We live in expensive times, and they only seem to be getting worse. The prices of essential things like food keep rising, and people are looking for ways to save their money and survive. There are ways to save, especially with clever lunch ideas that are both economical and delicious.

However, some are more ready for this than others, as those who have endured some kind of poverty before already know some great 'poverty meals' that are very tasty despite being pretty economical, and that is what people online shared on this online thread. Scroll down if you want to learn about some of these delicious money-saving recipes!

More info: Reddit

• Read More: 30 “Poverty Meal” Recipes That Might Be Useful For Those Who Want To Eat Tasty And Cheaply

#1

Does cinnamon sugar toast count? Because it slaps.

Image credits: rantgoesthegirl

#2

Bread pizza.

Bread (toasted if feeling fancy) with cheap tomato/pasta sauce, bulk cheese (I dunno if dad went to Costco or not) and a few slices of pepperoni (dad always had that too for some reason)

Broil til cheese melted

If we were out of pepperoni…just cheese and sauce lol

Now that he’s gone…that’s dinner on his birthday.

Image credits: sparksgirl1223

#3

I used to cook and eat a can of ravioli and then cook ramen in the leftover liquid. I used to buy the ravioli when it was 10/$10 so I would be pretty full for only like $1.15 which was pretty good back in 2012/2013, but I told my ex this at one point and they never let me live it down. People gotta stop that struggle meal hate. Sometimes you do what you gotta do and it honestly was pretty tasty.

Image credits: jp11e3

#4

Tomato sandwiches: tomato, mayo and white bread.

Image credits: madbamajama1

#5

I’m British and was brought up in the 1970s. I no longer eat meat, but I was brought up by a Welsh mother who wasted nothing.

We had a meat grinder and anything not eaten in out Sunday roast was ground up and added to our slow cooker with barley, lentils and any leftover veg. Shortly before it was served my mum would drop in dumplings. It was amazing.

Image credits: NiobeTonks

#6

My favourite was a Bulgarian “poverty meal” staple in my house growing up – cooked macaroni in warm milk sweetened with sugar (and vanilla if you have it), then some crumbled brined cheese like feta to top it off. The sweet and salty just really works together. If you have any remaining macaroni, you can throw it in a baking dish with milk, sugar, and an egg and bake it into a custard-like macaroni dessert. Sounds strange to non-Balkan people but we all have our cultural poverty meals!

Image credits: Devoika_

#7

Bread and butter simply slaps. We used to do sandwiches with just butter and radishes as well.

Image credits: SoftwarePractical620

#8

Beans and cornbread! Still a fave.

Image credits: hammartime2002

#9

I would say “anything with ground beef,” but it now costs about as much as cheaper cuts of beef (USD $4/lb).

When I as growing up ground beef meant chili, or spaghetti, or shepherds pie, or hamburger helper, or sloppy joes, or meatloaf, or just plain burgers. The only kind of beef not pre-ground was chuck roast for stew.

Image credits: malepitt

#10

I can relate. I made Haluski – cabbage and egg noodles. I added Italian sausage that I found on sale. My partner was horrified. She likes the hamburger soup though. I ate a lot of Haluski last week!

Image credits: feltpoots

#11

My mother used to make something called rice and eggs when I was very young. I asked her recently for the recipe and she laughed and asked why I would want to make it, she only did because times were tough. I remember a frying pan, cooked rice, and her tossing it with beaten eggs. It came out like creamy rice, something like a risotto but firmer. It might have been the last time she made it when the oil in the pan splashed onto the back of her hand causing a gnarly burn.

I still would like to have it again, poor people food or not. It’s one of those memories that is burned into my brain and after 40+ years I can still taste it.

Image credits: staminadrain

#12

Canned tuna is a pretty divisive place to start. As for poverty meals, I eat lots of beans and lentils, partially because of cost, partially because it’s shelf stable and easy to stock up on without having to worry about spoilage.

Image credits: nmj95123

#13

My kids called this “Mexican goo”. It’s similar to a 7 layer dip , but made into a casserole.

Bottom layer is refried beans that you heat up and season. Second layer is rice, I generally used leftover Spanish rice. Or leftover rice that I seasoned. 3rd layer is whatever meat that you have, already cooked. Ground beef, ground turkey or chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover pot roast, pork that you chop up, whatever it is.and season that with either cumin and chili powder, salt and pepper , enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, whatever you have on hand or can afford. Next layer is vegetables. Generally Rotel, pico de Gallo, or canned diced tomatoes and jalapenos if you have them. Next layer is cheese, whatever you’ve got. Bake it at 350-400 until the cheese on top is starting to brown and bubble.

Eaten over tortilla chips (in a bowl) or made into tacos with any combination of hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, pickled jalapenos, more pico de Gallo, cilantro, chopped onions with a squeeze of lime, chopped up tomatoes that have seen better days, or whatever you have.

If you use corn tortillas, and don’t use packaged seasoning, it’s also gluten free. If you skip the meat, it’s vegetarian.

If you want the crispy burned rice, then oil your pan and put your rice as the bottom layer.

Edit: if you skip the rice and top it with cornbread batter and bake it, you have a tamale pie.

Edit: season every layer. Otherwise it’s just an awful bland mess, and hot sauce wasn’t invented to be a main flavor.

Image credits: SubstantialPressure3

#14

Mac n cheese with hotdogs. Or,
Elbow noodles, Hunts tomato sauce, butter, and salt.

Image credits: Tarabomb

#15

Baked beans on toast with grated mature Cheddar.

Image credits: bhambrewer

#16

I’m old so this is probably very 1950’s, but we would have fried bologna sandwiches. On white bread. I wonder if they would still taste good to me?! Sure not very healthy!

Image credits: Jagg811

#17

Papas con chorizo, cubed boiled potatoes scrambled with egg and chorizo.

Image credits: lapas83

#18

Soup. Just soup. My most consistent one is onion, celery, carrots, cabbage/kale, whatever herbs I find and a small pasta. Can cook up a protein separately to add in or add white beans/whatever you have.

Image credits: LikeYoureSleepy

#19

Red beans and rice. Ham hock, some andouille sausage, some beans, some rice, spices, you’ve got a big pot of a good meal that can feed you for a few days. Ditto for chili.

Edit: Don’t forget an onion, green pepper, and celery stalk or two.

Image credits: -zero-joke-

#20

My mom finds it disgusting that to this day, my brother and I, in our 50s, love the occasional bowl of plain macaroni and canned stewed tomatoes. We ate that a _lot_ lol.

Image credits: i__hate__stairs

#21

Instant ramen is one of the worlds great food inventions. I have recently rediscovered Maruchan Cup O Noodles shrimp flavor.

Image credits: LibationontheSand

#22

My husband who came from the middle class was also disgusted by the food I grew up with. Hamburger helper, tuna casserole, etc.

Apparently frozen burger patties cooked in a frying pan and eaten on white bread is a sin.

Most meals growing up would consist if a carb and a sauce and if you were lucky meat.

But it was ALL one pot meals. We didn’t have sides, snacks, or salads. We had rules about how much food everyone got too. Like with stoufers lasagna it was deliberately portioned into 12 pieces and everyone was entitled to only 2 pieces so we all had equal. We never opened a high value food and we NEVER were allowed to finish it, the last of anything good was reserved for mom.

It was really weird going to college and learning what it was to not be food insecure. Like most people just eat when they are hungry. They don’t have to worry about being yelled at for having the last mac N cheese box.

Image credits: Bearacolypse

#23

Ghetto chicken parm. It’s just frozen chicken nuggets on spaghetti with prego sauce and the green bottle parmesean.

Image credits: Crafty8D

#24

My mom used to make a tomato base stew with oxtails…can’t even afford poverty meals anymore.

Image credits: enlighteningbug

#25

Salmon Patties. My wife hates them.

Image credits: mojoisthebest

#26

Hot dogs and baked beans.

Image credits: tuftabeet

#27

Growing up we had a lot of Campbell’s soup casseroles, tuna casserole, chicken casserole etc. Creamed tuna on toast ( béchamel and tuna), sloppy joes, anything hamburger helper like etc. Butter tortillas were also a favorite snack. It was kinda like noodle, meat, soup can, cheese, topping and go.

We make american goulash now pretty regularly. I can’t get my kids to like tuna so I rarely make tuna casserole now, but maybe I will make myself some tuna on toast! I love it.

I used to make tuna mac as one of my standard backpacking meals because of how easy it it to pack in ingredients. Nom.

Image credits: stella-eurynome

#28

Open face hot turkey. Slice of toast, shmear of leftover mashed potatoes, sliced turkey lunch meat, spoon of simple gravy (chicken bouillon, water and corn starch). Serve hot. Side of canned green beans.

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