Five Easy Family Dinners for Under $15 (Feeding Four)
Reading time: 10 minutes
The weekly food shop in 2026 isn’t what it used to be. The price of a basket of basics has climbed steadily over the past few years, and for a lot of families, including ours, the question of how to keep dinner affordable without resorting to ultra-processed convenience food is a real, weekly one.
The single biggest lever we’ve found, both in our own kitchen and through years of stocking pantries for our customers, is to build a strong pantry of bulk dry staples, then build dinners around them. Five or six well-chosen staples like rice, lentils, pasta, dried chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, a small spice rack, anchor most of the cheap, satisfying dinners we know. They keep for months, they cost less per kilo when bought in bulk than they do in supermarket packaging, and they give you the foundation for an enormous number of meals.
This post is five of our favourite under-$15 family dinners, each serves four (around $3.75 a serve), each leans on ingredients we stock, avoids ultra-processed ingredients and each is genuinely easy on a weeknight. We’ve kept the ingredient lists short and the methods uncomplicated. Most are one-pot or one-tray. Several of them are even cheaper if you batch-prep your dried beans and lentils ahead of time, we wrote a step-by-step guide to that here, and we’ll point back to it where it matters.
A note on the prices: these are approximate, based on typical Australian supermarket and bulk store prices in mid-2026. Your costs will vary depending on where you shop and what’s on special, and the marginal cost of each dinner is lower than what’s listed, because pantry items like oil, salt, dried herbs and tomato paste are used in small portions of a bigger container. We’ve assumed a basic pantry: olive oil, salt, pepper, a few dried herbs and a stock cube or two. Everything beyond that is in the ingredient lists.
Let’s get into it.
1. Family Bolognese (Stretched with Lentils)
Serves 4 | Approx cost: $13-14 | Time: 30 minutes
Family-favourite | Adaptable to GF (use GF pasta)
The trick here is the red lentils. They cook into the sauce, take on the same colour and texture as the mince, and stretch 300g of beef mince into a sauce that easily feeds four. Even the fussiest kids don’t notice them. (If you want a fully vegetarian version, drop the mince and use 2 cups of green or brown lentils instead — it’s genuinely good.)
Ingredients
• 300g beef mince ($5)
• 1 cup split red lentils ($1.20)
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tin diced tomatoes, 400g ($1.50)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 bay leaf
• 1 stock cube + 2 cups water
• 500g pasta ($2.50)
• Parmesan and fresh basil to serve (optional)
Method
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the mince and brown it, breaking it up with a spoon, for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add the lentils, tinned tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, stock cube and water. Stir well, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Serve the sauce over the pasta with grated parmesan and fresh basil if you have them.
Notes: The sauce keeps for 4 days in the fridge and freezes well — worth making a double batch. Split red lentils are the right call here because they break down into the sauce naturally; whole lentils stay too distinct.
Sneaky Veg Trick: Grate a few fresh button mushrooms into the sauce when you add the tomatoes and lentils, they’ll break down into the sauce and be unrecognisable to fussy eaters.
2. Red Lentil & Coconut Dahl
Serves 4 | Approx cost: $11-12 | Time: 30 minutes
Vegetarian | Vegan (use coconut yoghurt) | Naturally GF
Dahl is one of the all-time great budget dinners protein-rich, warming, and built almost entirely from pantry staples. This one comes together in about 25 minutes and tastes like a takeaway.
Ingredients
• 1.5 cups split red lentils ($1.80)
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tin diced tomatoes ($1.50)
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk powder ($2.00)
• 1.5 cups brown or basmati rice ($1.80)
• Lemon, fresh coriander, plain or coconut yoghurt to serve
Method
Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear. Set aside.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds, let them sizzle 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric and garam masala. Stir for 1 minute.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk powder and 3 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, then cook uncovered 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have broken down and the mixture is thick and creamy. Season with salt.
While the dahl cooks, rinse and cook the rice in your preferred way.
Serve the dahl over rice with a generous squeeze of lemon, a handful of coriander and a spoonful of yoghurt.
Notes: Dahl actually tastes better the next day, so make a double batch. Freezes brilliantly.
TIP: Use left overs to make lentil burgers, add an egg, some oats or chick flour and a little extra salt, shape into patties and shallow fry or air fry and serve on fresh buns with lettuce and tomato.
3. Veggie & Tofu Stir-Fry with Brown Rice
Serves 4 | Approx cost: $13-14 | Time: 25 minutes
Vegan | Naturally GF (use tamari instead of soy sauce)
A fast, flexible weeknight dinner that uses whatever vegetables you have. The peanut sauce takes 60 seconds to mix and turns a basic stir-fry into something people ask for seconds of.
Ingredients
• 300g firm tofu, drained and cut into 2cm cubes ($3.50)
• 1.5 cups brown rice ($1.80)
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets ($3)
• 1 capsicum, sliced ($2)
• 1 carrot, julienned ($0.50)
• 1 handful snow peas or green beans ($1.50)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Thumb of ginger, grated
• ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
• Juice of half a lime
• Sesame seeds and coriander to serve (optional)
Method
Cook the rice. While it cooks, prepare the sauce: whisk soy sauce, peanut butter, honey/maple and lime juice with 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl.
Press the tofu between paper towels to remove excess moisture. Heat a large frypan or wok over high heat with a splash of oil. Cook the tofu, undisturbed, for 3-4 minutes a side until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add another splash of oil. Stir-fry the broccoli, capsicum and carrot for 4-5 minutes — they should be just tender but still bright. Add garlic, ginger and snow peas and cook 1 minute more.
Return the tofu to the pan, pour over the sauce, and toss to coat. Cook 1 minute more until the sauce coats everything. Serve over rice with sesame seeds and coriander.
Notes: This recipe is forgiving — use whatever veg is in the fridge or on special, in-season veg is usually cheaper and fresher so go rouge and add whatever veg works for you . Frozen Asian stir-fry mix from the freezer aisle is a perfectly good shortcut.
TIP: If your crew aren’t tofu fans, substitute it for a diced chicken breast.
4. Smoky Black Bean Chilli with Rice
Serves 4 | Approx cost: $12-13 with tinned beans, or ~$9-10 from batch-prepped | Time: 30 minutes
Vegan | Naturally GF
This one’s a pantry-raid winner, almost everything in it comes from a tin or a packet or in your own container from the local bulk food store. Smoky, hearty, and properly satisfying. Serve over rice or with corn chips or flat bread with avocado and lime.
Cost-cutting note: If you’ve batch-prepped dried black and kidney beans (see our legumes prep guide), pull two freezer portions instead of opening tins, you’ll knock $3-4 off this recipe and the texture will be noticeably better.
Ingredients
• 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed ($2) - or 1.5 cups cooked from your freezer stash
• 1 tin red kidney beans ($1.50) - or 1.5 cups cooked
• 1 tin diced tomatoes ($1.50)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 capsicum, diced ($2)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp chilli powder, or 1 fresh chilli if you have it
• 1.5 cups brown rice ($1.80)
• Avocado, lime, coriander, yoghurt or sour cream to serve
Method
Cook the rice.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and capsicum and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano and stir for 1 minute.
Add the beans, tinned tomatoes, chilli, and 1 cup of water. Stir well, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered 15-20 minutes until thick and rich. Season with salt.
Serve over rice with a generous helping of avocado, a squeeze of lime, fresh coriander and a dollop of yoghurt.
Notes: Leftovers make excellent burrito fillings (check out our easy four-ingredient flat bread recipe) or jacket-potato toppers. You can swap the tinned beans for any combination, chickpeas, pinto, cannellini - they all work.
5. Veggie Frittata with Sweet Potato Wedges
Serves 4 | Approx cost: $10-12 | Time: 35 minutes
Vegetarian | Naturally GF
When you don’t know what to cook, frittata! It uses up half a bag of spinach, that last quarter of onion, the cheese ends and the random veg in the crisper. Pair it with crispy sweet potato wedges and you’ve got a complete, properly satisfying GF dinner for next to nothing.
Ingredients
• 8 eggs ($4.50)
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into wedges ($3)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large handful of spinach or silverbeet ($2)
• 1 zucchini, diced or grated ($1.50)
• ½ cup grated cheddar or crumbled feta ($2)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (for the wedges)
• Salt, pepper, olive oil
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C. Toss sweet potato wedges with olive oil, smoked paprika and salt. Spread on a baking tray and roast 25-30 minutes, turning once.
While they cook, heat a splash of olive oil in a 24-26cm oven-safe frypan. Cook the onion 4 minutes, add the zucchini and cook another 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook 1 minute until wilted.
Whisk the eggs with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, pour the eggs over the veg, sprinkle with cheese, and cook 5 minutes until the bottom is set. Transfer to the oven and bake 8-10 minutes until set and just golden on top.
Slice into wedges and serve with the sweet potato.
Notes: Frittata is the ultimate use-it-up meal, swap in mushrooms, capsicum, leftover roast veg, whatever you have. Leftovers are excellent cold in tomorrow’s lunch.
A few more cost-saving habits
A few things we’ve noticed work for our family and for our customers:
Cook once, eat twice. Almost every recipe above (especially the bolognese, dahl and chilli) makes more than four serves if you stretch slightly. Lunch the next day at no extra cost.
Batch-prep your dried legumes. One Sunday afternoon, a kilo of beans soaked and cooked to 80% and portioned into the freezer, and you’ve replaced months of tin-buying with something significantly cheaper and tastier. Full guide here.
Make your own flat bread. Six homemade organic flat breads for about $1.80, versus $10+ for a packet of five at the supermarket. Takes 15 minutes, four ingredients. Recipe here.
Frozen veg is your friend. Frozen peas, corn, spinach, mixed Asian veg and broccoli are nutritionally similar to fresh, often cheaper, and don’t go off in the bottom of the crisper.
Eggs and pulses are the protein-per-dollar champions. A dozen eggs feeds a family for two dinners. 500g of dried lentils makes 4-5 dinners.
Buy spices in small bulk amounts. A 50g bag of cumin seeds from us costs less than a tiny supermarket jar and lasts months.
Plan around one or two “anchor” dinners a week. A big pot of dahl or chilli on Monday becomes Tuesday’s lunch, Wednesday’s burrito filling, or Thursday’s freezer stash.
Pop in for the basics
If you want to set up a proper budget-cooking pantry, we stock all the bulk dry goods these recipes lean on — rice, lentils, dried chickpeas, pasta, oats, spices, oils and vinegars, all available in any quantity you like, from a small jar’s worth to a kilo. Pop into the shop in Dromana to browse the full range.
If you make any of these and want to swap notes or want more recipe ideas built around what’s already in your pantry, just email or drop us a message. We read every one.
Prices in this post are approximate, based on typical Australian supermarket and bulk store prices in mid-2026. Actual costs will vary depending on where you shop, what’s in season, and what’s on special. The marginal cost of each dinner — assuming a stocked pantry — is generally lower than the headline figure shown.
