I’ve said this before and I’m pretty sure I’ll say it again many times in the future but meal planning is definitely my favourite way to save money – it costs me less each week when I go shopping and saves me time each day as I know what I’m cooking.
I wrote a guide over on my Meal Planning blog about what meal planning actually means and how I do it but it’s not just about the planning side of things. You need to be able to stick to it which is where I’ve often struggled in the past – mainly because I get bored of cooking (and eating) the same things week after week but I find that a lot of recipes can be quite expensive to cook when you add in all the little extras that you might need.
To help me (and you) to discover some new recipes, I’ve compiled a list of fifty thrifty meals from around the internet which I hope will provide a bit of meal planning inspiration to us all – after all, Summer’s just round the corner and I could do with saving a little bit on my food shopping to help fund the days out I want to do with the kids….
Hot dog pasta.
Vegetable burgers.
Slow cooker fridge bottom frittata.
Tinned tuna fish cakes.
Slow cooker chicken curry.
Vegetable casserole and dumplings.
Toad in the hole.
Vegetable pancakes.
Slow cooker sausage bean and chorizo casserole.
Chunky leek and potato soup.
Mince and onions /Cottage Pie
Sausage and bacon potato bake.
Oven baked risotto.
Leftovers pie – this one or this one are our favourites.
Chilli
Turkey meatballs.
Slow cooker pork chops with apple.
Macaroni cheese.
Homemade fishcakes.
Mince hotpot.
Slow cooker spinach and macaroni cheese
Sweet pea and prawn pasta.
Lentil and Sweet potato curry.
Beef and lentil cottage pie.
Corned beef hash with baked beans.
Slow cooker chicken cacciatore.
Mini meatloaves.
Colourful vegetable risotto.
There you go. That should keep you going for a while at least 
Great ideas and you've reminded me yet again to try and sort out a meal planner. it would definitely be cheaper for us. x
I am not very good with a meal planning… i have to work on this
oooh fab ideas I need to be more thrifty
Some great meals. The toad in the hole looks delicious. Would love to try it.
Some great ideas. My two best thrifty meals tend to be Swampy Soup (all the greens in the fridge included, looks like a swamp) and Back of the Fridge Curry (self explanatory I hope)
I've always planned our meals each week. I really want to start using our slow cooker more.
Thanks for the ideas! I need to cook more so some of these will definitely be added to the list x
I've been meal planning and using the slow cooker almost everyday since January. It has made a high difference to our weekly shop and to the quality of the food we eat. Thank you for all these suggestions – definitely want to try the frittata!
I have never tried pulled pork and it seems to be on everyones menu at the moment – must try it
Oh some great recipes….I seem to just cook the same things over and over again….and I am bored!
Whenever I think of thrifty food, I always image the food to be boring and not very edible, so thank you for sharing this post, now I need to decide what delicious looking meal to cook up first! x
I'm trying to keep our grocery spend down so these came just at the right time!
What a lovely collection of recipes.Budgeting and meal planning saves a lot of hassle.
Wow, what an amazing list. I really need to get better at planning meals – it's normally a last minute scramble and then a dash to the shops to pick up missing ingredients so this is very inspiring to help me change and become organised!
Some great ideas there, I try to meal plan but one week out sets me back about four sometimes to get back on track
OMG fantastic!! I am definitely going to give some of these a go! We really need to budget more and do struggle to survive a month financially so this is really helpful xx
Oh thanks hun. I need to start doing more of the cooking, but I never know what to try to cook. This will help me out x
Great ideas and pinned. I love good family food
Brilliant thanks! I've pinned a few for inspiration
Thanks for these! I am always on the lookout for new meals to add to the list. I wouldn't be able to cope without meal planning. I now do it monthly and find we have a great variety of food each month.
Great ideas – some of the best family meals don't have to cost the earth. I love it when I get the chance to batch cook and make meat go a bit further by adding in beans or veggies
Some nice meals there, I love brisket of beef, but I find it expensive unless I can get it on offer. Have added to my recipe faves as I fancy trying the pie!
Great list! I love making a huge batch of cottage pie to freeze during the week
Oooo great ideas. Saving this link and will definitely be trying some of these. Thanks for meals ideas