Being able to keep your family fed for less than $10 in a crisis can be tricky. Even if you have a lot of food in your prep storage, you don’t want to rely on it every time the winds of fate blow foul through our civilization.
As we’ve seen in past crises, like the COVID pandemic, the 2008 Recession, and even the Great Depression. A lot of grocery stores manage to stay open with some limited capacity.
When I was a boy, my grandmother who survived the Great Depression and WW2 used to force me to learn how to cook using very humble ingredients. I’m not talking about some gentle vignette where I take turns stewing the pot while holding onto her apron strings. It was elbow grease cooking with chunks of discount meat and things from the garden.
When I asked her why I had to learn how to cook like this, she said “Because someday the world’s gonna go crazy again, and you gotta know how to feed yourself!”
When the world did go crazy again in 2008 and during COVID, I was able to roll up my sleeves to feed my family some seriously delicious meals, for next to nothing.
Related: 17 Items That Vanished Immediately After the Pandemic
I thought I would take some of Grandma’s lessons and my own to help you understand some of the great meals you can make to feed your family for less than $10.
Marrow Scrap & Rice Stew
My Grandma used to run a supper club kitchen, and the owner was happy to let her take home scrap bones and leftover hunks of meat that would have otherwise ended up in the dumpster.
Every night she’d bring home leftover T-bones and joints with scraps of meat still clinging to them.
She’d put them in her Dutch oven and let them stew for hours overnight on top of the wood stove. All the marrow and collagen would render out into gelatin and nutrient-rich denatured proteins to create a rich stock.
The bones would be pulled out, and copious handfuls of cheap rice or quartered red potatoes would go in to simmer in the broth. This would be lunch and sometimes even leftover supper for her six kids.
Even if you don’t have leftover T-bones and restaurant scraps to work with, you can do something similar with beef shanks, pork hocks or pork neck bones. Tossing in a frozen vegetable medley right at the end, chunks of fresh garden vegetables or half a head of cabbage turns it into an authentic belly-filling stew.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Pork Hock | $5.00 |
| 2 Cups of Rice | $1.00 |
| Mixed Vegetable Medley | $1.50 |
Tuna Mac
During the pandemic crisis, my daughter and I ate a lot of tuna mac to stretch the budget. To this day it’s one of her top favorites that she asked for.
It’s a cheap weeknight meal that packs a decent amount of protein. I stock up on the generic version of the blue box, and cans of tuna packed in water when they’re on sale.
A double recipe will easily feed a family of four. You just follow the directions on the box. Boil the macaroni, and drain. You can double the butter to skip the milk if you need to.
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Open the can of tuna and drain it. Array the tuna on top of the mac to let the ambient heat warm the fish before stirring.
A handful of frozen peas right before stirring the whole mess together gives it color and some extra vitamins. Just don’t over stir it into a single homogeneous mass. You want chunks of tuna and peas that are still solid green spheres.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| 2 Generic Boxes of Mac & Cheese | $3.00 |
| 2 Cans of Tuna | $2.00 |
| Milk & Butter | $1.00 |
| Frozen Peas | $1.00 |
American Goulash
American goulash is a low-cost midwestern staple made from ground beef, onions, macaroni, and tomato sauce.
Some people will even go so far as to add a little canned corn to give it sweetness.
I like to add some diced carrots to give it some more fiber, flavor, and nutrient value.
You brown the ground beef with the onions in the pan to soften them. You can include diced raw carrot if you want. Once the beef is browned, add a small can of crushed tomatoes.
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While the meat sauce stews, you start boiling the macaroni. I prefer to use large elbow macaroni, but any small tube-style pasta will do. Once they’re soft, drain the macaroni and stir it into the meat sauce.
You can make heaps of this stuff, and the leftovers are just as good the next day. You can add a little bit of beef stock to up the rich flavor. However, I don’t give in to the temptation to add garlic, as it makes the dish feel like you’re forcing it to be discount spaghetti when it’s meant to be a meaty casserole.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 Pound of Ground Beef | $4.00 |
| Medium Yellow Onion | $1.00 |
| Half Box of Large Macaroni | $1.00 |
| Can of Crushed Tomatoes | $1.50 |
| Diced Carrot (Optional) | $0.50 |
| Cup of Beef Stock (Optional) | $1.00 |
Chicken Sandwich Made from Leg Quarters
Even when they aren’t on sale, you can still get a big package of chicken quarters for $5 or less.
Sometimes chicken leg quarters, which include the bone-in thigh and drumstick are on sale for as little as 50 cents a pound!
Related: Chicken vs Duck
If you try to cook them like chicken breasts, the meat will be too tough, or it will burn on the outside before it’s done on the inside. No problem, all you have to do is toss the chicken leg quarters in a crock pot and let them slow cook for 4 to 6 hours or until they’re falling off the bone tender. The rendered fat and gelatin in the bottom of the crock pot can be used for soup or even the base for soup dumplings.
You can shred the chicken meat to use for just about anything. One of my favorites is to make elevated chicken sandwiches with garlic mayo (Aioli), and a slice of garden tomato, onion, and a little lettuce. For a bun, you can use simple bread, hamburger buns, or if you’ve got money left in the budget, you could splurge for discount ciabatta buns.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Chicken Leg Quarters | $5.00 |
| Buns | $2.00 |
| Onions & Lettuce | $2.00 |
| Garlic Mayonnaise | $1.00 |
Chicken & Vegetable Stir-Fry
One of the other belly-filling meals I like to make for under $10, repurposes the picked meat from chicken leg quarters and the skimmed fat to make stir fry.
Particularly in the month of June when my garden is pumping out pea pods, baby carrots, and the first-of-the-season peppers.
If you don’t have leftover meat from chicken leg quarters, you can just as easily use canned chicken. Vegetables like onions, peppers, baby carrots, and frozen peas from the store can replace garden fare.
Related: Foods You Can Regrow From Scraps
The stir fry can be served over a bed of white rice, or you can simmer some spaghetti until it’s soft, and toss it in the stir fry at the last minute. Finishing with a little soy sauce and some chopped green onions is a nice touch that gives the chicken stir fry an authentic Asian feel.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Chicken Meat or Canned Chicken | $2.00 |
| Medium Yellow Onion | $1.00 |
| Green Bell Pepper | $1.00 |
| Diced Carrot | $0.50 |
| Frozen Peas or Pea Pods | $0.50 |
| 2 Cups of Rice | $1.00 |
Rice & Bean Burritos
Rice, beans, and tortillas are common, inexpensive belly-filling staples in many forms of Latin cuisine. When you combine them into a burrito, you get a sort of blank culinary canvas that plays with a lot of other accent ingredients.
Adding cheese is an easy way to upgrade this somewhat low-protein meal.
Cheap chicken and ground beef, or even shredded pork leftover from a pulled pork sandwich are easy ways to increase the burrito’s protein value.
In a crisis, fresh meat might be hard to come by or even unavailable. To make sure you have a reliable meat supply, you should preserve your own while you still have the chance. I used this guide to can hamburger, chicken, and pork, which can all last for over 20 years.
Onions and peppers, garlic, and salsa are ways to add flavor and heat. You might already have some of these in your garden, or you can find them for next to nothing in the produce section.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| 2 Cups of Rice | $1.00 |
| Can of Kidney or Pinto Beans | $1.00 |
| Bag of Premade Tortillas | $2.50 |
| Onions & Peppers | $2.00 |
| Leftover Meat from Chicken Leg Quarters | $2.00 |
Pork Picnic Shoulder
A pork picnic shoulder is a great alternative to a traditional Boston butt, which you can usually find for less than $10.
You can do just about everything you would normally do with a traditional pork shoulder. It’s just a Boston Butt is from the scapula region of a pig and a picnic shoulder is from the ball joint.
This was my father’s discount way to enjoy a fancy ham on a holiday, passed down from his mother. The trick is to score the skin and rub it down with salt or wet brine the shoulder for a day.
Then pat it dry and smoke it for 4 to 6 hours. At that point, the meat will have picked up as much, or more smoke than a high-end Christmas ham. If you don’t have a smokehouse, you can learn here how to build one for cheap, with items you most likely already have on your property.
Then you simply roast it in the oven or slow-cook in a crock pot until the meat is falling off the bone.
For me, this is a holiday meal served with a simple baked potato, a big scoop of corn, and some homemade biscuits. You could certainly pick this meat and put it on a bun for an awesome pulled pork sandwich, or even turn it into carnitas for a burrito!
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Picnic Shoulder | $7.00 to $10.00 |
| 4 Baked Potatoes | $4.00 |
| Can of Corn | $1.00 |
Gnocchi
Gnocchi is a stomach-filling Italian-style potato dumpling that you can easily use to feed a family of four for less than $10.
All you need is four baked potatoes, a cup of flour, and an egg or two to make the gnocchi.
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You want to get as much steam out of the baked potatoes as possible, before removing the skins and mashing them with a fork or a ricer. Then sprinkle in some salt, a small amount of flour, and a large egg.
Gently knead the gnocchi dough with your finger, adding little doses of flour until it comes together. You want it to be just firm enough to roll out into a “Snake” on a floured cutting board. Then chop the rolled dough into thumb size chunks. Then roll it with a fork to give the gnocchi texture enough to hold onto a sauce.
The easiest sauce is a cheap can of Alfredo from a discount dollar store or pesto made from garden basil. You can eat it as is or serve it with some chicken chunks of grilled pork sausage.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| 4 Baked Potatoes | $3.00 |
| Cup of Flour | $0.50 |
| 1-2 Large Eggs | $0.50 |
| Can of Alfredo Sauce | $2.00 |
Yogurt Parfait with Fruit & Nuts
Yogurt on its own isn’t a complete protein source, but it is a good source of protein. Over the years, I’ve learned that creating yogurt parfaits or sundaes is a great way to enhance my fitness and muscle-building diet.
I include ingredients like chopped berries, fresh fruit, or jam.
Buying fruits in-season will save you money, and you can even make your own canned jams. Some fruits, like strawberries, are also easy to grow yourself on a budget.
I put down a hearty layer of chopped fruit, with perhaps a squirt of lemon juice for brightness and vitamin C. Then spoon some cheap low-fat yogurt from a discount tub of yogurt over it. I top it with a big handful of walnuts for crunch as well as to create a complete amino acid protein profile.
| Ingredient | Price |
|---|---|
| Discount 32 oz Yogurt | $3.00 |
| 1-pound in-season Berries | $2.00 |
| Small Bag of Walnuts | $3.00 |
With some smart shopping, there are a lot of flavorful and nutritious meals you can feed your family for $10 or less. The trick to getting through a crisis like this is to know how to work with inexpensive protein sources.
Chicken leg quarters, pork picnic shoulders, and shanks can be slow cooked to tenderize them. It also gives you a lot of gelatin, rendered fat, and easily digestible protein that can be added to a pot of rice for a belly-filling meal.
The rice and bean burritos are a culinary blank canvas that you can use to add all kinds of other ingredients. Including meat picked from those slow-cooked, discount primal cuts. These are very cheap ingredients that can feed a family of four to six or more for under $10.
Comfort foods like American goulash, tuna mac, and potato gnocchi are also great ways to feed a lot of hungry mouths for cheap during a crisis. Best of all they’re easy to make, which saves you time to put toward other important things.
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Preppers do you just think of your human family members in a crisis scenario only?
Do we get caught up with our food preps we forget the others?
What contingency plans do we have for our pets, mainly cats, dogs and backyard animals in a real crisis besides the feared SHTF stuff?
What plans have many preppers come up with for their survival too?
I am still researching what to do for them.
We see mainly in California with the fake wildfires that are not set by Mother Nature. Pets are left in a panic of humans to survive themselves, some pets and farm animals don’t make it. What plans do you have for your loved animals in bug out time?
Sad to say, some of those pets will be on the menu when SHTF happens, its a reality some don’t want to face.
Mine has her own bug-out bag saddled over her back. It has food for a week, water for at least 2 days, blanket, a small first aid kit. some misc. like a ferro rod such. It weighs 9lbs. she’s a 9 month, 65-pound dog. She probably can carry 10lbs more without suffering.
We have six cats. I can’t advise on what would work for anything other than cats. I have a food-safe 5 gallon bucket filled with their normal kibble and it’s sealed & ready to go in a SHTF situation. I also have water purifying tablets for any water that is obtained from a questionable source. If things get so bad that we run out of kibble, my contingency plan involves canned meats (stuff that I canned myself as well as canned meats from the grocery store) and rice that can be cooked and mixed with the meat to give them a satisfying, protein filled meal. I saw one comment saying that they’re stocked up on tuna, and that’s good for an occasional treat, but vets advise against a constant or really regular diet of tuna for cats due to the mercury content the fish may potentially have. Plus, you shouldn’t give any animal a meat that’s packed in oil. The meat & rice thing would likely work for dogs too (along with any other obligate carnivores we keep as pets/companions). If you’re planning for your pets, you might want to check with your veterinarian for what in particular you can safely add to their diets in the way of alternate grains and possibly vegetables.
We also have a 3 lb bag of clumping litter and plan on using shallow cardboard boxes with just enough litter to entice them to use the boxes
Hezzii, bless your heart for thinking about your cats however, one 3Lb bag of litter isn’t going to go very far for 6 cats. I’d think about stocking up on more of that if they can’t go outside. And, you might rethink the cardboard thing and get some shallow plastic pans. Clumping or not, that litter won’t keep the cardboard from absorbing the urine and it’ll be soaked, falling apart and stinky and, in no time, you’ll have to discard it, unless you have plenty of plastic bags to line it with. Even then, their claws will tear holes in it and the cardboard will be riuned anyway.
I already do this, have a Home Depot “cement mixer box” *this is GREAT and only like 8 bucks, they have two sizes, one big and one BIGGER if you have multiple cats, look for it at HD, seriously great for kitties! then I use a dollar tree “pasta scoop” it is black, very hard hard plastic and use this as a “kitty scoop” for the litter, will last a lifetime, one dollar! won’t break either. I do use boxes of a good enough size for different rooms in case we are stuck in another room, kitty uses it no problem. personally I love ULTRA kitty litter (blue/white by Dr. Elsey) that is GREAT, 20 bucks for 40 lbs. I love my animals, yes, I buy mackerel, sardines, tuna in water (only, not oil!), some good ingredient kitty food *blue buffalo chicken and turkey both* and I do stock up, good water too! I also have plaque off *for dental in case (look on amazon and read comments), I have vitamins additionally for pets and use silver for all around. I am constantly replenishing the stock each week, I’m on a budget but I do it, cats are carnivores so personally no rice, oats, etc. I also get healthy treats. If I had a dog, *will again in near future, I will stock up keeping dog’s needs in mind, no crap ingredients, vitamins, etc. God bless, pray and prepare for any eventuality, it’s coming.
You can go fishing for food for cats, or beg the scraps (heads, etc) from others who do fish, or beg or barter unwanted poultry parts like livers and hearts. Dogs can eat meat scraps, fish, and people food scraps. Be sure to have a fishing pole in your stockpile, and don’t worry about a license. If you are in a SHTF scenario, everyone will be fishing.
Cooking marrow scrap in a Dutch oven over a wood fire could not be anything but delicious, don’t wait for TEOTWAWKI to try it.
My favorite poverty meal has always been one can of pork and beans and one boiled russet potato mixed together and spiced with salt, pepper, and ketchup packets from McDonalds.
Today I am slow cooking pork shoulder in a kettle grill even though the s has not hit the fan, beautiful tasty shredded pork with sweet potato Tempura is not survival food, it is a treat!
Yes, we see more articles on the preps for humans than we have for our pets and backyard chickens. Not sure what to really fix up for them in a bug out situation. Do other preppers have a plan or just abandon the poor frighten creatures to nature?
if you value life, I would never abandon my animals but some may do this, not me. I would look at other sites that raise chickens and ask them, or if one has goats or other animals. don’t wait either. I would NEVER abandon an animal. do some research. here is one, perhaps; secretsofsurvival.com just search online and ask them!
We have two terribly spoiled cats so we stock up on canned
tuna whenever there is a case lot sale at Smiths.
They prefer their gourmet Fancy Feast but when things get
bad we will all have to live with some disappointment.
For an easy bread product I’d suggest Krusteaz pancake
mix and Jiffy biscuit mix.All you need is water and fire to
make either one.
Does anyone know what has happened to Prepperwebsite.com?
Even Apple Tech Support can’t figure it out.
Can you make a list of foods like this for people who are gluten free and cannot have wheat or processed mayo etc? Thanks
try organic foods, buy organic flour and let go of processed anything.
Good afternoon. First off, I am fortunate enough to own a H R vacuum freeze dryer. Although you can freeze dry raw meat, my preference is to cook it. I use a pressure cooker for most of my cooking but will use the grill and stovetop. As Claude mentions all these meals, in a SHTF scenario, especially a grid down situation, you will still need a way to preserve the perishable ingredients or go daily fresh. With this unit you, while we still can, are able to preserve your meals and other foods including all the meals mentioned by Claude, in mylar pouches with oxygen absorbers, heat sealed, and stored in buckets, containers and boxes. The shelf life will be many years. This machine is a step up from dehydration but is cost inhibitive. All meats, veggies, eggs (raw and cooked), yogurt, fruit and whatever you can dream up. I don’t throw out my leftover coffee, I accumulate enough to fill the trays, and I have freeze dried coffee, The beauty of this method is that it retains 98% of the foods value compared to dehydration, about 50 to 60%. Folks, stay vigilant and safe, as prepping is our survival for the future.
Thanks Robert , I am going to checkout your freeze dryer…..sounds like it might be fun to play around with .
Look at the site. Harvest Right. All the info you need is there. I’ve had mine over 3 yrs. and have not regretted it. It’s never broke down and the customer service for any questions is spot on.
Ramen noodles, vegetables, and canned chicken make a quick, easy meal. Filling, but may not be the healthiest choice.
Rice, beans, and sausage, makes a fine meal. A little cornbread on the side and you can still have a meal for under $10.
The trick to staying under the $10 limit is to use a lot of your cheaper items and use the more expensive items for flavoring. Foraging can also help stretch the food budget, but sometimes prep work costs more than the savings.
Looking through the list … sounds like my forever diet. I have lived, since on my own at 16, a frugal lifestyle. Except while serving in the Navy … These kinds and more specifically these meals, have always been a go to meal. If I had $5k in the bank, I still ate this kind of stuff, prepared at home. Now 74 a few years retired, I can and still do eat like this. Maybe it was the boy scouts motto, ‘be prepared’ or just too bull headed to work for people I didn’t like or respect … kind of forced to live on the cheap, and used to it.
A once a month meal out, having someone else doing the cooking, is and always has been a treat. A long time ago, I realized how fortunate we as a nation, and as citizens of this nation were / are … and smart people stay aware and don’t abuse that right and privilege.
I can’t eat alot of those since I’m allergic to rice.
My 10 Cheap Budget Meals:
1) My favorite poverty meal is kidney beans and rice, (aka red beans and rice). Add some Parmesan cheese (or not) and some butter.
2) Another is egg drop soup, which is one egg, and chicken bullion. Boil a broth with bullion and then drop in an egg, and stir gently breaking the yolk, turn off the flame and wait a couple of minutes until the egg cooks. Add pepper, and enjoy a warm soup that has protein and salty satisfaction. If you really want to upgrade it, boil in a carrot and a chopped celery stalk until soft, then drop in the egg.
3) A sliced tomato sandwich is delicious while on a budget.
4) A single large baked potato with butter, salt and pepper, can fill you up and is still pretty inexpensive, while containing essential vitamins such as potassium, C, B6 Magnesium, and fiber. Better yet, make it a sweet potato.
5) Potato soup; boil a potato in some water, and add in milk, is an awesome meal on a cold day. Add in a carrot and some celery, it’s simple, delicious, and nutritious.
7) Cabbage and carrots. When I was about 18 and on my own I would buy a head of cabbage (then it cost about 25 cents a pound) and some carrots, and make cabbage soup. add in some chicken bullion or a chicken thigh for a complete meal. It was filling and warm, and full of vitamins.
8) Pasta, pasta, and more pasta. Pasta with garlic and butter, pasta with gravy made from beef or chicken bullion and a tablespoon of flour or pasta with tomato sauce. You can pasta everything; soup, mac and cheese, pasta is a great filler. You can do the same with rice, so I won’t make that another numbered point, but rice and beef gravy is a great filling meal, rice with fried veggies, rice with tomato sauce for anyone with a gluten issue.
9) Fried veggies with soy or other Asian sauces like teriyaki, and rice. Vegans live on veggies, broccoli being very high in proteins.
10) Saved the best for last; did you know that you can make your own noodles using just an egg and flour? Start with one egg per person that you intend to feed. 3 people=3 eggs. Then add enough flour to make a dough, salt and pepper, and roll it super thin… SUPER thin…(thinner than a pie crust, almost see-through) keeping it well floured, and then cut into strips or squares. Toss them in more flour to keep them separated. Put the noodles into boiling broth and let it cook until done. You’ll get awesome fresh noodles, and gravy from the flour on the noodles.
Enjoy!