal.
Chicken Legs
Chicken legs are probably one of the cheapest cuts of meat to get. My husband isn’t super fond of meat on the bone, so we don’t eat this very often, but just throw them in the crockpot, add some marinade or spices, and let them cook up. Add a side of veggies and potatoes.
Chili Cheese Dogs
Chili sauce and cheese will make this meal go a bit farther, but just hot dogs would work too. I don’t advocate for hot dogs too frequently, but if it needs to get you through a tough spot, it will likely be enjoyed by the whole family. We do ours with a side of mac and cheese and a green vegetable.
Sloppy Joes
This is a family favorite. You can use a can of sauce or brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard on buns. My family of 6 can stretch this with 1 pound of meat. We do a bag of chips and a veggie as the sides.
Goulash
Goulash is another wonderful comfort meal that doesn’t cost a lot. It consists of noodles, beef, canned tomatoes, and spices.
Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes are so filling and inexpensive. You don’t need all the toppings either, if it’s not in the budget. You can simply do butter, salt, and pepper. Try to make a couple of extra when you cook them up for breakfast potatoes or lunches.
Quesadillas
Quesadillas can go so many different ways. We’ve done black bean, bean and cheese, cheese, chicken, beef, pizza, breakfast, the list goes on.
Soups/Stews
I know this is broad, but I have seen people make some delicious soups and stews just having a carrot and onion. Soups and stews can be whatever leftover vegetables you have in your fridge or freezer. Just add some water or broth and seasonings. They go well with homemade bread or crackers.
Black Bean Fajitas
All you need is a can of black beans and a bag of pepper and onions, plus some tortillas. Cheese and sour cream if you have them. Just heat it all up and eat on your tortillas. So delicious.
Fried Rice
I always have a bag of frozen peas and carrots in my freezer. That way, if we have leftover rice in the fridge, it’s easy to throw together fried rice. You can add an egg if you have it. I’ve also thrown in chicken, but I actually prefer it without. Soy sauce is helpful for this one as well.
Mexican Rice Bowls
This one is a personal family favorite. It’s just rice, black beans, and any taco type toppings you want. We also like to top ours with corn chips.
Veggie Lo Mein
This meal is literally a frozen bag of stir fry vegetables and spaghetti noodles with some soy sauce and spices if you have them. Easy, inexpensive, and super filling.
Beef Ramen Noodles
Another recipe that consists of a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables, this time, with ramen noodles (with or without the seasoning), and some ground beef if you have it. You can use 1/2 or 1 pound. If you don’t, I am sure it would be just as good without it.
There you have it. I pray that some of these meals to make when you have no money will be a blessing and allow you to get out of a tough spot and to get ahead.
