5 Dinners You Can Make for Under $10 Each

These budget-friendly meals taste like a million bucks.

By

Published on February 23, 2021

Nicole McLaughlin, aka NicoleMcmom, shows you how to make five satisfying low-cost dinners your family will love, with budget-saving tips along the way.

1. One-Skillet Chicken Dinner

overhead shot of Honey-Sriracha Glazed Chicken Thighs over root vegetables in a cast iron skillet — Allrecipes

Try this recipe: Cast Iron Honey-Sriracha Glazed Chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables. Nicole uses chicken thighs because they won't dry out when you sear them in the skillet and finish them in the oven with the root vegetables. A sweet and spicy glaze brings everything together at the end. Budget-friendly tip: Use water instead of wine (with an optional splash of red wine vinegar) to cut down on costs.

2. Slow Cooker Soup

Try this recipe: Slow Cooker Lentil and Ham Soup. Tomato sauce and dried herbs go into the pot with inexpensive lentils, chopped vegetables, and diced ham to make a satisfying slow cooker soup. Nicole says this dinner is so budget-friendly, there's room for bread or grilled cheese on the side.

3. Sheet Pan Sausage & Peppers

sliced Italian sausage cooked on a sheet pan with onions and peppers — Allrecipes

Try this recipe: Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potato Bake. Break out the sheet pan for this easy recipe. Although Nicole made the recipe without potatoes, you can use them or leave them out — your dinner, your choice. Budget-friendly tips: Look for peppers and onions sold in value packs. The Italian sausage adds so much flavor, you don't have to spend anything on extra seasoning. With the money you save, you could buy bread rolls and serve the sausage and peppers as sandwiches.

4. Pasta Night

penne pasta with bacon, tomatoes, and spinach on a plate — Allrecipes

Try this recipe: Penne Pasta with Spinach and Bacon. You only need a few slices of bacon to flavor up this dish. Once you crisp up the bacon, you'll add garlic and canned tomatoes to make a quick sauce. Toss the spinach and cooked pasta in the skillet, and dinner's ready.

5. Stir-Fry

Try this recipe: Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. Stir-fries are great at stretching ingredients (can you believe you're using only a half pound of ground beef to make this meal?) and you can throw leftovers into the mix so nothing goes to waste. Budget-friendly tip: Purchase meat at the grocer's butcher counter if you can so you only pay for what you need.

You can connect with Nicole as NicoleMcmom on Allrecipes and on Instagram @nicolemcmom.

More tips, tricks, and ideas from Nicole:

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!