As part of our menu planning tips for your own financial freedom, I wanted to include these tips for stretching meats farther in your meals. Often the most popular question asked regarding grocery budgeting is how to save money on meat. This is especially a big deal for those who are more of a, “meat and potatoes” family. Whether you are looking for ways to stretch ground meat, chicken, pork or even steaks farther these tips will help you tremendously. Check out all of our Spending Freeze Blog Posts.
Tips For Stretching Meats Farther In Your Meals
Mix with beans. Ground meats of all kinds can easily be stretched farther in many dishes simply by adding in beans. Dry pinto beans and black beans are excellent options to keep in your pantry since they blend so well with meats. Mashed or whole cooked pinto or black beans are great for adding to taco meat, enchiladas and even chili. This is one of the easiest ways to take a pound of ground meat and make it feed 8-10 people for only pennies more.
Make Kebabs. Kebabs are a great way to serve chunks of pork, chicken or beef without buying tons of meat. When you add vegetables to the Kebabs, it definitely stretches the meat farther. By creating what looks like a large portion on a kebab, you are actually fooling the eyes into thinking you are eating more. One pound of chicken can easily feed 6-8 people when cubed and added to a kebab with fresh vegetables or even fresh fruit like pineapple.
Mix with a starch. Another great way to stretch ground meats is to mix with potatoes, bread crumbs or rice. Meatballs and meatloaf are both a favorite not only because they are tasty, but because they are inexpensive and stretch meats much farther. Another option is to mix your ground meat with vegetables and rice to stuff in bell peppers. A little goes a long way with this method. Use your coupon skills to save money by keeping rice, bread crumbs and instant potatoes in your pantry.
Add to stews, soups or chili. If you can get your family to eat stews, soups or chili you can easily stertch meat twice as far. By utilizing items you have couponed and added to your stockpile, you can build a simple pot of chili for only a few dollars. Ground meat goes so much farther when added with beans, tomatoes and vegetables.
Make more casseroles. Instead of just a serving of meat and potatoes, you can easily add that meat to a casserole with pasta, rice or potatoes and make it a full meal that goes farther. Enchiladas, Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Noodle Casserole, Beef Stroganoff and more are great choices to help stretch the meat you have on hand farther. Mixing vegetables, sauce and pasta together can make sure everyone has a great portion of food that includes a little of everything that is satisfying and tastes great.
Think outside the box and use these tips for stretching meat farther in your meals. Your family will remain happy while your budget stays in tact. You don’t have to have tons of meat at every meal to satisfy your meat and potato fans. Just make sure what they are served is hearty, satisfying and delicious.
Comment your meat stretching tips below!
Don’t forget to save any bones from your meats to make bone broth!
I often save my vegetables scraps, and any chicken or beef bones in the freezer until I have enough to make a batch of broth in my slow cooker.
That’s a great tip Sabrina! We just did that with ham the other week and had ham & bean soup. We froze the extra that we made for the spending freeze! LOL 🙂
~Steph