15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (2024)

Need a quick, healthy, budget-friendly meal idea to get on the table fast? We have pulled together 15 of our favorite recipes for when you need to save time and money. These cheap, easy meals feature healthy, inexpensive staples, like beans, pasta and frozen vegetables—and all take 15 minutes or less to make. As always, feel free to make substitutions with whatever veggies and proteins you have on hand to make these recipes cheaper and more convenient.

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Two-Ingredient-Dough Margherita Pizza

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (1)

You won't believe how quick and easy it is to make this healthy pizza. Thanks to a two-ingredient dough that combines self-rising flour and Greek yogurt, there is no need for a rise time. Just roll, top and bake, and you'll have a delicious quick dinner.

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3-Ingredient Teriyaki Edamame Sauté

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (2)

Whip up this high-fiber, plant-based stir-fry for a quick and convenient dinner. Look for bottled teriyaki sauce labeled less sodium or reduced sodium to cut back on the salt without sacrificing flavor.

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Sesame Instant Ramen Noodles with Broccoli & Soft-Boiled Egg

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (3)

Jazz up basic ramen noodles with toasted sesame oil, quick-cooked broccoli and a jammy soft-boiled egg. To cut back on sodium, look for ramen varieties with less than 600 milligrams sodium per serving or use less of the seasoning packet.

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Cheese Quesadillas with Peppers & Onions

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3-Ingredient Refried Bean & Pico de Gallo Tostada

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (5)

Making your own tostadas is easy. Use store-bought corn tortillas, brush them with olive oil and bake to crunchy perfection! Here, we topped the tostada with refried beans and fresh pico de gallo for an easy three-ingredient meal.

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BBQ Chicken Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (6)

This zippy, creamy slaw is so good you might find yourself making it for other sandwiches. Still, it pairs beautifully with the tangy pulled chicken for an incredibly quick dinner you can make even on your busiest nights. To save even more time, use a pre-shredded coleslaw blend.

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3-Ingredient Chicken Caesar Flatbread

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (7)

A frozen cauliflower-based pizza crust becomes the crispy base for this no-fuss flatbread. Pick up a Caesar-style salad kit to save yourself the hassle of needing to buy lots of other ingredients (everything's included in the kit!), and use rotisserie chicken to simplify the prep even more.

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3-Ingredient Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Chickpeas

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (8)

Boxed blended soups are the perfect canvas for simple stir-ins to make them more substantial and satisfying. Here, roasted red pepper soup is jazzed up with canned chickpeas and fresh baby spinach for a fast, comforting meal.

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Peanut Zoodles with Edamame

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (9)

A package of fresh zucchini noodles gets tossed with shelled edamame and store-bought peanut sauce in these five-minute, no-cook vegetable noodle bowls. Because prepared sauces and dressings are commonly high in sodium, scan the label and opt for those that contain 150 mg sodium or less per tablespoon.

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3-Ingredient Goat Cheese Pasta with Broccoli

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (10)

Swap out regular pasta for pasta made with chickpeas, and you'll more than triple the fiber and double the protein in this simple, satisfying dish. Be sure to save some of the pasta water to make a sauce. Feel free to use frozen broccoli in a pinch (you can blanch the broccoli in the same water you use to cook the pasta).

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Broccoli & Parmesan Cheese Omelet

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This high-protein breakfast recipe features broccoli and cheese folded into a light and fluffy omelet.

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White Bean & Veggie Salad

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (12)

This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.

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3-Ingredient Sweet Potato & Brussels Sprout Hash with Chicken Sausage

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (13)

Apple-flavored chicken sausage adds flavor and protein to this quick dinner hash that uses a bag of shaved Brussels sprouts as its hearty, high-fiber base. Steaming the cubed sweet potatoes in the microwave cuts way down on total cook time.

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BBQ Chicken Bowls

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (14)

These BBQ chicken bowls are perfect for weeknight dinners. They come together in just 15 minutes and are chock-full of the classic barbecue flavors you love, including saucy beans, coleslaw and potatoes.

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3-Ingredient Green Goddess White Bean Salad

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15 Cheap Healthy Dinner Ideas You Can Make in 15 Minutes (15)

Bagged salad and slaw blends are great shortcut ingredients for adding variety without needing to wash and chop lots of different vegetables. Toss a kale-and-broccoli slaw mix with canned white beans and yogurt-based green goddess dressing for a crunchy main-dish salad in minutes.