FoodAPR 19, 2024

30 “Poverty Meal” Recipes That Might Be Useful For Those Who Want To Eat Tasty And Cheaply

We live in expensive times, and they only seem to be getting worse. The prices of essential things like food keep rising, and people are looking for ways to save their money and survive. There are ways to save, especially with clever lunch ideas that are both economical and delicious.

However, some are more ready for this than others, as those who have endured some kind of poverty before already know some great 'poverty meals' that are very tasty despite being pretty economical, and that is what people online shared on this online thread. Scroll down if you want to learn about some of these delicious money-saving recipes!

More info: Reddit

#1

30 “Poverty Meal” Recipes That Might Be Useful For Those Who Want To Eat Tasty And Cheaply

Does cinnamon sugar toast count? Because it slaps.

rantgoesthegirl, Stephanie McCabe

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82points

#2

Bread pizza.

Bread (toasted if feeling fancy) with cheap tomato/pasta sauce, bulk cheese (I dunno if dad went to Costco or not) and a few slices of pepperoni (dad always had that too for some reason)

Broil til cheese melted

If we were out of pepperoni...just cheese and sauce lol

Now that he's gone...that's dinner on his birthday.

sparksgirl1223, Pixabay

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71points

#3

I used to cook and eat a can of ravioli and then cook ramen in the leftover liquid. I used to buy the ravioli when it was 10/$10 so I would be pretty full for only like $1.15 which was pretty good back in 2012/2013, but I told my ex this at one point and they never let me live it down. People gotta stop that struggle meal hate. Sometimes you do what you gotta do and it honestly was pretty tasty.

jp11e3, Edanur Ağaç

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64points

A 'poverty meal' is the kind of food that is made from ingredients that are as cheap as possible yet still provides all the needed nourishment that a person needs. It is usually something eaten in the more economically challenging times that some people have to endure.

Nostalgia could be another strong reason for people sometimes indulging in these foods, as they might have eaten stuff like this when they were younger if their situation wasn’t as fortunate back then as it is now.

#4

Tomato sandwiches: tomato, mayo and white bread.

madbamajama1, Jill Burrow

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61points

#5

I’m British and was brought up in the 1970s. I no longer eat meat, but I was brought up by a Welsh mother who wasted nothing.

We had a meat grinder and anything not eaten in out Sunday roast was ground up and added to our slow cooker with barley, lentils and any leftover veg. Shortly before it was served my mum would drop in dumplings. It was amazing.

NiobeTonks, Pixabay

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61points

#6

My favourite was a Bulgarian "poverty meal" staple in my house growing up - cooked macaroni in warm milk sweetened with sugar (and vanilla if you have it), then some crumbled brined cheese like feta to top it off. The sweet and salty just really works together. If you have any remaining macaroni, you can throw it in a baking dish with milk, sugar, and an egg and bake it into a custard-like macaroni dessert. Sounds strange to non-Balkan people but we all have our cultural poverty meals!

Devoika_, Daryn Nakhuda

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58points

However, just because it’s called a poverty meal doesn’t mean that it can’t have an amazing taste. According to The Foodbank, quite a few of today’s delicacies first started out as the food of the poor.

One such example is lobster. Nowadays, it’s often considered one of the most desirable and fancy dishes, at least in America, but back in the day, it was something that capturers would feed to prisoners and what Native Americans used as bait for fishing.

We could also add the now-all-so-popular barbeque, which used to be what enslaved African-Americans made before the Civil War, or the Chinese-American and Mexican-American cuisines that were created by immigrants, displaced people, and working-class representatives.

#7

Bread and butter simply slaps. We used to do sandwiches with just butter and radishes as well.

SoftwarePractical620, Nadin Sh

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49points

#8

Beans and cornbread! Still a fave.

hammartime2002, jeffreyw

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47points

#9

I would say "anything with ground beef," but it now costs about as much as cheaper cuts of beef (USD $4/lb).

When I as growing up ground beef meant chili, or spaghetti, or shepherds pie, or hamburger helper, or sloppy joes, or meatloaf, or just plain burgers. The only kind of beef not pre-ground was chuck roast for stew.

malepitt, Angele J

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41points

Even the superfood quinoa, which you can find on the shelves of almost every supermarket today, comes from Peruvian farms that were much poorer not very long ago. In fact, according to statistics from Peru’s Ministry of Agriculture shared by Grace Livingstone of BBC, the price of this crop in the country rose by over 500% when compared from 2005 to 2014.

With the country-wide production grew from roughly 32,500 to nearly 115,000 tonnes a year, the once-poor Peruvian farmers who ate quinoa through generations turned their fortunes around when they started selling it. Now, thanks to the sky-rocketed popularity of this magnificent grain, these people are able to enjoy electricity and send their children to good universities, all while continuing to manage their now-successful businesses.

#10

I can relate. I made Haluski - cabbage and egg noodles. I added Italian sausage that I found on sale. My partner was horrified. She likes the hamburger soup though. I ate a lot of Haluski last week!

feltpoots, sk

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39points

#11

My mother used to make something called rice and eggs when I was very young. I asked her recently for the recipe and she laughed and asked why I would want to make it, she only did because times were tough. I remember a frying pan, cooked rice, and her tossing it with beaten eggs. It came out like creamy rice, something like a risotto but firmer. It might have been the last time she made it when the oil in the pan splashed onto the back of her hand causing a gnarly burn.

I still would like to have it again, poor people food or not. It's one of those memories that is burned into my brain and after 40+ years I can still taste it.

staminadrain, Lloyd Morgan

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39points

#12

Canned tuna is a pretty divisive place to start. As for poverty meals, I eat lots of beans and lentils, partially because of cost, partially because it's shelf stable and easy to stock up on without having to worry about spoilage.

nmj95123, Towfiqu barbhuiya

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38points

In the end, this goes to show that just because some food is cheap, it doesn’t mean that it won’t be tasty or nutritious, just like expensive meals aren’t necessarily of high quality.

So, if these expensive times have struck you, just know that eating healthily and deliciously is definitely not out of the question. And if you need inspiration, threads like this one are there for you.

What is your favorite poverty meal? Do you know of any other foods that have had their popularity turned around and become delicacies? Share all of them in the comments below!

#13

My kids called this "Mexican goo". It's similar to a 7 layer dip , but made into a casserole.

Bottom layer is refried beans that you heat up and season. Second layer is rice, I generally used leftover Spanish rice. Or leftover rice that I seasoned. 3rd layer is whatever meat that you have, already cooked. Ground beef, ground turkey or chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover pot roast, pork that you chop up, whatever it is.and season that with either cumin and chili powder, salt and pepper , enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, whatever you have on hand or can afford. Next layer is vegetables. Generally Rotel, pico de Gallo, or canned diced tomatoes and jalapenos if you have them. Next layer is cheese, whatever you've got. Bake it at 350-400 until the cheese on top is starting to brown and bubble.

Eaten over tortilla chips (in a bowl) or made into tacos with any combination of hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, pickled jalapenos, more pico de Gallo, cilantro, chopped onions with a squeeze of lime, chopped up tomatoes that have seen better days, or whatever you have.

If you use corn tortillas, and don't use packaged seasoning, it's also gluten free. If you skip the meat, it's vegetarian.

If you want the crispy burned rice, then oil your pan and put your rice as the bottom layer.

Edit: if you skip the rice and top it with cornbread batter and bake it, you have a tamale pie.

Edit: season every layer. Otherwise it's just an awful bland mess, and hot sauce wasn't invented to be a main flavor.

SubstantialPressure3, Dewdeaux

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37points

#14

Mac n cheese with hotdogs. Or,
Elbow noodles, Hunts tomato sauce, butter, and salt.

Tarabomb, Tina Witherspoon

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35points

#15

Baked beans on toast with grated mature Cheddar.

bhambrewer, Nik

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34points

#16

I’m old so this is probably very 1950’s, but we would have fried bologna sandwiches. On white bread. I wonder if they would still taste good to me?! Sure not very healthy!

Jagg811, Edsel Little

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33points

#17

Once in a blue moon, I’ll get a craving for S**t on a Shingle (aka, chipped beef gravy on toast). I have the gravy over popovers instead of toast, but the spirit is the same 😉.

steamed_pork_bunz, guterz

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32points

#18

Papas con chorizo, cubed boiled potatoes scrambled with egg and chorizo.

lapas83, Tnarik Innael

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31points

#19

Soup. Just soup. My most consistent one is onion, celery, carrots, cabbage/kale, whatever herbs I find and a small pasta. Can cook up a protein separately to add in or add white beans/whatever you have.

LikeYoureSleepy, jenvit keiwalinsarid

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31points

#20

Red beans and rice. Ham hock, some andouille sausage, some beans, some rice, spices, you've got a big pot of a good meal that can feed you for a few days. Ditto for chili.

Edit: Don't forget an onion, green pepper, and celery stalk or two.

-zero-joke-, Ela Haney

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29points

30 “Poverty Meal” Recipes That Might Be Useful For Those Who Want To Eat Tasty And Cheaply

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Poll Question

Do you have 'poverty meals' that have become comfort food now?

Poll Question

Do you have 'poverty meals' that have become comfort food now?