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You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians

Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians

July 8, 2010 by Alea Milham 17 Comments

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Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians - tips for saving on your grocery bill by eating meatless meals several nights a week.
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.

How to save money by eating meatless meals 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 Save money on groceries with these meatless recipes

Old Country Pie

Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Bean Soup

Veggie Burrito Bake

Minestrone Soup

Spaghetti with Greens

Broccoli with Penne

Tomato Black Bean Barley 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?

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Annie Jones says

    July 8, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    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.

    Reply
  2. Sheila says

    July 8, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    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.

    Reply
  3. Angela says

    July 8, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    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!

    Reply
  4. juliecache says

    July 8, 2010 at 6:25 pm

    i'll definitely check a few of the recipes out for my gang.

    Reply
  5. Laura says

    July 9, 2010 at 3:07 am

    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/

    Reply
  6. Mara says

    July 9, 2010 at 3:55 am

    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!

    Reply
  7. Amy Walker says

    July 9, 2010 at 11:02 am

    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

    Reply
  8. Amy Walker says

    July 9, 2010 at 11:07 am

    p.s. subscribing to you!

    Reply
  9. The Book Lady Online says

    July 9, 2010 at 11:16 am

    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.

    Reply
  10. Melodie says

    July 9, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    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

    Reply
  11. FoodontheTable says

    July 9, 2010 at 10:27 pm

    The budget is a great incentive to add a lot of vegetables to your diet.

    Reply
  12. Karen @ Abundance on a Dime says

    July 10, 2010 at 12:35 am

    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.

    Reply
  13. Christy says

    July 10, 2010 at 12:56 am

    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.

    Reply
  14. Josh says

    July 11, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Hi, hope it's OK to contact you with this comment. We'd like to offer you to be included on our giveaway search engine: Giveaway Scout (http://www.giveawayscout.com). Have a look and if interested, use our online form to add your blog (http://www.giveawayscout.com/addblog/ ). thanks, Jen

    Reply
  15. Porch Days says

    July 15, 2010 at 1:16 am

    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.

    Reply
  16. Balvinder says

    July 25, 2013 at 10:16 pm

    We do meatless meals 5 days a week and love beans, lentils and rice.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. cheap meals that dont include beef, chicken, or pork. says:
    July 25, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    […] Frugal Meatless Meals for Economic Vegetarians Another one of my favorite sandwiches, if you live in an area where avacado is cheap or affordable, is a ripe mashed avacado, a cup of either dry cooked or a can of rinsed garbanzo beans, with fresh cilantro to taste, all mixed with the juice of one or two limes and salt on bread or pita….you could use plain hummus instead of the cooked or canned garbanzo beans if that's what you have. It tastes great just as described, but you can also add sprouts or tomato or lettuce to your sandwich. Farmers markets are great too for things like fresh vegetables or sprouts or even artisan made yogurts, cheeses, olives or hummus. It's very affordable, often organic, and supports smaller farms. Reply   Reply With Quote […]

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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