77 Cheap, Easy, Good Tasting Lentil and Bean Recipes

 Save money on groceries when you are broke or not. You will want these cheap, delicious recipes even when you can afford more than poor people food.

We all spend a significant percentage of our budget on buying food. One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to plan meals around cheap ingredients.

Beans are one of the cheapest sources of protein available. Find out what the other cheap ingredients are in How to Make a Cheap Grocery List When Money is Tight and plan your menus around these ingredients.

Planning meals saves money because you eat at home more and waste less food. Planning meals around cheap ingredients keep costs as low as possible.

If you have rarely cooked with beans you may wonder do I use canned beans or dried pinto, kidney or black beans? Cooking dried beans is cheaper than using canned beans but takes more planning.

You can cook up a pound or two of dried beans and freeze them in 1-2 cup portions and they will be as convenient as canned beans once they are cooked.

How Do I Soften Dried Beans?

Don’t be intimidated by cooking with dried beans. You soak them, drain the water and then cook them.  Draining the soaking water reduces gas people get from eating beans.

How Do I Cook Dried Beans?

I usually wash the beans by putting them in a colander and rinsing them off. Then I put them in a pan and add water until it is a few inches over the top of the beans. Bring the water to a boil. Turn the pot off and let it sit for a couple of hours or more. Drain the water. Now your beans are ready to cook for one to three hours. Different varieties are different so check the package.

Other options are to use the process above, but instead of bringing them to a boil let them soak overnight. Or you can cook them in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. If you like them really soft cook them for 40-45 minutes in your Instant Pot.

What is Good to Eat With Beans?

Grains or dairy make beans a complete protein. Bread, tortillas or rice are all traditional accompaniments to bean dishes.

How Do I add more beans to my diet?

I often strategize with people on how to cut down on what they spend on food. Usually, they easily understand cooking at home more and eating out less is good for their pocketbook. They also get that planning meals to cook at home is a big help to make that happen.

Often when I suggest eating more beans and lentils I’m met with either, “I don’t like beans” or a wrinkled nose.

I think this is because of a lack of knowledge. There are so many different ways to cook beans & lentils that you have a different tasty lentil or bean recipe every day of the month.

To prove this to you I went to the internet and searched blogs for tasty, cheap bean and lentil recipes. I am sure you can find a few you will want to try.

Related: Free Printable Master Grocery List and Meal Planning Sheet

Easy Red Bean Recipes

Slow Cooker Red Beans

Slow Cooker Cajun Red Beans and Rice

Non-Soup Lentil Recipes

An advantage lentils have over beans is that they need no soaking and cook fast. Wonderful food for busy, budget-minded parents.

(Secret Ingredient) Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes

Easy Green Lentil Daal

Vegan Shepherds Pie

Vegan Cauliflower Lentil Loaf

Mushroom and Lentil Casserole with Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Broccoli Lentil Stir Fry

Slow Cooker Lentil Tacos and Popped Lentils Salad Topper

Indian Dal

Best Curried Lentils

BBQ Lentil Bake

One Pot Lentil Quinoa with Asparagus and Peas

Lentil Tacos

Mujaddara (vegan Middle Eastern rice and lentil dish)

Simple Spinach Dahl

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Having the right tools makes meal planning and prepping so much easier here are my favorite tools for making dirt cheap meals.

Lentil Soup Recipes

There are many variations of lentil soup. If you’ve never tried lentil soup you are in for a treat.

Lentil Mushroom Soup

Soup in Sour Dough Bread Bowls

Red Lentil Spinach Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup

InstaPot Mexican Lentil Soup

Hungarian Red Lentil Soup

Red Lentil Soup with Carrots and Turmeric

Slow Cooker Chicken and Lentil Chowder

Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Butter/Lima Beans

Spanish Beans with Tomatoes

Vegan Coconut Korma

This recipe calls for gram marsala, which is an Indian spice blend. One type of gram marsala is very different from the next because some have more of one spice than the other. My favorite is one that a friend brought back from an Indian market in California. If you don’t have an Indian market near you Amazon has several to choose from. I prefer blends that don’t have cinnamon or cloves as the first or second ingredient, but you may have a different preference.

Chickpea Recipes

Hummus (28 different kinds)

You can eat hummus as a dip or spread it on a wrap with loads of vegetables or spread it on your toast.

Eggplant Chickpea Peanut Curry

Pasta e Ceci (Italian Chickpea and Pasta Soup)

Black Bean Main Dish Recipes

Black beans are my favorite bean for burritos.

Vegan Mushroom Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Spinach, Tomato and Spinach Frittata

Mushroom Black Bean Vegetarian Burritos

Easy Crockpot Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Corn and Red Pepper Tacos

Black Bean Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos

Black Bean Soup with Lime Salsa

Pinto Bean Meal

Pinto beans are traditional in Mexican cooking.

Frijoles Charros (Mexican Charro Pinto Beans)

White Beans

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Ham and Bean Soup Instant Pot

Vegetable Bean Casserole

Hearty Mediterranean White Bean Soup

White Bean Soup the Italian Way

Kidney Beans

Kidney Bean Curry

Vegan Grain Stew with Sweet Potatoes, Hazelnuts and Crispy Bread Crumbs

Mixed Beans

Delicious Stick to Your Ribs Bean Soup

WW 0 Point Bean Soup

One Pot Vegan Minestrone Soup

Which of these yummy bean or lentil recipes are you going to try? Find more budget minded meal ideas in More-with-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) and Dining on a Dime Cookbook.

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How to Make Ends Meet: A Single Mom’s Ultimate Guide