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Easy Budget Dinner Recipes: One-Pot, 30-Minute & Cozy Fall Meals
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items Easy budget dinner recipes for busy weeknights: one-pot and one-pan meals, 30-minute dinners, and cozy fall soups and chilis, most under $2 a serving. Fewer dishes, real ingredients, and meals that taste way more expensive than they cost. Save this f...
Sections
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One-Pot & One-Pan Meals
30-Minute Meals
Cozy Fall Soups & Chilis
One-Pot & One-Pan Meals
One pot, one pan, one sink of dishes. These dinners cook the pasta or grains right in the sauce, so cleanup takes two minutes.
Chili and mac and cheese in one pot, about $1.50 a serving. The pasta cooks right in the chili, so there is only one pot to wash. Top with shredded cheddar and green onions, and leftovers reheat great for lunch.
One Pot Chili Mac
Creamy, restaurant-style pasta for about $1.06 a serving, done in about 30 minutes. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, so it is one pot and no draining. Add rotisserie chicken or shrimp if you want extra protein, and finish with fresh basil so it lo...
One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Chicken, orzo, spinach, olives and feta all cooked in one skillet. It tastes like a Mediterranean restaurant plate for a few dollars a serving. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top right before serving, and it makes great next-day lunch bowls.
Greek Chicken and Orzo Skillet
Homemade Hamburger Helper for about $1.26 a serving, in one skillet in about 30 minutes. A kid-friendly weeknight dinner made with ground beef, pasta and cheese. Serve with a simple side salad or steamed broccoli to round it out.
One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
A festive one-pan dinner with chicken, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes in a cranberry balsamic glaze, about $3.32 a serving. Everything roasts together on one sheet pan in about 50 minutes. It looks like a holiday plate, so it is perfect for Frie...
Sheet Pan Cranberry Chicken Dinner
30-Minute Meals
Dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less, for those nights you get home late and still want something that tastes homemade.
All the lasagna flavor in 30 minutes, with no layering and no oven, for about $2.25 a serving. Everything cooks in one deep skillet, then gets dotted with ricotta and mozzarella. Pair with garlic bread and a bagged salad for an easy dinner that feels...
30-Minute Skillet Lasagna
Broccoli cheddar soup vibes in a creamy orzo you can make in under 30 minutes, for about $1.49 a serving. Serve it as a cozy meatless dinner, or add chopped chicken. Frozen broccoli works fine, which keeps the cost down.
Broccoli Cheddar Orzo
Takeout-style garlic noodles for about 59 cents a serving, ready in 25 minutes. Butter, lots of garlic and a savory sauce make basic spaghetti taste like a restaurant side. Top with green onions and add a fried egg or shrimp to make it a full meal.
Garlic Noodles
A creamy tomato pasta with spinach in 25 minutes for about $1.20 a serving. It looks like date-night pasta but costs like a weeknight one. Finish with parmesan and red pepper flakes, and swap in kale if that is what you have.
Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta
Pasta with white beans, tomatoes and spinach in 30 minutes, about $1.61 a serving. Meatless, filling and packed with fiber thanks to the beans. A drizzle of good olive oil and parmesan at the end makes it taste like a trattoria dish.
Easy Tuscan White Bean Pasta Recipe
Cozy Fall Soups & Chilis
Big-batch soups and chilis for chilly fall nights. Make a pot on Sunday and lunch is handled for the week.
Creamy, cozy white chicken chili for about $1.46 a serving. It makes a big pot, so lunch is covered for days. Set out toppings like avocado, sour cream, cilantro and tortilla chips so everyone can build their own bowl.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Creamy potato corn chowder for about 68 cents a serving, one of the cheapest dinners on this list. Pantry potatoes and frozen corn keep it easy any week. Serve with crusty bread or oyster crackers, and it freezes well for later.
Potato Corn Chowder
Lasagna Soup: all the lasagna flavor in a cozy bowl in about 40 minutes, roughly $2.26 a serving. Broken lasagna noodles cook right in the tomato broth. Top each bowl with a spoonful of ricotta and fresh basil so it feels like Sunday dinner.
Lasagna Soup
Silky roasted butternut squash soup that looks like it came from a fancy cafe. Butternut squash is cheap and in season in the fall, and roasting it brings out a sweet, rich flavor. Garnish with a swirl of cream and toasted pumpkin seeds for an expens...
Butternut Squash Soup