21 Cheap Dinner Ideas for 2 (Under $10 a Night)

Fried rice is the classic use-it-up dinner: day-old rice, a couple of eggs, a handful of frozen peas and carrots and a splash of soy sauce. It works best with cold rice, which makes it a natural second night after any rice dinner.

It is cheap because almost every part is a pantry or freezer staple, and it quietly uses the odds and ends of onion or cabbage in the crisper.

Mashed black beans and a little shredded cheese inside a crisp tortilla, with salsa on the side. It is filling, fast and liked by almost everyone at the table.

Beans do the work meat usually does, and a block of cheese you shred yourself goes further than a bag of pre-shredded.

This one is often called shakshuka: eggs gently cooked in a spiced tomato sauce, scooped up with bread. A can of crushed tomatoes and a few eggs make a dinner that feels like more than it costs.

It is cheap because canned tomatoes are one of the lowest-cost vegetables in the store, and bread is the side and the spoon.

Instant noodles get a soft egg, a handful of frozen vegetables or spinach and maybe a few slices of leftover meat. It is the cheapest dinner on this list and still a hot bowl on a cold night.

The packet seasoning is salty, so many people use half and add a splash of soy sauce or a squeeze of lime instead.

Taco night is easy to keep cheap: seasoned ground beef, soft tortillas, shredded lettuce, a tomato and cheese. A homemade spice mix from chili powder and cumin costs less than a seasoning packet.

It is cheap because a little meat feels like a lot once it is spread across four tacos with toppings.

A jar of marinara stirred with browned ground beef or Italian sausage turns a box of pasta into a proper dinner. A simple green salad on the side makes it feel complete.

Pasta is one of the lowest cost-per-serving starches, and the sauce stretches a small amount of meat.

Thin strips of boneless chicken thigh, shredded cabbage, carrots and a simple soy-garlic sauce over rice. Cabbage is the quiet hero here: it stays crisp in the fridge for weeks.

Thighs often cost less per pound than breasts and stay tender if dinner runs late.

Saucy ground beef on soft buns with a crunchy coleslaw on the side. It is a nostalgic, cozy dinner that comes together on one burner.

It is cheap because the sauce is mostly pantry tomato and the bun does the filling.

Chicken thighs, a can of beans, canned tomatoes, frozen corn and broth go in the pot in the morning. At dinner the chicken shreds with a fork and the soup gets crushed tortilla chips and cheese on top.

It is cheap because one pot makes dinner tonight plus two lunch portions, all from pantry cans and a small pack of chicken.

Chili is the slow cooker classic, and a half batch fits a small pot. Use one can of beans instead of three and half a pound of beef, or skip the beef and use two kinds of beans.

The second night, chili tops baked potatoes or rice, so it feels like a new dinner rather than a repeat.

Sliced smoked sausage, a can of white beans, a little broth and a few handfuls of kale or spinach, with bread for dipping. It tastes like it took all day, because it did, without you watching it.

A small amount of sausage flavors the whole pot, so the beans carry most of the meal.

Canned tuna on bread with a slice of cheese, toasted in a skillet, next to a mug of tomato soup. It is a diner dinner at a pantry price.

Canned fish keeps for years, so it is the fast protein that never goes bad in the fridge.

Sliced smoked sausage roasted with bell peppers and onion on a small pan, served over rice or in a bun. One pan, one cutting board, done.

It is cheap because one sausage link pack covers two dinners, and peppers and onion are often the low-cost produce of the week.

Refrigerated or frozen tortellini cook in a few minutes. Toss them with jarred sauce and a couple of handfuls of spinach that wilt right in the pot.

Tortellini costs more than plain pasta, but the cheese filling means you need no meat to make it filling.

Dry lentils cook in about half an hour with carrots, onion, canned tomatoes and broth, no soaking needed. A few slices of toast on the side turn it into dinner.

A bag of dry lentils is one of the cheapest proteins in the store and lasts for months in the pantry.

Roasted sweet potato cubes, black beans, corn and salsa over brown rice. It is colorful, filling and good cold the next day for lunch.

Sweet potatoes and canned beans are low-cost and keep well, which matters when you shop for two.

Chickpeas simmered with canned tomatoes or coconut milk, onion and curry powder, or a jar of simmer sauce if you want it easy. Spoon it over rice with a handful of frozen spinach stirred in.

A spice jar you already own does the heavy lifting, and chickpeas cost about the same as any canned bean.

One pot of rice, then two toppings: maybe teriyaki-style chicken for one person and buttered peas and cheese for the other. Everyone builds their own bowl.

Rice is the base that costs almost nothing, and the toppings can be leftovers from earlier in the week.

Store-bought naan or flatbread with jarred sauce and cheese, topped one way on one half and another way on the other. Pepperoni for one, peppers and onions for the other.

It replaces a delivery pizza, which is where many couples' food budgets go on a Friday.

Frozen shrimp, garlic, butter and a squeeze of lemon tossed with spaghetti. It is the dinner that looks most like a restaurant plate on this list.

It is still cheap because a bag of frozen shrimp often covers two date nights, and the rest of the plate is pasta and pantry.

A pan-seared pork chop each, mashed potatoes and green beans, with applesauce on the side. It is the classic Sunday dinner, sized for two.

Bone-in pork chops are often one of the lower-cost cuts of meat, and potatoes and frozen green beans keep the plate cheap.