We all need a break sometimes when it comes to making dinner. Here are ways to still get dinner on the table without too much time or money invested in the task with dump-and-bake dinners that are often also freezer-friendly if you make enough for a future meal. Take note that most of the suggested items can be repurposed for other recipes in this collection to stretch your dollar further. If you don’t have a good Dutch oven or baking dish, now might be a good time to invest. The investment will quickly pay for itself. (Do you have a favorite cheap recipe? Please share it in the comments.)
Prices and availability are subject to change.
Related: 100 Cheap & Easy Dinners
Chicken and Dumplings
What is a more time-tested and foolproof comfort food than chicken and dumplings? For this quick and easy version, just throw bite-size pieces of chicken, whether breast or thigh ($1.69 per pound at Target), into an oven-safe dish along with cubes of frozen biscuit dough, vegetables to your liking, and stock, and then watch an episode of your favorite TV show until your house smells like chicken soup.
Recipe: The Seasoned Mom
Related: 25 Dump-and-Bake Casseroles You Can Make in Minutes
Ham and Cheese Pull-Apart Biscuits
We’re repurposing that leftover biscuit dough here for a ham-and-cheese dinner that will make a great lunch the next day, too. It is as easy as covering up a mixture of diced ham (32¢ per ounce from Walmart), and shredded cheese ($3.98 for 16 ounces from Walmart), with frozen biscuit dough. Put that bad boy in an oven set at 350F for 25 minutes and you’ve got dinner for days.
Recipe: Home Cooking Memories
Related: 25 Easy Recipes With Only 3 Ingredients
Stuff n’ Bake Quesadillas
The good thing about quesadillas is you can customize them to your liking as much as you can to your budget. The cheapest way to go here would be to stuff quesadillas with refried beans (99¢ per can at Target and shredded cheese, slide them onto a sheet pan and into the oven, and wait till that cheese is bubbly and lacy around the edges. But feel free to upgrade to ground beef, chicken breast, or meat alternatives.
Recipe: 5 Dollar Dinners
Related: 30 Cheap and Easy Recipes From Canned Goods
Tater Tot Casserole
Here’s one that’ll feed an army. Just throw some ground turkey ($4.62 per pound from Walmart) together with canned soup, any add-ins you might be craving (like sweet corn or some classic vegetables), and top with frozen tater tots. You could also easily replace the turkey with mushrooms if you are trying to make it vegetarian.
Recipe: Simply Being Mommy
Related: 50 Slow Cooker Family Recipes Under $20
Low-Fat Chili
This dinner isn’t just a breeze to throw together, it will also freeze well, making this dish perfect for getting you through the chilliest of winter nights. All you will need are a few cans of beans ($1.69 per can from Target), diced tomatoes (75¢ per can from Target), an onion, some lean beef, chili seasoning, and chicken or vegetable stock ($1.99 for 32 ounces from Target). This would be great paired with the quesadillas mentioned above. Although the recipe recommends a slow cooker, there is no reason not to do this in a 300F oven.
Recipe: My Table of Three
Related: 13 Regional Chili Recipes to Try This Fall
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Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potato
You may need to cut a couple of vegetables ($1.29 per sweet potato at Target) for this recipe, but it will take no more than five minutes to get in the oven. A kick of heat is added to this chicken recipe from harissa, a Tunisian chili paste, but you could also replace it with your favorite hot sauce. Throw all the ingredients on a sheet pan until golden brown, and delight in your rewards.
Recipe: Feasting at Home
Related: 55 Big-Batch Meals That Will Last for a Week
Sheet Pan Nachos
By combining the right pantry ingredients, this sheet pan dinner will make you feel like you are eating out, especially paired with a light beer or a margarita. Simply break open a bag of tortilla chips ($1.98 per bag from Walmart) and scatter with ingredients of your choosing, like pickled jalapeños ($1.69 per jar from Target) or canned corn (50¢ per can from Walmart), cheese, and refried beans. This is a quick bake, too.
Recipe: Damn Delicious
Related: 50 Cheap and Easy Chicken Recipes
Instant Pizza
You can use pre-made pizza crust ($3.99 for a two-pack from Target) for this one, but in a pinch even large flour tortillas will do. Slather in marinara sauce and grated cheese, and whatever you prefer, whether it’s pineapples and ham or tofurkey and onions.
Recipe: Taste of Home
Related: From Plain Cheese to Peking Duck: 25 Yummy Pizza Recipes
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Sheet Pan Tilapia with Vegetables
The good thing about fish is that it cooks quickly. And the good thing about frozen vegetables is that they are already cut and blanched, ready to be reheated in the oven. Combine these two on a sheet pan and you have yourself a perfectly rounded dinner that feels Mediterranean and worth way more than you paid. Tilapia is an economical choice ($7.99 for 24 ounces from Target), and we do highly recommend the frozen veggies (95¢ for 12 ounces from Target).
Recipe: Taste of Home
Related: 40 Cheap and Easy One-Pot Meals
Corn Chowder
If you have any corn left over from your cheesy nachos, it can go straight into a pot of corn chowder. Bulk it up with some diced potato, celery, a can of evaporated milk ($1.59 per can from Target), and chicken or vegetable stock. If you are done with cutting your veg, the frozen stuff will do just as well and was frozen at the height of its season. Instead of a crock-pot, just throw this in a covered baking dish and into the oven at 300 F for an hour.
Recipe: Pure Wow
Chicken Milanese with Lemon and Potatoes
Milanese, schnitzel, breaded chicken — whatever you want to call it, it is always a big mess to make. It’s much easier to buy frozen, ready-made cutlets ($10.49 for 25 ounces from Target) and bring them back up to a crisp in the oven alongside some potatoes. For added luxury, sprinkle some grated parm ($2.78 for 8 ounces at Walmart) over the cutlets before they go in the oven. As soon as it all comes out of the oven, drizzle with some freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
Recipe: Cafe Delites
Baked Potstickers
Frozen potstickers ($11.98 for 46.5 ounces at Walmart) are a revelation that will completely change your dinner game. Sure, you can wait for the water to boil and dump them in there and then try to pan-sear them, but you can also just bake ’em. After you pull them out of the oven stir together a quick dipping sauce and dinner is set.
Recipe: Livestrong
Honey Garlic Chicken
Besides the chicken thighs ($2 per pound at Walmart), you probably already have all of the ingredients for this recipe in your pantry: honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ketchup. And if you are into fancy garnishes, sesame seeds and cilantro wouldn’t hurt. Complement this chicken, which can be baked in a low oven, with a bowl of rice ($2.44 for 14 ounces from Walmart).
Recipe: Diethood
Related: 10 Quick Recipes to Make With Costco’s $5 Rotisserie Chicken
Kielbasa and Cabbage
If it starts to feel like Siberia this winter, this is the ideal recipe to turn to. The kielbasa ($4.69 for 12 ounces at Target) and cabbage (70 cents per pound on average) cook in their own juices, developing deep, comforting flavors. Toast a hearty slice of bread to eat alongside this and freeze the leftovers for a quick weeknight meal.
Recipe: Budget Bytes
Foil-Packed Shrimp Scampi
Foil-packet cookery is a dump-and-bake miracle because it means there are no cooking dishes to clean up: just throw that foil away. In this shrimp scampi recipe, all you need to do is grab a portion of shelled and frozen shrimp ($6.48 for 12 ounces from Walmart), toss them with garlic, herbs, and butter, and throw them under the broiler for about 15 minutes.
Recipe: Damn DeliciousRelated: 15 Themed Dinner Party Recipes Under $5 a Person
Zucchini Parmesan Foil Packets
This is a great vegetarian option if you want to meal prep for the week ahead. Just wrap individual zucchini ($2.96 for a 2-pack from Walmart) halves mounded with Parmesan in foil and bake them. Once they are ready, you have individual packets that you don’t even have to transfer to new containers. These would be great with a bowl of rice or pasta.
Recipe: Damn Delicious
Spinach Ravioli Bake
A lasagna lover’s dream, this bake requires minimal ingredients. With the frozen ravioli ($3.57 for 25 ounces from Walmart) of your choice, you can build a casserole layered with frozen spinach ($1.06 for 12 ounces from Walmart) and pasta sauce ($1.69 per jar at Target), and cover it in grated cheese. The individual ravioli will ensure an abundance of crispy edges.
Recipe: Taste of Home
Cuban Stuffed Poblanos
There’s a quick stir-fry before you throw these stuffed poblanos in the oven, but it will be quicker than waiting for the oven to preheat. Or leave the beef out and keep it vegetarian with beans or mushrooms ($2.29 for 8 ounces at Target). These stuffed poblanos would be exquisite with some dirty rice ($2.52 per box from Walmart) or rewarmed tortillas.
Recipe: Better Homes & Gardens
Frittata
A frittata is your best friend. It will use up any leftovers or shine simply as seasoned eggs gently fluffed in the oven. In Italy, they often throw leftover pasta into a frittata — an easy way to kill two birds with one stone, if you have an obnoxiously small portion of anything left over. All you need are a few eggs ($3.79 per dozen on average).
Recipe: Cookie + Kate
Tuna Casserole With Potato Chip Topping
This casserole is much improved by the crunchy potato chips ($3.12 per large bag at Walmart) lining the surface, giving a contrasting texture to the chewy noodles and meaty tuna. You can use any noodle you like and throw in vegetables like frozen peas (95¢ from Target). And if you have any cheese left over from these other recipes, why not make it a tuna melt casserole?
Recipe: AllRecipes
Parmesan Oven Risotto
Here is a brilliant hack to making creamy and delicious risotto without spending a fortune. The only real investment here is some Parmesan and arborio rice ($9.99 for 32 ounces at Walmart), but those will last you for many meals to come anyway. Simply dump all of the ingredients in a pot, throw that in the oven, and let your home fill with heavenly aromas.
Recipe: Smitten Kitchen
Related: 50 Simple, Cheap and Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
Cheesy Enchilada Casserole
If you can’t stand the thought of carefully rolling up every single enchilada, this is the recipe for you. It swaps out rice for the tortillas, and you don’t even need to cook it before you throw it into a baking dish with some beans, enchilada sauce ($2.52 per can from Walmart), some frozen peppers and onions ($2.79 for 14.4 ounces from Target), and some shredded cheese. Wrap all that up tightly in foil and bake away.
Recipe: Megan vs Kitchen
Related: 40 Dishes Under 100 Calories Per Serving
Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese
Sometimes the tired classics need upgrades, too. Whether you like your mac and cheese from a box or made from scratch, you are already under budget. Throw some florets of cauliflower ($2.99 for 12 ounces from Target) into your mac and cheese and it will add an entirely new dimension, bringing nutrients and fiber with it, too.
Recipe: Spend with Pennies
Chicken Tenders and Veggies
Hack this recipe by using frozen chicken tenders ($10.49 for 25 ounces from Target) and veggies. Simply arrange them on a sheet pan and put them in a 425F oven until golden and crisp. To make a delicious dipping sauce of pantry staples, combine mustard, mayo, and ketchup to your liking. Or just whip out a bottle of BBQ sauce.
Recipe: Tasty
