If you have children, then you know how expensive it can be to feed them! I am not claiming anything in this post to be super nutritional or healthy. However, I do intend to give you some cheap meal ideas you can fix quickly that your kids will actually eat. Keep reading to see my budget friendly tips!
Tips for Saving Money on Kid's Meals
- Shop in bulk when you can. Often times buying in bulk will be cheaper although it is a larger up-front cost.
- Use your leftovers creatively!
- If we're being honest, fresh fruit and veggies are expensive. It's okay to buy frozen! One bag of frozen fruit could allow you to dress up quite a few meals such as oatmeal or pancakes.
- Have somewhat of a meal plan and grocery list before you hit the store.
- Always, always, always check coupons before you shop!
- Plan meals around what's on sale.
- It's perfectly okay to buy store brand, they usually taste the same!
Breakfast Ideas
1. Muffins and Sausage
My kids LOVE muffins. If your kids do too, muffins can be a yummy, cheap breakfast option. Buying muffin mix is much cheaper than buying premade. Walmart has the Great Value brand muffin mix for only $0.98. One pack makes 6 muffins. We like to buy the Great Value sausage links as well, which are usually around $3 for fourteen links.
*Bonus: The Great Value muffin mix only requires water. No need to worry about having eggs or milk!
2. Egg Muffin Cups
Chances are you have probably seen this one. It is very popular and for good reason! This one is super cheap as well and can be customized with whatever you have on hand. Only have eggs and cheese? Great, that's one of my favorite ways to cook these! You'll mix your ingredients and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.
3. Hashbrown Casserole
This is a great option for having leftovers throughout the week. You can make this one with less than 5 ingredients for $8.38. Getting 6-7 servings out of it will cost you around $1.05-$1.40 per serving. Stay tuned, I'll be posting this recipe later!
4. Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are a fan favorite. They are usually oats, milk, and yogurt based. Then add in what you like. Super easy and can be customized with whatever you have on hand.
4. Pancakes/Waffles
Pancakes and waffles are super cheap and easy to make, especially if you have a box of all-purpose baking mix. These can be enhanced with whatever you have on hand, such as fruit, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.
5. Bagels/Toast
This is a favorite in our house. We will add cream cheese, peanut butter, jelly, or Nutella. Usually just whatever we have at the time. We like to either throw some fruit on top or crumble leftover bacon on top. I have also used bacon bits when I didn't have bacon at the time.
6. Biscuits and Gravy
Get a can of 8 biscuits and a can of sausage gravy and you could feed 8 people if you needed to for less than $4. We love this for a quick, easy weekend morning meal.
7. Omelets
Omelets are great for on the go and little hands. Another option that is customizable to whatever you have on hand. Sausage, bacon, onions, peppers, ham, and bologna are just a few examples.
8. Other
There is nothing wrong with having cereal, granola bars, pop tarts, etc. Is it the healthiest? Of course not, but it's probably something your kids will actually eat. So, it sounds like a win to me.
Lunch and Dinner Ideas
1. Quesadillas
Most of the time we like just cheese and salsa on ours. We've also thrown some bacon bits up there when we were out of bacon and it tastes very good. Super cheap, easy idea that we all love.
2. Pigs in a Blanket
From my experience, most kids love these! All you need is little smokies and crescent rolls. Divide each crescent roll dough into 3 and roll a sausage in each section. Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Sandwiches
Bread is usually fairly inexpensive. If you got peanut butter and jelly on hand, you got a PB&J. If you got cheese, you got a grilled cheese. My son requests just a plain bologna sandwich and that's it. Or just a peanut butter sandwich, no jelly. Kids aren't hard to please or impress, feed them what they will eat!
4. Spaghetti
Spaghetti is famously a budget friendly meal. My kids love it, and we always have leftovers for lunch and/or dinner the next night. To switch things up, when it's done cooking throw it in a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes to create a crispy layer of cheese on top.
5. Chicken and Gravy
This one is so easy and cheap to make! You can easily make this with a couple chicken breasts and two cans of cream of chicken soup in the crockpot. Just mix together in crockpot, season to taste, and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Tastes great over mashed potatoes or rice!
6. Garlic Parmesan Pasta
This is honestly probably one of my favorites because it is so simple and tastes so good. All you need is your noodle of choice (I prefer egg noodles) and Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parmesan Sauce. I have also used the Great Value version of this, and it tastes good as well.
7. Pork Loin
This has been a recent favorite cheap meal of ours. Pork loins often go on sale for $5 or less. If you have a family of 3-4 you can probably have leftovers for lunch the next day.
8. Charcuterie Board
Most kids are snackers. They just want to snack and munch here and there. I find when I put a little bit of a few different things, my kids often eat more than just a regular plate of food. Use whatever you have at the house that your kid will eat and put a little of each on the plate. Don't worry about whether it goes together or not, I promise your child does not care!
Final Thoughts
Feeding kids is expensive and you are not alone in this journey! Feeding kids does not have to be fancy or perfect. Fed is best right? Follow along for more tips and ideas on raising kids on a tight budget. Leave any budget friendly tips or hacks you have in the comments!
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