Budget Friendly Family dinners

Looking to whip up some delicious family dinners without breaking the bank? I have chosen four budget-friendly recipes that are easy on your wallet but also big on flavour.

Photo by Ashraf Ali on Unsplash

Hello

I hope you had a fabulous Easter and enjoyed the long weekend. True to my word I took some time out as well as catching up on some household chores and spending time with friends and family. In fact that rather extended into the week. That’s the joy of working for myself and now being old enough to have a break now and again and not feel guilty.

Now that Easter is over, I'm beginning to yearn for warmer days and lighter meals. We even had salad as a main meal twice this week. But it still feels a little early to share summer dishes, especially given the wet weather we are still having here in the UK, where the majority of my dishes are cooked. Having blown the monthly budget last month over Easter, it is time to have a few budget-friendly meals to get back on track (and I’m still saving for those kitchen cupboard doors, and have some exciting travel plans coming up). This week, I am sharing some recipes that won’t break the bank instead.

I got out my calculator and made rough calculations for the cost per portion of the meals below, based on the currant Ocado website prices, as this is where I do the majority of my basic food shopping, using a mixture of branded and own- brand ingredients.

What is your favourite low-cost midweek meal? I would love to know ,tell me in the comments or hit reply to pop me an email.

Until next time have a delicious (yet inexpensive) week.

Easy Chicken and Potato Goulash

Chicken and potatoes cooked with red peppers, tomatoes and paprika in a great one pot meal.

Cost: £1.90 per portion if made with chicken thighs.

Easy Sausage and Red Lentil Casserole

This one-pot sausage and red lentil casserole is easy to prepare, and quick to make. Ideal for a family weekday meal.

Cost: You can make this recipe for as little as 75p per portion using the cheapest sausages at £2 for 8. But I personally think this is an ingredient it is worth paying a bit more for as you will get a much better product and it is the star of the meal. So based on using a premium sausage paying around £5 for 6 sausages it still comes out at £2.35 per portion.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Spinach

Easy to prepare pasta with roasted pumpkin and spinach is a healthy hot and spicy dish. Perfect for a midweek meat-free meal.

Cost: £2.10 per portion made with butternut squash

Easy Chilli

Mince is always a good budget choice and chilli is always popular in our household no matter what time of the year. This simple version is packed with flavour and, as the name suggests, very easy to make.

Cost: £1.80 per portion

Have you seen?

Raspberry and White Chocolate Traybake Cake

Essentially an upside-down cake recipe, this Raspberry and White Chocolate Traybake Cake tastes amazing. 

Cost: Made with frozen raspberries this cake will set you back 60p a portion