Note: All our prices are based on Asda. You may be able to get them cheaper at other stores. Please do shop around. All recipes are made for four people (two adults and two children) unless stated.

Cooking on a Budget

If you’re struggling to meal plan, then start by:

1. Reading our Budget Meal Planning: How to meal plan so it saves you time and money post here. This will help you to get the basics of meal planning.
2. Check all your cupboards. Have you got these budget pantry staples? These are going to be your cupboard essentials and will help you bring your shopping bill down.
3. Grab a piece of paper or use your phone and write down every time you or your family finish something from the cupboards or fridge etc. This gives you a good list to start from when you are trying to meal prep in a hurry.
4. Pick your meals from the below but remember to check your calendar first. There’s no point deciding to cook a full on family meal if everyone!
5. Have fun and be flexible! Just because you  meal plan doesn’t mean that your food is set in stone. Change it around if you want and add or take away a meal. Just remember to add it to next weeks meal plan and freeze it if needed.

So here are our 59 cheap recipes for families when cooking on a budget that are going to help you meal plan and keep your shopping bill down.

(We are assuming you have some of our Budget Cupboard Staples already brought. If not, please see our full list of Staple Food Store Cupboard Essentials here.)

A lot of these are also perfect for leftovers. So if you make to much, freeze and use again at the end of the week or take for lunch!

Cheap Recipes for Families

Breakfast

1. Porridge with fruit
2. Overnight oats
3. Toast with banana
4. Scrambled eggs
5. Boiled eggs & soldiers
6. Fried Egg & tomato
7. Fruit smoothies
8. Sliced pear, honeydew melon, strawberries and fat free Greek style yogurt
9. 2 frozen hash browns, baked beans and scrambled eggs
10. Sliced banana topped with Mullerlight yogurt
11. Fried breakfast: 6 eggs, 6 sausages, 6 bacon medallions, 8 cherry tomatoes, 6 mushrooms and 2 tins of baked beans
12.  Breakfast muffins
13. Poached eggs and bacon with a syn free Hash Brown
14. Sweet baked potato, sliced ham, beetroot and a salad

Lunch

1. Butternut penne
2. Pizza toast
3. Choice of sandwich filling
4. Spaghetti with dried herb to taste (we use chilli flakes and oregano)
5. Boiled egg & toast
6. Crackers ploughman
7. Grilled cheese sandwiches
8. Homemade sweet potato & carrot soup
9. Scotch pancakes
10. 3 egg omelette with your choice of filling (Bacon, Ham, Spinach, Tomatoes, Mushroom, Onion)
11. Salad wrap with your choice or cheese or ham
12. Bean and broccoli pasta salad
13. Homemade sausage and bean soup
14. Leek and egg salad
15. Winter vegetable soup (chuck whatever you have leftover or vegetables from the freezer)
16. Mexican rice (mix frozen veg and some chilli spice for some taste.)
17. Butternut squash risotto (we use frozen butternut squash already but with frozen onions etc)

Dinner

1. Homemade Four Seasons Pizza (half of cheese, quarter of chicken & tomato, quarter Pineapple & Ham)
2. Sweet potato curry
3. Fish cakes, mash & beans
4. Gammon (or ham), eggs & homemade chips
5. Cheese & ham(or any leftover meat) pasta bake
6. Vegetable Fajitas
7. Vegetable Lasagne
8. Jacket potato with a choice of toppings
9. Egg fried Stir fry with Rices
10. Egg noodle stir fry
11. Hidden vegetable Pasta and sauce (could add tuna etc)
12. Sweet & Sour Chicken with Rice
13. Sweet Potato & Chicken Curry
14. Syn free tomato and garlic pasta
15. Frozen butternut squash lasagna
16. Slimming World Creamy tomato sauce from Iceland mixed with cooked pasta
17. Frozen sausage casserole
18. Vegetarian chickpea curry
19. Slimming World mushroom sauce mixed with cooked pasta
20. Cottage pie
21. Spaghetti carbonara
22. Bean burger
23. Turkey egg fried rice stir fry
24. Carcass soup
25. Baked (enter meat here) pesto alfredo
26. Casserole
27. Korma
28. Meat smothered sweet potato

Related Posts: 

• £1 a Head Family Meals: Recipes That Will Keep Your Food Bill in Check
• 5 Ingredient Budget Meals That Will Get You Through a Working Week
• One Month of Cheap Aldi Slow Cooked Dinners Plus a Free Month Meal Plan

If trying to find your own family meal ideas that don’t cost you earth is causing you a headache, then my new ring binder book “The Family Meal Prep Binder: Cheap Recipes For Families on a Budget” is for you. It has over 100 simple, budget recipes that don’t require any fancy gadgets or expensive ingredients. All the meals are “normal” family favourites that can be made in advance, from leftovers to Slimming World family friendly meals that can all be used to build up your meal plan weekly to keep you on budget.

You can also add to them. We’ve left pages at the back so you can write out your families favourites so you always have them to hand. We are also offering all these recipes on Savings 4 Savvy Mums as extras in one big printable so you can print them at home (or buy for a small fee and sent to you by post) so you can add them to your binder yourself.

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