A Month of Budget-Friendly Recipes

This classic meal is economical and easy to prepare. Although we call for thyme, you can use any fresh herbs you have on hand—tarragon, chives, rosemary, or a mix of any of them will work in the potatoes.

Price: $2.33 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Lemons
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• Whole chicken (3½-pound)
• 6 garlic cloves
• Red potatoes
• Butter, softened
• Fresh thyme leaves

This Tex-Mex nacho appetizer uses wheat cracker nachos as a healthy alternative to fried chips. The zesty combination of black beans, avocado, fresh corn kernels, cheddar cheese, and tomato will help tide folks over until the main course is ready. Packed with 18g of protein, our Wheat-Cracker "Nachos" also make a great after-school snack and are ready in just 20 minutes.

Price: $2.21 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Fresh corn kernels
• Reduced-fat wheat crackers (such as Triscuit)
• Shredded cheddar
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Lower-sodium mild green salsa
• 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• Organic black beans
• Kosher salt
• Romaine lettuce
• Plum tomato
• Avocado

Price: $1.96 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Boneless sirloin steak
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red onion
• Green onions
• Cooking spray
• Baking potato
• Reduced-fat sour cream
• Fat-free milk
• Butter

This pizza isn't just delicious—it's budget-friendly too! At just $2.49 per serving, your wallet (and your family) will thank you. Topped with red bell pepper, asparagus, and corn, this veggie pizza packs a nutritious punch, and it's ready in just 45 minutes. If you have dough left over, freeze it; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use.

Price: $2.49 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Store-bought pizza dough
• Cooking spray
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Onion
• Red bell pepper
• Asparagus
• Corn
• Cornmeal
• Part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Kosher salt
• Crushed red pepper
• Basil

Price: $2.38 per serving

Eating inexpensively doesn’t mean being deprived. Here crisp pears, ruby-hued cranberries, and pork top spinach in a pretty, filling salad.

Pantry Checklist:
• Cider vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Brown sugar
• Minced fresh garlic
• Dried thyme
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• All-purpose flour
• Olive oil
• Dried cranberries
• Sliced shallots
• Cranberry juice cocktail
• Baby spinach leaves
• 1 ripe red Anjou pear

Price: $2.41 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Olive oil
• Shallots
• Dijon mustard
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Solid white tuna in water (1 can)
• Lemon juice
• Avocado
• Cherry tomatoes
• Swiss cheese
• French bread

Serve with a salad of fresh spinach, sliced red onion, and cubed cantaloupe.

Price: $2.11 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Radish
• Red onion
• Avocado
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Butter
• Garlic
• Reduced-fat pork sausage
• Eggs
• Whole-wheat flour tortillas
• Organic pinto beans

Although it's budget-friendly, this dish is elegant enough for company. Serve with steamed fresh green beans.

Price: $2.44  per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Olive oil
• Boneless leg of lamb
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Onion
• Garlic
• Red Wine
• Fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• Pomegranate juice
• Sugar
• All-purpose flour

Our Cheese Ravioli with Pesto is a superfast vegetarian entrée that will please even the pickiest eaters. Fresh herbs are premium ingredients that can easily break a budget. Stretch the pesto by adding a little fresh baby spinach. Interested in gardening? See our 4 Reasons You Should Grow Your Own Food as well as our Guide to Basil.

Price: $2.43 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Fresh 3-cheese ravioli
• Fresh baby spinach
• Fresh basil leaves
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper
• Garlic
• Fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Plum tomato
• Parmesan cheese
• Pine nuts
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Dark green poblano chiles have mild to moderate heat. The darker the chile, the more fiery it will be. Serve with Grilled Corn.

Price: $2.44 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Poblano chiles
• French bread baguette
• 1% low-fat milk
• Chili powder
• Ground cumin
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Ground red pepper
• Ground turkey breast
• Cooking spray
• Canola mayonnaise
• Hamburger buns
• Tomato
• Green leaf lettuce leaves

Serve with a salad of green leaf lettuce, red onion, and fresh parsley, dressed with 1 tablespoon olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Price: $2.22 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Anchovy fillets
• Canned crushed tomatoes
• Kalamata olives
• Parsley
• Capers
• Crushed red pepper
• Fettuccine
• Parmesan

Price: $2.49 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Fresh lime juice
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
• Salt
• Ground cumin
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Garlic clove, minced
• Cooking spray
• Ear shucked corn
• Red bell pepper
• Nectarine
• Grated lime rind
• Jalapeño pepper
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cabbage

Although the yellow and green squash give this one-dish meal a colorful appearance, you can use one or the other, if you prefer.

Price: $2.16 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Cooking spray
• Onion
• Bone-in chicken breast half, skinned (8-ounce)
• Black pepper, divided
• Fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (14-ounce can)
• Butter
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Long-grain white rice
• Fresh rosemary
• All-purpose flour
• 2% reduced-fat milk
• Pecorino Romano cheese
• Salt

Think of this hearty tossed salad as a deconstructed BLT sandwich, where the bread appears in the form of croutons. Round out the plate with fresh cantaloupe.

Price: $2.32 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• French bread baguette
• Cooking spray
• Hickory-smoked bacon
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt
• Romaine lettuce
• Plum tomatoes
• Green onions
• Crumbled feta cheese

If you prefer to serve this salad chilled, make it up to a day ahead, toss, and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Price: $2.07 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
• Fresh lemon juice
• Dijon mustard
• Fresh garlic
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (12 ounces)
• Fresh spinach
• Canned cannellini beans
• Red onion
• Capers

In a rush to get dinner on the table? Make a quick dinner your family will happily scarf down so you can get to soccer practice on time. What kid (or grown-up, for that matter) wouldn't love this ooey-gooey sandwich? Serve the souped-up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with fresh fruit for a meal the whole family will love. If you like this recipe, you'll want to try our how easy it is to make this morning meal.

Price: $1.64 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• 2% reduced-fat milk
• Large egg
• Baking powder
• Vanilla extract
• Salt
• White whole-wheat sandwich bread
• Strawberry preserves
• Creamy peanut butter
• Canola oil
• Powdered sugar

This hearty entrée features a mushroom and sausage ragù (Italian meat-and-tomato pasta sauce) served over creamy polenta. Cook the polenta while the ragù simmers so everything will be ready and hot at the same time.

Fruity, briny olives add meaty flavor to this meatless one-dish meal.

Price: $1.84 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Shallots
• Head cauliflower
• Sliced Spanish olives
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves
• Uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• Fresh parsley
• Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved

The combo of Cajun seasoning and ground red pepper really packs a punch of heat in this dish, but the creamy sauce takes the edge off. Decrease the ground red pepper or simply omit it for a milder version of the dish. Serve with sliced French bread.

Price: $2.46 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Uncooked linguine
• Butter
• Onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• Plum tomatoes
• Peeled and deveined medium shrimp (1 pound)
• Cajun seasoning
• Ground red pepper
• Salt
• Half-and-half
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley

Serve this main-dish salad over fresh spinach. Regular spinach is the least expensive option, but you'll have to remove the stems. If time is your main concern, buy baby spinach.

Price: $2.28 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 4 (6-ounce)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• Celery
• Sweetened dried cranberries
• Chopped pecans, toasted
• Green onions
• Light sour cream
• Canola mayonnaise
• Fresh lemon juice

Cut two pita rounds in half, and cut each half into quarters and toast. Serve the pita wedges with the pork chops.

Price: $2.46 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Red wine vinegar
• Dried oregano
• Olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
• Plain fat-free Greek-style yogurt
• Fresh dill
• Salt
• Diced plum tomatoes (about 2 medium)
• Seeded cucumber
• Red onion
• Cooking spray

Find the noodles and sambal on the ethnic aisle at the supermarket or in an Asian market.

Price: $2.49 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Less-sodium soy sauce
• Sugar
• Sambal oelek (chile paste, such as Huy Fong)
• Canola oil
• Fresh lime juice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1-pound) top sirloin steak
• Wide rice sticks (8 ounces)
• Thinly sliced green onions

For just $2.15 per serving you can put our highly-addictive tomato soup on the table for dinner tonight. Country ham and chickpeas give this hearty five-star meal 24.3g of protein, so you can dig into this one-dish meal and know you'll stay full. Roasting the garlic, ham, and chickpeas gives them a delicious crunch.

Price: $2.15 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Red bell pepper
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Heavy whipping cream
• No-salt-added whole peeled tomatoes
• Smoked paprika
• Salt
• Ground red pepper
• Country ham
• Chickpeas
• Cumin
• Flat-leaf parsley
• Sliced almonds

This is a family-friendly take on beer-can chicken in which we use an opened root beer can to support a whole bird on the grill. The liquid inside the can adds moisture, resulting in succulent, tender meat. Complete the meal with roasted red potatoes and a sweettart broccoli slaw.

Price: $2.48 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Hungarian sweet paprika
• Brown sugar
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Ground red pepper
• Chili powder
• Ground allspice
• Kosher salt
• Root beer
• Chilled unsalted butter
• Cider vinegar
• Whole chicken (3½-pound)

Serve this colorful summer salad with buttery lemon green beans.

Price: $1.91 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Uncooked pearl barley
• Fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• Plum tomato (about 2 small)
• Green onions
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 20 kalamata olives
• Fresh lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Garlic clove
• Crumbled feta cheese

Cavatappi, spiral-shaped pasta, adds an element of whimsy to this budget-friendly dish. If you can't find it, substitute fusilli.

Price: $1.93 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Frozen green peas
• Asparagus
• Uncooked cavatappi pasta
• Grated pecorino Romano cheese
• Kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 4 slices center-cut bacon
• Chopped seeded red bell pepper

Reduce the vinegar while the polenta simmers so the entire meal is ready and hot at the same time.

Price: $2.34 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Whole milk
• Fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• Uncooked polenta
• 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• Balsamic vinegar
• Fresh rosemary
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Garlic
• Boneless center-cut pork chops (4, 4-ounce)

Price: $2.46 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Olive oil
• 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
• 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Chili powder
• Ground red pepper
• Ground cumin
• Fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 9 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions

Look for the small airline-sized bottles of wine that are packaged in 4-packs—they're the most economical way to buy wine when you just need a small amount for cooking.

Price: $2.46 per serving

Pantry Checklist:

• Uncooked fettuccine
• Butter
• Onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• Dry white wine
• 3 plum tomatoes
• Bottled clam juice
• 1½ pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley

If you can't find frozen, shelled edamame (green soybeans), substitute the more traditional lima beans. Serve with a baguette and Neufchâtel cheese.

Price: $2.47 per serving

Pantry Checklist:
• Center-cut bacon
• Butter
• Sweet onion
• Fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
• Frozen, shelled edamame, thawed (16-ounce bag)
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Sugar
• Plum tomatoes
• Red bell pepper
• Basil