Cheap & Good

Recipes with receipts.

Every recipe here comes with an honest, itemized cost per serving — because "budget-friendly" should mean a number, not a vibe. Most dinners land under $2.50.

Pot of American goulash with elbow macaroni and ground beef in tomato sauce

One pot · Better next day

One-Pot American Goulash

The church-supper classic: beef, elbows and tomato in one pot. Your grandmother was right.

$1.57 a serving

Golden whole roast chicken on a carving board with potatoes and a stockpot behind

Playbook · 3 dinners

One $8 Chicken, Three Dinners

Roast night, taco night, soup night. Ten servings from one bird, nothing wasted.

$1.38 a serving

Bowl of spaghetti with tuna, white beans, lemon zest and parsley

20 minutes · Pantry only

Pantry Tuna & White Bean Lemon Pasta

Garlicky, lemony, built entirely from cans. Nobody will believe you.

$1.58 a serving

Cheapest on the site

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

Silky, gingery, golden — and one dollar and six cents a bowl. Not a typo.

$1.06 a serving

Skillet of ground turkey, caramelized sweet potato, black beans and peppers

Meal-prep hero

Ground Turkey & Sweet Potato Skillet

Smoky, properly browned, and four lunches for eight bucks. Doesn't taste like a gym membership.

$2.03 a serving

Carnitas tacos with crispy shredded pork, onion, cilantro and lime

Sale-meat magic

Actual Carnitas at Home

Citrus-braised, broiler-crisped, 18 tacos from one $1.79/lb shoulder. No lard vat required.

$1.69 a serving

Bronzed roasted chicken leg quarters on garlicky white beans in a baking dish

Cheapest meat in the store

Slow-Roasted Leg Quarters over Garlicky Beans

The bottom-shelf bargain treated like bistro food. The beans catch every drip.

$1.63 a serving

Sheet pan of browned sausage coins, charred cabbage wedges and roasted potatoes

One pan · 10 min of work

Sheet-Pan Sausage, Cabbage & Potatoes

Three humble ingredients, edges charred in all the right places, while you fold laundry.

$1.82 a serving

Shredded short rib ragu over creamy polenta in a rustic bowl

The splurge · Sunday

Sunday Short Rib Ragu over Polenta

Fall-apart beef, three lazy hours, a third the price of one restaurant plate.

$2.97 a serving

Crispy chicken thighs over lemony yellow rice with peas in a skillet

One pan · Crispiest skin

Crispy Chicken Thighs with Lemony Rice & Peas

The cold-pan sear that makes $1.99/lb thighs taste like a bistro order.

$1.85 a serving

Cast-iron skillet of tomato-braised cabbage, white beans and rice dusted with smoked paprika

One pan · 40 minutes

Cabbage & White Bean "Golabki-ish" Skillet

Stuffed-cabbage comfort with none of the rolling. Sweet cabbage, smoky tomato, rice and beans.

$1.42 a serving

White bean and greens skillet with golden garlic breadcrumbs in cast iron

25 minutes

White Bean & Greens Skillet with Garlic Crumbs

Creamy beans, silky greens, crunchy golden crumbs. The fridge-is-hopeless dinner.

$1.62 a serving

One pot · Freezes great

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Eight servings from one pot, and it's better on day two. My most-requested recipe.

$1.48 a serving

Crispy spiced chickpeas over rice with quick-pickled onions and yogurt sauce

30 minutes

Crispy Chickpea Rice Bowls with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

Crackly spiced chickpeas, bright pickled onions, cool sauce. Takeout energy, pantry prices.

$1.79 a serving

How I cost a recipe

Prices come from my actual receipts at regular St. Petersburg grocery stores — no loss-leader stunts, no "assume you grow your own herbs." Pantry staples are costed by the amount used, not the whole jar. Your numbers will wobble with your zip code, but the ratios hold: beans, grains, seasonal produce, and good technique beat expensive ingredients almost every night.