4 Extreme-Budget Meals For a Family of 4: Cook Dinner for $5 or Less

Groceries

I used a couple of pantry staples, like butter or margarine, oils, and seasonings and condiments for these meals, which are not included in these extreme budget recipe prices.

If you are having a hard time getting food on the table, here are four meals under $5. Here’s what I bought to make four budget meals:

• 1 package of ground turkey (this is much cheaper than buying ground beef)
• 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 2 cans of pork and beans
• 1 package Bar S frankfurters
• 1 package Butterball turkey sausage
• 1 small bottle of milk: $1.34
• 1 box of three cheese potatoes
• 1 bag California-style vegetable mix
• 1 bag of broccoli florets
• 2 boxes of Great Value brand mac and cheese mix
• 2 packages of chicken-flavored ramen noodles
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 1 can of diced ham (find this cheap source of protein near the canned tuna)

1. Beanie weenies with cornbread

• Jiffy mix: .60 cents
• Pork and beans: .72 cents x 2
• Hot dogs: $1.18 

Total: $3.22 (plus some milk and egg–we receive free eggs)

If you don’t have an egg, you can substitute ¼ cup of applesauce for one egg in the recipe.

Mix everything in a pot

Put pork and beans into a pot. Cut up hotdogs and add to the pot.

Add seasonings such as brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard to jazz up the pork and beans. 

Mix everything together in the pot.

Make the cornbread

Make the cornbread for another cheap, filling option. Put the batter into a baking dish.

Put it in the oven to bake while you’re making the beans.

Here’s the final plate, a good dollop of hot dogs and beans on top of a slice of corn muffin cake. 

2. Sausage veggie ramen

With three ingredients, we have a filling meal.

• Ramen: .24 cents x 2
• Sausage: $3.12
• Mixed veggies: $1

Total: $4.60

Prep ramen

Break up both packs of ramen and cover them with boiling water to soften the noodles. Let the noodles soak in all the water but don’t cook them all the way through.

Prep sausage

Slice up the sausage and saute in olive oil in a pan.

Put the veggies in the microwave for four minutes to soften them up.

Add in the veggie blend into the pan with the sausage and season with salt and pepper.

Add the softened ramen noodles to the pan. Add the two packets of ramen noodle seasoning for extra flavoring. Add a little water if necessary when mixing everything in the pan.

Here’s the final plate.

3. Ham and broccoli potato bake

• Box potatoes: .98 cents
• Ham: $1.32
• Broccoli: .98 cents

Total: $3.28 (plus some milk)

I only used half of the bag of broccoli florets. I added in the broccoli. I microwaved the broccoli to soften it up so I could cut it up. 

Season with garlic and onion powder, plus salt and pepper. Mix it all together.

Cook for 30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix a few times while cooking. I think this dish could use some shredded cheese so if you have some, add it for extra flavor.

Here’s the final plate.

4. Taco mac and cheese

• Mac and cheese: .34 cents x 2
• Taco seasoning: .42 cents
• Turkey: $1.82

Total: $2.92 (plus some milk)

Cook up the turkey in a pan

When that turkey is cooked, do not drain. Add the package of taco seasoning to the pot.

Prep the mac and cheese

Boil water for mac and cheese in another pot. When the noodles are done, add them to the pot where the turkey has cooked. Then continue making the mac and cheese by adding the cheese. Add and mix everything together. 

Here’s the final dish. 

If you needed to stretch this meal, you could add in a can of drained black beans or a can of drained corn, or even a can of Rotel for extra food. If you have sour cream, add it on top.

Extreme-budget meals

All of these dishes were extremely easy to prepare and they were delicious. I want to add that it’s okay to feed your family extreme budget meals.

What counts is if your family is fed–that’s all that matters at the end of the day. These meals may not be the healthiest choice, but at least I know I can feed my family.

If you have it in your budget to add fresh fruit and veggies, do it! If you’re struggling, reach out to your local services, such as food banks and churches, or call 211. They’re there to help.