When the temperature climbs and our homes start to bake in the heat, you need to cook differently. Otherwise, your kitchen might start to feel like the inside of a volcano.
Unfortunately, we can’t all grill fancy flanks of steak every evening. For times when you need to save a few bucks on your groceries (or it’s just a regular Tuesday during inflation), these are the cheap summer meals you need. But no one wants to eat spam and ramen noodle pasta salad every hot night. That’s why I’ve focused on sharing actually yummy meals that feature lower-cost proteins (namely beans, chicken, pork, and ground beef) and plenty of flavors to keep things fresh and interesting.
Of course, no summer meal is truly cheap if you’re overspending on what’s usually the most expensive ingredient- meat. To help you keep those expenses down, I have an article that serves as a guide to buying meat cheaply and did a national survey to find out the grocery stores with the cheapest meat.
Before we get to the summer meals however, I wanted to go over some tips for cooking when it’s hot out. Then, you can keep these in mind when you’re scrolling through the meal ideas and trying to plan out your cooking week.
You might also like: Potluck Meal Ideas on a Budget
Strategies for Cooking in Hot Weather
Let’s take a second and talk about your cooking options when it’s hot. Even if your plan is to eat something like a cold pasta salad, you still need to cook some ingredients (pasta, chicken, etc) at some point. Heating up your kitchen with the stove or oven will cause your air conditioning to work overtime, thus costing you way more in electricity.
Instead, here are some suggestions for heating up food without heating up your house:
- Use a crock pot, instant pot, toaster oven, or other small appliance that won’t heat up the house as much as a stove or oven will.
- If it’s a REALLY hot day, safely use one of those appliances outside by running an extension cord. That way, all the heat created by the appliance will just dissipate outside.
- Cook in the early morning or later at night, when the temperatures are lowest.
- Or, cook a few different meals on whatever day of the week will be coolest, and save them in the fridge or freezer.
- Stick to raw foods or those you don’t need to cook (salads, leftovers, deli sandwiches or wraps, etc)
- Use a solar cooker (The solar cookers on Amazon are a little expensive, but you can also make your own.)
With that out of the way, let’s get to some meal ideas! Some of these recipes are straight out of my own bookmarked list of family favorites (and you might remember some from my article on cheap meals for large families), while the rest are favorites submitted by others.
Inexpensive Summer Meals Starring Pork
Picnic Charcuterie Board
Did someone say picnic? Obviously, there are infinite versions of charcuterie boards, but this “recipe” is a great jumping off point to design your own cold dinner with zero cooking. It also allows you to take advantage of whatever cold cuts and cheeses are on sale this week! (It’s also one of my toddler’s favorite cheap meals for picky eaters.)
Instant Pot Peppers & Sausage
We had peppers and sausage this week after seeing them sold at a street fair, which gave us a hankering to make our own. If you (like me) don’t have an instant pot, you could do what we did and cook the veggies by wrapping them in foil and sticking the packet next to some sausages on the grill.
Grilled Pork Kebabs with Veggies
This recipe calls for pork neck, but you can easily substitute the much easier-to-find pork shoulder or even a pork loin. As a bonus, pork shoulders are some of the cheapest cuts of meat!
Pulled Pork Burrito Bowls
Pulled pork is one of those meals that can just overwhelm you if you don’t have an army of hungry teenagers. These burrito bowls are a great meal to make use of 2c pulled pork leftovers and repurpose them.
Variety Pinwheel Sandwiches
Deli meat isn’t always the cheapest, but ham and salami often have the best deals. Plus, there are so many other flavors in these sandwiches, you won’t feel the need to pile the meat a mile high to feel satisfied.
Boston Baked Beans
The ultimate frugal meal! I’m going to disagree with the author of this particular recipe, however– this makes way more than 6 servings! When I make a pot of beans, we’re eating them all week. To make it last even longer (and then you can freeze portions for later) you can toss in whatever meat leftovers you have. Hamburger, pulled pork, hot dogs, and pot roast are all fair game.
Cheap Summer Meals featuring Chicken
Asian Sesame Chicken Salad
This is a copycat recipe based on Panera Bread’s summertime salad offering. It has a complex flavor profile with plenty of seasonings and spices. It does require marinating chicken (easily done overnight) and making a vinaigrette, but can be thrown together in a snap.
Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
If you need dinner on the table in 30 minutes, and only have chicken, BBQ sauce, and a random can of pineapple chunks, here’s your recipe. Just add rolls and some coleslaw topping and you’ve got a perfect summer meal on a budget.
Middle Eastern Grilled Chicken Skewers
This recipe is widely known in Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine. Chicken thighs marinate in a mixture of yogurt, lemon and warm spices before being grilled to create the most tender, juicy and flavorful chicken.
Jerk Chicken Kabobs
When I was in college, I worked in a restaurant alongside a lot of Jamaicans. The jerk chicken one co-worker always brought for her breaks was mouthwatering. This recipe is slightly different from hers, but definitely scratches the same itch.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
I’ve always made chicken fajitas as a sheet pan recipe, so I was delighted to find this low-heat slow cooker version. All you need to do is throw peppers and onions, chicken, broth, taco seasoning, and garlic in a crock pot and voila! Taco Tuesday is ready.
Fiesta Ranch Chicken Pasta Salad
This recipe is full of southwestern kick with plenty of black beans, corn, cheese and tomatoes. Though you will need to cook a pot of pasta, you can always do that in the early morning or the night before to keep from heating up your afternoon kitchen.
Chicken Caesar Wraps
If you’re short on time and have a few simple ingredients at home, this is your recipe. It can help use up grilled chicken leftovers too, which can cut the price down even further.
Grilled Huli Huli (Hawaiian Teriyaki)
Bone-in chicken thighs are one of the cheapest cuts of meat ever, and this recipe turns them into sweet, sticky deliciousness. All that’s missing is a tropical breeze…
Summer Beef Meals on a Budget
Slow Cooker Carne Asada Bowls
The Oregon Dietitian is one of my favorite food bloggers. For this recipe, Megan not only offers a delicious take on a Mexican street cart favorite, but also makes suggestions on what ingredients to switch out or eliminate if you need to make the recipe even cheaper.
Marinated Beef Kabobs
This might be the most expensive meal on this list, but I decided to include it because even steak goes on sale. Plus, this recipe can feed a huge crowd at 10-12 servings. Pro-tip: Make sure you soak your wooden skewers for about 30 minutes before threading your meat and veggies.
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
This recipe also yields 10 servings, but if you want to stretch it even further (and maybe freeze some for a quick meal next week or next month) you can! Simply add a can of kidney beans or a 15 oz of diced mushrooms.
Beef Burritos
I LOVE this recipe. Because the burritos freeze individually so well (just wrap each in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil), this is usually my go-to freezer meal to bring new moms. This recipe also works great if you have leftover shredded pot roast or steak tips.
Grilled pizza
Did you know you can make pizza on your grill?? It’s even faster than cooking in your oven, too. This isn’t technically a recipe but a how-to guide, however. If you need a k for homemade pizza, here’s a taco pizza recipe.
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
When I was still new to this whole cooking-from-scratch thing, I often left out half the ingredients. I either I didn’t have them, didn’t like them, or (in my arrogance) didn’t think they were important. This recipe was one of those; I’d skip out on the ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha. I’m here to tell you that while it didn’t taste very Korean, it still tasted good! (Though far better with everything mixed together.) So if you’re low on spices and flavorings, don’t worry. You can still make “Korean” rice bowls, tacos, or sandwiches with the tender meat.
Budget-Friendly Vegetarian Summer Meals
American Flag Taco Salad
Here’s a patriotic recipe for your next Memorial Day or 4th of July cookout! This dish is all-beans, veggies, chips, and dairy for an All-American feast.
Egg Salad Sandwiches
This simple recipe only takes twenty minutes to get on the table, and less if you already have hard boiled eggs. You can also turn this into egg salad wraps if you’ve got tortillas but no bread.
Israli Couscous Salad
Got a can of chickpeas laying around? How about broccoli or couscous? This is an awesome recipe you can make earlier in the day when you’ve got some energy (or even the night before). Leave it in the fridge all day, and bring it out at dinner time for a cold, refreshing meal.
Pesto Tortellini Salad
Love one pot meals? This one has only five ingredients! You also can make the meal even cheaper by making your own pesto if you have basil or even if you don’t.
Easy Pineapple Mango Salsa and Chips
You know how sometimes it’s so hot you’re not even hungry? This is the perfect healthy mini-meal to satiate you on those hot, sweltering nights.
Portobello Mushroom Burgers
This is perfect for summer grilling, vegetarian-style. They won’t fall apart like some veggie or black bean burgers do when I cook them (is that just me?), but they still have plenty of meaty goodness to share.
Hummus and Veggie Wrap
I made these for my husband when he was on a lunch wrap kick last summer, and he LOVED them. He never used the sprouts (as the recipe calls for), but still said they were delicious.
Cool Summer Breakfast Ideas on a Budget
Strawberry Overnight Oats
These fresh and filling cups are made the night before and then, as the name suggests, sit in the fridge overnight. When you wake up, you’ve got a cold, creamy breakfast that’ll keep you full all morning.
Copycat Jamba Juice Aloha Pineapple Smoothie
On hot mornings, all I want is something cool and refreshing. This smoothie recipe is perfect for that. Pro-tip: if you don’t have ice, just freeze the pineapple or strawberries before popping them into the blender.
Frozen Berry Swirl Pops
This one might appeal more to kids, but adults can enjoy them too! If you don’t have all the specific ratios of berries on hand, 1 ½ cups of any canned or frozen berry medley will do fine.
Cheap Summer Side Dishes
Amish Potato Salad
If a recipe has “Amish” in the title, you know it’s going to be delicious, hearty, and made from scratch. This recipe is no exception, with its tangy dressing and generous portions.
Spicy Cilantro Lime Summer Slaw
This salad is great on its own, but it can also double as the topping for Mexican dishes like fish tacos!
Grilled corn on the cob
There’s no heating up the kitchen to boil corn in this recipe! Here’s how to grill corn in the husks. (The secret is to soak the corn beforehand. Who knew?)
Lebanese Tabbouleh Salad
My father grew up working at a Mediterranean restaurant, and since then we always get or make tabbouleh as a special treat. This is my favorite authentic Lebanese recipe. I use it whenever my parsley plants are overproducing and I want to eat it fresh.
Mexican Street Corn in a Cup
This is a no-cooking-required recipe! You can use frozen (and then thawed) corn, canned corn, or previously cooked corn on the cob– whatever’s easiest. Then mix in the herbs & seasonings, mayo and sour cream and voila! Just add toppings and devour.
Grilled Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
I always forget you can grill potatoes, and end up hardly making any all summer because I don’t want to heat the house by baking or boiling them. Thank goodness for this recipe to bring their starchy, cheesy, BACON-topped goodness back into my life.
I hope you’ve found a few new summer recipes to add to your weekly meal rotations. If you’d like more articles about eating on a budget, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter below!
