20+ Cheap & Easy Weeknight Meals

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Whether you need an entree for a school night, unexpected guests, or just a busy weeknight, these cheap and easy weeknight meals will save you time and money.

Quick meal options like these are perfect for 3 weeks of meal planning, with the last recipe yielding 5 meals for the family. 5 meals from one protein? Yup. You read that right.

Easy Meals For Busy Families

When we became a family of 4, I knew I’d have to get it together when it came to weeknight dinners. I needed meals that were easy to make, quick, and delicious enough that everyone would eat them. A tall task, but this collection of recipes really helped.

20 Cheap and Easy Weeknight Meals

You also have to love recipes that can be made in a cast iron skillet. We have a few of those below. Check the 20+ cheap meals we mention, and feel free to add your favorite cheap and easy weeknight meals in the comments below.

Black Bean Soup

Instant Pot Morrocan Pork Loin

Apricot Chicken

Cream of Carrot Soup

Garlic Creamy Pesto Pasta (with no cream!)

Mini Meatball Panini Sandwiches

Yogurt Chicken

Andouille Stew

Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Red Beans and Rice

Nacho Pie

Beans and Cornbread

Frito Chili Pie

Faux Crab Cakes

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

Easy Taco Bowls

Easy Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Hamburger Steak

Garlic Butter Fish

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Asian Spaghetti and Meatballs

Or, Stretch A Roast Chicken Dinner into 7 meals! This is one of my go-to secret weapons during a busy week. I follow the formula in this post, and are able to make easy weeknight meals all the way until Friday.

21 Cheap and Easy Meals For 3 Weeks Worth of Dinners

Now that you have a full list of 21 meals to make, this is the perfect time to create a meal plan for the next 3 weeks! You can plug each of these meals on the appropriate dates, and even create your shopping list from the ingredients.

Another bonus would be to add in the dates you plan to eat out (if any). Once you add those scheduled dinners out, you may end up with a whole month of meals!

Put This Meal List In Constant Rotation

These cheap and easy weeknight meals are in constant rotation in our home, and we love that all of them are kid-friendly meals, as well. We’re planning to teach out oldest kiddo how to make most of these, so he can start tackling these recipes.

Take Care of Cheap Breakfasts Too

Why stop at dinners? If you need cheap breakfast ideas, we created a list of over 100 for you to try. If you add these to your meal plan, you’ll have breakfast ideas for the next 3 months.

Which of these cheap and easy weeknight meals will you try this week? Do you have an easy meal you love? Share in the comments below!