20 Cheap & Easy Dinner Recipes

There’s no better feeling than feeding your family (or yourself) a delicious meal, knowing it’s cheap (less than $10 for the whole meal), easy to make, and completely satisfying. It’s the ultimate recipe trifecta, and I’m happy to say that these 20 recipes have it all.

As you’re finding new inspiration for your next affordable dinner, make sure to read the tips and tricks from our editors, contributors, and readers.

“For some added nutrition and a pop of green, add 3 to 4 cups of fresh baby spinach to the pan after cooking the garlic, stirring until it wilts. Frozen green peas or frozen chopped broccoli are also good choices—add up to a cup.” —Laurel Randolph, Simply Recipes Senior Editor

“Spanish smoked paprika gives this soup its signature kick of spice. It’s different than Hungarian paprika, which is milder and sweeter.” —Jeanette Hurt, Simply Recipes Contributor

“Four whole cloves may seem like a lot, but the garlic mellows after it’s sautéed gently in oil and then simmered with some of the pasta cooking water. You can adjust the amount depending on your taste, using a couple less cloves or even an extra if you’re a serious garlic lover.” —Sheela Prakash, Simply Recipes Contributor

“Any kind of white bean will work, like cannellini, navy, and Great Northern.” —Laurel

“To get the onions caramelizing faster, salt the onions helps to draw out moisture.” —Julie and Amy Luxemberg, Simply Recipes Contributors

“I like to use aged cheddar for extra umami flavor but use whatever cheddar you prefer. This recipe uses the cheese in two ways; in a simple mornay sauce as well as on top of the casserole to keep things extra cheesy.” —Molly Adams, Simply Recipes Contributor

“Transferring the cooked pasta straight from the pot to to the sauce means you don’t have to clean a colander and any water clinging to the noodles will help to thicken the sauce.” —Julia Levy, Simply Recipes Recipe Developer

“I like shredded mozzarella or a pizza cheese blend for these beans, but I’m also very on board with the idea of throwing in a half cup or so of ricotta, which gives the dish serious baked pasta vibes.” —Stephanie Ganz, Simply Recipes Contributor

“Using the rind from a chunk of Parmesan cheese imparts lots of savory, umami flavor to the broth, so don’t skip it. While you can often buy the rinds from grocery stores like Whole Foods, you’ll be grating Parmesan cheese into the soup, too, so it’s most cost-effective to simply buy a chunk and trim off the rind yourself.” —Marianne Williams, Simply Recipes Recipe Developer

“If you want to give your noodles a kick, add a tablespoon of chili oil or Sriracha to the sauce.” —Hannah Zimmerman, Simply Recipes Contributor

“With so few ingredients, the quality of this soup relies on the quality of your ingredients. Homemade chicken stock is the best (we’ll also use Better than Bouillon in a pinch), and a good quality canned tomatoes makes all the difference (we use Muir Glen).” —Elise Bauer, Simply Recipes Founder

“I developed this recipe to be quick and dinner-friendly, so I added a bit of sugar to speed up the onion caramelization; if you have more time, skip the added sugar and let your onions caramelize slowly, ideally for about 30 minutes.” —Stephanie

“If possible, buy blocks of cheese and shred them yourself. Cheese shredded from a block melts much better into the sauce than pre-shredded.” —Kayla Hoang, Simply Recipes Contributor

“As is, this recipe makes a fairly mild batch of chili beans. If you’d like more heat, just add more chili powder to taste, or a little cayenne pepper. You can also add Tabasco or Crystal hot sauce, either to the pot or to each individual bowl.” —Elise

“Watch your brown butter closely. It can go from perfectly golden to burnt quickly. If you sense that it will burn, quickly but carefully transfer the butter into a heat-proof bowl to stop it from further browning.” —Sharon Lehman, Simply Recipes Contributor

“This is a thicker daal recipe. If you would like it thinner add 1/4 cup water into the daal and stir well, then add the tadka.” —Annika Panikker, Simply Recipes Contributor

“If you are having the kai jeow with steamed rice and raw vegetables, use the full 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, as the salty omelet will “season” what’s served with it. If you are having the omelet on its own, you may want to reduce the fish sauce to 1 teaspoon.” —Lany Phlong, Simply Recipes Contributor

“The last time I made two-ingredient creamy pesto beans, I drizzled a small pack of cherry tomatoes with olive oil, seasoned with salt, and broiled them while the beans cooked. I ended up piling the beans up on crispy toast and topping with the tomatoes, more pesto, and a drizzle of balsamic.” —Laurel

“For this recipe, I prefer using the block of feta that comes in brine—it has a better flavor and texture that crumbled feta.” —Molly Adams, Simply Recipes Contributor

“If you don’t own an immersion blender, you can purée the soup in a food processor or a regular upright blender. Be very careful when puréeing hot liquids in an upright blender. It is essential that steam has a way to escape while you purée, so remember to take out the removable center of the blender lid before blending and loosely drape a kitchen towel over the opening.” —Alexandra Shytsman, Simply Recipes Contributor