Feeding a large family can be both a joy and a significant expense. As someone who has raised four children, I understand the constant need to balance delicious, filling meals with a tight budget. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of my favorite economical meals perfect for large families. These recipes are designed to be comforting, satisfying, and easy on your wallet. Whether you’re cooking for kids or just looking for budget-conscious options, this collection of recipes is sure to be a valuable resource.
Sloppy Joe casserole in a white baking dish with a wooden spoon inside
Having navigated the challenges of feeding my own family of six, I know firsthand how tricky it can be to put dinner on the table while staying within a budget. Now that my daughter is raising her own family, I’ve been sharing my go-to budget-friendly dinner strategies with her as well.
With rising grocery costs, stretching every dollar is more crucial than ever. The good news is that providing Economical Meals For Large Families doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor or satisfaction. In fact, some of the most beloved meals in my family have been created from simple pantry staples, costing mere pennies per serving!
Why You’ll Love These Economical Meals for Large Families
- Budget-Friendly Ingredients: These recipes rely on affordable ingredients and pantry staples, eliminating the need for expensive or hard-to-find items.
- Adaptable and Versatile: Easy substitutions are encouraged, allowing you to adapt each meal based on what you already have in your pantry, minimizing extra grocery trips.
- Large Family Portions: These meals are designed to feed a crowd, ensuring there’s enough for everyone without excessive costs. Economical meals for large families should be plentiful as well as affordable.
- Wholesome and Flavorful: Packed with delicious and nutritious ingredients, these recipes allow you to feel good about serving your family satisfying and wholesome dinners without blowing your budget.
- Quick and Easy Preparation: Time is often as valuable as money, especially on busy weeknights. These recipes are designed for easy and fast preparation, perfect for families on the go.
Economical Family Meals
To maximize budget-friendliness, these economical dinner ideas prioritize recipes with limited meat and common, affordable ingredients. Meat, specialty sauces, and expensive spices can quickly inflate grocery bills. These recipes focus on simple, cost-effective components.
This list begins with family-friendly casseroles, then moves into soups, pasta dishes, and a variety of additional budget-conscious dinner ideas.
Economical Casserole Recipes
My Kids’ Favorite Sloppy Joe Casserole
This casserole is made with budget-friendly, readily available ingredients, and includes instructions for making your own sauce from scratch, further reducing costs. If you’re looking to reduce ground beef expenses, you can easily substitute with other ground meats.
Check out this recipe
Close up of a spoonful of cheesy ham and potato casserole
Ham and Potato Casserole
This incredibly tasty and comforting casserole uses leftover ham or affordable deli ham combined with a simple, creamy cheese sauce to create a memorable and economical meal.
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Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
Cabbage, a remarkably inexpensive vegetable, forms the base of this hearty and warming casserole. Similar to other ground meat recipes, you can use any type of ground meat you have available, including options with higher fat content, to keep costs down.
Check out this recipe
Plate of cheesy chicken potato casserole with a forkful lifted
Quick, Easy, Cheesy Chicken Potato Casserole
Utilizing frozen hash browns, shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken is a great shortcut), and a simple creamy sauce, this cracker-topped casserole is bursting with flavor and incredibly easy to assemble, making it a perfect economical meal for busy families.
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Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole Recipe
This breakfast casserole is the ideal budget-friendly option for feeding a large family with ease in the morning. Using frozen tater tots, simple seasonings, and your preferred breakfast sausage, this casserole is as delicious as it is economical.
Check out this recipe
Wooden spoon serving tater tot breakfast casserole from baking dish
Economical Soup Recipes
Soups and stews are not only comforting and easy to make, often in just one pot, but they are also incredibly economical. They are easily adaptable to vegan or vegetarian diets and emphasize vegetables, making them a healthy and budget-conscious choice for family meals.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash is often very affordable, especially during autumn months, making this flavorful and aromatic soup a remarkably cheap and delicious option.
Check out this recipe
Spoonful of creamy crockpot vegetable soup over a bowl
Crockpot Vegetable Soup
This set-and-forget soup is perfect for utilizing frozen vegetables, making it a highly economical and convenient meal. With staple vegetables, classic pantry spices, and a touch of tomato paste, you can create a rich and satisfying dinner for the whole family on a budget.
Chick-fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup
This recipe is a reader favorite and surprisingly budget-friendly. It’s creamy, flavorful, and uses simple ingredients that can be easily purchased canned or frozen, helping to keep costs down and convenience high for an economical family meal.
Check out this recipe
Spoonful of hearty instant pot bean soup over a bowl
Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
A bag of 15 bean soup mix, some ham (optional, can be omitted or substituted with other inexpensive protein), and a few extra vegetables and seasonings are all you need to create a deeply flavorful and filling soup. The beans themselves make this soup substantial and incredibly economical.
Economical Pasta Recipes
Pasta is a pantry staple and incredibly affordable, especially store brands. A large box of pasta can easily feed a large family with leftovers, making it a cornerstone of economical meals for large families. These pasta dinner ideas utilize simple and affordable ingredients like eggs and tomato sauce to create satisfying and family-friendly noodle dishes.
Homemade Hamburger Helper
This homemade version of hamburger helper is significantly more delicious than the boxed variety and likely uses ingredients you already have on hand. Use your choice of ground meat to create a taco pasta that everyone will love without breaking the bank.
Check out this recipe
Spaghetti in One Pot
Spaghetti is a classic cheap dinner, and this recipe simplifies it even further by requiring only one pot for cooking and cleanup! Savory, creamy, and kid-approved, this has become a favorite way to prepare spaghetti, and you can easily add frozen meatballs to boost protein without significantly increasing the cost.
Close up of a plate of creamy spaghetti carbonara
Spaghetti Carbonara
Despite its fancy-sounding name, spaghetti carbonara is remarkably economical and easy to make. With just parmesan cheese, eggs, peas, and bacon, you can create a rich and delicious pasta dish in very little time, proving economical meals can still be elegant and satisfying.
Check out this recipe
More Budget Dinners for Large Families
The beauty of cooking lies in the endless possibilities to create wonderful meals with simple, affordable ingredients. Here are more of my favorite budget-friendly dinner ideas that my kids loved growing up and continued to enjoy even when they were in college and beyond!
Bowl of flavorful chicken chili next to a pot of chili
Chicken Chili Recipe
This chicken chili recipe is a long-time favorite and incredibly easy to prepare. Using shredded chicken, canned goods, and frozen vegetables, you can make a hearty and flavorful chili that’s both economical and satisfying, perfect for large families.
Check out this recipe
Mouthwatering Carnitas Tacos
Tacos are a go-to budget meal, and carnitas tacos are a standout. Pork shoulder is frequently on sale and one affordable cut of meat can feed a large family for multiple meals, making it an incredibly economical choice.
Check out this recipe
Close-up of tender barbacoa beef on a plate
Barbacoa Beef
This incredible barbacoa can be made with beef, but using a pork shoulder yields equally delicious results at a lower cost. Versatile and flavorful, barbacoa can be used in tacos, burritos, bowls, and more, making it a highly economical option for large families.
Check out this recipe
Pork Loin Pulled Pork
Pork loin is excellent for pulled pork, but pork shoulder or Boston butt, often more budget-friendly cuts, work just as well. Pulled pork is incredibly versatile and can be served on nachos, pizza, rice, sandwiches, salads, and countless other dishes, offering variety and economy.
Check out this recipe
White bowl of slow cooker vegetarian chili topped with cheese and cilantro
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
This slow cooker vegetarian chili was one of the first recipes I shared with my kids when they went to college and has remained a staple for them and their own families ever since. The best part is its simplicity: just add spices, frozen vegetables, canned beans, and tomatoes to a slow cooker, and you have an effortless and economical meal.
Check out this recipe
Tips on Economical Meals for Large Families
- Embrace Store Brands: For many staples like frozen vegetables, spices, and dry goods such as pasta, store brands offer the same quality as name brands at a significantly lower price.
- Frozen Vegetables are Your Allies: Perfect for chili, soup, and casseroles, frozen vegetables are convenient, long-lasting, and more affordable than fresh. They cook perfectly in these types of dishes without becoming mushy. Keep your freezer stocked with economical options like peas, corn, and spinach.
- Utilize Canned Goods: Canned tomato sauces, vegetables, and meats are budget-friendly alternatives to fresh ingredients and cook just as deliciously in many recipes.
- Stock Up on Cheap, Long-Lasting Vegetables: When garlic cloves, carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery are on sale, buy in bulk. These versatile vegetables are used in countless recipes and store well for weeks in the fridge or pantry. (Tip: Store onions and potatoes separately to prevent premature spoilage.)
- Choose Economical Protein Sources: Try to limit beef-based protein and opt for more affordable alternatives like chicken, pork, beans, and lentils. When using ground beef, consider higher fat ratios like 80/20, as they are often cheaper and the excess fat can be drained after cooking.
- Make Sauces from Scratch: Bottled sauces can be expensive. Learn to make your own classic sauces using pantry staples like soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and mustard to save money and control ingredients.
- Shop Seasonally for Produce: Take advantage of seasonal produce. Squash like zucchini and eggplant are often heavily discounted in the summer, and root vegetables like sweet potatoes become very affordable in the fall. Buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season for the best flavor and prices.
- Bone-In Meat is Often Cheaper: Bone-in meat cuts like mixed packs of pork chops or chicken pieces are typically much less expensive than boneless options. Buy meat in bulk when it’s on sale and freeze it for later use.
- Frozen Chicken is a Budget Powerhouse: Frozen chicken is long-lasting, often cheaper than fresh chicken, and can sometimes cook up even more tender and juicy.
- Dried Herbs are Cost-Effective: Dried herbs are a great substitute for fresh herbs in almost all recipes and are significantly more economical. For fresh herbs, consider growing your own in pots for a continuous supply at a fraction of the cost.
- Explore more Kid Friendly Easy Weeknight Dinners for Families for additional budget-friendly meal ideas.
