This simple homemade Italian Dressing is a zesty mix of flavorful herbs, savory Parmesan, and bright lemon to complement any salad.
Olive Oil
What happens when you take thinly sliced vegetables, layer them in a dish, add a rich red sauce, plenty of herbs, and a cheesy topping? You get this insanely delicious Oven Roasted Ratatouille, aka...
When the summer heat is at full blast and the last thing you want to do is cook, it’s time to make Gazpacho. It’s cold, refreshing, it only takes a few minutes to make,...
Just a few simple ingredients come together in this Classic Three Bean Salad to make an easy summer side dish, perfect for BBQs and potlucks!
This beef and cauliflower taco skillet has layers of flavor, color, and texture, and all of your favorite taco flavors in one hearty bowl.
Y’all know I love to get creative with flavors, but every once in a while I get in the mood for straight-up American comfort food, like cheeseburgers. When that craving hit this week I...
These Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwiches are an easy vegetarian dish with plenty of options for customizing to fit your tastes and budget.
This light and fresh Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is perfect for summer BBQs and potlucks, or your weekly meal prep.
These southwest inspired tortilla baked eggs make an easy and delicious weekend breakfast with plenty of room for customization!
These curry roasted vegetable bowls are colorful, full of vibrant flavors, and the leftovers pack up well for your weekly meal prep!
This Broccoli Pasta Salad features a tangy homemade vinaigrette, nutty sunflower seeds, and creamy-salty feta.
This tangy and slightly sweet tomato basil vinaigrette only requires a few simple ingredients and tastes great over salad and pasta alike.
Lemon Garlic Roasted Asparagus is an easy side dish with vibrant flavors that pair well with grilled or roasted meat.
Southwest Cauliflower Rice is a quick, easy, and flavorful side dish that can also be spruced up and turned into an entire meal!
These kale and white bean power bowls are full of flavor, texture, protein, fiber, and other nutrients. Perfect for meal prep!
Lemon Parsley Pasta is bright, garlicky, and full of rich Parmesan flavor. It makes a great side dish or bed for chicken or fish.
This simple, fresh, and filling Mediterranean Tuna Salad makes an easy protein-packed make-ahead lunch for your workweek. Tons of ideas for add-ins and substitutions included!
Stuffed bell peppers are awesome, but I always find them slightly awkward or difficult to eat. Can’t I just throw the ingredients in a bowl and eat it with a fork?! (I feel that...
I’m a true believer that side dishes should be as simple as possible. Save your time and energy for that amazing main dish and don’t let the sides overshadow its glory. ;) The magic...
This Turkey Taco Salad is an easy, light, and fresh dinner that's flexible enough to feed all your family members. Mix and match your favorite taco salad toppings, or just use up what you...
If you're not a fan of broccoli, it might just be because you haven't tried it roasted yet. Roasted broccoli is my go-to side dish for any dinner because it's A) easy and B)...
You guys know how I love using leftover odds and ends in my fridge to make delicious meals on the fly, right? Well these tasty little eggs baked in a tortilla shell are my...
It's said that eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day brings you good luck. Now, I'm not usually superstitious, but after a year like 2020, I'm willing to try anything (just kidding, but...
Balsamic roasted mushrooms are an easy side dish or appetizer, soaked in garlic, herbs, and tangy balsamic vinegar for maximum flavor.
Roasted pork loin is probably one of the easiest (and inexpensive) main dishes you can make. Just add a little seasoning, pop it in the oven, and let it do its thing. The only...
There's nothing quite like the smell of a pot of soup simmering away on the stove top when it's cold and blustery outside. This tomato lentil soup is full of vegetables and herbs for...
Marinated cauliflower salad is a crunchy and colorful "refrigerator salad" that's is the perfect winter side dish or meal prep salad.
This simple all-purpose Garlic Marinated Chicken is great to add to sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, and more!
One of my favorite simple dinner "formulas" is two roasted vegetables and a meat. It's just so simple and when I can cook them all on one sheet pan, it's even better. For this...
French Onion Soup is one of my favorite things to order at a restaurant. I usually reserve this bowl of warm comfort for restaurants because it's a soup that takes time and patience to...
Honey + Balsamic Vinegar + Butter = Heaven. It’s sweet, tangy, and rich, all at the same time. You already know that I love roasted vegetables, but drenching roasted vegetables in a honey balsamic...
I’m constantly looking for new ways to use my favorite (not) Sun Dried Tomato Sauce in recipes because it’s just SO good. So, the other day I was thinking, “Hmmm, I wonder if I...
Years ago I made Nature’s Candy, which was a deliciously sweet and savory oven roasted side dish that was so good I’d almost call it a dessert. Well, I decided to take that amazing...
Remember ten years ago or so when cauliflower suddenly got super popular and everyone was using it in place of every carb imaginable? And then the supply and demand got all out of whack...
As I mentioned last week, I’ve been experimenting a with shrimp a little more lately. Why? It’s super fast and easy to cook, and you can add it to so many different things! So...
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...
As this unusual summer draws to a close, it’s time to start moving into new routines for fall. Having a routine dinnertime can be so helpful when the world feels like it has turned...
You can never have enough easy side dish recipes, am I right?? I like to keep my side dishes simple so they don’t steal the show from my main dish, and they don’t add...
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...
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...
I know it sounds cheesy, but pizza really is my favorite food. It has endless possibilities and usually includes my favorite things: bread, tomatoes, and cheese. And when you make your pizza dough from...
Once you try focaccia, you’ll never go back to plain bread! This hearty No-Knead Homemade Focaccia is coated in olive oil and herbs, making every bite full of delicious flavor. And the best part?...
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...
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...
Desperate times call for desperate measures. There’s nothing quite like a perfectly light, chewy, and crispy traditional pizza crust made with yeast, but right now we have to make do with what we’ve got...
We’re still experiencing a lot of grocery shortages in the middle of this pandemic, but when I ventured out to the grocery store this week I noticed something. The produce department was very well stocked,...
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that the first time I ever heard of Pasta Puttanesca was in the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, over 15 years ago. In the movie,...
I always hear people talk about how expensive vegetables are, and that’s why it’s impossible to eat healthy on a budget. Au contraire, mon frere! Sure, some vegetables are expensive, but there are so many...
Taco bowls, burrito bowls, whatever you want to call them! I went with taco bowls this time because of the homemade taco seasoning used on the roasted cauliflower, plus the fresh toppings like tomatoes...
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...
Big weekend breakfasts are my favorite “me time”. They’re lazy (always in my PJs, always), cozy, relaxed, delicious, and just so much less expensive than going out to brunch. Not to mention, no waiting...
This Indian Style Creamed Spinach is a bit like Palak Paneer, but without the paneer. …because my homemade paneer didn’t turn out. 😅 But that’s okay! The creamy spiced spinach is absolutely delightful on...
Despite its “swampy” appearance, this soup is simply one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. If you like tomato soup, you’ll adore Swamp Soup. It’s like tomato soup on steroids and with a...
Sheet pan meals are my savior. There’s really nothing easier than roasting vegetables in the oven, and it happens to make them taste really good, too. Add a little meat to the vegetables 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...
Ever since I added coconut milk to my ramen broth, I haven’t been able to stop adding coconut milk to all of my savory saucy and brothy dishes. The creaminess of the coconut milk...
Mashed potatoes are pretty freaking fantastic. They’re warm, comforting, and really quite versatile. You can eat them as a side dish, as a base to a bowl meal, and you can flavor them with...
Some nights you just need something warm, comforting, and easy to help melt off the stresses of the day, like a big bowl of chili. And maybe some cornbread, too, for good measure. This...
Can’t stop, won’t stop with the yummy soups over here! Soup is easy, soup is filling, soup is an easy way to pack some more vegetables into your day, and soup (usually) freezes well....
There’s something super comforting to me about sautéed cabbage with butter and I eat it a lot in the winter months when cabbage is fresh and inexpensive. And because it’s just so cheap, delicious, and...
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, then you know how I love to meal prep my breakfast. It’s just so much easier to spend a little time on the weekend to...
I hope you guys don’t get sick of all my soup recipes, because I pretty much live off of soup this time of year! This Smoky Black Bean Soup is definitely going to be...
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,...
Soup is such a great food. So easy, so filling (if you do it right!), a great way to use up leftover ingredients, and the flavor possibilities are endless. I recently discovered how delicious...
Just because it’s not summer anymore, doesn’t mean I stop rollin’ with my refrigerator salads! This Chipotle Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad is a little smoky, uses hearty autumn vegetables, and can be served...
If you haven’t quite honed your kitchen skills, but still need a recipe to impress, this Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin is for you. It’s ridiculously simple and pretty much fool proof. Just mix up...
You can never have enough all-purpose side dish recipes, like Balsamic Roasted Vegetables. These sweet and savory caramelized vegetables are versatile (use any vegetables), they hold up well to reheating (perfect for meal prep),...
Pan sauces for the win! Making a quick sauce in the skillet after browning meat is one of the easiest ways to make a really spectacular meal. Those little browned bits on the skillet...
I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I’m a little bit of a tomato soup fanatic. I’ve made several tomato soup recipes for Budget Bytes over the past ten years, but this week...
If you haven’t noticed, I make this Easy Homemade Vinaigrette with a lot of my salad recipes. It’s pretty much my go-to when I’m not making a lemon tahini dressing. But anyway, it’s so...
I’m moving forward full speed ahead with indulging my autumn obsession, despite the fact that it’s still 95 degrees outside. A good compromise between the crushing heat and my desire for all things fall...
One of the most frequent questions I get is, “what should I serve on the side?” To be honest, I don’t give a lot of thought to my side dishes. I keep them as...
Do you love garlic bread as much I as do? Like, do you keep it on hand in your freezer at all times? Then you’re going to love this Garlic Butter Baked Cod. In...
I whipped up a quick small batch of these easy baked homemade croutons this past week when I made my Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup and I thought, “I really need to share how...
I’ve made kale pesto before (Kale Pesto Pasta), but I felt like the pesto needed a post itself. I often find myself with leftover fresh kale (why does it come in such HUGE qantities?),...
This past week I was talking to a reporter from MarketWatch and as I told the story of Budget Bytes I joked about being a broke college graduate and not wanting to eat canned...
I’m a soup-all-year-long type of person. Soup is tasty. Soup is filling. Soup freezes well. And this Chicken and Lime Soup is where it’s at. The clear broth is light enough for summer, and...
One of the coolest things about having been blogging for over ten years is seeing how my cooking style and skills have changed through this experience. One of my first recipes to go viral...
Have you ever seen those packets of flavored tuna in the grocery store? They were on sale once and I got curious, so I bought a few. The idea was interesting, but the execution...
I’m living off refrigerator salads all summer, what about you? Oh, you don’t know what a refrigerator salad is? It’s a salad that holds up well to refrigeration (doesn’t go limp and soggy like...
I love taking advantage of all the fresh produce in summer and all the color and texture it brings to my plate! This week I played around with eggplant, which has a unique almost...
I’ve been trying to brain storm up some easy plant-based meals lately, and this week’s creation was these Creamy Coconut Curried Lentils with Spinach, which are kind of like the creamy cousin of my...
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...
“Chicken and vegetables” sounds like some sort of boring diet food, but when you skewer them on a stick (food on a stick is always more fun) and drizzle them with the most vibrant...
If you need one more fresh summertime salad for this Memorial Day weekend, I’ve got ya! This light and fresh Cucumber and Black Bean Salad is the perfect side for all your summer grilling,...
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...
It’s almost grilling season!! I kind of want to make weekend grilling a thing at my house this year, so I’m testing some recipes. I already have some fun burger recipes on the site,...
The sun is shining, Cinco de Mayo is next week, and I’m over here craving bright fresh flavors, like cilantro and lime. Okay fine, so I’m actually craving margaritas, but my body doesn’t let...
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...
Okay, I’m going to squeeze in one more wintry comfort food dish before the weather really starts warming up! This Cheesy Cottage Pie is chock-full of vegetables in a rich beef gravy, and topped...
If you’re intimidated by fish, this Easy Oven Baked Fish with Tomatoes is a great place to start. Baking the fish in a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, and herbs infuses flavor, helps keep it...
One of the best parts about recipe testing is that when you stumble onto something good you have a great excuse to make it over and over again while you tweak the details. I’ve...
It’s self care Saturday over here at the Budget Bytes house and I’m eating this super cozy Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup. With chilly temps outside I knew I wanted to make a pot of...
I’m going to start this by saying that I am not an expert baker. I really don’t bake often, but I started playing around in my kitchen the other night with a bunch of...
This super easy, ultra creamy, and heavily spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala is my new favorite dinner! That spicy-creamy sauce is just so 👌that I have to sop up every last bit with a...
While planning my menu for week 3 of my Vegetarian Challenge, I took inventory of my pantry and noted that I still had about two pounds of potatoes left over from week one that...
Sun dried tomatoes are a fairly expensive ingredient, but I think this Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet perfectly demonstrates how higher priced ingredients, when properly combined with less expensive ingredients, can...
These Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Lime Crema are the perfect meal prep item, since they’re already pre-portioned and ready to go. There are a lot of options for toppings and seasonings with this...
For week 2 of my Vegetarian Challenge, I knew that I wanted a “refrigerator salad.” By that I mean a salad that I can prepare in the beginning of the week and will hold...
Happy New Year! My 31 Day Vegetarian Challenge officially starts today and I have to say, the first recipe I made for the challenge, Sweet and Spicy Tempeh Bowls, is pretty killer. I chose...
