Fifteen years ago my husband made a career change. When negotiating his salary he did not take into consideration the increase in living expenses of the new location. And while on paper it looked like he got a raise, in actuality he barely made enough for us to scrape by. Now I am not going to tell you how rough it was, because it really wasn't that bad. His new job involved doing classified work in a vault, so he couldn't bring his work home, which means when he was home he was fully present (you can’t put a price on that!). He loved what he was doing, rarely traveled and was home every night for dinner. In many ways it was the best job he ever had. There was just that one tiny problem of trying to stretch his paycheck to cover our expenses.
We saved money by discontinuing unnecessary expenditures like cable (that in itself greatly increased the quality of our life!), shopping at consignment stores, and slashing the grocery bill. One of the first items to be cut from the grocery list was meat which is usually more expensive per pound than other protein sources. Often when we were standing in the check out line, one of the other customers would look in our grocery cart and ask if we were vegetarians and my husband would always say, “We are economic vegetarians”.
Even though my husband’s salary has increased over the years, we usually eat meatless meals two nights a week. We eat meat as a main dish two times a week and the other nights I roll the leftover meat into a new dish and use it more as a condiment to add flavor to the meal.
Many people worry about obtaining enough protein from meatless meals. If you share that concern, You will want to read this article which tackles the protein myths.
In the summer, gardening provides me with a steady supply of organic vegetables which further reduces the cost of our meatless meals. You can reduce the cost of vegetarian meals even more by making your own vegetable broth.
Another way to reduce the cost of vegetarian meals is to buy dried beans and a bulk bag of brown rice and cook them from scratch. Are you new to cooking dried beans, here are multiple methods for cooking dried beans, so you can find a method that matches your cooking style.
I have to admit that I am content eating a bowl of Rice and Beans for dinner, but my family likes a little more variety. Below are some of our favorite frugal, meatless meals.
Frugal Meatless Meals
Black Bean and Mushroom Enchilada Casserole
Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos 
Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Bean Soup
Zucchini Stuffed with Lentils and Brown Rice
26 Bean, Rice, and Lentil Recipes
I am not the only one who has saved money with meatless meals, you can read Angela’s experience on The Non-Consumer Advocate and then check out her Meatless Monday posts for even more economic vegetarian dishes.
What items do you cut back on when money is tight? What are your favorite frugal meals?
Annie Jones says
Thanks for the recipe links. We try to eat meatless at least once a week, and I'm a huge fan of using meat as an ingredient rather than having it be the main feature of a meal.
Sheila says
We do have meatless meals once in a while but not as often as we should. Thanks for sharing the recipe links–that will give me a good starting point.
Angela says
Hey Alea, thanks for the mention, and I love Penny's post. It's so thorough and it's such a misconception, all that talk about not getting enough protein. What about not getting enough produce?
I'm with you, I could happily eat a bowl of rice and beans, especially Cuban style!
juliecache says
i'll definitely check a few of the recipes out for my gang.
Laura says
Alea, thanks for linking!
It's too hot here today to even think about cooking anything, but when it cools off I see a few other recipes there I'm going to try. We usually eat meatless a couple of times a week, and as Annie said above, meat for us tends to be an ingredient versus the focal point of the meal. Someone (can't remember who now) once said to consider meat almost as a condiment.
And I love, love, love Cuban beans and rice. We love "Cuban Bowls" (when it's cooler): http://thinnerandwiser.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/frugal-recipe-of-the-week-cuban-bowls/
Mara says
We love meatless meals, too. We usually eat vegetarian 5 nights a week, plus most lunches. I <3 those sweet potato and black bean burritos. I've also made them with pumpkin. Yum!
Amy Walker says
We've recently started using More With Less Cookbook that emphasizes cutting back on the meat and forming a complete protein through beans, legumes and dairy combined with whole grains. It is FABULOUS. I pretty much only cook from that right now! I'm even giving one away on my blog. It is truly saving us a lot of money! Our meat is lasting FOREVER! We're freezing it in one cup portions. Yay!
Amy @ http://www.thecheapandchoosy.blogspot.com
Amy Walker says
p.s. subscribing to you!
The Book Lady Online says
I love this post! So many great ideas. We like beans and rice. I usually use either homemade chicken or beef stock when we make beans and rice which seems to make the dish feel more filling, I think because the stock gives the hint of meat. We also love soups as frugal vegetarian (or almost vegetarian, since we use chicken or beef stock) meals. We use white beans in chicken noodle soup and can leave out the chicken or add just a little chicken and still have a hearty meal.
Melodie says
That's a great bunch of recipes. Yes, eating veggie is way more ecocnomical. I've been vegetarian for 19 years now and have the Vegetarian Foodie Fridays carnival. I'd love to have you come and link up today!
Melodie @ Breastfeeding Moms Unite.com
FoodontheTable says
The budget is a great incentive to add a lot of vegetables to your diet.
Karen @ Abundance on a Dime says
We eat meatless meals for dinner 3-4 times/wk on average. If meat is included in lunches it's generally leftovers from a previous dinner.
Some of our favourites are bean burritos, baked beans (I make a couple different kinds, my West African Style Baked Beans will be appearing on Meatless Monday soon)hummus wraps and sandwiches, lentil soup, Kusherie (Egyptian Lentils and Rice). I make a lot of cold salads in the summer that combine beans with grains and veggies.
Christy says
Great list of vegetarian meals – they sound delicious. We don't eat that way often but I do try to get in one or two veggie meals a week just for variety if nothing else.
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Porch Days says
Your blog has had a major makeover. I see lots of changes. About this post – you are so frugal! I need to try some of these meatless recipes.
Balvinder says
We do meatless meals 5 days a week and love beans, lentils and rice.