Budget Recipes

EASY creamy mashed potatoes with 2 game-changing hacks. Gluten-free, dairy-free, with vegan option.

A great way to use a relatively inexpensive cut of meat. These tacos come together easily and are so delicious!

This meltingly tender slow-cooker recipe is the perfect introduction to cube steak, a tenderized cut of beef that's rich beyond its price tag.

With a flavor profile inspired by pasta e fagioli, this weeknight pasta recipe coaxes rich flavor out of simple ingredients while enlisting the oven to create a luscious sauce from roasted tomatoes and white beans. Essentially, the dish requires just three steps: Boil pasta, roast your sauce ingredients, then stir together until the pasta is glossy. When roasted in the oven, the beans become crispy, like croutons, and break down in a way that helps thicken the sauce. Though a flurry of freshly grated cheese would be welcome on top, this otherwise-vegan dish doesn’t need it: The roasted tomato sauce is rich and luscious, fortified by starchy pasta water, roasted beans and a good glug of extra-virgin olive oil.

Vegan Spanish chickpeas and rice is an easy one-pot recipe bursting with smoked paprika and tomato flavours. It's a budget-friendly vegan recipe that packs in lots of protein and fibre, all in a mouthwatering bowl of goodness.

Cottage cheese is a surprisingly delicious and inexpensive source of protein in this sweet, tangy, and tropical Pineapple Protein Smoothie.

This hearty Vegetarian Chili is cozy, budget-friendly, and full of flavor. With beans, spices, and molasses, it’s the perfect comforting meal.

These Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwiches are an easy vegetarian dish with plenty of options for customizing to fit your tastes and budget.

A simple an inexpensive side dish, this Roasted Carrot and Feta Salad combines sweet roasted carrots with salty feta and fresh parsley for a simple salad.

Baked eggs are an easy and affordable lazy weekend breakfast AND a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge.

When life hands you overripe bananas about to meet their doom, make this budget-friendly Banana Cake instead!

This baked Feta Pasta recipe is made with budget-friendly roasted Roma tomatoes, onion, garlic, pasta, and a creamy block of feta! Easy and SO delicious!

These Air Fryer Carrots are savory, super easy to make, inexpensive and the perfect compliment to any weeknight dinner meal.

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes are a classic comfort food that’s budget-friendly, easy to customize, and made conveniently in the air fryer.

Crisp-tender Air Fryer Broccoli made with olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, and onion powder. A quick, affordable veggie side ready in just 6 minutes!

These old-fashioned porcupine meatballs are made with ground beef, rice, and a rich tomato sauce. A classic, budget-friendly comfort food recipe that’s easy to make and full of flavor.

Canned Salmon Pasta is a creamy, quick, and budget-friendly dinner made with pantry staples.

Easy bread recipe Our classic recipe for basic white bread produces a light and fluffy interior with a chewy golden crust. Serve fresh from the oven slathered with butter.  This is it. The recipe that takes you by the hand and leads you through the process of baking your own bread. Whether a novice or an old hand this recipe produces the real deal, fluffy white bread with a slightly chewy crust. Eat fresh from the oven with butter and jam, make little finger sandwiches or use the day-old bread for cheese toasties. No special equipment is needed for homemade bread. There’s no denying that a stand mixer helps but all you need is a hot oven and a bit of elbow grease. The dough has been kneaded enough when it looks smooth and when you poke your finger into it the hole it fills back quickly. You could also do what is known as the ‘pane test’. To do this, take a small amount of dough and slowly stretch it until the piece is so thin in the middle you can see light through it. I find this the most satisfying way of knowing your hard work has paid off.  Don’t be put off by how many steps this basic white bread recipe has. We’ve done this deliberately to put as much information as we can. What do I need for the perfect loaf of white bread? Yeast is at the heart of this white bread recipe. We say to use dried yeast, but instant dried yeast can be substituted. Ironically using instant yeast means the bread takes longer to prove, but as we set the dough aside for between 45-75 minutes, we leave room for the time lag. Look for high protein plain flour – this will be labelled as bread and pizza flour. High protein means high gluten, which makes the bread stronger and able to hold more carbon dioxide which is responsible for the rising. The lactic acid in milk helps tenderise the crumb and the natural sugar adds flavour and contributes to the golden crust. When making homemade bread, the water needs to just be luke-warm. Too hot and it may kill the yeast, it needs to be just warm enough to help activate the yeast. Now that you have your baker’s hat firmly on your head, how about venturing out to other types of bread making. From buttery brioche, to sourdough and focaccia and classic pizza bases. Additional recipe notes by Alison Adams - Food Writer and Recipe Tester.

Jacket potatoes are Britain’s version of a baked potato. They’re simple and inexpensive to make, with a fluffy interior and an extra crispy exterior.

Make and share this Classic Potato Salad recipe from Food.com.

This Korean Ground Beef Bowl is a quick, sweet-savory, garlicky weeknight dinner that tastes like cozy takeout at home. It’s fast to make, budget-friendly, and easy to customize with rice, noodles, lettuce wraps, and toppings.

Slow Cooker Ham and Cabbage is the perfect blend of tender cabbage, smoky ham, and savory seasonings, all infused together for an effortless, satisfying

This simple Apple Pie French Bread comes together so quickly! Perfect for breakfast or as a dessert. Plus, it's budget friendly and so easy to prepare.

Homemade Cream of Anything Soup Mix. So easy and inexpensive to make yourself, not to mention it's much healthier too!