What To Buy At Trader Joe's When You Only Have $25, But Need Dinner For 5 Nights

In supermarkets across the country, grocery prices continue to soar, with an ordinary box of cereal, a bag of chips, or a package of ground beef now significantly more expensive than it was just a few years ago. Trader Joe's, however, has somehow managed to buck the trend. Although the cost of some items has increased slightly, for the most part, you can still find plenty of deals scattered throughout its refrigerators, shelves, and freezers — if you know where to look.

However, turning $25 into five nights' worth of dinners still isn't an easy task. But, by taking advantage of some thrifty shopping tips, you can legitimately assemble five complete solo dinners for just $25 — $24.78 to be precise. When creating this budget-friendly shopping list, the focus was on ingredients that are not only inexpensive, but versatile. For example, that simple can of black beans can be transformed into a cold bean salad, a soup, or a plant-based burger patty. Elevating these food items to dinner-worthy dishes doesn't require more than technique, seasonings, and a dash of creativity. Read on to find the most versatile Trader Joe's ingredients that offer the best value for your money.

With red meat getting more and more expensive, ground poultry is emerging as a financially sound alternative. At Trader Joe's, you can get a pound of ground chicken or ground turkey — enough for two or three meals — for around $4.49.

But, how can you make this lean meat really shine? First, think of the basics: Patties, burgers, or delicious chicken meatballs. For the most part, these recipes just require some combination of egg, seasonings, and breadcrumbs. Add oregano, lemon, and fresh herbs to take your ground meat in a Mediterranean direction; cumin, cinnamon, and sumac for something more Middle Eastern; and garlic, sesame oil, and fresh ginger for an Asian flavor profile. Another approach is to break the meat up in a pan and season it with paprika, garlic, and chile powder for tacos, nachos, or burritos.

And, although a traditional Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, you can easily substitute a well-seasoned ground turkey or chicken. Just remember to add some umami and richness to the dish via a few shakes of soy sauce, tamari, or Worcestershire sauce. Top with a quick homemade mashed potato, and you'll have enough food for multiple meals.

Another great value at just $1.99 per pound, bone-in chicken thighs come out juicier and more succulent than ground meat. The bone, other than being a nuisance to eat around, actually helps prevent the nearby meat from overcooking, keeping it succulent and juicy. And, if you're not a fan of rubbery chicken skin, peel it off and give it a hard pan fry to create a crispy chicken cracklin.

This cut of chicken is great for grilling; just brush it with bottled or homemade barbecue sauce for a sweet and tangy flavor. Pair your grilled chicken thighs with a creamy coleslaw and some fresh-cut sweet potato fries for a budget-friendly barbecue spread. Unlike the leaner white meat, chicken thighs are well-suited for braising, and can be paired with anything from dried fruit to fresh herbs to a sweet-and-sticky glaze. 

But, where these chicken thighs really shine is in an arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). Simply brown the chicken thighs in a Dutch oven, add broth or stock, bring to a boil, then add back the chicken thighs and rice, and cook until the liquid is absorbed. This infuses the rice with a concentrated chicken flavor. It's great served alongside some garlicky spinach or a refreshing corn and black bean salad. One thing to note is that Trader Joe's bone-in chicken thighs usually come in packages exceeding one pound, so just factor this into your shopping budget.

Trader Joe's has limitless doughy carbohydrates at your disposal, but for this cost-saving exercise, skip the baguettes, pre-sliced loaves, and pretzel buns and go with a package of whole wheat tortillas. For just $2.99, you get ten tortillas that you can wrap, bake, or fry. 

But, are tortillas really the best way to spend your precious cash? Well, not only do these have a longer shelf-life than your basic bread, they can be repurposed into a number of tasty dinner vessels. They can be used as-is as the basis of your sweet potato tacos and black bean burritos, but they can also be cut into triangles and baked into tortilla chips, which can serve as the foundation of a ground turkey nacho platter or an egg-forward huevos rancheros. Another cool tortilla trick is forming it around a small oven-proof crock and baking until stiff for a mini taco bowl, which you can fill with rice, slaw, and your choice of protein. Lastly, you can give any extra tortilla chips a quick dusting with cinnamon and sugar for a sweet after-dinner snack.

Aromatic and floral, basmati rice is a strong carbohydrate that can serve as the base of any number of dishes, and Trader Joe's sells a 2-pound bag of it for just $2.99. Everyone has a different way of cooking rice, but basmati does really well when it's toasted for a minute or two before cooking. Rice is both a side dish and a foundational carbohydrate, doing the work of primary protein. On its own, rice can be served alongside a piece of grilled chicken or with ground meat and beans to fill a burrito. Rice can also be mixed into meat, giving it a stuffed cabbage-like texture that's slightly springy and less dense than your typical meatloaf.

The easiest use for cooked rice, however, is to turn it into a quick fried rice. This may seem intimidating, but it's actually pretty simple. All you need is some soy sauce, sesame oil, and an egg. If you have any extra vegetables loitering around the refrigerator, this is the perfect place to use them up. But, most importantly, rice provides your meals with much-needed heft. Serve a scoop alongside your meatballs or at the base of a black bean soup.

There's nothing that stretches a few dollars better than a dozen eggs. Although, prices do tend to fluctuate, you can currently obtain a dozen, large, cage free, white eggs for $2.99. Besides being nutritionally complete, an egg can be both the main character of a dish or play a supporting role. If you want leftovers for the following day, start off with a frittata, which is essentially a light and savory egg pie that takes well to any number of ingredients — really, there are no wrong answers here. But, if you're sticking strictly to the items on this list, go with spinach, fresh corn, or sautéed onions.

You can also opt for the breakfast-for-dinner concept by making anything from scrambled eggs and home fries to the already discussed huevos rancheros. If you're really skilled with a frying pan, you can try your hand at omurice, a Japanese dish that includes a mound of seasoned rice that's topped with a loosely cooked omelet and a savory sauce.

Eggs can be cracked into broth to make a quick egg-drop soup, or they can be scrambled and added to your fried rice. Or you can just fry one up and lay it on top of your turkey burger. Hard-boiled eggs are also nice to have on hand. Whip up the yolks for deviled eggs or mash the whites and yolks together along with mayonnaise and mustard for a creamy egg salad

It's easy to overlook the coleslaw mix, but at just $2.49 per bag, this cabbage blend is a terrific value, adding crunch, tang, and heft to any of your meals. Trader Joe's mix contains a trifecta of hearty vegetables: Green and red cabbage and shredded carrots. On its own, the mix is fibrous and slightly peppery, but when dressed up, it takes on new life. Coleslaw is both a side, a condiment, and a topping.

Now, there are a few different ways to approach coleslaw. To make a creamy version, combine a few tablespoons of mayonnaise and/or yogurt, celery salt, any fresh herbs you have on hand, and a sprinkling of sugar. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator until it softens slightly and the flavors come together. Otherwise, you can go tart and tangy, which is just as simple, but is made with a base of vinegar or citrus juice. Or you can add a few squirts of your favorite salad dressing and call it a day.

However, you can also take your coleslaw mix in a totally different direction, adding it to scrambled eggs, flour, and scallions for an Okonomiyaki-style crispy egg pancake. You can also stir fry the coleslaw with some sesame oil and spices and eat it over rice and a fried egg.

This is a terrific product if you need an affordable side in seconds. Sure, steamed spinach isn't the most exciting of dinner accompaniments, but this $1.99 bag can be turned into a culinary delight with minimal effort or ingredients. With a little bit of half-and-half or some leftover cream cheese, you can have a decadent cream spinach to go alongside your turkey burgers or Shepherd's Pie. You can also thaw it, drain it, and toss it in some sesame oil and vinegar for a toasty Banchan-style side dish to eat with rice and grilled chicken.

But, what's most appealing about frozen spinach is how easy it is to add to pretty much anything you're cooking. Whether you're making a black bean soup, taco meat, pasta sauce, meatballs, or fried rice, it's simple to bolster the look and taste of these dishes with just a shake or two of chopped frozen spinach. However, its most natural companion is eggs. Try adding it to a spinach egg breakfast burrito, eggs Benedict, or a corn and spinach frittata.

Costing just $1.19, it never hurts to have a big ole yellow onion at your disposal. But, can an onion really make a meal? First, let's address the obvious. Onions are most commonly diced and sautéed, serving as the base of many soups, sauces, and stir-fries. They add a delicate allium flavor that's sweet, but with some vegetal undertone. An onion is necessary if you're cooking down black beans into a stew, but it's also a welcome guest in a salsa or chutney. 

But, where onion cookery gets cool is when you heat it low and slow, maybe with a splash of balsamic vinegar or sugar, until it's reduced down into a rich, sugary topping. Just a few tablespoons of caramelized onions can contribute much-needed complexity to burgers, meatloafs, eggs, or baked potatoes. If you like onion rings, you can batter these and give them a quick fry, but an easier alternative is to roast them in the oven until they're sweet and soft. Not only are they healthier than the deep-fried version, but they serve as a side dish to almost any dinner idea on this list.

For just around a buck, a can of black beans is an easy addition to this list. This ancient plant-based protein is a simple filling for burritos, tacos, and burrito bowls or can be used as a topping for rice. That said, beans can do so much more. Put them in a pot with some chicken broth and pulse with the immersion blender for a quick, no-hassle black bean soup.

Want something cooler and more refreshing? Drain your beans and combine them with some fresh diced onion, corn, and a squeeze of lime for a summery side dish. Beans can also be mashed together with rice and eggs to create a black bean burger or meatball. But, their most logical application is a stew. Cook them down with onions and some cubed sweet potatoes for a main meal that is earthy, deep, and slightly sweet. Serve on top of rice or spoon over homemade tortilla chips for quick vegetarian nachos.

You're not just going to eat rice and tortillas for five days in a row. For at least a dinner or two, you'll be enjoying a potato on the side. Trader Joe's carries a diverse spread of spuds, from tiny red ones to fingerlings, but the Russet, at just 99 cents, is the one to put in your shopping cart. This reliable workhorse can be mashed, sliced, roasted, and fried into any number of supplementary dishes.

Given all these adaptations, it's not hard to get creative with potato cookery. If going the breakfast route, make it into home fries; if aiming for steakhouse energy, bake the potato whole and serve with a big scoop of sour cream. A pile of mashed potatoes can go above a ground meat mixture, like in the aforementioned Shepherd's Pie, or below a piece of grilled or baked chicken. The potato can also be shredded for a hash brown consistency or turned into a pancake. A little bit of breading, and your mashed potatoes quickly become a fancier potato croquette. And, if you have any caramelized onions leftover, mix them into your mash for some extra pizzazz.

Since the goal is five dinners, it's important to have some backup starches. And, at just 99 cents, you can't beat a sweet potato. Besides being incredibly nutritious, sweet potatoes lend themselves to a number of cooking techniques: Boiling, roasting, frying, mashing, shredding, etc. It all depends on the texture you're looking to achieve.

Mashed sweet potatoes require little effort, but yield big results. They are smooth and candy-like, especially when you supplement their inherent sweetness with a dash of maple syrup. A sprinkle of smoky chipotle pepper takes the flavor in a Southwest direction that pairs well with taco meat. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and roast them for a vegetarian tortilla filler to go along with black beans.

For texture, go with sweet potato chips or fries. To bake up the cripiest sweet potato fries imaginable, try dusting them with a bit of cornstarch to create that desirable, crunchy outer coating while the inside remains fluffy and soft. Dust them with a seasoning blend or whip up a quick aioli and serve them alongside your frittata or burger for a more complete dinner.

Sure, a bag of frozen corn will only run you a few bucks more, but if you're on a tight budget, a single ear of fresh corn for just 69 cents is the better option. Now, one ear of corn doesn't go far, but it can be your side vegetable for at least two meals. One of the nice things about corn is it's easy to prepare. When in-season and freshly hulled, all you need to do is steam it in the microwave or throw it on the grill and rub it down with some room-temperature butter.

However, with some basic knife work, you can remove the kernels, which is wise if you want to incorporate it into different dishes. Corn contributes a distinct flavor and pop of sweetness that goes well with Mexican-style cuisine as well as in baked egg dishes, like quiche or frittatas. As mentioned above, corn is a natural fit in chunky salsas. When using fresh corn kernels in a cold preparation, like a salad or salsa, remember to give them a quick boil or sauté to help break down the natural starches. With your corn ready to go, you can add it to any burrito bowl, soup, or fried rice.

With only $25 to spend at Trader Joe's, I aimed to assemble a list that included enough protein, starches, and vegetables for five separate meals. Proteins were meant to be portioned out into single servings, so they could be divided and used in multiple distinct dishes. Common pantry ingredients like oil, salt, butter, and seasonings weren't factored into the final total. The goal here was to provide multiple applications for each ingredient that were simple to assemble, tasty, and varied. Pricing was lifted from Trader Joe's website, and tax was not included.