50+ Budget Healthy Meals (2024)

These are the best Budget Healthy Meals. From cheap, healthy dinner ideas to budget breakfasts, browse all the best cheap, easy, healthy meals!

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Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re looking to save a little bit of money on your grocery bill, there are tons of cheap healthy dinner recipes out there!

Cheap Healthy Meals

We always aim to save on our grocery bill where we can. You’ll find tons of budget friendly recipes on our website, but here are some of our favorite cheap options dinners! From ground beef to chicken, soups and meatless meals – there’s something for everyone!

Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas

We have tons of cheap and healthy dinner recipes here. Ground beef is one of our favorite things to cook with for a healthy meal, but cooking a whole chicken or chicken breast can also be affordable. Here are our best healthy dinner ideas:

Healthy Cheap Meals with Ground Beef

Taco Casserole is a delicious weeknight dinner. Made in under an hour with tortillas, this ground beef casserole is the best!

Cabbage Roll Soup Recipe that is hearty, filling and healthy! The best easy weeknight dinner.

Ground Beef Stew can be made in the instant pot, crockpot, or on the stove for dinner. It’s cheaper than making stew with stew meat!

Homemade Hamburger Helper is easy, healthy and delicious – one of our favorite cheap healthy meals!

Taco Soup is one of the best easy dinner recipes. You’ll need a pound of ground beef, canned black beans, frozen corn and only a few other items to make a delicious meal!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole is so yummy! A healthy dinner that is made in one dish in under an hour! Gluten free & delicious.

Healthy Baked Ziti Pasta is a lighter twist on a classic Italian dish. Baked Ziti Pasta is made withground turkeyor ground beef for a simple, budget friendly dinnerthat anyone will love!

Healthy Taco Seasoning on ground beef is one of our favorite meals. You can make a bowl with black beans and rice, or serve it over a salad!

Homemade Meatballs are a staple in our house for a cheap healthy dinner. They’re loaded with protein and perfect over pasta!

Greek Meatballs are a quick & easy, flavorful main dish or appetizer ready in 20 minutes! Serve them with tzatziki, wrapped in a pita, or over a greek salad.

Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini Boats are loaded with cheese and meat. Baked and served up in a casserole dish for an easy, affordable dinner.

Korean Beef Bowls are ready in only 15 minutes! Easy, cheap and affordable!

Cheap and Healthy Meals with Chicken

Chicken can be a delicious, affordable dinner option. We like to cook with chicken breasts and chicken thighs- but the most affordable chicken recipe is cooking a whole chicken! You can get many meals out of one chicken and use the scraps to make broth!

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew is a healthy, easy dinner made in less than 10 minutes of prep time!

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken can be made in your slow cooker, instant pot or on the stove. Great for tacos or with rice!

Easy Greek Chicken Thighs Recipe is the perfect meal! Made with simple ingredients, this sheet pan chicken thigh dinner is yummy & healthy!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets are so easy to make! These Healthy Chicken Nuggets are delicious, super crispy & so much better than fast food!

Healthy Fried Rice is packed with chicken, veggies and brown rice. Full of flavor + so delicious – just like takeout chicken fried rice at home! You can use up whatever veggies you have in the fridge or use frozen veggies to save money.

Crispy Baked Chicken Legs Recipe! Baking Chicken Legs in an oven is great for an easy, healthy dinner!

Best Mexican Chicken Casserole is so easy to make! This Mexican Chicken Casserole is perfect for a one-pan dinner.

Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe is so easy to make! Perfectly crispy, coated with a delicious sauce and cheese for a healthy dinner! Serve it over pasta to make it a complete meal

Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole Recipe is made in one pan with only a few ingredients. A healthy, quick and delicious dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole Recipe is made with basic ingredients like potatoes & chicken in under an hour for an easy dinner. Quick, simple and delicious.

Chicken and Rice Casserole is easy and healthy! Made with broccoli and no condensed soup – this is the best dinner made in one dish!

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie is the perfect light dinner. Learn how to make chicken pot pie in under an hour for a delicious meal!

Whole Roasted Chicken is one of our favorite cheap and healthy recipes. Whole chickens are great because you can use the scraps/bones to make chicken broth.

Healthy Orange Chicken Recipe! Paleo, gluten free + delicious – it’s one of the best healthy chicken recipes!

Crockpot Whole Chicken is another easy way to cook a whole chicken! The slow cooker does all the work and when you’re finished you can make Crockpot Bone Broth.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken is made in the pressure cooker with only a few basic ingredients. It’s cheap, easy and delicious!

Chicken Fusilli Pasta is made with only 6 affordable ingredients. Done in less than 30 minutes.

Jalapeno Popper Hasselback Chicken is easy to make weeknight dinner option. It has tender chicken with slices of jalapenos, thick-cut bacon, cheddar cheese, and a cream cheese sauce!

Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry is a cheap and healthy dinner, made with just a few ingredients.

Healthy Cheap Soup Recipes

Soup is one of the best cheap and healthy meals you can make. We like to load them up with frozen vegetables, canned tomatoes, and a protein. Here are some of our favorite delicious soup recipes!

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup can be made in your instant pot, crock pot or on the stove top for an easy healthy dinner!

Easy Pasta fa*gioli is one of the most affordable meals you can make. Made with pasta, beans, broth and tomatoes – it can feed a crowd for under $5!

Ground Turkey Chili! Learn how to make turkey chili that’s healthy & delicious in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove!

15 Bean Soup Recipe is our favorite budget meal. It’s made from a cheap 15 Bean mix, broth, and some veggies. Simple, delicious and hearty!

Healthy Potato Soup is total comfort food! Paleo, Whole30 + vegan, this easy creamy potato soup can be made on the stove, in the slow cooker or instant pot or check out our Instant Pot Potato Soup Recipe or Crock Pot Potato Soup.

Carrot Ginger Soup Recipe is so easy to make in your instant pot, crockpot or on the stove. Healthy, vegan & dairy free.

Homemade Tomato Basil Soup is so simple to make. Canned tomatoes, broth and some dried spices are all you need for a cozy dinner. Pair it with a grilled cheese!

Easy Minestrone Soup is another delicious cheap and healthy dinner. Loaded with veggies, pasta and broth!

How to Make Lentil Soup – a staple that you can make on the stove, in the slow cooker or in the instant pot! Vegan, GF and delicious!

Red Chicken Chili Recipe is so easy to make with simple ingredients. Healthy and delicious!

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup is a classic that we love. Chicken breasts, veggies and egg noodles come together for a cozy dinner everyone will love!

Healthy Broccoli Soup is a delicious, cozy meal. Easy to make in the instant pot, crockpot, or on the stove – this broccoli cheddar soup is a must make!

Cheap Easy Healthy Meals without Meat

Eating meatless is a great way to save money! Here are some of our favorite vegetarian, meatless recipes.

Vegetarian Chili is easy to make, cheap, and delicious. It’s made with canned beans, tomatoes and corn!

Vegan Orange Chicken is a delicious plant based dinner made with chickpeas! Gluten free, healthy, delicious and done in 30 minutes!.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi everyone will love! Learn how to make sweet potato gnocchi with only a few ingredients!

Vegetable Primavera Pasta is our favorite ‘clean out the fridge’ meal. Make it with whatever veggies you have on hand! This is our favorite vegetarian pasta dish.

Pasta with White Beans and garlicky kale is a classic combination of beans and greens the whole family will love! It’s a cheap and healthy, fast, and flavorful meatless meal.

Sweet Potato Red Lentil and Coconut Curry is nourishing comfort food at its best and consists of a handful of basic ingredients.

Vegetable Pasta Bake is made with fresh mushrooms, peppers, spinach, onion, garlic, and tomato. A cheap healthy diner everyone will love!

Gnocchi with White Beans and Spinach cooks quickly with fire-roasted diced tomatoes and Parmesan for a satisfying meatless meal in under 30 minutes.

Vegan Cauliflower Chickpea Curry is loaded with chickpeas, veggies, potatoes, and coconut milk for a healthy Thai curry at home.

Healthy Cheap Meals with Seafood

Seafood is usually more expensive than other cuts of meat, but sometimes it can be affordable! Here are some of our favorite seafood dinner recipes

Healthy Tuna Salad WITHOUT Mayo is cheap and healthy! Using a can of tuna, greek yogurt and some chopped veggies.

Healthy Tuna Pasta Salad is one of the best budget dinner recipes. Canned tuna gets tossed with pasta and tomatoes for flavor!

Honey Sriracha Salmon is another delicious dinner. Made with potatoes & zucchini, baked in the oven until perfectly cooked! You can use whatever veggies you have – it’s the perfect sweet and spicy.

Lemon Salmon is another easy dinner if you like fish. We like to buy a whole salmon filet and cook it with potatoes and green beans or other veggies.

Honey Garlic Shrimp is easy to make and delicious! A quick meal that you can serve over rice or frozen veggies.

Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas are super quick and easy to make. You’ll need shrimp, onions, peppers and a few spices to make them!

Canned Tuna Pasta is easy to make with canned tuna and a few other inexpensive pantry staples!

Cheap Healthy Food for Breakfast

Grabbing breakfast on the go can be expensive. Make one of these budget breakfast recipes at home for an affordable meal!

Egg White Oatmeal is an easy, high protein breakfast you’ll love. Made with only a few simple ingredients and great for meal prepping! You can’t even taste the eggs!

Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal is a delicious, healthy breakfast everyone will love. Vegan, GF & so easy to make -it’s the best way to cook Irish oatmeal! Regardless of what you top it with or mix in it – it’s so yummy!

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats are a delicious, hearty breakfast. Healthy & cheap – these pumpkin oats can be made in the crockpot or on the stovetop!

Baked Apple Oatmeal is perfect for breakfast! Learn how to make the best baked apple oatmeal that is easy to make and delicious!

Egg Casserole with Hash Browns is so simple to make. This breakfast casserole with hash browns is great for a crowd or brunch!

How can I cut down on food costs?

It can be tough to cut down on food costs. Check out this post for Eating healthy on a budget where I outline all my best tips for saving money on food.

My top tips for cutting down on food costs are:

1. Plan your meals in advance.
2. Always take inventory of your fridge before going to store.
3. Shop sales and stock up.

crockpot whole chicken = cheap healthy food

This recipe is one of our favorite healthy, cheap dinners! Whole chickens are much more affordable to buy per pound compared to buying chicken breasts, thighs or legs!