These days, everyone needs to think about being frugal in the kitchen.
A great way to save money when cooking for your family is to find creative, healthy, and inexpensive ways to bulk up meals.
By adding volume to your dishes with budget-friendly ingredients, you can stretch your grocery budget further without sacrificing taste or nutrition.
13 Cheap Ways to Bulk Up Family Meals
1. Bulk up on vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables in the summertime can be fairly cheap and even available in your own backyard if you have a garden.
Opting to bulk up on produce at meals can make them go further while helping to keep your family healthy, lowering your overall health costs.
In winter, choose frozen or canned vegetables for a cost-effective, nutritious option.
2. Serve bread with meals for a filling side.
Dinner rolls, breadsticks, and biscuits are popular in restaurants and major family meals because they are satisfying and filling.
Serving bread with your family’s meals will help fill them up faster, so they eat less of the main dish.
Try homemade no-knead bread or simple damper to keep costs low.
3. Use rice to make meals more filling.
Rice is a great base for bulking up stews, chilli, and even soups for feeding your family, ensuring that the meal goes further and saving you money.
Brown rice adds fibre and keeps you feeling full longer.
4. Stretch out your mince with oats.
Another great way to bulk up mince and make it more filling without adding more meat is to toss in a couple of handfuls of plain quick oats as you brown the meat.
They will soak up the grease and take on the flavour without being visible, so no one needs to know.
You can also try grated vegetables like carrots or zucchini for added nutrition.
Related post: 85 Cheap Mince Recipes The Whole Family Will Love
5. Add eggs to meals for a protein boost.
Eggs are a cheap protein, filling meals and keeping you full longer than lower-protein meals.
This is a great way to bulk all meals and snacks using hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs in wraps, or baked into savoury muffins.
6. Make pancakes and quick breads more filling by adding oatmeal to the recipe.
Even a few handfuls when mixing up a ready-made batter is a great way to make frugal pancakes a more filling staple.
Try soaking the oats in milk first to improve the texture.
7. Potatoes make a cheap side that fills you up quickly.
There are so many ways to make potatoes, from classic creamy mashed potatoes to twice-baked potatoes.
You are bound to find an option to make a great addition to most lunches and dinners for your family.
Don’t forget jacket potatoes, which can be topped with leftovers for an easy, filling meal.
8. Try serving soup as the main dish or a side.
Soups stay in the stomach longer than other liquids and tend to leave you feeling fuller with less food.
Soups can be frugal and easy to make with everyday ingredients in your home.
Add lentils, beans, or barley to boost the fibre and make the soup go even further.
9. Give pasta a try for making cheap, filling meals.
Serving pasta as either the main dish or as a side is a great way to make a meal more filling.
Dry pasta can last for years in the pantry and can be found in gluten-free varieties, making it a great choice for families that need a safe yet frugal way to bulk up meals for less.
10. Add legumes and pulses.
Beans, chickpeas, and lentils are some of the cheapest ways to bulk up a meal.
They add protein, fibre, and texture, making dishes like curries, pasta sauces, and casseroles heartier and more nutritious.
11. Grate in cheap vegetables.
Grating courgette, carrot, or pumpkin into sauces, burgers, and meatloaf is an easy way to bulk up meals while boosting the veg intake.
These vegetables blend into the background and often go unnoticed by fussy eaters.
12. Use leftover rice, pasta, or vegetables in fritters or patties.
Transform small amounts of leftovers into a new meal by mixing with a bit of egg, seasoning, and flour.
Fry or bake them into fritters for a tasty, filling lunch or snack.
13. Turn leftover meals into pies or wraps.
Leftover stew? Pop it into a pie shell or wrap it in tortillas for a second meal that feels brand new.
These techniques reduce food waste and stretch your budget at the same time.
