Large families eat large amounts of food, every day, and our large family grocery budgets could use all the help they can get. Am I right? If there’s one thing that nearly every large family mom I know is on the lookout for, it’s a good source of cheap meals for large families recipes.
We need a trusty list of large family recipes, all in one place so we can feed our big families without busting the budget. So I scoured my site, and most of the rest of the internet, haha, to bring it to you!
You’re gonna want to bookmark this post. Just sayin’. Here we go –
Cheap Meals for Large Families Recipes
Large Family Favorite Chicken Recipes
- Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
- Large Family Chicken Pot Pie – freezer meal, makes 4 pans!
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Alfredo – a Trim Healthy Mama twist!
- Easy Chicken Ramen
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
- Peppered Lemon Chicken – slow cooker, freezer meal
- Chicken Alfredo Cauliflower Rice Bake
- White Chicken Chili – Instant Pot, keto-friendly
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats – THM S, low carb, keto, gluten-free
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken
- Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli
- Low Carb Chicken Mozzarella Bake
- Double Layer Chicken Parmesan Bake
- Coconut Lime Chicken – Instant Pot or slow cooker
- Shredded Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches
- Lime & Cilantro Chicken – Instant Pot, THM, low carb, keto
- Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Wraps
- Spicy Chicken Legs – Instant Pot or slow cooker
- Trader Joe’s Secret Ingredient Grilled Chicken
- Crock Pot Creamy Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- 5-Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken Burritos
Large Family Favorite Ground Beef Recipes
- Slow Cooker Meatloaf
- Beef Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Low Carb Beef and Cheddar Cauliflower Bake
- Shepherd’s Pie Freezer Meal
- Cowboy Casserole – Instant Pot
- Beef Stroganoff Freezer Meal
- Mini Meatloaves
- Skillet Beef Stroganoff
- Easy Homemade Meatballs – large family freezer meals recipe makes approx. 17-18 dozen meatballs, depending on size
- Taco Bake Freezer Meal Recipe for Large Families – makes 4-5 pans!
- Ground Beef Spaghetti Skillet
- Large Family Stuffed Peppers Instant Pot Freezer Meal – low carb, THM – S, keto
- Burrito Pie Freezer Meal
- Slow Cooker Homemade Sloppy Joes
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Easy Taco Cups
- Korean Beef Bowl
Lasagna
Hearty and filling, lasagnas will always be favorite cheap large family meals recipes! Enjoy this roundup of lasagna variations!
- Large Family Easy Lasagna Freezer Meal
- Slow Cooker Lasagna
- Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rollups
- Poor Man’s Lasagna
- Large Family Cabbage Lasagna Freezer Meal
- Spinach Lasagna Rollups
- Lasagna Rollups
What are some good cheap dinner ideas?
Nothing says cheap meals for large families quite like soups. Paired with a sandwich, or just plain old bread and butter, soups can really help a large family stretch the grocery budget.
Easy Soups
- Low Carb Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
- Vegetable Beef Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Homemade Potato Soup
- Homemade Chicken Soup
- Slow Cooker Cabbage Soup – Trim Healthy Mama inspired!
- White Chicken Chili – Instant Pot, keto-friendly
- 20-Minute Taco Soup
What’s better than cheap? You guessed it, cheap AND easy!! Toss in some ingredients and let the oven do the rest of the work with a favorite casserole. Casseroles make some of the best (and easiest!) cheap meals for large families recipes! You can also find more cheap meals for large families in this post with over 100 large family dinner recipes!!
Casseroles
- Taco Bake Freezer Meal Recipe for Large Families – makes 4-5 pans!
- Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole | Large Family Style – makes 4-5 pans!
- Scalloped Potato and Ground Beef Casserole
- Large Family Chicken Pot Pie – makes 4 pans
- Crock Pot Creamy Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Tater Tots Casserole
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Baked Ziti Freezer Meal
- Pizza Casserole Oven Bake Freezer Meal
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
What should you eat when you’re broke?
Desperate for a cheap meal to feed a big family? What would Dave Ramsey say? While I can’t say for sure, I think it’s a safe bet that it would include the words rice & beans! 😀
Rice & Beans
- Jamerrill’s Large Family Stir Fry Fried Rice Recipe – omit chicken if budget doesn’t allow
- Mexican Brown Rice Bake – Gluten Free – leave out the chicken for a vegetarian meal or a truly tight budget
- 15 Bean Pot Pie – vegetarian
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Cuban Black Beans – vegetarian
- Nacho Casserole
- Spanish Rice
Potatoes
- Leftover Chili Baked Potato Casserole
- Homemade Potato Soup
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Cowboy Casserole – Instant Pot
- Scalloped Potato and Ground Beef Casserole
- Ham and Cheese Potato Bake Freezer Meal – makes three 9″ x 13″ pans!
- Homemade Mashed Potatoes for the Freezer
How do you feed large crowds?
If you’re wondering how do you feed large crowds then think no further than the ideas listed above such as stews and soups, easy casseroles, cheap crockpot meals for large families, use beans and rice, and stretch what proteins such as chicken or beef that you have available.
As a large family mom, when I have to feed a large crowd in addition to my household I usually go for making big batch tacos, slow cooker sloppy joes, big batch spaghetti, or pressure cooker baked potatoes to name a few. For the big batch tacos or baked potatoes, I’d set up like a “taco bar” or “baked potato bar” and spread out all the fixings for our additional guests.
Feeding a Large Family
Sticking to the budget while feeding a large family may be hard some weeks, but it can be done! I hope you found some inspiration in this roundup list of cheap meals for large families.
For even more large family recipe ideas, check out my post entitled 100+ Freezer Meals for Big Families. I just know you’ll find some recipe ideas there that your big family will enjoy!!
