There are a million reasons you might be looking to cut back on groceries this month. Maybe you are trying to save up for something? Perhaps you’ve been trying to stick to a budget for ages? Could be you’re trying to save up for something? Or things are just tight, and you’re trying to make it to payday? Whatever your reason, cooking on the cheap does not need to be boring. You can eat well on a budget and rice and beans can help!

Cooking on the cheap using rice and beans can often mean that you don’t even need to go to the grocery store! If you’re like me, you have rice and beans on hand at all times! I never know when I might need to cook up a quick meal or pinch a few pennies when an unexpected expense comes up.

Cooking on the cheap means lots of SWAPS!

Swaps are the cornerstone of pantry cooking and will save you a lot of money in the long run. Here is my list of basic swaps that you can make in any of the recipes below. If you learn anything from this, don’t be a slave to the recipe! Use what you have!

Fresh for Dried

Fresh onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and dill can often be swapped for dried ingredients. If I don’t have something on hand and it’s not on sale, I’m likely going to make this swap. Even if you’re cooking on the cheap, most of these fresh ingredients are usually inexpensive and can add a lot to your meal plan, if you do buy them. But if you just can’t squeeze it in, the dried stuff will definitely do the trick!

If you don’t have chicken, vegetable, or beef broth on hand, bouillon is a great alternative. You can buy a big container of it that will last a long time and it will give your food a lot of flavor. If you don’t have any, it’s worth trying to fit into your grocery budget for emergencies. If you really don’t have broth or bouillon, you can always use water and salt. In my experience, although not as flavorful, it gets the job done.

Canned vs. Dried

Dried beans are the least expensive option but can take a little more work. I like to use an instant pot to make mine using this recipe here. If you don’t have an instant pot, you can always soak them and make them the old fashioned way. A recipe for this method can be found here!

Canned beans are still very inexpensive and can be a really good option for cooking on the cheap, especially if you’re busy. A can of beans can cook up as a quick meal any time and save you from ordering take-out!

Fresh vs. Not

For fresh vegetables you can always swap them for frozen or canned vegetables. This is often helpful when the vegetables are not in season. Frozen vegetables are flash frozen so they are actually at the peak of freshness and maintain all or their vitamins and minerals! These options are often less expensive than fresh and last much longer eliminating food waste.

For fresh lemon or lime, it’s helpful to keep the little containers of lime and lemon juice in the fridge. In the case where you don’t have fresh on hand or are trying to stretch your budget, the pre-squeezed juice can add the acid flavor you’re looking for without going out to buy a lemon or lime.

Bean for Bean

You can often swap one type of beans for another. Kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans swap especially well! There have been times when I didn’t have one bean or another, and I just swapped out for a different type and the food was delicious! Don’t be a slave to the recipe!

25 Rice and Beans Recipes:

Vegetarian Enchiladas

My husband who is not a fan of vegetables loved these! I did use fresh vegetables as the recipe suggests but I believe you could very easily use a frozen mixed medley to beef up your enchilada! You can easily buy enchilada sauce, I’ve even seen it at the Dollar Tree, but if you’re trying to pinch a penny go ahead and make your own. In this particular recipe I used this recipe to make my own out of things I already had in my pantry, saving me some money.

The full recipe can be found here!

Rosemary White Bean Soup

This soup is super low ingredient and is souped up, pun intended, by simply pureeing some of the beans! Cooking on the cheap never felt so easy. This is extremely fast to make and pantry friendly. It packs a lot of flavor for a little effort!

Although fresh rosemary and garlic would be nice, dried will do just fine and you’ll find yourself very pleased with such an easy beans recipe!

Beans, Rice, and Cheese Burritos

These couldn’t be more straight forward! All you need are a few pantry staples and some cheese! As the recipe suggests. Beans, cheese, and rice will make these up. Server them up with sour cream, your favorite salsa, and some cilantro if you have it! These also freeze really well and will be a welcome substitute any taco Tuesday!

Janet’s Spinach Rice

This gem of a recipe is requested event after event! My mother in law has perfected it over the years and its almost impossible to get wrong. Made with white rice, frozen, spinach, and chicken bouillon, this is a pantry friendly classic you’ll be putting on your meal plan again and again.

Get Janet’s full Spinach Rice Recipe here!

Onion Soup Rice

As things go, I found a recipe and then modified it beyond recognition. If you’re looking for a baked rice, the original recipe for Maria’s Rice is located here. But if you’d like to go the stovetop rice I saved the recipe for you here! Like with many of these recipes, you may already have everything you need on hand to spice up your rice tonight! Cooking on the cheap is pantry friendly as always!

Huevos Rancheros

This is a great twist on breakfast and can even be used as breakfast for dinner. If you don’t have authentic ingredients on hand that is totally fine! For example, I used shredded cheddar instead of queso fresco because there was none on sale that particular week. I do not recommend buying specific ingredients for meals if they aren’t a good deal unless the recipe absolutely needs it.

When cooking this one, the corn tortillas are cooked in oil and can make a mess of your stovetop. This is why I recommend a spatter guard when cooking the tortillas. If you don’t already own one, I highly recommend it, it’s been a game changer on my ever messy cooktop. You can get your spatter guard here!

For the full Huevos Rancheros recipe click here!

Refried Bean Quesadilla

According to my husband, quesadillas are the perfect food and this one is no exception. Start with butter or cooking spray in a pan. You want cook this over medium low heat so the quesadilla doesn’t burn. Add your favorite cheese and 1/4 cup refried beans. Consider the process to be like a lasagna. The ricotta never really spreads perfectly over the red sauce but it’s still delicious. I find the refried beans to be the same way. Top the beans with some canned or frozen corn and you can also add a protein of your choice, if you’d like. I added chicken. Here is the original recipe I based mine on and no matter what direction you take it, you won’t be disappointed with this perfect food while cooking on the cheap.

Refried Beans Rice Skillet

In a skillet like this, swaps are extremely easy. For example, I didn’t use sausage as the original recipe called for. You could use kielbasa, pork sausage, or ground beef or turkey, add extra black beans, or canned or chopped chicken would do as well. Basically, if you’d like to add extra protein, go for it! If not, that’s ok too!

Getting refried beans out of the can can be a pain. I’ve found that a fork often leaves some left behind and I seriously hate wasting. I always find that this small spatula I got from Amazon is just the right size to get every last morsel out of the can.

Get the full recipe here!

Rice, Beans, and Egg Bowl

This one is amazingly easy and surprisingly delicious. There isn’t a recipe to link to because it’s literally white rice, canned black beans, and a fried egg. There is something delicious about egg yolk and rice that is like nothing else. I think, next time I’ll try to add in some vegetables but still, this dish is packed with nutrients as it is!

Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl

This is pretty much a go-to any week or busy weeknight. It doesn’t get much easier and it’s super pantry staple friendly. Have leftover meat? Throw that in too!! Why waste right?! When cooking on the cheap you should never waste!

As for toppings, just go with whatever you have in your fridge. I always recommend just going with the cheapest salsa when you’re mixing it into a bowl like this. One of my favorite toppings is the Dollar Tree pickled jalapeños. They last in the fridge for a while and are perfect to top a meal like this.

For the full original recipe click here!

Pasta Caesar Salad

This one is great to serve to a crowd. While lettuce can be a bit more expensive, pasta can be less than a dollar for a pound. So it’s a great way to combine both and really stretch a dollar. Save money by making your own croutons. Use any bread that you already have around (I like to use the heels of my bread for this). If you don’t have bread you can get a very inexpensive loaf at Walmart for a little over a dollar. Definitely don’t go buy expensive artisanal bread.

For dressing, I like to use store bought caesar dressing because it’s pretty cheap especially at Aldi. However, if you’d like to use what you have on hand here is a great pantry friendly recipe.

Get the full recipe for this crowd pleasing salad here!

Greek Salad

This is a fantastic summer dish because it’s light, fresh, and served cold. It’s perfect to use up inexpensive summer vegetables from the farm stand or your own garden.

It’s also a great recipe for swapping out for what you have. I used fresh dill, which is super easy to get in the summer but you could totally swap this out for dried dill. I did swap Kalamata olives for avocado because I don’t really like olives but you do what works for you! For example, you can always switch out your cheese using goat instead of feta! Or do no cheese at all.

Check out the full recipe here!

Chickpea Pasta Salad

Pasta salad has to be one of the best recipes for cooking on the cheap at a potluck/bbq. If you don’t have one thing for your pasta salad recipe, leave it out or just trade it for something else. Basically, it’s everything but the kitchen sink and a great way to use up scraps in the fridge.

In this one, I used green peppers but you can also use red peppers or even dollar tree roasted red peppers. Or, like I said, you can just exclude peppers all together. Cherry tomatoes are a great addition but if you only have regular tomatoes, go ahead and dice those up.

Another great thing about a pasta salad like this is you can use any vinaigrette dressing to flavor it. I actually used leftover pesto but if you don’t have pesto on hand you can use any vinegar based dressing. Oh and hey, go ahead and add mayo if you like as well!

Enchilada Macaroni Casserole

I ended up making this one when I planned to use some meat that ended up going bad. Honestly, It happens to the best of us. So I had to pivot quickly. And yes, it can be done, you can pivot without ordering takeout.

This one is good with, or without cheese. You can use half a packet of taco seasoning or I only used 1 tsp because that’s all I had left! You can also make your own taco seasoning by using this recipe here.

Top the casserole with crushed tortilla chips if you have them or anything crunchy you have in your pantry. If you have extra cheese top the casserole with the cheese as well. If not, I’d actually just recommend not adding the cheese earlier and only using it for the topping. It makes kind of like a cheesy nacho topping on the top and who doesn’t love nachos?

You could add canned or shredded chicken to this, ground beef, or turkey. The options are truly endless! As a matter of fact, green chilis would be a welcome addition as well as canned corn.

You can get the full recipe here!

The Best Black Bean Burger

If you can believe it, just one can of beans makes 4 black bean burgers! I was worried these might fall apart making them on my own, but I was wrong. They cooked up perfectly and were super easy to make. I give this recipe a 10/10 because it tasted delicious and it’s also really healthy and hearty!

You can download this recipe along with 9 other Crazy Cheap Dinners Here! All 10 of these recipes are perfect for pantry cooking on the cheap!

Crispy Black Bean Tacos

This is another great way to really stretch a can of beans one can of black beans will make about 5 or 6 small tortillas. The original recipe calls for fresh lime but I used the squirt bottle kind and the sauce was absolutely delicious. I also added a little extra sour cream to thicken it up and it was absolutely delightful!

You can download this recipe along with 9 other Crazy Cheap Dinners Here!

Santa Fe Rice and Beans

This recipe is an homage to the SantaFe Style Rice and Beans dish from Lean Cuisine. I feel like I lived off of that stuff in college. It’s widely agree upon that the SantaFe Style Rice and Beans may be the best dish Lean Cuisine had. This is a copycat that really is just like the real thing. And good news, it can feed your whole family with leftovers!

You can download this recipe along with 9 other Crazy Cheap Dinners Here!

Pinto Bean Burgers

This is another smash hit of a veggie burger. It’s incredible how fast a veggie burger can come together on a weeknight and how happy it can make a whole family. There is also just something about the feeling of having a veggie burger that makes you feel good. Contrary to what some say, cooking on the cheap can be healthy!

You can get the full recipe here!

Pinto Bean & Butternut Squash Chili

This is nice because it’s a chili with a twist. It feels like I’ve made hundreds of bean chilis but never one with butternut squash before this. I like the idea because butternut squash is extremely inexpensive in the fall and lasts a long time. It feels like, at $.99lb I always have on on my counter waiting for a recipe. It’s another healthy vegetable to incorporate into and add bulk to your chili.

When I made this chili, I was actually out of chili powder and didn’t realize until I was already making the recipe. Luckily I improvised and used taco seasoning instead. It did have a slightly stronger taco seasoning but the dish was still good and the family enjoyed it. It just goes to show you that your pantry is stronger than you might think. There is versatility in your cabinets!

While this original recipe is vegetarian, I added some ground turkey because I had it on hand. It was a welcome addition and I’d recommend it if you have some in your fridge.

Cheesy Pinto Bean and Chicken Skillet

This rice and beans recipe is so low ingredient and great for cooking on the cheap on a busy night. Store bought pico de gallo adds most of the flavor. This is similar to using a jar of salsa with chicken or curry chicken. The salsa keeps your ingredients low and is a relatively low cost add to the recipe. The chicken in this could easily be canned but I used some shredded chicken I made in my instant pot. Either way the recipe will be delicious and budget friendly.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

This one is very simple and doesn’t require many ingredients. You can make split pea soup with leftover ham bone from any event and this recipe is the one to use! But if you don’t have one, you can use this recipe that is vegetarian.

Weight Watchers Zero Point Chili

This recipe is pantry gold! Made almost entirely of canned beans and packets, it’s a dump and go treat! I would recommend adding a second chili packet but aside from that, I wouldn’t do anything different than the original recipe suggests.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

This is one of the simplest and most delicious dinner’s I’ve ever made. You only need a few ingredients and you place an entire bag of black beans in your slow cooker. Show up 8 hours later and your hearty, healthy dinner is ready!

Get the full recipe here!

Beans and Rice Dinner

As always, this one is good, even if you use what you have on hand. I only used 1/2 a pepper and the meal still turned out great! An excellent way to make sure you always have peppers, onions, and celery on hand is to buy them on sale, chop them up and freeze them so you have them when you need them. I also cooked up a bunch of rice at the beginning of the week so that I had some ready to go for this recipe. White or brown rice is so inexpensive and it can often bulk up a meal to feed a crowd.

Find the full original recipe right here!

Chickpea Curry

If you enjoy Indian flavors, I recommend keeping garam masala and curry powder on hand. A little bit goes a long way and it will bring the taste of the restaurant home! And while you might think coconut milk sounds expensive, you can always get coconut milk for only $1.25 at the Dollar tree. Just another note, recipe specifically states to use coconut flour at the end but I didn’t have any. I used regular flour and it tasted just fine! Go ahead and make it using the full recipe here!