From spaghetti Bolognese to fish and chips, from tuna pasta to risotto, our cheap family meals are budget recipes all under £1 ahead.
The cost of living crisis isn't going away – in August, figures by Statista showed that over half of households in the UK saw their bills increase on the month before, and the price of food has gone up by almost 50% since the start of 2023, according to the Office of National Statistics. Even more shockingly, 5% of adults reported that in the two weeks before they were surveyed, they had run out of food and been unable to afford more.
As it's still such a challenge to feed a family nutritious food on a budget, we’ve brought together a collection of cheap family meals that are all under £1 per portion, with ingredients from Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, and Aldi (when it comes to where to shop, it might also help to know the answer to the million dollar question is Aldi or Lidl cheaper?)
Faith Archer, mum-of-two, personal finance journalist, and money blogger at Much More With Less says, “I try to keep food costs down by switching to less expensive alternatives, stretching pricey protein with seasonal veg or beans, and slashing food waste. For example, using chicken thighs rather than breasts, and frozen white fish rather than fresh cod.
“What really makes the difference is planning meals over a week or more, rather than focusing on a single recipe," she adds. "That way if, for example, I splash out on a pack of soured cream, bacon, or fresh coriander for one meal, I can make sure to use the rest in a different meal another day. Binning food is like setting fire to fivers.”
From cottage pie to halloumi and tomato salad, here are our best recipes for everyone looking to save money on food.
Cheap family meals: Budget recipes
1. Meatballs with spaghetti
Serves: 4 | Cost per person: 96p | Total cost: £3.82
Priced at Tesco
Ingredients:
- 1 brown onion, 10p
- 500g minced pork, £1.79
- 1 garlic, 25p
- Hearty Food Co. Spaghetti Pasta, 20p
- 1 egg, from a pack of 6, 85p
- Tomato Puree, 35p
- 1 can Grower's Harvest Chopped Tomatoes, 28p
Meatballs are a great cheap family meal. A nifty trick is to bulk up mincemeat dishes using vegetables to make them go further. Adding an extra onion and a couple of finely chopped carrots would cost less than 50p. It would add another portion to the sauce and the 500g pasta will easily serve five.
Stay under budget by using dried herbs in this recipe and skipping the Parmesan and pesto, but use store cupboard ingredients to boost the flavour instead. Half a crumbled beef stock cube, for example. Tesco Classic Green Pesto is an extra £1 (for a 190g jar) but you only need a spoonful, leaving plenty for other meals. An opened jar will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Get the recipe: How to make meatballs
2. Farmhouse chicken braise
Serves: 6 | Cost per person: 92p | Total cost: £5.53
Priced at Sainsbury’s
Ingredients:
- 2kg British Fresh Chicken Skin on Thighs, £3.50
- 500g carrots, 23p
- 2 leeks, 60p
- 150ml double cream, 75p
- Hubbard’s Foodstore English mustard, 45p
Faith says: “I’m a big fan of using tasty chicken thighs rather than more expensive chicken breasts, and the creamy mustard sauce makes this dish special. It goes well with value range rice if you have hungry teenagers to fill up.”
Chicken breast is probably the nation’s favourite cut, but it’s expensive and it’s not nearly as tasty or tender as thighs. You can get a really good deal on this large pack, which portions out at two thighs per person. Remove the skin if you like, to keep the fat content lower but it's not necessary.
Get the recipe: Farmhouse chicken braise
3. Bacon and broccoli pasta salad
Serves: 4 | Cost per person: 89p | Total cost: £3.57
Priced at Asda
Ingredients:
- Smart Price Pasta Shapes, 32p
- Butcher's Selection 12 Unsmoked Back Bacon Rashers, £1.75
- Mild Tender Baby Spinach, 90p
- Broccoli, 50p
This Slimming World recipe for bacon and broccoli pasta salad is not only cheap to make but healthy too. We've doubled the ingredients so it serves four. We swapped the Tenderstem broccoli for regular broccoli which is more affordable. When you prepare the broccoli, don’t discard the stem - you can cube it and use it in the pasta sauce too. It has a lovely texture.
We used back bacon here, but check the prices of the streaky bacon too as it’s often cheaper. Keep any bacon leftovers in the freezer and you’ll have some ready for next time.
Get the recipe: Bacon and broccoli pasta salad
4. Courgette, garlic, and herb oaty crust quiche
Serves: 6 | Cost per person: 75p | Total cost: £4.50
Priced at Tesco
Ingredients:
- Tesco Scottish Rough Oatcakes, 80p
- Soft Cheese with Garlic & Herb, 90p
- 3 courgettes, £1.20
- 2 eggs (from a pack of 6), 85p
- Sour cream, 75p
This makes a lovely, vegetarian-friendly Sunday lunch. With the homemade pie case, it does not feel like a budget dish at all. You can use any cream cheese with garlic and herbs, and we swapped the crème fraîche for sour cream as it works out a little cheaper. Butter is one of our store cupboard staple ingredients, but you do need a large portion for this recipe - about half a pack.
This recipe is great for sharing and as you've got a bit of budget leftover you could easily serve it with a salad for a summer meal. Leftovers also make the perfect lunch option the next day.
Get the recipe: Courgette, garlic, and herb oaty crust quiche
5. Lentil and spinach curry
Serves: 4 | Cost per person: 95p | Total cost: £3.80
Priced at Asda
Ingredients:
- 1 tin green lentils, 48p
- Tinned spinach leaves, 75p
- Smart Price peeled plum tomatoes, 28p
- Red onion, 10p
- Garlic, 25p
- Pataks Madras paste pots, 99p (at Tesco or Aldi)
- Fresh coriander, 50p
- Smart Price Long Grain Rice, 45p
This veggie curry is a lovely weeknight supper. We’ve served it with rice rather than naan bread and chutney to keep the price down. Faith says: “This curry can be whipped up from store cupboard staples. Onion, garlic, rice, and tins all last for ages.
The tinned spinach and paste pots keep costs down for a single meal. But if you have the cash and might repeat the recipe, or cook other curries, Asda sells a jar of balti curry paste for £1.50 and an 850g bag of frozen spinach for £1.40. These would make at least four meals and be cheaper over the long run.”
Get the recipe: Lentil and spinach balti
6. Tomato tart
Serves: 6 | Cost per person: 84p | Total cost: £5.06
Priced at Sainsbury’s
Ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes (500g), £1.35
- Green pesto, £1
- Sainsbury Frozen rolled puff pastry, £1.30
- Iceberg lettuce, 46p
- Sainsbury’s balsamic dressing, 95p
One of our favourite cheap family meals that uses readymade pastry. Check the frozen aisle for readymade puff pastry, as it’s often cheaper than the chilled versions (though Sainsbury’s chilled puff pastry does go on offer at £1 from time to time).
This tart is quite big and serves six people. We’ve served it with a dressed salad here, which still comes in under £1 per person. The tart on its own is 61p per portion.
Get the recipe: Tomato tart
7. Baked vegetable polenta
Serves: 6 | Cost per person: 71p | Total cost: £4.25
Priced at Asda
Ingredients:
- Tropical Sun Fine Cornmeal Polenta (500g), 85p
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, 50p
- Garlic, 25p
- Farm Stores White Mushrooms, 50p
- 2 leeks, 60p
- Cherry tomatoes (325g), 80p
- Asda Greek-style cheese, 75p
Polenta is ground corn that can be cooked to a thick, creamy consistency, or left to set, then you can slice it. It’s an Italian staple, and it’s cheap. If you’re not tried cooking with it before, this recipe is a delicious, filling way to start.
Fresh cut herbs are pricey and tend to only be good for 1-2 uses; you can use dried instead. Alternatively, it’s only 10p more to buy a parsley plant from Asda. You can use it for this recipe then plant it in the backyard or in a window box. It’s a really low-maintenance plant and should survive all summer, if not longer.
Get the recipe: Baked vegetable polenta
8. Courgette pesto pasta
Serves: 4 | Cost per person: 98p | Total cost: £3.92
Priced at Tesco
Ingredients:
- Green Pesto Sauce, £1
- Hearty Food Co. Spaghetti, 20p
- 2 courgettes, 80p
- 1 onion, 10p
- Cook Italian Grated Hard Cheese, £1.35
- Fresh cut basil, 47p
Light yet filling, this spring courgette and pesto pasta dish is simple to make - you can have it on the table in just 20 minutes. You’ll use about half a jar of pesto here, leaving the other half for another meal (or to make this one again). Over two meals, that brings the cost down to 86p per portion.
If you want to jazz this recipe up, swap the regular pesto for red pesto instead. Leftovers can be easily reheated the next day and served for lunch or served cold with a leftover side salad from a previous meal.
Get the recipe: Courgette and pesto pasta
9. Smoked bacon and onion tart
Serves: 6 | Cost per person: 91p | Total cost: £5.43
Priced at Morrisons
Ingredients:
- Everyday Value cooking bacon (500g), £1.49
- 2 onions, 20p
- Free Range Eggs (6), £1.20
- British soured cream (150ml), 75p
- Greenside Deli Mature Cheddar, £1.79
“This tart demonstrates how small amounts of cooking bacon and cheese can add loads of flavour, while still leaving lots to use in other meals," says Faith. "If you buy a larger container of soured cream, crème fraiche, or double cream it typically costs less per gram, and you could substitute the rest in the chicken braise or macaroni cheese. Plus, the tart tastes good cold too, so it works well for packed lunches or summer picnics.”
The original recipe serves eight but to give everyone a nice main portion, we’ve costed it to feed just six. There is enough room in the budget to serve it with an iceberg lettuce salad (an extra 55p).
Get the recipe: Smoked bacon and onion tart
10. Spaghetti Bolognese
Serves: 4 | Cost per person: 85p | Total cost: £3.39
Priced at Tesco
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions, 20p
- Beef mince (500g), £1.79
- Garlic, 25p
- Mushrooms (90g), 32p
- 1 can Chopped tomatoes, 28p
- Tomato puree, 35p
- Hearty Food Co. Spaghetti Pasta, 20p
Faith says: “Spaghetti Bolognese is one of my children’s favourite meals, and a budget favourite too. You can pick up value range spaghetti for just 20p and stretch the sauce with vegetables, such as the mushrooms or grated carrot, and finely chopped celery. I make Bolognese sauce in my slow cooker to save energy costs too.”
Make the meal go even further by adding up to another 250g of mushrooms (75p) and another can of chopped tomatoes (28p). This will make an extra two portions, and any leftovers can be stored in the fridge overnight - or even frozen for dinner another night.
Another great thing about recipes using canned food is when considering 'how long does canned food last?' the answer is indefinitely. As long as the can isn't damaged in any way, e.g. bulges, leakages or rust, they can remain good to eat for several years. Once opened, just pop in fridge in an air-tight container and consume within three-five days.
Get the recipe: Spaghetti Bolognese