The $10 Food Day: Four Cheap Recipes to Feed a Family of Four
Learn how to feed a family of 4 for less than $10 a day. Yes, it’s possible! You just have to plan.
Feed a Family of Four for $10 a Day
Eating nutritious, delicious food does not have to cost a lot of money. In fact, you can feed not only yourself – but also your family for less than $10 a day.
The following recipes are part of my first $10 Food Day series. I am featuring four recipes (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack), enough to feed four people for less than 10 dollars – for the entire day.
How I Saved Money and Stuck To a $10 Food Budget
- I shopped at a regular, non-discount grocery store.
- I did not use coupons, but rather looked for in-store deals. For example, I found a pound of pasta for $.88.
- I bought the cheapest available ingredient – which is often the generic brand.
- I chose food items that were cheapest per unit. For example, I bought a bag of onions instead of buying one individual onion. Major cost savings here.
- I used some of my favorite cheap food items to come up with this menu: Oatmeal, lentils, pasta, and popcorn.
The $10 Food Day Menu
Breakfast: Berry Baked Oatmeal
This berry baked oatmeal costs $1.47 for four servings. Get the recipe here.
Lunch: Lentil and Tomato Soup
This hearty soup costs just $2.53 for four bowls. Get the recipe here.
Dinner: Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce With Pasta
Easily the best tomato sauce I’ve ever eaten. And it’s made with only three ingredients! Just $3.31 for four servings. Get the recipe here.
Snack: Sea Salt Popcorn
This sea salt popcorn is delicious on its own, but feel free to add some spices or homemade popcorn sprinkle for a little something extra. Just 23 cents for one huge bowl of popcorn. Get the recipe here.
Total Cost Of $10 Food Day Menu: $7.53
All four recipes cost just $7.53. There is even some wiggle room to account for drinks, bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, or other food.
More $10 Food Day Recipes!
Don’t see anything you like above? Want more inspiration? You’re in luck – I’ve done two more $10 Food Day post series:
If you’re looking for more ultra-cheap recipes, check out the 38+ cheapest recipes on Cheap Recipe Blog.
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- How do you feed your family on a budget?
- What are your some of your favorite ultra cheap meals?
Wow Haley!! What a great website and a wonderful idea. The receipes look sooo delicious!! I’m definetly going to try some. keep up the good work.
Thanks Denise!
What a fantastic idea for a series; I look forward to following it, along with the rest of your fabulous blog.
To eat cheaply in our family, we totally use in-store deals and some coupons, and I try to plan 1-2 meals a week purely from what we already have in the freezer, fridge, or pantry. Plus, we eat seasonal produce…which is typically cheaper because of excess supply.
Great post! Can’t wait to try that soup!
Thanks Liz!
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OMG, you are the a answer to my problem I only have a food budget of $300 a month for a family of 5,( ages 47, 45, 20, 12, 7), which equals out to $10 per day for all meals, so I need recipes for breakfast lunch and dinner and snacks, HEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!! Thanks Colleen, you are a blessing keep it up
Thank you so much! I hope these recipes can help you save some money 🙂
Just ran across your $10 Food day series. First off…awesome idea and second….GENIUS. Thanks for sharing and even if the meals aren’t followed to a “T”, you still give the rest of us the foundation for following your plan. Grocery bills are doing nothing but going up, up, up these days. More of us need to figure out how to eat cheaper and smarter like you.
Thanks for sharing!
Great idea but the food is not filling enough to satisfy an average person.
Good thing the grand total came to $7.53 then!