Looking for cheap dinner ideas? Here are 20 more dinners that cost 5 dollar or less, with recipes and cost breakdown!
Welcome to my second edition of 20 Dinners That Cost 5 Dollars or Less! My first edition is the second most popular post on my blog: 20 Dinners That Cost 5 Dollars or Less. I totally revamped my list this time around to include more recipes!
In my last post, I tried to keep the entire cost of dinner under 5 dollars. Meaning, if you wanted tuna melts for dinner, I included the entire loaf of bread and a whole bag of cheese in the cost.
With this post, I only added up the cost of ingredients just for that recipe. So some of these will come out to more than $5.00 at first, but you can use what’s left over to create more dinners, saving more money! These prices are based on what I find at Aldi, so your mileage may vary.
Also, the list below only includes the main entree. Add a couple fresh vegetables for a more well-rounded meal! Take your time and hopefully you’ll come out with more meal ideas and motivation to keep it simple and cheap!
20 More Dinners That Cost 5 Dollars or Less
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef: $2.59
- Parmesan cheese: $.30
- Bread crumbs: $.30
- Milk: $.10
- Seasonings: $.10
- Total: $3.39
Pepperoni pizza bites
- Flour: $.07
- Baking powder: $.02
- Milk: $.14
- Egg: $.13
- Parmesan cheese: $.60
- Mozzarella cheese: $.52
- Pizza sauce: $1.00
- Pepperoni: $2.29
- Seasonings: $.20
- Total: $4.97
Pizza quesadillas
- Tortillas: $1.79
- Pizza sauce: $1.00
- Pepperoni: $1.00 (Half the bag)
- Mozzarella cheese: $1.00 (2 cups)
- Total: $4.79
Biscuits and gravy
- Biscuits: $1.39 (or much less if you make your own!)
- Ground sausage: $1.99
- Flour: $.04
- Milk: $.28
- Total: $3.70
Red beans and rice
- Wild rice: $1.20
- Kidney beans: $.59
- Half an onion: $.20
- Chicken broth: $.50
- Diced tomatoes: $.55
- $3.04
Homemade chicken nuggets
- 1 pound chicken breast: $1.89
- Panko bread crumbs: $.35
- Parmesan cheese: $.41
- Oil: $.05
- Flour: $.05
- Eggs: $.26
- Total: $3.01
Garlic bread pizza
- Garlic toast: $1.79
- Pizza sauce: $1.00
- Pepperoni: $1.00 (Half the bag)
- Mozzarella cheese: $1.00
- Total: $4.79
Enchilada crescents
- Ground beef: $1.30 (Half pound)
- Green chiles: $1.00
- Enchilada sauce: $1.00
- Crescent rolls: $1.39
- Shredded cheese: $1.00
- Total: $5.69
Bean and cheese burritos
- Refried beans: $2.00 (Recipe for homemade beans is above)
- Tortilla shells: $2.78
- Cheese: $.50
- Total: $5.28
Ham and cheese foldovers
- Puff pastry: $2.00
- Ham: $2.00
- Cheese: $.50
- Egg: $.13
- Total: $4.63
Chicken and rice casserole
- Chicken: $3
- Rice: $.50
- Cream of mushroom soup: $.65
- Shredded cheese: $.50
- Total: $4.65
One Pot BBQ Chicken Pasta
- Bacon: $.75
- Chicken: $1.88
- Garlic: $.05
- Onion: $.25
- Chicken broth: $.50
- Diced tomatoes: $.55
- Milk: $.10
- Pasta: $1
- BBQ sauce: $.25
- Shredded cheese: $.50
- Total: $5.83
Sour Cream Enchiladas
- Sour cream: $.50
- Tortillas: $1.39
- Shredded cheese: $1.00
- Enchilada sauce: $1.00
- Total: $3.89
Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole
- Pasta: $.75
- Bay leaves: $.10
- Butter: $.33
- Celery: $.30
- Carrots: $.30
- Garlic: $.10
- Flour: $.05
- Milk: $.11
- Chicken: $1.88
- Shredded cheese: $.75
- Total: $4.67
Muffin Tin Cheeseburgers
- Butter: $.11
- Buns: $1.00
- Bacon: $.30
- Ground beef: $2.59
- Onion: $.20
- Cheese: $1
- Ketchup: $.05
- Relish: $.05
- Total: $5.30
“Poverty Meal”/Goulash
- Onion: $.30
- Garlic: $.05
- Olive oil: $.02
- Ground beef: $2.59
- Stewed tomatoes: $1.10
- Macaroni: $.50 (Half a box)
- Total: $4.56
Chili Dog Casserole
- Buns: $1.00
- Hot dogs: $1.00
- Chili: $1.00
- Shredded cheese: $1.00
- Total: $4.00
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Pork: $3.00
- Onion: $.20
- BBQ sauce: $.50
- Garlic: $.05
- Buns: $1.00
- Total: $4.75
Hawaiian Fried Rice
- Ham: $1.50
- Onion: $.30
- Bell pepper: $.60
- Oil: $.05
- Eggs: $.39
- Rice: $.40
- Pineapple: $1.00
- Total: $4.24
Broccoli, Ham, and Mozzarella baked with Eggs
- Broccoli: $1.79
- Ham: $1.50
- Mozzarella cheese: $.50
- Eggs: $1.04
- Total: $4.83
What are your favorite cheap dinners? Share in the comments below!
Angela says
Love it
Donna Lovell says
Chicken casserole ; one bag egg noodles, two cans cream of chicken soup, black pepper
Cook noodles drain, mix in soup , add black pepper to taste . Put in 9|13 pan and heat in oven on 350 until heated through , about 25 minutes. Serve.
Chicken quesadillas; flour tortillas, one tomato chopped, one onion chopped, fresh cilantro chopped, shredded cooked chicken breast, one cup shredded cheddar, butter to cook in. Mix vegetables and cilantro in bowl , add salt and pepper to taste. Take a flour tortilla and put a little cheese , chicken , and veg.mix on it. Fold in two. Melt butter in skillet and brown tortilla on both sides. Serve warm.
Jaime says
Quesadillas are a favorite around here! Thanks for sharing. =)
Dannelle Gay says
Thanks for the great post!
The chili dog casserole link is bad – it should be http://operation40k.com/chili-dog-casserole/
Jaime says
Thank you so much, Dannelle! I’ll change it!
Mary says
If only chicken was 1.89 times that by 5 mouths to feed and chicken goes for a 1.99 a pound in ny tell me where to get those deala
Jaime says
Oh gosh, we live in Ohio. =( I know that prices in New York can be higher! Sometimes if I want to stretch my chicken, I’ll shred it and add it to a casserole. It’s amazing how far one pound of chicken can go when you do that!
Ashley Anne Bell says
So you consider nothing but meatballs to be a full dinner?? And how can you have a pulled pork sandwich with no bread? My family would never be satisfied with these “dinners”.
Jaime says
Hey, thanks for catching my mistake with the bread! I’ll put that in with the pulled pork sandwiches, thanks. =) Like I said in the beginning, the cost is for the main entree. Feel free to add your favorite vegetable to round things out!
a says
no need to be rude. I think these are great budget meals! I will definitely be trying some of these out! thanks for the recipes and ideas!
Jaime says
Thank you! I hope you find some that you enjoy! =)