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: $4.00
- Onion: $.20
- BBQ sauce: $.50
- Garlic: $.05
- 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!