Check out these budget-friendly meals that taste good, made from shelf-stable pantry ingredients found at your local Dollar Tree.
What’s for dinner, when you need to make something cheap from your pantry made from shelf-stable ingredients?
Try one of these Dollar Tree shelf-stable pantry meals below.
Shelf Stable Pantry Meals from Dollar Tree
I was so surprised with all the meals I could make from shelf-stable Dollar Tree ingredients.
I think you will be, too!
1. Carne Taco Bowl
Can I just say this was one of my favorite dishes out of this whole bunch? I really didn’t think it would be anything special, and I was totally wrong.
The rice really has a lovely, fresh taste to it. And you can add some cheese to your bowl if you’d like, too!
Ingredients:
- 1 Cilantro & Lime Rice pouch
- Sweet Corn
- Tortilla Strips
- 1 Chili Con Carne Pouch
Instructions:
- Fill each of three bowls with 1/3 of the Cilantro & Lime rice.
- Fill each of the three bowls with 1/3 of the Chili con carne pouch.
- Fill each of the three bowls with 1/3 of the corn (and black beans, if you’re adding them in).
- Top with cheese (optional).
- Microwave until it’s cooked, melted, and yummy.
Serves: 3
Total Cost: $5.00
2. Chicken BBQ and Mashed Potato Mounds (With Green Bean Casserole)
Is green bean casserole part of your Thanksgiving dinner? Turns out – the Dollar Tree has every ingredient you need to make it for any night of the week.
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of chicken
- 4 tbsps. BBQ sauce
- 1 boxed instant mashed potatoes
- 1 carton of shelf-stable milk
- 1 can of green beans
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 bag of crispy fried onions
Instructions:
- Cook the French bean casserole according to French’s original recipe.
- Cook the mashed potatoes according to package directions. Keep warm.
- Open and drain the chicken. Add 1 tbsp. of some sort of fat to a pan, and heat the chicken completely through. Add in 4 tbsps. of barbecue sauce and make sure it’s all coated. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve by putting a mound of mashed potatoes on the plate, then topping with your chicken BBQ portion, plus a serving of Green Bean Casserole.
Serves: 2-3
Total Cost: $10.00
3. Chicken Pasta Salad with Red Pepper Tomato Soup
I remember this Suddenly Salad coming out when I was a tween. Which is so funny, because when I got pregnant with my little guy? I started to crave it.
Even though I hadn’t eaten it in decades!
That’s the inspiration behind this dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 box Suddenly Salad Pasta Ranch & Bacon
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 can of chicken
- 1 box of Pacific Organic Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Instructions:
- Cook the pasta according to instructions. Add in the mayonnaise when it cools down.
- Add in 1 can of drained chicken.
- Warm up the soup, enough for each person to get 1 cup.
Serves: 3
Total Cost: $5.00
4. Corn Bread Chili with Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
Okay…this meal technically takes one non-shelf-stable ingredient not typically found at Dollar Trees (3 eggs). However, you can actually substitute unsweetened applesauce (that’s shelf-stable, AND sold at Dollar Tree!) for the eggs in the recipe if you’d like.
Ingredients:
- 1 package of Texas Style Honey Sweet Cornbread Mix
- 1 box of Pacific Foods Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
- 1 can of chili with beans
- 3 eggs (not available at most Dollar Trees…you could substitute with unsweetened applesauce if you need to) OR
- ¾ cup applesauce (1/4 cup applesauce substitutes for one egg)
- 1 ¾ cup milk
Instructions:
- Make the cornbread according to the instructions, in an 8 X 8 pan.
- Heat up the chili.
- Heat up the soup (1 cup per person).
- Cut out a hunk of cornbread, and slice it in half crosswise. Top with big spoonfuls of chili. Serve the soup on the side.
Serves: 3
Total Cost: $6.25
5. Salmon Bowl with Sweet Chili Aioli
I love a salmon poke bowl.
And while I knew I wouldn’t be able to recreate that from the Dollar Tree…I thought I might be able to get something similar.
That’s what this is!
Ingredients:
- 2 Wild Caught Salmon Pouches (Chicken of the Sea)
- Brown Rice (1/2 cup per person)
- Canned/Cupped Fruit (mandarin oranges or pineapples taste really good in these bowls)
- Veggies (steamed frozen broccoli)
- Toppings (Crispy Onions, Sunflower Kernels, whatever else you’d like)
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
- Teriyaki marinade
Instructions:
- Cook the brown rice according to instructions (1 cup for 2-3 people).
- Make the aioli sauce: mix ½ cup mayonnaise or with ¼ cup Sweet Chili sauce. Set aside (you can spoon it into a squeeze bottle for easier use).
- Cook the frozen veggies according to directions. Drain (if needed). I chopped up the broccoli and cauliflower and used that (saving the rest of the veggies for another dish this week).
- Put a serving of brown rice into each bowl. Add ½ of the salmon from the salmon pouch. Add the fruit. Add the veggies. Add the toppings (Crispy Onions and Sunflower Kernels). Then drizzle teriyaki sauce, and then drizzle Sweet Chili Sauce Aioli (as much as you’d like).
Serves: 3
Total Cost: $11.25
6. Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps + Leftover Corn Muffins
Don’t let the “crunchy” part scare you – it’s just walnuts, dried cranberries, and other nuts added in to make this dish delightful.
Did I mention that you don’t even need a refrigerated section in a Dollar Tree to make these?
Score.
Ingredients:
- 2 tortilla wraps
- 2 cans of chicken
- 1 package of nuts & dried fruit mixture (found in the snacks section)
- 2.5 tbsps. mayonnaise
Instructions:
- Open and drain the cans of chicken.
- Put chicken and the bag of nuts & dried fruits into a bowl.
- Add in 2.5 tbsps. of mayonnaise.
- Mix together.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pair with leftover corn muffins from the recipe above (optional).
Serves: 2
Total Cost: $7.50
For more Dollar Tree recipes, check out these articles:
- 7 Quick Dollar Tree Dinners
- 7 Dollar Tree Meals for a Week ($38.75/Serves 3)
- 17 Easy Cheap Pantry Meal Ideas
- $37.50 Weekly Meal Plan for 2 (from Dollar Tree)
- 7 Dollar Tree Dinner Ideas ($42.50 for the Week)
- 9 Healthy Snacks from Dollar Tree
Amanda L Grossman
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