Use these meatless meals on a budget to start a new Meatless Monday tradition…and spend less at the grocery store.
How much money do you think you could save off your current grocery bill by adopting Meatless Mondays in your house?
Meat is typically the most expensive ingredient in a meal. Let’s say you would normally spend about $5-$8 on the meat for a meal (family of 4).
Going meatless over the next four Mondays this month could save you $20-$32 off your grocery bill!
For just one night a week.
That’s why I’m offering up some yummy and satisfying meatless meals on a budget.
Meatless Meals on a Budget
Pick one meatless meal to try next Monday, then try another one the following Monday.
Find your favorites, and come back to them over and over again to spend less on groceries.
1. Cheesy Garlic Broccoli-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
This is by far one of my favorite meatless meals to cook on a Monday.
It’s simple. It’s hardy. It’s satisfying.
Ingredients:
- 4 potatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsps. Butter
- 2 tbsps. Flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 12-ounce frozen bag of broccoli florets
To make a batch:
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Wash four potatoes, and poke holes throughout with a fork.
- Wrap them in foil, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until they’re soft when you put a fork through them.
- Melt 2 tbsps. butter in a pot over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook for a few minutes.
- Whisk in 2 tbsps. flour.
- Whisk in 1 ½ cups milk, for several minutes, until it thickens some.
- Turn to low, or simmer.
- Stir in 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese.
- Add in pepper, to taste.
- Stir in 2 cups broccoli florets, and put a lid on it until broccoli is cooked through (or cook them in the microwave according to directions).
- Slice each potato open, and use a fork to make space in the fluffy part.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Fill each potato with the broccoli cheese mixture.
Serves: 4 (1 potato each)
2. Cheese Ravioli + Garlic Bread
I’ve got a secret, 3-ingredient meal that I throw into our meatless rotation from time to time that’s delicious and SO cheap (in fact, the ingredients you see below are all from Dollar Tree!).
It’s a bag of frozen cheese ravioli, paired with a jar of marinara sauce, with a side of yummy garlic bread.
Three ingredients to a Meatless Monday meal!
Hint: curious about more Dollar Tree recipes? Here is a Dollar Tree meal plan.
3. Black Bean Taquitos with a Cheesy Tex-Mex Dip
Hands down, you’re looking at one of my favorite dishes…and all of the ingredients below I actually got from Dollar Tree!
Hint: find more of my favorite, budget-friendly Dollar Tree meals here.
My husband and I could not get enough of these – we had them for two dinners.
That homemade cheesy sauce. Mwah! It’s amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 package of flour tortillas
- Vegetable oil
- 1 container of Hungry Jack Hashbrown Potatoes
- ½ tsp. – 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- ½ block of cheese (your choice)
- ½ cup Milk
- 1 tbsp. Flour
- ¼ cup Herdez Salsa Verde Mild
Instructions:
- Make sauce. Mix in ½ cup milk with 1 tbsp flour, and stir until it thickens. Add in ¼ cup Salsa Verde Mild sauce. Stir in ½ cup cheese until it’s an ooey, gooey delightful mess. Set aside.
- Make hashbrowns according to the directions. Add in garlic powder to taste (we used ½ tbsp.).
- Open, drain, and rinse black beans. Open and drain the chicken.
- Cook the black beans together with the hashbrowns.
- Fill each tortilla taco with some of the mixture (not too much, as I did – you want to keep these skinny).
- Heat a pan to medium heat with vegetable oil in it. Fry the taquitos until crispy.
- Serve warm with warm Cheesy Tex-Mex Dip on the side.
Serves: 4-5
4. Tex Mex Dip-Stuffed Potatoes
Mmmmmmmkercrunchcrunchcrunch…<oh I’m sorry, you caught me stuffing my face with one of these potatoes. They’re so darn good.>
Ingredients:
- 4 large Russet potatoes
- 1 cup corn (frozen is fine)
- 1 cup of black beans
- 1 tbsp. cream cheese
- 1 tbsp. sour cream
- 1 bell pepper, chopped up
- 2 tbsps. green chiles (chopped)
- Pepper Jack cheese
- Tortilla strips (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Wash and scrub the outside of the potatoes. Bake for about an hour (ours took 1 hour and 15 minutes because it depends on the size – they should be tender when poked with a fork).
- Rinse the black beans.
- Melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
- Add 1 cup of black beans, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 chopped bell pepper, and 2 tbsps. of green chiles to a saucepan.
- Cook through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Take off heat, and add in 1 tbsp. sour cream and 1 tbsp. cream cheese. Stir until mixed.
- Cut two lines in each potato, and flatten around the insides with a fork to make a platform.
- Stuff each potato with as much of this mixture as you can.
- Shred some cheese over the top (our cheese of choice: Pepper Jack).
- Put them in the oven again until the cheese is warm and bubbling.
- Top with tortilla strips, if you have them.
Serves: 4
5. Mexican Corn Salad Nachos
One day I surprised my husband with these Mexican Corn Salad Nachos, and he loved them.
They’re light, but filling enough for a yummy, simple dinner (that’s full of flavor).
And they’re very forgiving – you can add ingredients you have and need to use up and take away ingredients you don’t want to splurge on.
An easy way to clean out the fridge and pantry close to grocery shopping time – check out the optional section for ideas of what you can use up.
Ingredients:
- Tortilla chips
- Shredded Cheese
- Candied Jalapenos or pickled red onions
- Pan-roasted corn
- Spinach, lettuce, or some green veg
- Optional: avocado cubes, black beans, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, cilantro, etc.
Instructions:
- Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add in a layer of corn kernels. Heat through for several minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp. of mayonnaise and stir until it’s partly melted in the corn. Cook the corn until it’s a nice, caramelized brown color.
- Chop up the green veg you’re using.
- Chop up the pickled red onions, candied jalapenos, and avocado.
- Place tortilla chips on each plate, then the shredded cheese.
- Microwave until melted (20-25 secs., typically).
- Add on the corn, pickled red onions/candied jalapenos, and anything else you’re using. End by adding on the chopped green veg and sour cream (if using).
Yummy – sometimes we make ours on a big board, which is a fun way to serve it up and eat it with your family.
6. Veggie Cheesy Garlic Bread
Not only is this absolutely delicious, but it’s cheap, and you can make it very quickly.
Those are three wins in my book!
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of Garlic Bread (frozen)
- 1 12-oz. bag of Pepper Stir Fry vegetables
- 1/2 10.5-oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup
- 1 3-oz. block of mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 400° F.
- Heat a frying pan with a little oil. Add in most of the 12 oz. bags of Stir Fry vegetables.
- Cook through.
- Add in ½ the can of mushroom soup, and mix.
- Put the two pieces of garlic bread, top side up, on a sheet pan. Top each with half of the veggie mixture.
- Shred the mozzarella block, and divide it evenly on the two pieces of garlic bread.
- Cook until the mozzarella cheese is bubbly, or about 15 minutes.
Serves: 2-3 people
7. Spring Rolls + Egg Fried Rice
What I love about this recipe? Is you can get several of the ingredients from Dollar Tree – that makes this meatless Monday meal even cheaper!
Ingredients:
- Spring Rolls (I get Jennie’s 8 rolls from Dollar Tree refrigerated section for $1.25)
- Brown Rice (2 lb. bag for $1.25 from Dollar Tree)
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Eggs (I usually use one per person)
- Veggies (carrots, onions, stir fry vegetables from Dollar Tree, etc.)
- 1 can of black beans (optional, for more protein)
Instructions:
- Cook the brown rice according to directions. I use ¼ cup of dried rice per person, to get them about ½ cup cooked.
- Chop up the vegetables.
- Add some oil to a pan.
- Saute the vegetables for 5-7 minutes, or until they are cooked.
- Add in the rice.
- Add in teriyaki sauce (to taste – be careful, as it can be salty).
- Mix everything together, then move it to one side of the pan.
- Crack the eggs onto the open space in the pan, and scramble them (roughly is fine).
- Mix everything together.
- Cook the spring rolls, per package directions.
- Serve your egg-fried rice with 2-3 spring rolls per person.
Serves: varies, depending on amounts used
Try out a recipe or two, and find your family's favorite. Who knows – maybe everyone will start requesting a “Meatless Monday” more than once a week!
Amanda L Grossman
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