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Budget meal planning

One-pot meals on a budget

One pot is cheaper than one recipe with four pans, because it forces cheap ingredients to do more work. Here is why, and the dishes that prove it.

By Joao Dunlap · · 4 min read

A pot of kidney bean stew served with rice

The short version

  • One pot means fewer ingredients that each have to do more — which is also what makes it cheap.
  • A lentil or bean base runs about $0.24–$0.25 a serving before anything else.
  • Stews and chillis are the only dishes that genuinely improve reheated. Cook double.
  • A slow cooker earns its money on cheap cuts, not on convenience.

One-pot cooking is usually sold on the washing up. That is the smallest of its advantages. The real one is that a single pot forces every ingredient to contribute to the same thing, which means you need fewer of them — and fewer ingredients is what a cheap week actually looks like.

It is also the category of food that reheats best, so one cook covers two or three meals without anything tasting like leftovers.

Why one pot is cheaper

Fewer ingredientsA dish that cooks together cannot rely on six components. Short lists are cheap lists.
Cheap cuts workLong, wet cooking is exactly what tough, cheap meat needs. Expensive cuts are wasted on it.
Pulses shineLentils and beans at around $0.24 a serving are built for this and carry the dish alone.
Scales for freeDoubling a stew costs one extra tin and no extra effort. Doubling a composed plate doubles the work.

The three shapes worth knowing

The pulse stew

Onion, carrot, a tin of tomatoes and a pulse. That is the cheapest hot dinner available — roughly $0.24 of lentils plus about a dollar of vegetables, feeding four. Change the spices and it is Indian, Italian or Moroccan without changing the cost.

The grain skillet

Rice or another grain cooked in the same pan as everything else, absorbing the liquid instead of being boiled separately. It uses less water, less gas and one fewer pan, and the grain picks up the flavour rather than being a plain bed underneath.

The slow-cooked cheap cut

This is the one where a slow cooker earns its keep. Cheap, tough cuts — shoulder, shin, bone-in thigh — are cheap precisely because they need hours. A slow cooker converts that from a Sunday commitment into something you start before work.

One-pot dinners from the library

Stews, chillis and skillets that cook in a single vessel and reheat better than they started. From the NeatEat library, which will slot them into a week costed against your store.

Hearty Kidney Bean Stew with Rice45 min

Hearty Kidney Bean Stew with Rice

One pot, and it improves overnight.

Slow-Cooked Lentil and Vegetable Stew with Yogurt80 min

Slow-Cooked Lentil and Vegetable Stew with Yogurt

Pulses and time. The cheapest dinner there is.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili75 min

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Freezes perfectly, costs almost nothing.

Slow-Cooked Beef and Vegetable Stew110 min

Slow-Cooked Beef and Vegetable Stew

Cheap cut, long cook, nothing to watch.

Hearty Potato and Lentil Stew20 min

Hearty Potato and Lentil Stew

Makes dinner and the next day's lunch in one pot.

Simple Black Bean and Rice Skillet45 min

Simple Black Bean and Rice Skillet

One pan, under 40 cents of protein a serving.

Is a slow cooker worth buying?

On a tight budget, only if you will use it for cheap cuts and pulses. Used that way it pays for itself quickly, because it makes the cheapest meat in the shop taste like the expensive kind.

  • Worth it for: shoulder, shin, brisket, bone-in thighs, dried beans and lentils, big batches for the freezer.
  • Not worth it for: lean cuts, fish, anything you want browned or crisp, or anything that cooks in twenty minutes anyway.
  • The real saving is that it makes the cheap cut the obvious choice rather than the compromise.

Frequently asked questions

What are the cheapest one-pot meals?

Anything built on dried pulses. A lentil or bean stew - onion, carrot, tinned tomatoes and a pulse - costs roughly $0.24 to $0.25 of protein per serving plus about a dollar of vegetables, and feeds four. Changing the spices turns the same base into a different cuisine at no extra cost.

Are one-pot meals actually cheaper?

Yes, for a reason that has little to do with the pot. A dish cooking as one thing cannot rely on six separate components, so the ingredient list is shorter - and short lists are cheap lists. One-pot dishes also reheat better than almost anything else, so a double batch covers two or three meals with no additional work.

Is a slow cooker worth it on a budget?

Only if you use it for cheap cuts and dried pulses, which is where it genuinely pays. Long, wet cooking is exactly what tough inexpensive meat needs, so a slow cooker makes the cheapest cut in the shop the obvious choice rather than a compromise. It is poor value for lean cuts, fish, or anything you want crisp.

What one-pot meals freeze well?

Stews, chillis and soups without cream or potato in them all freeze essentially unchanged, and several improve. Freeze in single portions rather than one block, and cook any rice or pasta fresh when you reheat rather than freezing it in the dish.