This was actually supposed to be a baked ziti, but it turns out ziti is just about impossible to find in grocery stores right now, so I went with a Roasted Vegetable Baked Penne instead....
Pasta Recipes
Simple, classic pasta recipes are always a crowd pleaser and naturally budget friendly. Plus, with so many specialty-diet-friendly pastas on the market today, pasta is even more versatile than ever. Use these easy pasta recipes for quick weeknight dinners and meal prepping! (pictured: Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta)
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I’ve been experimenting with shrimp a lot lately. Yes, it can be a little on the expensive side, but if you pair it whith an inexpensive ingredient like pasta, you can really stretch that...
I’m all about the quick skillet meals because, let’s face it, sometimes after a long day of work you don’t really want to cook anything… but you still gotta eat. This super quick Creamy...
I love good quality food, but I also have a small place in my heart reserved for convenience foods like instant ramen or frozen pizzas. I don’t indulge in them often, and when I...
Fresh sweet corn is one of my favorite things about summer. It’s so sweet and juicy when it’s fresh, and the smell of the husks as you peel them back from the cob brings...
Y’all know I love one pot pasta meals, and I know a lot of you do too. They’re quick, easy, and pack a lot of flavor into only one little dish that needs to...
This is kind of just like a basic Italian pasta salad, but I’m calling it “Pizza Pasta Salad” because this is how I use my leftover pizza toppings. Haha! When you buy a jar...
Y’all know I’m obsessed with meatballs, right? They’re just so easy, delicious, and something that I’m always in the mood for. So, when I got an unexpected pound of ground chicken in my Instacart...
Keep it stupid simple. That saying applies to so much in life, including food. One of my favorite “stupid simple” meals is buttered pasta with a vegetable and a healthy does of salt and...
What is a Wonderpot? It’s a pasta dish that cooks all in one pot (a.k.a. One Pot Pasta) with vegetables, aromatics (garlic, onion), and broth so that every bite is packed with flavor. The...
There’s something really special about the simplicity of pasta with butter, salt, and pepper. The creaminess of the butter and the little pops of salt and pepper sitting on the surface of the pasta,...
Have you ever tried Garlic Noodles? They’re a super rich, buttery, salty-sweet, umami filled dream. I usually serve them as a side dish, but this week I decided to just go ahead and turn...
As soon as the weather turns cool, I grab the cozy sweaters and start cooking the comfort food, like this Classic Baked Ziti. It’s rich and gooey with its layers of pasta, homemade red...
This One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta was inspired by those little packets of powdered pasta sauce mix I always see in the grocery store. While those little packets are probably great for camping,...
I hope I’ve convinced you to experiment with leftovers in your fridge by now. Most of my favorite recipe creations have come from me just piling whatever I have leftover in my fridge into...
Off the record, I call this one “poor man’s Caprese salad” because it’s based on Caprese salad, but with all the budget swaps I’ve made, I don’t think I can get away with calling...
This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is the perfect meal prep for summer! No need to reheat, it’s light but filling, and the flavors are oh so fresh. It’s topped off with a homemade tangy,...
This Spicy Orecchiette with Chicken Sausage and Kale is a variation on one of my favorite fast weeknight dinners, pasta + parmesan + vegetable. If you’re a Budget Bytes veteran you probably have this...
SPRING IS HEEERRRRREE! (Read that in Oprah’s excited yelling voice). As soon as that sun starts to shine and the days get a little longer I feel every cell in my body wake up...
Cabbage and noodles is one of those super simple, no-frills comfort foods. The flavors aren’t complex or even particularly special, it’s just straight up satisfying and comforting. A lot of people add a little...
Despite having a website is full of recipes, in real life at least half of my meals are “sweep the kitchen” or “throw together whatever you have” type meals. Even though they’re not exactly...
I don’t know what it is with me and meatballs lately, but here we are again. #sorrynotsorry This weekend I made these deliciously Giant Slow Cooker Meatballs, which are a fun way to change...
Are you ready for the easiest of easy stir fry dinners? This Salad Bar Vegetable Lo Mein is the perfect no-brainer dinner for when you can’t be bothered to even think about cooking, or...
Oh my goulash, you guys. It’s not often that I use wine in my cooking because it can be pretty pricey, but something magical happens when you add red wine to beef, and it’s...
Today is the most fall day of all fall days. The fall colors are at their peak here in Nashville, the air smells like wet leaves, it’s a little overcast and spooky looking, and...
It’s been a while since I’ve made a one-pot pasta! But this weekend I got a craving for a creamy, smoky, spicy, easy one pot dish, so I set to work! This One Pot...
What do you do for self care? I think most people avoid cooking themselves a good meal as part of their self care routine because it sounds like a lot of work, but recipes like...
There’s nothing better to keep you going through that late night study sesh than a warm bowl of rich and creamy mac and cheese, and luckily it’s incredibly fast and easy to make using...
Another day, another salad! I try to make some sort of salad each week that I can build meals on or just eat as a quick meal on its own when I’m on the...
I’m still trying to take full advantage of the fresh summer veggies before they’re gone. This Roasted Vegetable Couscous is the perfect side dish for the transitional season, when the markets are still full...
Forget cakes and cookies, mac and cheese is my comfort food of choice. And luckily, there is no shortage of variations on this classic, so it just never gets old. :) This White Cheddar...
Peas are totally underrated. They’re inexpensive, easy to cook or add to recipes, and packed with both protein and fiber. So they’re an excellent item to keep on hand in your freezer to whip...
It used to really irk me when recipes called for “pre-cooked chicken.” I was like, “What the huh, who has pre-cooked chicken laying around?” But then I kind of warmed up to the idea of...
I’m about to go on vaaaaaycation! So naturally I have one thousand things to do before I leave and can’t be bothered with cooking anything complicated. Well, whether you’re in the middle of that...
I’ve made a lot of variations of pasta sauce over my nine years of blogging, but I think this latest version wins the title of The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce. Why? Because it’s incredibly...
This Tuscan White Bean Pasta is definitely my type of recipe. It’s quick, uses a lot of fresh ingredients, is very filling, and flavorful. This pasta packs protein (white beans and parmesan), veggies (tomatoes...
Where did last week go? I didn’t get to cook much as I’d have liked last week, so I found myself with a refrigerator full of miscellaneous ingredients that I wasn’t quite sure what...
Don’t you just love how I post a pasta recipe immediately after the blog post where I say I’m trying to break my addiction to pasta? 😂 We’re all human. Anyway, This week I...
Who doesn’t love cute little pasta bundles?? These Pesto Stuffed Shells remind me of little baby lasagnas that have yet to grow into their adult form. They have all the same goodies as a...
This recipe is totally out of season, but when I see asparagus on sale I have to just go for it. It’s usually so expensive that it stays on my “no” list, but I...
Stress eating, what? Who, me? Noooo, never. Okay, maybe. As the countdown to my move out of state begins and everything seems to be going haywire, I find myself needing a little comfort food....
You guys, I can’t stop with cold pasta dishes this summer! It’s all I want to eat! I had a half bunch of kale leftover from another recipe this week, so I decided to...
I’ve learned a lot over the past eight years of cooking and my palate has definitely become more refined, so today I’m using that new knowledge to give one of the first recipes I...
A little bit of naughty, a little bit of nice, and a lot of portion control. That’s my approach to food. 😂 So when I decided to make some mac and cheese and put bacon...
A few weeks ago I made a pasta dish that quickly became my favorite, One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta. I was craving it again and had a few sun dried tomatoes...
I have something really fun (and delicious) for you today!! I’m so excited about this, guys. My friend, Daniel Shumski, released his second book yesterday and it’s a gem! The book is called Will It Skillet? (a...
Stop everything and listen closely. I’ve been making new recipes every week for over seven years and can honestly say this One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is one of the best things...
I had a completely different plan for cooking today, but you know what? In the end I decided I just wanted some comfort food. This Cheesy Rigatoni Skillet is just another version of my favorite easy...
Hey guys! Sorry it’s been a minute since I posted a new recipe, but I went through a few days of creative block (I think the unusual below freezing temperatures in New Orleans also froze...
It’s almost Thanksgiving and we’re all about to pull our hair out, right?? But in the middle of all this madness, we still need to eat. So, I reached into my pantry today to...
The other day I was updating my blog post for Mushroom Herb Gravy in anticipation of the Thanksgiving season, and while I sat there trying not to drink the gravy straight from the skillet, I thought,...
Fried cabbage and noodles is simple comfort food at its finest! If you’re a fan of plain buttered noodles with salt and pepper, you’ve got to try adding caramelized onions and sautéed cabbage into...
The other day on Facebook I asked your opinion on “classic casseroles.” The response was almost unanimous—you love them, but would like to see versions made without as many canned ingredients or “cream of”...
A few weeks ago my friend Jenni sent me a link to this recipe for Tzatziki Pasta Salad with the comment that, “it isn’t too Budget Bytes friendly (too many splurgy ingredients), but it’s really...
I’ve been a little obsessed with Chimichurri since I made it a couple weeks ago. I just keep finding new uses for it! Quite a few people left comments on the original chimichurri recipe...
I hate to sound hyperbolic, but this 5 Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce is probably the last red sauce recipe I’ll ever need. It’s ridiculously easy and still “lick the spoon” good. No, more like...
Remember that Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta that we all love because it’s so easy and delicious? Well, the other day when I was craving a creamy-pasta-comfort-food dinner, I decided to morph that recipe with another...
You know that movie You Don’t Mess with the Zohan where the guy uses hummus for pretty much everything? Well, my obsession with hummus is pretty much at that level (minus using it for non-food purposes)....
I’ve wanted to do a series on Dragon Noodle variations for a while. The wildly popular original Dragon Noodle recipe is so simple that it’s the perfect jumping off point for several interpretations. You’ve...
…And a fried egg. The fried egg is really an important part of this Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens dish, but it just seemed like including it in the title would make it excessively...
Ahhh creamy carbonara! It’s the original poor man’s pasta with its bare bones ingredient list and rich, belly satisfying flavor. But, as times change so do the availability and prices of ingredients. The once...
I guess we’ve hit that time of the year where just I want to eat cold salads every day (Hi, summer!). So I decided to take one of my favorite pasta salads, Lemony Cucumber...
Y’all know I love my global flavors, but every once in a while I get in the mood for straight up American food, like cheeseburgers. When that craving hit this week I decided to...
Canned salmon is a great shelf-stable way to get your inexpensive way to work a little more fish into your diet. I love the convenience of canned fish. No cooking necessary, it’s there when...
I have such a weird relationship with shrimp. Most of the time I don’t like it, then suddenly, out of the blue, I get this really intense craving for it and I’m all like,...
I bought a little jar of pesto recently and have been having fun finding ways to add it to everyday recipes. Yesterday I noticed a half bag of macaroni that had been sitting in my...
I’ve been craving the salty, briny flavor of kalamata olives lately, so I bought a handful of olives off the olive/salad bar at the grocery store, combined them with a can of diced tomatoes,...
It’s been really cold here (well, cold for me) and that makes me want comfort food. One dish that I absolutely loved in the past but haven’t had a chance to remake is my One Pot...
As this past week came to a close, I still needed one more quick recipe to fill out our menu. I had already used up all but $7 of my $40 weekly grocery budget,...
This is a busy time of year, maybe even the busiest. Between shopping, holiday parties, and visiting family, no one really wants to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. Sooo, this week...
This week I had a killer craving for some classic spaghetti and meat sauce. But, as you may know, I like to add vegetables whenever and wherever I can to recipes, so I shredded...
Okay, this one is a bit of a splurge, especially considering my tight September Challenge budget, but after last week’s meat heavy menu I was craving bright fresh flavors. This Parsley Pesto Pasta is...
I think I’ve hit the September Challenge jackpot with this one, folks. When I had my first bite of these Skillet Meatballs and Marinara I literally moaned and let out a quiet “Oh, hell yeah…”...
One of the things I’ve learned about eating on a budget is that simple recipes win. The fewer ingredients you need, the fewer ingredients you need to buy, and that generally helps keep that...
Welcome to another episode of “How can so few ingredients make such a delicious meal?!” Skillet meals are a miracle, my friends. And this Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo is the perfect example. They’re...
My freezer is lookin’ a little bare these days, so it’s time to start making some stuff that I can freeze portions of for nights when I just want to pop something in the...
While I love cooking from scratch, there are always those nights when all I have the energy to do is grab a few grocery store staples and throw them together for a quick meal....
This one goes out to all of you “one pot pasta” lovers out there. …And I know there are a lot of you! Allow me to introduce to you this amazing One Pot Roasted...
Need a new spin on your weeknight pasta? This Three Pepper Pasta is kind of like pizza, but in pasta form. It has crispy pepperoni and a trio of colorful peppers for extra flavor,...
I looove ricotta cheese. It’s flavor is light and fresh flavor, making it great for warm weather dishes. So when I saw ricotta on sale at the store, I jumped at the chance to...
When in doubt, pasta + Parmesan + vegetable = a really good meal. For this version of that quick dinner classic, I added some mushrooms for extra umami, garlic because you gotta have garlic, and...
Happy Mardi Gras!! It was an icy cold and grey morning here in New Orleans, so instead of going out and enjoying the parades, I decided to take it easy, stay warm, and cook up a...
Do you ever get tired of plain old red sauce? …Yeah, no, I don’t either. But if for some reason you did want to try something new, this quick and creamy pumpkin sauce is a great...
I’ve been making so many “one pot” recipes lately that I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve made a good ol’ side dish. Well, I had a bag of orzo sitting in my...
Ever since I discovered how delicious pasta is when cooked in broth instead of water, I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of different ways to play up this simple trick. By simply changing up the...
Remember that head of purple cabbage from week one of the SNAP Challenge? Well, to my surprise, it still hadn’t gone rotten. Sure, it was a little discolored on the open/cut surface, but I...
This Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens one of my favorite “sweep the kitchen” recipes. It’s a no brainer pasta and sauce dish with a little Italian sausage and whatever frozen greens I happen...
After going through a week of hunger in week one of the SNAP Challenge, I knew I had to rethink my strategy. Luckily, the hunger allowed me to pinpoint certain ingredients that really keep me...
PASTA. When I get stressed, I crave pasta. Cheesy or creamy pasta. So, when I saw this recipe for Sour Cream and Jalapeño Chicken Enchilada Pasta, my stomach was all like, “FEED ME, NOW.” But,...
I’m really digging these one pot pastas lately. It’s so nice to just cook everything in one pot and have less to wash (especially when you don’t have a dishwasher, like me!). Not to...
Okay, so it’s not really alfredo because it doesn’t even have any cream, but it’s close enough that I’m going to call it that. This fake-out alfredo is a little lighter and doesn’t hit your...
Can I talk about anchovies for a second without you running away screaming? K, good. Anchovies have a reputation in the United States as being this stinky pizza topping that nobody really likes, but...
Guess what time it is? Comfort-food-o’clock! And what makes better comfort food than a rich creamy pasta dish, like this One Pot Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff? This is yet another “better than the box” meal. It’s...
(a.k.a. ANGRY BIRDS) I got an email a while back from a reader who wanted to know how to make arrabbiata sauce, so I set out to find out how to do so. I...
I didn’t find out about National Kale Day until after the fact, but seeing pictures of delicious kale recipes all day made me really crave kale bad. What’s the fastest, easiest fix? Garlic Parmesan Kale...
I’ve been a little under the weather this weekend, so you know what that means? COMFORT FOOD! Fast and easy comfort food… Because I’d really like to crawl back under my blanket and get...
Easy wins again! I’m on day 6 of an 8 day work week, so that means two things: I’m tired and I’m hungry. Quick skillet pasta dishes like this Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta are perfect...
oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! This Spicy Shrimp Tomato Pasta has me excited. I’m not a person that goes crazy over anything that has shrimp in it, but this Spicy Shrimp Tomato Pasta...
I caught a few minutes of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn the other night and was reminded of how much I love stories like that and The Grapes of Wrath. They really make me...
I got an email from Megan last week asking if I could recreate her favorite frozen noodle bowls from Costco. There isn’t a Costco in New Orleans (yet), so I wasn’t familiar with that...
