Pasta is a quick and simple dish that feeds a crowd and pleases the masses. Budget-friendly pasta meals range from super plain and simple recipes to uber-indulgent. It’s such a versatile dinner! Check out these easy budget pasta meals next time you need a little inspiration.
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Pasta is probably by far and away, one of my family’s favorite dinners. There are very few ways you can mess up pasta. Seriously, like buttered noodles with parmesan makes them happy!
Not only is pasta a fan-favorite, but it’s super easy on the wallet. If you don’t already have a repertoire of budget pasta meals you can turn to in a pinch, today is the day to get that list going!
Why Make Budget Pasta Meals
It’s cheap. Despite shrinkflation, pasta is still holds a place on our budget grocery list. At just 99 cents a pound (Trader Joe’s San Diego), noodles of all shapes and sizes are the basis of many a good cheap eat. You can keep it extra cheap by topping it with a vegetarian sauce or spruce it up a bit with a ground beef bolognese or a favorite chicken alfredo.
It’s easy. Boil water. Add salt. Cook pasta. It’s pretty straightforward. While getting the texture just right may take a little taste testing, cooking budget pasta meals is one of the easiest things you can do.
Everyone loves it! I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t love the taste of pasta. With so many different ways to prep it, it’s a surefire winner for dinner.
Types of Pasta Meals
There are several different types of cheap pasta meals that make for great dinners as well as side dishes.
Pasta Bake – These are casseroles that contain pasta, a sauce, and usually cheese. Some delicious budget pasta bakes include macaroni and cheese, baked ziti, stuffed shells, and lasagna.
One Pan Pasta Dishes – One pot pasta recipes are those that combine a sauce, often with protein, with cooked pasta. You might transfer the cooked noodles in and out of the pot while you prep other components in the dish or assemble it all together literally in one pot like the instant pot. Homemade Hamburger Helper is one type of this, as is our Cream Cheese Pasta.
Pasta Salad – Pasta Salad is typically served cold and is one of those go-to dinner ideas for summer. Usually tossed with pesto or a vinaigrette, pasta salad can be a main dish or served as a side dish alongside other proteins or salads.
Soup with Pasta – Adding noodles to soup is a great way to make the soup more filling as well as economical. Who doesn’t love the classic comfort foods like Chicken Noodle Soup or Minestrone.
Tips for Saving Money on Budget Pasta Meals
Watch the sales.
To make your pasta dinners truly budget friendly, watch the sales so that you can stock up on spaghetti and other noodles as well as your favorite pasta sauce when they’re at their lowest prices.
That way, when you’re craving a quick pasta meal, you already have what you need to whip it together.
Make a plan for leftovers.
Wasted food means wasted money, so find ways to enjoy your leftovers from your budget pasta meals.
You can combine leftover tomato sauce into Stone Soup or plan to use other ingredients in future meals.
Prep extra to freeze.
Freezing leftovers or simply making a double batch to freeze on purpose, you’ll enjoy more budget pasta meals more often when you make good use of your freezer.
Chill it completely and wrap well before you freeze pasta so you can maintain its taste and texture. You might also cook the noodles al dente so that they don’t soften too much in the freezer.
Our Favorite Budget Pasta Meals
Looking for some easy, budget-friendly pasta meals? We gotcha covered!
Pasta Bakes
One-Dish Pasta Recipes
Pasta Salad
Soups with Pasta
Pasta: it’s a beautiful thing. It’s cheap. It’s quick to make. And there’s a way to dress it up to suit almost anyone and everyone. Budget Pasta Meals definitely rank near the top of our list of favorite quick dinner ideas.
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
This post was originally published on October 27, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Sue
In my world, it’s hand over the pesto and no one will get hurt. 🙂 The only thing it doesn’t make better is dessert.
Jessica Fisher
Ha! Good to know. I love the one at Costco, so cheap and good.
Vanessa B
Several of my family’s favorite pasta meals are associated with fond loving memories.
For our first Valentine’s Day I made seafood pasta for my husband and I. We had been dating about 6 months, we didn’t have much money and a date night was out of the question. I remember that dinner costing me about $12 which included shrimp and scallops 13 years ago. My husband was thrilled and this meal has become our Valentine’s Day tradition. Even if we have date night funds, we still opt for this meal. There have been many variations over the years depending on the budget.
Pasta Vodka is the other special family meal. Simple pasta and red sauce gets a fancy makeover when you add vodka, prosciutto and heavy cream. Yum! Several people in my family ask for this on their birthday.
Jessica Fisher
Isn’t it funny how pasta is linked to memories! We have some special ones — more than I could fit in the post!
Stephanie M.
We love pasta too and the many ways to make it. It would be impossible for me to decide which is my favorite. Of course pasta with any kind of red sauce, i.e. meatsauce, marinara, with meatballs and sausage, etc. will always be at the top of my list. But there are so many other ways that we enjoy pasta and one of them is called Chicken Tetrazzini.
7 oz. uncooked spaghetti
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced, ( 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup butter
3 TBS. flour
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup half and half
Chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Cook spaghetti till al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat oven to 350. In a large soup pot type of pot over medium heat, sautee mushrooms in butter until tender. Reduce heat. Stir in flour. Cook 1 minute until smooth and bubbly, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and slightly thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in half and half, parsley, salt and pepper. Add chicken and cooked spaghetti; toss with sauce. Pour into an ungreased 13×9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through.
To make this extra quick, purchase one of those rotissieri chickens in the store.
Betsy
This sounds perfect this weekend. It’s suppose to be cool with a chance of rain here in NW MO so I think this will be a nice dish to warm up to. I might be able to get my husband to hang our outdoor Christmas lights before it gets too cold and nasty if I have this in the oven. Thanks for the recipe.
Jessica Fisher
Sounds delicious!