31 frugal recipes

Rabbit cake is an old-fashioned Pennsylvania Dutch comfort bake: tender deboned rabbit layered with creamy potato filling and a simple stock gravy, then baked until golden and bubbling. Frugal, deeply savory.

Homemade Scotch broth simmers meaty beef bones with pearl barley, carrots, celery, and turnip into a clear, restorative Highland soup. A frugal, cold-weather classic from start to finish.

Oklahoma beans and cornbread simmers dried pinto beans low and slow with ham until thick and creamy, served with sliced raw onion and a wedge of cornbread. A hearty, frugal one-pot supper with deep flavor.

Polish-style kishke, buckwheat groats simmered in a rich neck-bone broth with onion, garlic, carrot, and paprika, then stuffed into casings. A traditional, frugal sausage that fries up crisp and savory.

Hamburger hash simmers ground beef with cubed potatoes and a whole onion in one pot. A frugal four-ingredient dinner from the pantry that tastes like home cooking from a simpler era.

Stuffed monster zucchini is the answer to a giant garden zucchini: halved, hollowed, and packed with a savory cumin-thyme rice and lentil pilaf, then baked until tender. A hearty, frugal vegan main.

End-of-month vegetable soup made with whatever is in the fridge: cabbage, potatoes, carrots, celery, bacon ends, and a bouquet garni simmered in white wine. A frugal, flexible pantry-clearing soup.

One-pot vegan cabbage stew with potato, carrot, onion, garlic, white wine, thyme, and sage. A hearty peasant-style stew that simmers in 30 minutes and makes a frugal, filling weeknight dinner.

Gravy soup is an old-fashioned roux-based broth with chicken fat, flour, and stock, topped with croutons and grated Gruyere. A frugal European-style starter that turns pantry staples into comfort.

Raisin cookies use a boiled-water cooking method that plumps the raisins into the sweet brown sugar syrup before baking. No eggs, no butter required. Frugal Depression-era cookie that still satisfies.

Mixed bean soup: a hearty medley of ten beans, peas, and lentils soaked and slow-simmered into a thick, savory pot, finished with red wine and fresh parsley. Frugal, high-fibre comfort in a bowl.

Egg and vegetable rice bake folds beaten eggs through cooked rice, mushrooms, and onion, then bakes it into a fluffy, frittata-like casserole. A fast, frugal vegetarian way to use up leftover rice.

Cottage cheese pie is an old-fashioned custard pie with a tangy curd filling lightened by beaten egg whites and warmed with vanilla. A simple, frugal dessert with a creamy texture between cheesecake and custard.

This old-fashioned egg drop soup drizzles a thin batter through a colander into rich beef broth, creating tender, wispy noodle-like strands in minutes. A frugal, warming bowl that stretches pantry staples into something special.

Ham vegetable soup that puts a leftover ham bone to work, roasting it first for deep flavor, then simmering into a hearty broth with carrots, celery, onion, and cubed ham. A smart, frugal use for a holiday ham bone.