Savvy Dinner Plan: This budget dinner costs less than $3 a server

Here’s how to make this budget-friendly meal for some midweek dinner magic.

Kim Coverdale

2 min read

March 12, 2024 - 12:00AM

As a recipe developer, I’ve learned a handful of tricks of the trade for keeping down costs and creating meals that save money. So, when it came to putting together our 4-week Savvy Dinner Plan of budget-friendly meals, my mind was buzzing with dinner recipe ideas. Enter: my vegetarian dahl dinner bowls.

My best budget-friendly meal-planning tip?

One simple way I keep the cost of my grocery shop down is to plan ahead to determine the ingredients I need across the week. This can really help me stick to a set shopping list and avoid any impulse buys or unnecessary additions that can start to add up.

While planning, incorporating more meat-free meals into the week not only helps reduce costs, but also increases the variety of veg we eat – a big plus in the nutrition stakes, too. As more families opt for meat-free days, it comes as no surprise to me that ‘vegetarian dinner’ recipe searches were up more than 220% on taste.com.au in 2023. There are many compelling reasons to reduce our meat intake, but saving money on groceries across the year is something that appeals to everyone.

The easy vegetarian dahl dinner bowls.

What’s my top budget-friendly dinner recipe?

For me, there’s no greater easy-to-make, vegetarian budget-friendly dinner than my easy vegetarian dahl dinner bowls. Best of all? When I made it at home, this simple, flavourful dinner cost me just $2.88 a serve. Yep, under $3 a serve. While dahl is a wildly popular recipe on taste.com.au, this twist on the classic – creating a hearty bowl meal of it topped with vegies – makes it even more wallet friendly.

Never fear, I haven’t compromised on taste either. These dahl bowls are bursting with flavour – alongside the garam masala, curry powder, fresh ginger, garlic, stock and coriander, I’ve added a splash of Coles Simply Tomato Paste to the spice mix to coat the vegetables as a savvy way to add extra oomph before roasting. Plus, using a stock cube is a great way to bring extra flavour to a dish with fewer ingredients. This is some serious midweek, meat-free magic.

I’ve added plenty of vegetables to not only boost the nutritional value of this dish, but also make the meal stretch further. Win, win!

Can you make this dahl recipe ahead of time?

These vegetarian dahl dinner bowls are an ideal make-ahead meal because you can serve your bowls hot or cold. You can make the dahl and roast your vegetables the night before you want to eat them, and keep them covered in the fridge. Then, all you need to do is reheat your roast veggies and dahl (or bring to room temperature) and serve.

Can you freeze dahl?

Absolutely, and this easy dahl freezes really well. Keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. It’s the perfect heat-and-eat, nourishing meal for a busy night.

Creamy tuna pasta bake is a money saver.

What’s the Savvy Dinner Plan?

The taste.com.au food team has redesigned our most searched-for dinner recipes to help you stretch your grocery budget further. By making savvy ingredient swaps and switching up how you plan and cook, the Savvy Dinner Plan can help shave dollars off your favourite dinners, without compromising on flavour. Learn more about how we cost our recipes.

Here’s where you’ll find the full recipe for my easy vegetarian dahl dinner bowls.

*I costed my recipes at Coles, Burwood East, Vic, on 23/01/2023. Prices and savings may vary store to store. Learn more about how we cost our recipes.