These are the budget meals you can make with mince
We love using mince in meals as it is pretty cheap to buy and it very easy to cook. You can cook it in a slow cooker or one pot with all your ingredients and leave it alone or fry for a few minutes and have a cheap meal for the whole family.
If you are looking for more cheap meal ideas then have a look at:
The Very Best Cheap Slow Cooker Recipes – These are the very best recipes for your slow cooker that are easy to make and cheap on your pocket.
37 Dirt Cheap Meals For UK Families – We are not suggesting you use these all the time, but these are the meals we use when we are on a very tight budget.
The Best Cheap Recipes For Families – We’ve included everything in here that we do to keep our food shop as low as possible.
What can I eat mince with?
You can eat mince with pretty much anything. We enjoy our mince with rice, pasta, spagetti, potatoes and vegetables.
Is 500g mince enough for two people?
Yes, we use 500g of mince for four people normally as we eat mince with other things like rice and pasta.
Best ever budget mince recipes
These are my own family favourite recipes that make a great midweek meal when you need something cheap. and easy to cook,
You can cook these for dinner then have leftovers for lunch the next day as well.
Don’t be scared to use chicken mince if you prefer the taste or frozen beef mince, We tend to use frozen mince but cut it up into small pieces so we can just use what we need each time.
1. Italian Meatball Marinara
This is a gorgeous meatballs recipe that the whole family will love. It’s a healthy meal that uses a basic tomato sauce recipe that can be used for loads of meals.
Make this amazing meatball marinara here.
500g minced meat £1.99
2 onion 16p
3 glove garlic 7p
1 egg 10p
1 tsp salt 2p
2 tsp low cal spray 10p
1 tin passata 32p
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 3p
Half tablespoon sugar 5p
Half tablespoon salt 3p
210g Spaghetti 8p
Total: £2.95 that’s 73p for four people.
2. Spaghetti Bolognese
This spaghetti bolognese recipe is so simple and the longer you leave it in the more intense the flavour. The sauce can be left to cook all day, ready to be mixed with freshly-cooked pasta when you get home.
1 onion chopped 22p,
1 tbsp tomato puree 10p,
2 tins chopped tomato 58p,
1 tbsp caster sugar or to taste 4p,
1 celery stick chopped 10p,
250g minced beef 83p,
1 carrot chopped 7p,
2 cloves garlic chopped 4p,
1 tsp oregano 2p,
2 large mushrooms chopped 75p,
1 beef stock cubes 6p,
1 handfull Parmesan for sprinkling 20p,
Total: £3.01, that’s 75p a head.
3. Cottage Pie
This is a classic cottage pie recipe! Just chuck it all in and grill at the end.
500g Tin of New Potatoes 32p,
Beef mince (500g) £2,
Onion 22p,
carrots x2 9p,
Mushrooms 68p,
Everyday Value soft cheese (200g) 49p,
Total: £3.89 that’s 97p for four people.
4. Homemade Beef Burgers
These are gourmet burgers that can be spiced up or down depending on what your family like spice wise. We also cook our homemade chips and add cheese slices.
Here’s how we make our Homemade Burgers.
You can make them in the morning if you don’t have time in the evening.
500g beef minced meat £1.99,
125g frozen onion 8p,
2 garlic cloves 6p,
1 egg 10p, Pinch of salt 3p,
6 burger buns 56p,
Lettuce leave 25p,
Tomato 50p,
Cheese slices 35p,
4 potatoes 40p,
Total: £4.32.
5. Chilli Con Carne
This chilli con carne recipe is easy to do and can be frozen for another night.
Read how we cooked our Chilli Con Carne recipe here.
500g beef minced meat £1.99,
200g frozen onion 32p,
3 garlic gloves 7p,
300ml tinned tomatoes 28p,
400g tinned kidney beans 30p,
3 tbsp tomato puree 15p,
Half a lime 12p, 220ml stock 3p,
4 tbsp low cal spray 20p,
1 tsp salt 2p,
Half tsp sugar 5p,
180g Rice 24p,
Total: £3.77
6. Beef Mince Tacos
Beef mince tacos make a great weekend fakeaway meal that is perfect for the whole family and really cheap to make.
Minced beef tacos are really easy to make and can be as spicy or not as you like. We like using frozen mince or Quorn mince as you get to pick out as much as you want and freeze that rest.
You can use frozen vegetables if you prefer as they are re-cut so can make the process a bit quicker. This taco recipe includes the light salsa that is really fruity so great for kids. Put everything in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves and build their own perfect mine taco.
100g mince 75p
175g baby corn 95p
190g frozen red onions 42p
100g red pepper 45p
110g kiwi fruit 60p
115g tomatoes 50p
5g garlic clove 2p
85g red cabbage 20p.
Total: £4 that’s £1 a head for four people.
Related Posts:
- The Ultimate £1 Per Head Budget Meal Planning List
- The Best Fakeaway Recipes For Under £1 a Head
- 65 Dirt Cheap Meals for Your Family (Under £1 a Head)
7. Lasagne
This is a really easy lasgne recipe that takes minutes to prep and only 20 minutes to cook.
20g tomato purée 15p
400g tin chopped tomatoes 28p
200ml beef stock 5p
4 lasagne sheets 10p
150g cheese, grated £1.50
500g JUST ESSENTIALS by ASDA Beef Mince £1.79
For the white sauce:
50g butter 17p
50g plain flour 5p
500ml semi-skimmed milk 40p
Total: £4.49 that’s 1.12p for four people.
Equipment
These are really easy beef mince recipes but it can be overwhelming if you have never cooked before.
You really don’t need anything special to cook but we always use:
Glass Oven Cooking Dishes – We have these dishes in a range of sizes. I means that you can cook food like lasagne really easily and pasta bakes.
Slow cooker – We use our slow cooker at least once a week and have the Morphy Richards 3.5L Stainless Steel Slow Cooker. It is really easy to use and has three heat settings and is dishwasher safe.
Wok – We use our nuovva Induction Non Stick Wok Pan for sauces and frying. We like a lid as it means that the sauce gets to boiling point quicker.
Food thermometer – We use the DOQAUS Digital Meat Thermometer when we are looking joints in the oven or in the slow cooker. It is the easiest way to check if they middle is cooked and if it is safe to eat.
Laura x
If you enjoyed this post and would like some more family friendly budget recipes or meal plan ideas, then head over to the budget food section here on Savings 4 Savvy Mums where you’ll find over 30 cheap posts dedicated to helping you cook and shop wiser for less. There’s enough tips to help you save over £300 a month! You could also pop over and follow my family food Pinterest boards for lots more ideas on how to eat well and spend less; Family Meal Plans on a Budget, Budget Family Meals & Budget Slimming World Recipes for Families.
Love this post? Then why not save it to Pinterest so you can easily find it later.
What the * means
If a link has an * by it, then this means it is an affiliate link and helps S4SM stay free for all. If you use the link, it may mean that we receive a very small payment. It will not cost you anymore that it would normally.
You shouldn’t notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. The items we write about are NEVER dictated by these links. We aim to look at all products on the market. If it isn’t possible to get an affiliate link, then the link, or product is still included in the same way, just with a non-paying link.