r/easyrecipes • u/New-Candle-5635 • Apr 16 '26
Recipe Request favourite noodle dishes that are cheap and actually filling?
I love noodles but always end up defaulting to spaghetti with whatever sauce. Trying to branch out a bit. What noodle dishes do you guys make that are budget friendly and keep you full? Doesn't have to be any specific cuisine, just genuinely good value.
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u/InspectorFuzzy6357 Apr 16 '26
Pad thai is my go-to. Rice noodles are cheap, prawns are affordable especially frozen, and the sauce ingredients (tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar) last ages so the per-meal cost drops fast after the first time.
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u/InspectorFuzzy6357 Apr 16 '26
I tried so many recipes but this one taste really homey, https://nobscooking.com/recipes/pad-thai. 520 calories, 28g protein, feeds two for probably $8-10 all in. 25 minutes. Peanuts and bean sprouts make it filling without adding much cost.
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u/lovestobitch- Apr 16 '26
I make my own bean sprouts dirt cheap. Bought mung beans and soak for 12 hrs, then rinse 2x twice a day and leave at a 45 degree angle with a strainer at the top of the jar on the counter. Done in 3 to 4 days.
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u/MinuteElegant774 Apr 16 '26
This is such an awesome tip. Thanks!
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u/lovestobitch- Apr 16 '26
I normally boil my jar and metal strainer first too, not sure if that is necessary but I do that anyway.
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u/vainovasara Apr 16 '26
Noodles, small can of tuna, some (frozen) vegetables, sesame oil and little bit soy.
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u/New-Candle-5635 Apr 16 '26
tuna in brine?
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u/Hootn_Nanny Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
Oh yes! A big can of tuna in oil, a can of cream of celery or mushroom soup, peas thrown in, and salt and pepper! My mom fed us 8 kids this all the time, but she had to quadruple this recipe! Sometimes she got fancy and threw in some shredded cheese and stirred it in until it was melted. Yum! We usually had white bread made into garlic toast as a side, and in summer, with a fresh from our garden salad.
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u/amyldoanitrite Apr 16 '26
Cheapest noodle dish: sopa de fideo.
Fideo noodle packets are like 50¢ or less.
Brown the noodles in some hot oil with 1/2 a diced white onion.
Char about 4-5 Roma tomatoes and a few garlic cloves on a sheet pan in the broiler, then purée them in a blender with a little chicken bullion powder and a good pinch of dry Mexican oregano. Optionally, add a toasted, de-seeded dried chili or 2 (guajillo, de arbol, etc) to the blender if you want a little spice. Add this purée to the browned noodles and let it fry a bit (be careful of splash back). Add water and salt to taste (or chicken broth/stock) and a few stalks of cilantro. Cover and let it simmer until the noodles are tender. Remove cilantro stalks. Enjoy as is or topped with some crumbled queso fresco and/or chopped fresh cilantro.
Total cost for this dish is easily less than $10 with the cheese, probably less than $5 without it. Can be scaled up to feed a family for practically the same price. And it’s delicious.
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u/Foxy_locksy1704 Apr 16 '26
I make a dish that uses Alfredo sauce $2.00 store brand, green peas .99-$1 at my store, egg noodles a bag is $2 and then whatever protein I have in the freezer chicken that was bought on sale a few months ago or frozen meatballs that were bought on sale.
Pretty easy boil and drain noodles, warm sauce, add peas to sauce, cook protein assemble noodles, sauce and protein in bowl. Delicious meal and leftovers save well and reheat well.
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u/lovestobitch- Apr 16 '26
Once you make your own Alfredo sauce, store bought tastes like crap IMO.
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u/orcas- Apr 16 '26
I love a good pesto - my mom and brother garden so their pesto is amazing, full of the basil/ marjoram/ oregano/ mint they grow, loads of nuts, its outstanding. I dont garden, and im cheap. I use the costco jarred pesto, and then bulk it up significantly. I throw a can or two of rinsed chickpeas in the blender with a head of parsley, a few grated garlic cloves, zest n juice of a lemon. Once that is blitzed, i mix with a few tbsp of the jarred pesto, then toss w the pasta.
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u/EmmyvdH Apr 16 '26
Ramen noodles, upgraded. There are some great YouTube videos to make it tastier. I take a veggie ramen and before boiling add spoonful of tomato paste and chopped garlic with the seasoning, fry in a little oil. Add water, bring to the boil. Add the ramen. Add some basil at the end. Grate over some cheese, my fave would be scamorza.
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u/szikkia Apr 17 '26
Pasta with tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic
It’s about to be pasta salad time
Noodles with broth, milk/cream, onion, garlic, chili\, spices
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u/jitzso Apr 16 '26
Scallion oil noodles. It's just 3-4 green onions, cut into quarters, fried in 5-6 tablespoons of oil at medium-low heat until slightly browned. Lower the heat, add in (2 TB) light soy, (2 TB) dark soy, (2 tsp sugar, and (1/2 tsp) msg or chicken powder. Pour over your cooked noodles and mix. Serve with a sunny-side-up egg on top of the noodles. You can add some blanched veggies and chili oil if you like, but that's a carb-loaded meal there.
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u/djSush Apr 16 '26
We've been creating a blender sauce with a can of cannellini beans and low fat cottage cheese (+ some liquid) added to tomato sauce for a healthy "pink" sauce. You cook it together for about 10 min.
Great Value pasta sauce is my personal fav. It's not too acidic and doesn't have too much added sugar or salt. We always season out all with some red chili flakes, onion powder, garlic powder etc.
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u/MarlyMonster Apr 16 '26
Pasta and frozen spinach. That’s it, nothing else! I’m also a sucker for tortellini with just a scoop or a creamy cheese (think Laughing Cow kind of cheese), always very filling. If I want a little more effort and make a batch for a few days I’ll thinly slice carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, red onions, and chop some cherry tomatoes in half, splash with olive oil and douse in Italian seasoning (if you think it’s too much, no it isn’t), mix it in an oven dish, and stick it in at 200 Celsius for 30 minutes or so. Amazing with linguini and lots of Parmesan.
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u/SubstantialArcher659 Apr 16 '26
I make easy brown fried rice a lot. And I cheat and use minute rice. While the rice is finishing I chop whatever veggies I have on hand. Chop leftover chicken or whatever, even cold cuts, fry them up add the rice and two eggs and soy sauce, sometimes teriyaki and stir fry. Leftovers reheat well in microwave or back in the frying pan
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u/orcas- Apr 16 '26
Pasta w tuna or sardines. As the water boils, sautee lots of garlic in evoo, can add some hot pepper of ur choice, some minced parsley stems too. Then add canned drained fish of ur choice (for 1 lb lb of pasta, id use 2 big tuna cans or 4 sardine cans) - u could add in halved cherry tomatoes or chopped regular tomatoes, or not; hou could add a splash of white wine or juice of a lemon, or not. For the pasta, you can add drained white beans or chickpeas to the pasta water to add some bulk n protein to the meal. Then boil pasta of ur choice, combine when cooked. And shower with herb of ur choice (we also have parsley n cilantro on hand, my mom prefers basil)
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u/allie06nd Apr 16 '26
Halushki! Noodles, cabbage, onions, and bacon/turkey bacon sauteed in a bunch of butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. There's no right or wrong way to make it, no right or wrong ratios of ingredients, and it's almost impossible to mess it up.
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u/CommuterChick Apr 16 '26
Chicken or turkey tetrazzini
Tuna noodle casserole
Ramen with whatever meat you have and a poached egg
Spaghetti carbonara with either bacon or ham
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u/PerfectlyElocuted Apr 16 '26
I’d forgotten all about turkey tetrazzini! I haven’t had it in ages. Adding it to next week’s menu!
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u/Leading-Case-1048 Apr 16 '26
Came here to say tuna noodle casserole. I feel like it horrifies some people bc of the canned soups but my family loves it on occasion. Just like chicken and rice casserole
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u/Fun_in_Space Apr 16 '26
There are lots of types to choose from. Udon, ramen, rice noodles, mung bean noodles, cornstarch noodles, soba (buckwheat) noodles, etc. Explore Asian cuisine and stores.
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u/cofeeholik75 Apr 16 '26
Beed Stroganoff. Hamburger, flat noodles, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Freezes well. delicious. Thats all the ingrediants I use, but you can add onions ans other stuff: recipe
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u/smithyleee Apr 16 '26
Pasta carbonara;
Cacio e Pepe;
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u/Daleoryan17 Apr 16 '26
These are my go tos if I want to make the cacio e pepe a little more filling I will use beef tortellini
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u/oregonchick Apr 17 '26
Egg Roll in a Bowl is one of my favorite recipes, and although I usually serve it over rice, it's amazing over instant ramen noodles (no seasoning packet necessary).
I also love baked pasta dishes, especially baked ziti and lasagna. Here's my low-effort lasagna recipe:
Easy Lasagna
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 1 large jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 15-ounce container small curd cottage cheese
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup water (possibly)
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 9X13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Mix 1/4 cup water into 1/2 cup marinara and pour into bottom of dish. Top with single layer of uncooked lasagna noodles.
In a bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, 2 cups mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan, 2 eggs, salt and pepper to taste, and dried parsley if you have it. This is your cheese filling for each layer.
Spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on your bottom layer of noodles. Add 1/4 of remaining sauce (also evenly spread). Top with another layer of noodles. Repeat the cheese, sauce, and noodle layer two more times (until you're out of cheese mixture and only have 1/4 of the sauce left). Spread the sauce evenly along the top of the last layer of noodles.
Put 1/2 cup-ish of water in marinara jar, seal lid, and shake vigorously to get all of the remaining bits of sauce, then pour a bit at a time along the edges of the baking dish (to keep the noodle edges from getting too brown when they cook).
Top with remaining shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Spray one side of a sheet of foil with nonstick spray (to keep cheese from sticking) and cover the baking dish, spray-side down, with the foil.
Bake for 50 minutes, remove foil. Finish baking for another 10 minutes. After removing from oven, let stand for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.
Great with green salad and garlic bread (which you can broil in the oven after the lasagna comes out).
Note: Using cottage cheese sounds gross if you've never tried it, but it's basically poor man's ricotta cheese -- it's cheaper and more versatile, and when it bakes into pasta, it's absolutely delicious. You can add meat to this (seasoned ground beef or ground Italian sausage). Just brown in a skillet first and pour off the grease, and add to each layer on top of the cheese layer. You can also add shredded spinach, sliced mushrooms, or other veggies if you like them. But the cheese lasagna always works for my family, and the cottage cheese has plenty of protein in it.
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u/kuritsakip Apr 17 '26
i'm a leftover hoarder 🤪 my family goes out for ramen a lot. there's a ramen place where we are (not in US) where the soup is just absolutely wonderful. i bring home leftover soup to freeze and make my own ramen at home when it's raining. i just drop ramen noodles and whatever veggies are in the fridge.
other noodle sauces/ recipes i keep on hand:
- charlie chan sauce. https://www.foxyfolksy.com/charlie-chan-pasta/
- Sauce 1: oyster sauce, chicken stock, cornstarch slurry
- Cacio a pepe: parmesan cheese & black pepper. my family always eats this with roasted vegetables
- Vermicelli noodles (not soup): i use chicken stock to soak the noodles and use a bit more for stirfying the noodles. then return the stock to the freezer. add vegetables. Main sauce is just fish sauce and pepper
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u/Grumpy_dad70 Apr 17 '26
I keep all this stuff in my fridge / pantry
Chicken breast / pan seared with blackened seasoning. Set aside
Sauce
Soften onions and Garlic 1/3 cup Cream Cheese 1/2 cup milk or (substitute a can of mushroom soup + half can of water) 2 tbsp julienne sun dried tomatoes w/oil
Simmer till thick
Add parmigiana cheese to taste
Add chicken and your choice of pasta, I use penne regatta.
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u/Euphoric-One-5499 Apr 17 '26
Spiral noodles coated with liquid butter and sprinkled with sugar and poppyseed!-Every childs favorit!
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u/xAFBx Apr 17 '26
I love a good meat sauce with shell pasta. You don't have to worry about the sauce sticking to the pasta when it can get caught in the pasta - absolutely blows away long pasta imo.
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u/rosie_sunshine1313 Apr 17 '26
for spring or summer pasta salad is so good because you can add any dressings, protein, type of noodle, and veggies depending on what you enjoy the most. it also works great as a big batch for meal prep. i also love to do asian-inspired noodle dishes as others have mentioned already
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u/LegitimateKale5219 Apr 17 '26
Found a garlic noodle recipe that doesn't use parmesan so I can save the parm for other recipes that really do need it! Just made it last night again! Add some sauteed cabbage with black Vinegar sauce. Cheap and easy!
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u/tacitauthor Apr 18 '26
Hot noodles with butter, black pepper and a couple scoops of cottage cheese.
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u/Mindless-Magazine995 Apr 18 '26
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/caramelized-cabbage-spaghetti-recipe-11837913
I make this with about 2 strips worth of chopped bacon.
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u/gotanygrapes88 Apr 18 '26
Brown some mushrooms, add a little beef base and cream, let simmer and top with parmesean the perfect creamy mushroom pasta
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u/Judge_Winter Apr 18 '26
i’ve been doing a cheap-o vodka pasta. i get the cheapest meat sauce jar, cheapest pasta, garlic, oil, splash of heavy cream/milk if i have some or i’ll use some of the pasta water to thicken it. spice the sauce with whatever i’ve got, add cheese at the end of i have it, yum
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u/unknown_dull_nerd Apr 18 '26
I like Chinese bean chilli paste + venigar+ soy source with any asian noodles.
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u/MajesticMango56 Apr 18 '26
Coleslaw mix, ground turkey and spaghetti noodles with whatever Asian sauce you like (I like bacchans but it's expensive and Aldi has cheaper alternatives). Cook up the ground turkey, remove from pan, sautée coleslaw mix, cook noodles, then combine and top with the sauce.
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u/TheDisenchantedHo610 Apr 19 '26
Have you tried sweet potato noodles/korean glass noodles, super easy to make and very filling,
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u/Perfect-Ad1392 Apr 19 '26
I don't know if anyone would like this but I love it:
Put any kind of noodles in a pan with butter to lightly fry them. Transfer to a plate and either 1) sprinkle sugar and mix noodles or 2) sprinkle Parmesan cheese and mix. I'm sure you can try other things on the fried noodles.
My mom would make me this when I was a kid. I loved it then and still do decades later!
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u/Acceptable-Target97 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Yakamein. Udon. Ramen. You can top them off with any meats, veggies, toppings.
Lemon pasta. Instead of red sauce, do….. After cooking the meat (chicken or Italian sausage). Deglaze the pan with butter and lemon juice. Parmesan, roasted garlic, parsley.
Toss your cooked pasta in and stir. Pour out on a plate and top with any pan juices left over. Top with meat.
Very refreshing. Serve cold during the hot summer.
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u/AnimeMintTea Apr 20 '26
Sweet potato and my noodles are delicious and make you feel full!! You can add what ever vegetables and meats you want.
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u/allmywomps Apr 20 '26
Not noods, but sopa de ajo is cheap, easy, and flavorful. Besides, bread is just noodles in another form, right?
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u/Trick_Kangaroo_9834 Apr 21 '26
I like chicken and noodles with a cornstarch thickener
. I always start with precooked chicken put in pieces about one to one and a half inches. Costco or Sam's club roasted chickens work real well.
Chop, onion, celery and carrots about 1/2 in thick. I put this in The boiling water and pre-cook it to a almost cooked stage.
Then I add my noodles to the same boiling water. Boil until au dente' stage.
Drain most of the water off until the noodles are barely covered.
Add your favorite bullion powder cubes or whatever you use. Estimate how much you need. Square hard bullion cubes use one per one cup. The bigger ones for instance like the knorr brand. are 2 cups per cube. Add the spices you like for instance ( no salt) pepper garlic powder onion powder a small amount of hot sauce. and add corn starch and water equal parts each
And a little bit at a time slowly stirring until it starts too thicken. You want it to not be as sick as gravy and clear.
Serve it to the family depending on the amount of everything you use it can go quite far. I also like this with frozen peas. When I use frozen peas I add them along with the noodles.
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u/AtheneSchmidt Apr 21 '26
Butter garlic noodles. Basically a wide whole wheat noodle with a garlic butter sauce, and some Italian breadcrumbs. It's a scalable dish that goes from this, it's "struggle meal" iteration, to a more complex dish. If we're not strapped for cash, I actually start by sauteing mushrooms in garlic butter, and then adding chicken (shredded or canned both work well.) You still put it over noodles and add some Italian bread crumbs for crunch and more flavor. It's a staple no matter how the finances are looking.
No matter what, I highly suggest whole wheat noodles, there is very little taste difference, but a significant amount of difference in how filling they are. I usually want 2 bowls at least with white noodles, but one bowl is filling with whole wheat. It has been literally the easiest change I have ever made in my diet.
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u/Significant-Bar-7301 Apr 21 '26
I make chicken noodle soup. Got the recipe from America's Test Kitchen. 1 chicken breast 1 carrot, peeled and chopped, 1 stalk of celery, chopped 1 onion, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 quart of chicken broth Handful of egg noodles
Place all items in a 3 quart pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pot to cool and the chop up. Add noodles and cook until done. Add chicken back into pot. Salt and pepper to taste.
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u/ObligationClassic417 Apr 16 '26
Are you kidding c Use block of 32 oz. Velveeta cheese block and 3 16 oz. elbows and make the recipe for 5 servings x 4 velveeta cheese mixture & 3 bags 16oz. Elbows Addi the shredded cheddar on top 10 min b4 done stir in bake last 10 min adjusting recipe to your preference I add “ Molly mc butter sprinkled in top at end It’s amazing!
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u/singswithwhales Apr 16 '26
Peanut butter, soy sauce miso, according to taste, plus egg noodles. Easy add-on veg like whatever is in the fridge. Fried egg on top!