Food,  Money Hacks

11 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas in 15 Minutes

November 19

You know you need to fix dinner quick but don’t want to go through the drive through, and you REALLY need to stick to your budget! Sometimes we just need a few cheap and easy dinner ideas to help you get a meal on the table quick. Dinner ideas that help us to not feel like we are eating the same things all the time. And quick dinner ideas that stop us from going over budget because we don’t have time to cook.

 

11 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas in 15 Minutes this …

 

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my affiliate disclaimer here.

 

 

 

Below are a few quick dinner IDEAS when you are feeling a bit stuck.  They are meant to help anyone who is trying to stick to a budget and has a hectic schedule.

They only require a few ingredients, making them easy on the budget also!

Full Disclosure…These are not fancy recipes made from scratch with tons of ingredients that run up your grocery bill and take hours to make.  They are exactly as stated above…quick dinner IDEAS.  I know I need help thinking of new things to cook that are budget-friendly and can be put together quickly.

 

For the Chicken Dinners Below….

Please note – For the chicken dinner ideas you can use a rotisserie chicken or bake chicken breast if you prefer.  I love using a rotisserie chicken whenever I can.  It saves so much time on busy work nights.  But, when we do bake chicken breast we slice the breast into 1” wide slices so they bake much faster.   You can even ask your grocery meat department to slice them for you to save time.

 

If you are not good at judging if the chicken is undercooked or overcooked, you can use a digital thermometer.  We use one like this.

 

Related Post

 

 

11 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas

#1  Chicken Salad

  • Rotisserie chicken or baked chicken
  • Bag of shredded lettuce
  • Bag of shredded carrots
  • Dressing of choice

Mix all together and serve

 

#2  Chicken Quesadilla

  • Rotisserie chicken or Baked Chicken
  • Taco Bell chipotle sauce (This stuff is so good!)
  • Shredded Cheese (optional)
  • Flour tortilla

Heat up a skillet. Place chopped chicken, Taco Bell chipotle sauce, and cheese on one half of tortilla.  Close the tortilla and heat on both sides.  We make these with just the chicken and chipotle sauce and they taste great!

 

#3  Chicken Alfredo

Boil your noodles and drain.  Mix alfredo sauce, noodles, Knorr Chicken Stock and chopped chicken together.  You can also add some steamed broccoli to the mix as well if you like veggies mixed in your sauce.  Or, you can also substitute chicken for a bag of frozen shrimp.  Run frozen shrimp under cold water to defrost and cook in a skillet in just a few minutes.

Or,……try this Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Recipe which is quicker and you only have one pot to clean up!

 

#4  Breakfast for Dinner

  • Scrambled eggs
  • Bacon or sausage
  • Toast or tortilla

You can make an egg sandwich or wrap it all up into the tortilla as a burrito.

 

 #5  Kolaches (Pigs in a blanket)

Partially heat up breakfast sausage.  Unroll crescent dough.  Mash the dough around the breakfast sausage completely covering it. You could roll up the dough around the sausage like a crescent if you would prefer.  Then bake.  I find if you don’t partially heat up the sausage before rolling with the dough then you burn the bottoms of your bread waiting for the sausage to be cooked completely.

 

#6  Ground Turkey Chili

  • Ground Turkey
  • McCormick Mild Chili packet
  • 1 can Pinto Beans
  • 1 small can Hunts tomatoes sauce
  • Frito’s corn chips, rice, or crackers
  • 1 Knorr Chicken Stock Tub

Brown your ground turkey in a pot.  Stir in Chili packet, Pinto Beans, Knorr Chicken Stock, and tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil then simmer till desired taste.

 

#7  Turkey Chili Mac

  • Leftover turkey chili
  • 1 box Mac n Cheese

If you have leftover chili from the previous night mix with a box of mac n cheese.  It is similar to a hamburger helper.  You can add additional cheese to make it creamier if you like.

 

#8  Shrimp with Pasta

Run shrimp under cold water to defrost.  Cook in a skillet with a little butter and seasoning.  Cook noodles according to box directions. Then toss shrimp and noodles together.   You can use any package of pasta side you prefer.  Knorr makes a variety of flavors also.

Yes I know #8 is very basic but sometimes you just don’t think of it.  If you are trying to finish your weekly grocery list and don’t have much wiggle room left in the budget it can come in handy.  Most of the Knorr Pasta Sides are just a dollar and you can toss with Shrimp, Chicken, or even shredded rotisserie chicken for a quick meal.

 

#9  Chicken Marinara

Heat up spaghetti sauce and chicken stock in a pot on the stove.  Boil noodles and drain.  Mix noodles, sauce, and chopped chicken all together.  Top with shredded cheese.

Or, …..try this Instant Pot Meatball Subs which is pretty similar (minus the chicken & noodles) and again, only one pot to clean up!

 

#10  Chicken Noodle Soup and Oven or Skillet  Warmed Sandwich

  • Rotisserie Chicken or Baked Chicken
  • Campbells Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup is our favorite.  It has to be the Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup and come in the can.
  • Kings Hawaiian Mini Sub Rolls (or regular sandwich bread)
  • Lunch meat of choice (we use a combination of two different types of meat together)
  • Mayo and Ketchup mixed together

Ok, so this one can help you out in a pinch.  Warm soup on the stove and add chopped chicken to it for added protein.  You can heat up a regular warm turkey and cheese sandwich in a skillet to go with it.  Or, we like to use the Kings Hawaiian Mini Sub Rolls with two different types of meat warmed up in the oven for a few minutes.  Once they are warmed spread your mixture of ketchup and mayo on them.  It is similar to getting a sub/sandwich from someplace like subway….but you will have some for leftovers and it is easier on the budget!

Or, when you have a little more time to prepare a soup you can try this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, Instant Pot Taco Soup, or this Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings.  They are also still very quick and easy!

 

#11 Chicken Taco/Fajita

  • Rotisserie Chicken or Chicken Breast
  • Bag of Shredded Lettuce
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Taco Bell Mild Sauce
  • Flour Tortillas

Place chopped chicken, lettuce, cheese, and sauce in a tortilla.  Roll up and Serve.

 

 Veggies/Side Dishes

If you think of fresh veggies that you can eat raw there is no prep work or time needed for these.  Or steam-able bags of veggies are also a quick option.   Some of our favorites are…..

  • Raw carrots with ranch dip
  • Raw celery
  • Cajun Chef Mild Pickled okra
  • Express Bake Russet Potato (microwaved)
  • Small side salad (optional, you can throw in some chopped lunch meat or rotisserie chicken)
  • Applesauce
  • Any steam-able bag of veggie mix
  • Cucumbers

 

QUICK & EASY – Potato Salad

  • 2 Microwave Ready Easy Baker Idaho Potatoes
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. Mustard
  • 3 Tbsp. Mayo
  • 1/2 Tbsp. Salt

Potato Salad used to be something that took forever to prepare.  You had to peel the potatoes, cut them, and boil them.  It would take an hour at the least.  But if you use Express Bake Russet Potatoes that come prewrapped in clear wrap it cuts the prep work down to only a few minutes.  Cook two large potatoes (prewrapped) in the microwave for about 10 minutes (This is just enough for four servings).  Boil 4 eggs on the stove for about the same.  Separate your egg yolk and mix it with mayo, mustard, and salt for your sauce.  Next, spoon the cooked potatoes out and mix with diced egg whites and your sauce.   Pair this with rotisserie chicken and a fresh veggie from above and dinner is ready in 15 minutes.

What are some of your quick and budget-friendly meals?

 

Want to remember this?  Post this 11 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas in 15 Minutes article to your Pinterest board!