10 Budget Recipes Under $10: Cheap Meals from Scratch
Budget-friendly pantry essentials and 10 cheap meal ideas under $10 each — perfect for students, beginners, and anyone wanting to save money on food.
👨🍳 Cooking cheap doesn’t mean cooking sad. With the right pantry staples, you can whip up meals that are delicious, filling, and cost less than a takeaway coffee.
Here’s your starter kit.
🧂 Essential Pantry Items
Stock these once and you’re set for dozens of meals:
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cooking oil | Olive or grapeseed for versatility. Olive oil can’t handle high heat, so keep that in mind |
| Salt & pepper | The foundation of everything |
| Raw sugar | For balance in savoury dishes |
| Dried shiitake mushrooms | Umami bomb (Asian grocery stores) |
| Dried anchovies | Base for Korean and Japanese stocks |
| Soy sauce | Japanese brands are most versatile |
| Oyster sauce | Lee Kum Kee is reliable |
| Rice | Short-grain Japanese style works best for these recipes |
🌶️ Nice-to-Have Extras
These elevate your cooking:
- Dried Japanese kombu
- MSG (Ajinomoto) — yes, it’s fine, the fear is overblown
- Sriracha sauce
- Fish sauce
- Corn syrup (Korean grocery stores)
- Sesame seeds + sesame oil
- Japanese sake + mirin
- Dried seaweed (wakame)
🧊 Fridge Additions
- Miso paste (white or red)
- Korean gochujang
- Frozen edamame
- Frankfurt sausages (if you’re not vegetarian)
📝 The Ten Recipes
Each of these costs under $10 in ingredients (once you have the pantry basics):
Recipe #1: Pasta with Breadcrumbs
🍝 Toasted breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes. Poor man’s parmesan.
Recipe #2: Kimchi Fried Rice
🍳 Day-old rice, kimchi, egg, sesame oil. 10 minutes flat.
Recipe #3: Egg Fried Rice with Oyster Sauce
🥘 Classic comfort food. The oyster sauce is the secret weapon.
Recipe #4: Korean Army Stew with Noodles
🍜 Instant noodles, spam (or sausage), kimchi, tofu. Junk food made wholesome.
Recipe #5: Veggie Stew with Miso
🥗 Root vegetables, miso paste, dashi stock. Warm and nourishing.
Recipe #6: Tofu Kimchi
🥢 Pan-fried tofu, stir-fried kimchi. Simple and satisfying.
Recipe #7: Quick Spaghetti Bolognaise
🍝 Mince, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic. The Italian classic, budget edition.
Recipe #8: Japanese Curry Stew
🍛 Curry roux blocks, potato, carrot, onion. Weeknight staple.
Recipe #9: Pollock Soup
🐟 Mild white fish, vegetables, clear broth. Light and clean.
Recipe #10: Quick Shandong Chicken
SBS has the recipe — roast chicken with Shandong-style seasonings.
🏁 The Takeaway
💡 You don’t need expensive ingredients to eat well. A stocked pantry, some practice, and these recipes will keep you fed without emptying your wallet.
✅ Start with one recipe this week. Master it. Move to the next.
Related guides:
Your bank account (and your stomach) will thank you. 🍳