Cheap Family Dinners
The cheapest family dinner on MealSpend is Vegan Peanut Noodles at $0.80 per serving (U.S. grocery prices reviewed August 2026), with 24 g protein per serving. All 19 recipes below are ranked from one shared price table, so they're directly comparable.
Dinners that make four or more servings, ranked by cost per serving — the recipes where one pot feeds the whole table and probably tomorrow's lunch too.
| Recipe | Per serving | Protein | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegan Peanut Noodles | $0.80 | 24 g | 22 min |
| Egg Fried Rice | $0.81 | 15 g | 25 min |
| Red Lentil Soup | $0.87 | 17 g | 40 min |
| Black Bean Soup | $1.11 | 10 g | 40 min |
| Loaded Broccoli-Cheddar Baked Potatoes | $1.30 | 16 g | 1 hr 5 min |
| Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs & Green Beans | $1.39 | 31 g | 40 min |
| Crispy Chicken Thighs with Buttered Broccoli | $1.41 | 33 g | 35 min |
| Cabbage & Sausage Skillet | $1.64 | 16 g | 30 min |
| Chicken & Broccoli Rice Bowl | $1.88 | 48 g | 35 min |
| Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos | $1.91 | 48 g | 8 hr 15 min |
| Paleo Turkey & Sweet Potato Skillet | $1.91 | 27 g | 35 min |
| Black Bean & Rice Burritos | $1.92 | 28 g | 30 min |
| Butter-Basted Pork Chops | $1.93 | 47 g | 20 min |
| Chickpea Coconut Curry | $2.09 | 20 g | 35 min |
| One-Pot Turkey Marinara Pasta | $2.12 | 38 g | 35 min |
| Keto Cheeseburger Skillet | $2.71 | 30 g | 30 min |
| Ground Beef & Zucchini Skillet | $2.89 | 24 g | 30 min |
| Slow-Cooked Chuck Roast with Carrots | $3.37 | 42 g | 8 hr 15 min |
| Beef Patties with Bacon & Cheddar | $3.41 | 40 g | 25 min |
Ranked by cost per serving. Every figure is computed from the same ingredient price table — see how we price.
9 of 49 ingredient prices come from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average price data; the remaining 40 are estimates. Last reviewed 2026-08-12. Your store will differ — treat every figure as a planning estimate, not a quote. Nutrition is computed from USDA-typical ingredient values and rounded.