On a budget? Feast on these tasty, cheap & healthy dinner recipes

A lot of people believe that healthy food is always expensive. And yes if you walk into an eco or bio supermarket, the prices are indeed very steep. But eating healthy doesn’t have to be overly pricey. If you’re on a budget, check out these 9 healthy yet budget-friendly dinner recipes to keep your body in prime condition.

1. Healthy tuna pasta bake

This healthy tuna pasta bake by Taste is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time and are trying to save some money. The recipe uses canned tuna and fusilli to create a cheesy pasta bake with only about 10 minutes of preparation time.

Healthy tuna pasta bake
Healthy tuna pasta bake / Image: taste.com.au

2. Chicken, leek & brown rice stir-fry

If you’re more in the mood for a stir-fry, we’ve got you covered. This chicken, leek, and brown rice stir-fry by BBC Good Food is a nice light and healthy dinner to give your body a much needed boost. The whole thing takes less than 20 minutes to make and combines chicken, kale, chorizo and rice. Yum.

Chicken, leek, and brown rice stir fry
Chicken, leek, and brown rice stir fry / Image: BBC Good Food

3. Healthy turkey chili

This next recipe requires about 20 minutes of prep time, but you will have to wait a few hours for it to be ready. This healthy turkey chili by Taste of Home is a slow cooker recipe, which is great if you don’t have a lot of time to actually do the cooking but want those flavors to develop. The recipe calls for lean ground turkey, canned beans and different vegetables to bring you a budget friendly dinner.

healthy turkey chili
Healthy turkey chili / Screenshot: Taste of Home

4. Garlic butter shrimp and rice

This Garlic butter shrimp and rice recipe by Diethood is another great healthy dinner option if you’re on a budget and even if you’re not. It’s an easy dinner that takes just 20 minutes and the best part? There’s almost no clean-up. The recipe calls for just 3 steps: buttering up the shrimp, making your rice, and stirring in the rest of the ingredients.

Garlic butter shrimp and rice
Garlic butter shrimp and rice / Image: Diethood

5. Vegetarian hoppin’ John

For those of you not familiar with the dish hoppin’ John: it’s a southern dish usually made out of cowpeas, onion, bacon and rice. This is a vegetarian version by Better Homes & Gardens that combines black-eyed peas with colorful peppers and corn. Don’t worry, you still get the southern taste.

Vegetarian hoppin' John
Vegetarian hoppin’ John / Image: Better Homes & Gardens

6. Moroccan-spiced pork meatballs

This Moroccan-spiced pork meatballs recipe by Taste is meant for 4 people, but we wouldn’t be surprised if you took an extra portion. You’ll first have to cook the balls in a frying pan for a few minutes and then transfer them to your oven. Add some couscous, chutney and vegetables to complement the porc.

Moroccan spiced pork meatballs
Moroccan spiced pork meatballs / Image: taste.com.au

7. Curried chicken & new potato traybake

Time for another bake. This time it’s a curried chicken and new potato traybake by BBC Good Food. We love traybakes, because you don’t have to make a bunch of pans dirty and it’s an easy way to make a delicious dish. You’ll have to get chicken drumsticks, masala, ginger, garlic, and turmeric for this one.

Curried chicken new potato traybake
Curried chicken new potato traybake / BBC Good Food

8. Contest-Winning Greek Pasta Bake

Yep we really meant it when we said we love bakes. Here’s another one for you by Taste of Home. This time we’re dealing with a contest-winning Greek pasta. It’s a pretty simple recipe. You basically cook the pasta and then combine it with chicken, tomato sauce, tomatoes, spinach, onion, olives, gasil, oregano and green pepper. Obviously the tray still has to go in the oven after that. But just for about 25 minutes.

Greek pasta bake
Greek pasta bake / Taste of Home

9. Peanut fettuccine with roasted cauliflower

Last but not least we have another vegetarian dinner for you: peanut fettuccine with roasted cauliflower by Better Homes and Gardens. The dish takes about 40 minutes to make, but it’s pretty easy. While the cauliflower is roasting in the oven you cook your fettuccini. Then it’s just basically mixing everything and topping it off with some cilantro and peanuts.

Peanut fettuccini with roasted cauliflower
Peanut fettuccine with roasted cauliflower / Image: Better Homes & Gardens

This should give you enough inspiration for the coming week. If you’re looking for more healthy dinner recipes, also check out these 9 wholesome dishes.

Ilona Braam

Ilona is a Digital Media Design graduate, content writer/creator and a whole bunch of other things. A few words that would describe her are jolly, creative, nerdy, curious and a bit dark.