Though we’re all for pulling out all the stops for a wildly impressive dinner for a romantic date night or special occasion, most weeknights, we’re looking for something cheap and easy. These recipes hit both criteria, with ease. You don’t have to drop major dough to make something delicious that can be on your table in an hour or less—save money by choosing cheaper proteins (we’re talking chicken, ground beef or turkey, or vegetarian options like tofu) and time by making these dishes all in one pan or via some of our top kitchen shortcuts. Whatever your style, these 100+ cheap and easy meals will please your entire family without breaking the bank.

One of the easiest ways to cut down on dinner costs is to go for cheaper cuts of meat, or utilizing more expensive ones in creative ways. Try adding ground beef, turkey, or chicken to help bulk out old standbys. Try roasting a whole chicken (or buying a rotisserie chicken), then utilizing it for everything from pizza to tacos all week long. Try adding more expensive seafood or steak to pasta or rice to help make smaller, more affordable portions go further, like in our salmon & potato skillet, our marry me shrimp pasta, our creamy steak fettuccine. It’s all about the way you use the protein that matters, not avoiding them altogether.

If you’ve been on the fence about certain kitchen appliances, like slow cookers, air fryers, and Instant Pots, consider this your sign to take the plunge and get one. They help dinners come together SO fast. Check out our more in-depth lists for your air fryer (over 100 recipes!), Instant Pot, and Crockpot.

Even if you’re not ready for another appliance, we bet you have some things in your kitchen already that’ll help you get dinner on the table fast, like sheet pans, a Dutch oven, and casserole dishes. We’ve included a number of our favorite recipes here, like our sheet-pan garlicky shrimp & veggies, our hamburger casserole (no more flipping individual burgers!), our chicken shawarma sheet-pan dinner, or our Mexican beef ‘n rice skillet, but once you’ve got the basics down, feel free to get creative.

One of the best ways to save some money is to go meatless (and not just on Mondays). And we don’t mean by replacing proteins with all those high-priced meat substitutes (though we’re all about those sometimes)—instead we’re talking about making vegetarian meals out of cheap beans, tofu, and plants. Try our spinach & artichoke white bean skillet, our sweet & sour tofu, our cream of mushroom pastina, or our baked feta chickpeas to see how versatile and filling these meals can be.

Want more cheap and easy meals? Check out our favorite 5-ingredient meals, our top 30-minute meals, and former food editor June’s entire Budget Eats series. You won’t believe what she came up with for under $25!

delish!

It’s finally officially summer and we couldn’t be more excited.Not that we don’t love all the seasons of the year..but summer is arguably our not-so-secret favorite (if not for the fresh produce alone). Since it’s just around the corner, and you know what that means—we’re going to start trying to take ALL our meals outside. This means tons of hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled meat, of course, but that’s not all. As every true grill-master master knows, it’s not enough to just have the perfect proteins. You’ve got to fill out your meal with perfect side dishes and salads too. And with fresh fruit and greens, summer is a fantastic season for salads. Check out our 80 summer salad recipes for ideas you can make all season long.

When it comes to summertime, the word “salad” isn’t so cut and dry. It means leafy greens, sure, but also potato salads, pasta salads, and bean and corn salads too. We’ve got tons of options for them all here, from the classic to the somewhat unusual. For example, we’ve got your classic fruit salad (with a killer honey-lime dressing), but also a kitschy coconut and Cool Whip ambrosia salad if you wanna get weirder. We’ve included our solid macaroni salad recipe, as well as tons of more creative options, like our cowboy pasta salad, our Thai peanut chicken pasta salad, or our Greek orzo salad. We’ve got our classic potato salad that’ll fit in on any summertime spread here, as well as some wilder ones if you want your dish to stand out (in the best way) at the potluck. Check out our tzatziki potato salad, our watermelon Caprese, or our gnocchi antipasto salad to see what we mean.

You could also go with a simple spinach or arugula salad, or jazz them up, like in our strawberry spinach salad, our grilled steak salad, or our chicken-avocado Caprese salad. The other great thing about a summer salad? They’re RIPE for a mashup. Take our jalapeño popper potato salad, our Cobb egg salad, our lobster roll pasta salad, or our pot sticker panzanella—they all combine two delicious recipes into one new fave.

Want more summertime inspiration? Check out our top summer dinner ideas, our best summer cocktails, and our fave summer BBQ sides too.

delish!