14 Simple, Cheap, and Healthy Meals You’ll Definitely Love

Every time I scan the internet looking for new recipes, I always seem to find the really extravagant meals that require ingredients that I’ll only use for that one meal. I’m a simple girl, especially when it comes to how I cook. I want to cook simple, cheap, and healthy meals, but I also don’t want to spend hours on dinner every night.

I enjoy having a variety of meals to make though. I honestly don’t know how families have the same meal schedule every week without ever changing it up. I would get so bored of the same 7 meals! So I enjoy to mix things up a little.

But sometimes it’s hard to think of what meals to make. Because I like a variety, I don’t want to make the same meal that we had a few days ago. So I decided to write down a list of all the meals we enjoy eating and cooking. That way, when it comes time for me to plan what we’re having for the next week or two, I have a solid list to choose from.

And guess what?? I’m going to share it with you (as well as a Quick Go-To Meal List Printable at the bottom)! There are a couple meals I have to rely on a recipe every time I make it. But for the majority of the meals, I know what the ingredients are, it’s not hard to make, and it’s a healthy and hearty meal. This way you don’t have to scour the internet trying to find those simple, cheap, and healthy meals only to spend 2 hours with only 2 new meal plans to show for it.

In all honesty, I make this meal a lot. It tastes amazing, and I love the veggies in it!

All you need is:

-Chicken cut up into bite sized pieces

-Soy sauce (we use a Gluten Free soy sauce that is SO good)

-Bell peppers (again, different colors make it more appealing!), sliced

-Onion, chopped

-Broccoli

-Carrots, chopped or sliced

-Rice

-Any other veggies you want

I cook that chicken in a big frying pan with olive oil and soy sauce. I season it a little with salt and pepper. Cook the rice. I then throw in the sliced bell peppers, onion, broccoli, and chopped carrots in with the cooked chicken. Throw in a little more soy sauce. Let it cook on low-medium heat until the rice is done. Yummy!!!

Hint, the longer it sits, the better!

All you need is:

-Organic, free range chicken broth (2 boxes)

-Chicken cut into bit sized pieces

-Carrots, chopped

-Celery, chopped

-Onion, chopped

-1clove garlic, minced

-Egg noodles

-Salt, pepper

-Thyme

-Bay leaf

Sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in a big pot with butter. In a separate pan, cook chicken in olive oil with salt and pepper. Cook noodles in a third pot (can wait until about 10 minutes towards the end of cooking the soup part of it since they cook fast). Add chicken broth once veggies are sautéed. Add a dash of thyme and a bay leaf. Add cooked chicken. Let sit for however long you want it to cook. Add cooked noodles when ready to eat.

This is one of our favorites! It’s so simple to make and it’s so colorful!

All you need is:

-chicken breasts or pork chops

-cut up baby red potatoes in half (or in one inch cubes if they're bigger red potatoes)

-2 cloves of garlic, minched

-salt, pepper

-olive oil

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet (preferably covered in aluminum foil – it’s easier to clean), place the pork chops or chicken breasts in the middle, with a little space between each one. Place potatoes and green beans around the meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then pour some olive oil over the top. Stick in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Broil for 3-4 minutes (at 500 degrees).

Another one of my top favorite meals to make. This meal is a very hearty meal.

All you need is:

-Sausage meat, sliced

-Potatoes, cubed

-Bell peppers (it’s more fun to use different colored bell peppers to add color to the meal), chopped

-Onion, chopped

-1 clove of garlic, minced

-olive oil

-Salt, pepper, herbal seasoning

Cook the potatoes, bell peppers, onion, and garlic together in olive oil. Throw in the seasonings. Add in the sliced meat once potatoes are almost done cooking (about 20 minutes). Serve and enjoy!

This is one of the meals I make that I still have to follow the recipe. But my husband and I just love it, so it’s worth doing it.

All you need is:

-1 pound beef tenderloin steak or sirloin steak, thinly sliced into bite-sized strips

-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

-1 8-oz carton dairy sour cream

-2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

-2 tablespoons margine or butter

-1.5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-1 clove garlic, minced

-2 cups cooked noodles (I usually do egg noodles)

Cook HALF of the meat in the butter in a pan on high heat until done. Remove. Cook the rest of the meat with the mushrooms, onion, and garlic until done. Meanwhile, combine flour, sour cream, beef bouillon, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook noodles. When meat and veggies are done, combine all the meat back together, as well as the sour cream mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbling a little. Serve over the noodles.

This may seem like a typical unhealthy American meal, but it can be simple, cheap, and healthy! The more veggies the better. And if you want the meat to be healthier, use turkey burgers.

All you need is:

-Hamburger meat/ground turkey made into patties

-Buns (or you can use a lettuce wrap bun)

-Tomato, sliced

-Lettuce

-Onion, sliced

-Avocado, sliced

-Any other veggies you want

-Sliced cheese (optional)

If you want, you can always make a side salad with it, or make potato salad (all I use are potatoes, mayo, celery, red onion, salt and pepper…again, simple, cheap, and healthy!)

Super healthy! Super cheap! Super simple!

All you need is:

-Chicken cut in bite sized pieces

-Lettuce

-Tomato, chopped

-Shredded cheese

-Carrots, chopped

-Any other veggies you want

-Choice of dressing

Cook the chicken in a pan with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on it. If you want to mix it up a little, I add a little bit of lemon juice to the cooking chicken in order to give it that little zesty pop! On plates, add the chopped lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, carrots, other veggies. I sprinkle a little bit of herbal seasoning for that extra flavor. Place cooked chicken on top. Add dressing. That’s it!

All you need is:

-lettuce, chopped into bigger salad like pieces

-tomato, diced

-cheese, shredded

-sour cream

-salsa (as dressing)

-tortilla chips/strips

-cooked hamburger meat (with taco seasoning added)

(chicken will work too!)

Mix it all together!

Another simple, cheap, and healthy meal. I started adding the peas in to get some form of veggie in this meal. We love it! Serve with salad to make it that much more healthy.

All you need is:

-fettuccine sauce

-fettuccine noodles

-chicken, cut into bite sized pieces, cooked

-peas

-side salad

Cook the fettuccine noodles. Cook the chicken in a separate pan. Add cooked chicken, peas, and fettuccine sauce to noodles.

Growing up, one of the meals we had the most was some sort of meat, some sort of veggie, and some sort of grain. It was a great way to get a lot of hefty food, while also simple to make and healthy.

Types of meat we use for these meals to mix it up:

-Chicken nuggets (we make our own, I use some sort of breading or crackers to cover the outside of the bite sized chicken)

-BBQ Chicken legs

-Baked chicken with some spices thrown on top, can add some lemon juice for extra flavor

-Steak

For the veggies, we mix that up too:

-Any type of steamed veggies (I love the green ones because it adds that colorful pop to the meal)

-Salad

-Mashed potatoes (instead of using rice or noodles, we will cook mashed potatoes along with another veggie)

-Grilled asparagus

Another hearty meal, but simple, cheap, and healthy.

All you need is:

-Whatever beans you want to use (we use 2 cans of black beans and one can of pinto beans. Chili beans are always good, or kidney beans). Don’t drain the beans

-Ground hamburger meat

-Onion, chopped

-Garlic, minced

-Can of diced tomatoes, 8 oz.

-Can of tomato sauce, smaller can

-Corn (optional)

-Chili powder

-Salt, pepper

-Cornbread (we use gluten free, and instead of adding milk, we use a can of cream corn. YUMMM!!!)

Cook the meat in a big pot, then add all the ingredients together! Let it sit and cook together to get all the flavors blended.

My husband loves cheese. So anything cheesy like nachos is definitely a favorite of his. This is especially a great meal to make if you’re in a hurry or don’t want to spend a long time cooking.

All you need is:

-Shredded cheese (your choice of what kind)

-Tortilla chips

-Tomatoes, chopped

-Green chilies, canned

-Ground hamburger meat (with taco seasoning added)

Cook the hamburger meat with the taco seasoning. On a microwavable plate, place the chips down, sprinkle the cheese on top as well as the cooked meat. Microwave until the cheese is melted. Then place tomatoes and green chilies (and whatever veggies you may want) on top. Enjoy!

Again, a super simple but healthy meal. You can always add a little side salad for those extra veggies!

All you need is:

-spaghetti sauce

-ground hamburger meat

-spaghetti noodles

-lettuce and some other raw veggies to make a side salad (optional)

Cook the spaghetti noodles. Cook the ground hamburger meat in a separate pan. Once cooked, add the sauce. Serve spaghetti meat sauce over the spaghetti noodles.

I use the canned enchilada sauce (has the recipe on the side of the can), but there’s always the option to make your own.

All you need is:

-enchilada sauce

-chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

-shredded cheese

-tortillas

-I like to add veggies! Lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc. on top, instead of just having the first four ingredients

Cook the chicken in a pan. Add about 2/3 of the enchilada sauce and a cup of cheese to the chicken. Fill tortillas with chicken enchilada sauce, roll them up, and place them in a baking dish. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas as well as as much cheese as you want on top. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Serve with veggies on top.

Did you know you can bake bacon??? I had no clue until recently and it has changed how I view this meal! I don’t like frying bacon in a pan because it’s waaaay too messy and I have a hard time cooking it just right. But now that I can cook it in the oven, it makes this meal so much more simple!

All you need is:

-Toasted bread slices

-Mayo

-Tomato, sliced

-Lettuce

-Bacon

If you want, you can always add avocado slices to make it healthier!

Note that I didn't use a lot of specific measurements unless I shared with you the actual recipe. The reason for that is I don't know how much food you'll need to feed your family. Take for instance my husband and I. It's just the two of us, right? Maybe in persons, but when it comes to food, my husband eats for three people...THREE PEOPLE you guys! So I've had to learn how to cook for a family of four instead of a family of two.

When it comes to buying the meats for these meals, I've had to learn how to not go overboard because we only have so much money to spend on food. When I use chicken breasts, I've found that with most of the meals I make that calls for it, I can get away with only using one or two chicken breasts for the both of us. But that's because there's enough substance to the rest of the meal.

So it all depends on you and your family. Play around with it a little. Make a little more than you need to see if it's all gone at the end of dinner or if there's leftovers. It's definitely a trial and error kind of game. But hang in there! You'll find your groove as I have found mine. But the first step is figuring out what to make in the first place.

Here is that free printable I mentioned earlier!!! It's just a cute little printable that you can print at home and use as a reference for when you're planning out your meal schedule.

Click here to access the Quick Go-To Meal List Printable!

You will need a password to download the free printable. But don't worry! If you don't have the password yet, simply subscribe and enter your email address below. I'll send you this specific freebie to your inbox as well as the password needed to open any and all other freebies. Yay!!