Cheap Healthy Meals — 25 Budget Bean & Rice Dinners

Eating well on a budget comes down to a handful of cheap, hard-working staples — beans, lentils, rice, and eggs. These 25 are the editor-picked dishes from the USDA MyPlate Kitchen built on exactly those, most with short ingredient lists, each with full nutrition so cheap never means empty.

Cheap Healthy Meals — 25 recipes

• Pasta Primavera (314 cal, 10.5 g protein)
• Baked Eggs & Cheese (173 cal, 15 g protein)
• Terrific Bean Taco (263 cal, 8.8 g protein)
• Full of Beans Hot Dish (343 cal, 23.8 g protein)
• Baked Lentils Casserole (204 cal, 13.7 g protein)
• Fried Rice (363 cal, 19.5 g protein)
• 3-Can Chili (126 cal, 6.5 g protein)
• Black Bean Burrito (164 cal, 7.7 g protein)
• Bean Enchiladas (224 cal, 10.4 g protein)
• Black Bean Quesadillas (214 cal, 13.3 g protein)
• Quesadilla con Huevos (231 cal, 10.1 g protein)
• Enchilada Rice (296 cal, 19 g protein)
• Simmered Beans (113 cal, 7 g protein)
• Skillet Meals (297 cal, 17 g protein)
• Party Mix (238 cal, 6.8 g protein)
• Broccoli Potato Soup (195 cal, 14.7 g protein)
• Bean and Rice Burritos (279 cal, 10 g protein)
• Baked Beans (225 cal, 9.9 g protein)
• Black Beans (274 cal, 13.6 g protein)
• Black Bean Soup (231 cal, 15 g protein)
• Cooked Beans (101 cal, 6.8 g protein)
• Slow Cooker Lentil Soup (183 cal, 13.3 g protein)
• Baked Tofu (99 cal, 10.7 g protein)
• Red Beans and Rice (253 cal, 8.1 g protein)
• Lentil Soup (206 cal, 14.6 g protein)

What makes this list

A hand-picked list of budget staples — no price tags attached. We chose bean-, lentil-, rice-, and egg-forward recipes from the 1,072-recipe library, favoring short ingredient lists, because those ingredients are reliably inexpensive. We don't quote costs (prices vary too much to be honest about); we just point you to the naturally cheap staples.

More collections to cook from

• Family dinner ideas
• Freezer meals
• High-protein meal prep
• Plan a week of meal prep
• Browse all recipes

Cheap healthy meals — FAQ

What are cheap healthy meals?

Meals built on inexpensive staples that still carry real nutrition — dried or canned beans, lentils, rice, eggs, and seasonal vegetables. Every recipe here is anchored on those, with full nutrition shown so budget-friendly still means balanced.

What is the cheapest healthy food to buy?

Dried beans and lentils, rice, oats, eggs, and frozen or in-season vegetables give you the most nutrition per dollar. This list leans on exactly those ingredients, which is why the dishes tend to be both cheap and filling.

How can I eat healthy on a tight budget?

Cook from staples, buy dried beans and rice in bulk, stretch meals with vegetables, and lean on eggs for cheap protein. Picking a few recipes here to batch-cook keeps per-serving cost down without living on ramen.

Are beans and rice actually healthy?

Together they provide fiber, plant protein, and a full set of amino acids, which is why bean-and-rice dishes anchor budget eating worldwide. Each recipe here lists its protein and fiber so you can see the payoff.