Meal Stretchers: Simple Ways to Make Meals Go Further and Keep Grocery Costs Down
We all like to eat well, and we all like to have enough food on the table. Sometimes there are unexpected extra mouths to feed, hungry family members looking for seconds, or simply a grocery budget that needs to stretch just a little further.
As Cheapskaters, we know that making food go further doesn’t mean serving miserable meals or leaving everyone hungry. It means knowing how to use the food we already have to create filling, nourishing and satisfying meals at a lower cost.
Most of us have heard the old sayings: add more water to the soup or throw another potato into the stew pot. And yes, they can work — although I’m not a great fan of watery soup!
There are plenty of better ways to stretch meals using simple pantry and freezer ingredients.
My favourite meal stretchers are:
• Rolled oats
• Pasta
• Rice
• TVP
• Fresh or frozen vegetables
• Mashed potato
On their own, these ingredients may not seem very exciting. Added to another dish, they can turn a small amount of meat, chicken or fish into a hearty meal that feeds extra people without making it obvious the meal has been stretched.
A small serve of chicken casserole may not look like much on its own. Serve it over steamed rice or pasta and suddenly it becomes a filling dinner, while allowing you to use a smaller serve of the more expensive chicken mixture.
A piece of barbecued steak is delicious, but slice it thinly and combine it with cooked rice, capsicum, tomato, zucchini and onion, and you have a generous burrito filling that can easily feed four or more people.
Knowing which meal stretchers work in your favourite recipes is a valuable Cheapskates skill. It helps you get more serves from your meals, confidently feed unexpected visitors and keep that grocery bill under control.
Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are one of the easiest ways to stretch mince dishes. They absorb flavour, help bind the mixture and quietly add bulk without changing the meal too much.
Use rolled oats in:
• Rissoles
• Meatballs
• Meatloaf
• Hamburgers
How to use them:
Add rolled oats to your mince mixture before shaping or cooking. Start with about ½ cup of rolled oats to 500g mince, then increase if needed, depending on the recipe and your family’s preferences.
Pasta
Pasta is inexpensive, filling and very useful for turning a smaller amount of meat or sauce into a larger meal.
Use pasta in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Salads
• Pasta bakes
• Leftover meat dishes
How to use it:
Add 1–2 cups of pasta, depending on the size of the dish and the amount of liquid available. For soups and casseroles, you may need to add extra stock, water or sauce so the pasta cooks properly without drying out the dish.
Cooked pasta is also a handy way to stretch leftover chicken, tuna, ham or roasted vegetables into a quick lunch or dinner salad.
Rice
Rice is one of the most versatile and economical meal stretchers. It works beautifully with meat, chicken, fish, beans and vegetables.
Use rice in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Meatballs
• Rissoles
• Hamburgers
• Salads
• Burrito and taco fillings
How to use it:
For soups, stews and casseroles, add up to 1 cup of raw rice and increase the liquid so the rice can cook properly.
For meatballs, rissoles, hamburgers and meatloaf, add ½–1 cup of cooked rice to the mixture. You may also need an extra egg, or an egg substitute, to help bind everything together.
For salads, taco fillings and burrito fillings, add 1–2 cups of cooked rice to turn a small amount of meat or chicken into a generous family meal.
TVP
TVP, or textured vegetable protein, is a very handy pantry ingredient for stretching minced meat. Once rehydrated, it takes on the flavours of the dish and blends easily into many savoury recipes.
Use TVP in:
• Rissoles
• Meatballs
• Stews and casseroles
• Pasta sauce
• Tacos
• Enchiladas
• Burritos
• Lasagne
• Pasta bake
How to use it:
To rehydrate TVP, soak 1 cup of TVP in 1 cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Once softened, add it to your recipe.
You can add an equal quantity of rehydrated TVP to mince in many dishes. For example, 500g mince mixed with a similar quantity of prepared TVP can give you enough mixture for two meals instead of one.
TVP is usually available from health food shops or in the health food aisle of larger supermarkets.
Vegetables
Vegetables are perhaps the most useful meal stretcher of all. They add flavour, nutrition, colour and bulk, and they’re a great way to use up vegetables that are becoming a little limp in the fridge.
Use vegetables in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Meatloaf
• Pasta sauces
• Tacos, enchiladas and burritos
• Shepherd’s pie
• Sausage rolls
• Rissoles and meatballs
How to use them:
Grate vegetables such as potato, zucchini, carrot, cabbage, eggplant, tomato, onion or celery into mince dishes, pasta sauces and casseroles.
Finely chop vegetables such as mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, beetroot, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, swede, turnip or parsnip and add them to soups, stews, pasta sauces or pie fillings.
This is an excellent way to use vegetables that need using up, and it helps boost vegetable intake without serving individual piles of vegetables on the plate — especially handy when feeding finicky eaters.
Mashed Potato
Mashed potato is cheap, filling and wonderfully useful for stretching leftover meat or fish.
Use mashed potato to:
• Stretch leftover diced meat into patties
• Turn one tin of tuna into twice as many fish cakes
• Bulk out sausage roll filling
• Top shepherd’s pie or leftover casserole pies
• Make croquettes from small amounts of cooked meat or vegetables
Adding mashed potato to sausage roll filling not only helps make the meat go further, it also keeps the filling moist and tender.
Stretching Meals Without Looking Stingy
Any of these simple meal stretchers can help a little meat, chicken or fish go a long way. The secret is to use them thoughtfully, so the finished meal still feels generous, appetising and satisfying.
Stretching meals is not about pretending there is plenty when there isn’t. It is about using our ingredients wisely, getting the very best value from the food we buy, and making sure everyone leaves the table well fed.
It is a practical skill, a frugal habit and one that becomes more valuable every time grocery prices rise.
So next time you are making dinner, take a look in the pantry, fridge or freezer and ask yourself: What can I add to make this meal go just a little further?
That small habit can make a very useful difference to your grocery budget.
As Cheapskaters, we know that making food go further doesn’t mean serving miserable meals or leaving everyone hungry. It means knowing how to use the food we already have to create filling, nourishing and satisfying meals at a lower cost.
Most of us have heard the old sayings: add more water to the soup or throw another potato into the stew pot. And yes, they can work — although I’m not a great fan of watery soup!
There are plenty of better ways to stretch meals using simple pantry and freezer ingredients.
My favourite meal stretchers are:
• Rolled oats
• Pasta
• Rice
• TVP
• Fresh or frozen vegetables
• Mashed potato
On their own, these ingredients may not seem very exciting. Added to another dish, they can turn a small amount of meat, chicken or fish into a hearty meal that feeds extra people without making it obvious the meal has been stretched.
A small serve of chicken casserole may not look like much on its own. Serve it over steamed rice or pasta and suddenly it becomes a filling dinner, while allowing you to use a smaller serve of the more expensive chicken mixture.
A piece of barbecued steak is delicious, but slice it thinly and combine it with cooked rice, capsicum, tomato, zucchini and onion, and you have a generous burrito filling that can easily feed four or more people.
Knowing which meal stretchers work in your favourite recipes is a valuable Cheapskates skill. It helps you get more serves from your meals, confidently feed unexpected visitors and keep that grocery bill under control.
Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are one of the easiest ways to stretch mince dishes. They absorb flavour, help bind the mixture and quietly add bulk without changing the meal too much.
Use rolled oats in:
• Rissoles
• Meatballs
• Meatloaf
• Hamburgers
How to use them:
Add rolled oats to your mince mixture before shaping or cooking. Start with about ½ cup of rolled oats to 500g mince, then increase if needed, depending on the recipe and your family’s preferences.
Pasta
Pasta is inexpensive, filling and very useful for turning a smaller amount of meat or sauce into a larger meal.
Use pasta in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Salads
• Pasta bakes
• Leftover meat dishes
How to use it:
Add 1–2 cups of pasta, depending on the size of the dish and the amount of liquid available. For soups and casseroles, you may need to add extra stock, water or sauce so the pasta cooks properly without drying out the dish.
Cooked pasta is also a handy way to stretch leftover chicken, tuna, ham or roasted vegetables into a quick lunch or dinner salad.
Rice
Rice is one of the most versatile and economical meal stretchers. It works beautifully with meat, chicken, fish, beans and vegetables.
Use rice in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Meatballs
• Rissoles
• Hamburgers
• Salads
• Burrito and taco fillings
How to use it:
For soups, stews and casseroles, add up to 1 cup of raw rice and increase the liquid so the rice can cook properly.
For meatballs, rissoles, hamburgers and meatloaf, add ½–1 cup of cooked rice to the mixture. You may also need an extra egg, or an egg substitute, to help bind everything together.
For salads, taco fillings and burrito fillings, add 1–2 cups of cooked rice to turn a small amount of meat or chicken into a generous family meal.
TVP
TVP, or textured vegetable protein, is a very handy pantry ingredient for stretching minced meat. Once rehydrated, it takes on the flavours of the dish and blends easily into many savoury recipes.
Use TVP in:
• Rissoles
• Meatballs
• Stews and casseroles
• Pasta sauce
• Tacos
• Enchiladas
• Burritos
• Lasagne
• Pasta bake
How to use it:
To rehydrate TVP, soak 1 cup of TVP in 1 cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Once softened, add it to your recipe.
You can add an equal quantity of rehydrated TVP to mince in many dishes. For example, 500g mince mixed with a similar quantity of prepared TVP can give you enough mixture for two meals instead of one.
TVP is usually available from health food shops or in the health food aisle of larger supermarkets.
Vegetables
Vegetables are perhaps the most useful meal stretcher of all. They add flavour, nutrition, colour and bulk, and they’re a great way to use up vegetables that are becoming a little limp in the fridge.
Use vegetables in:
• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Meatloaf
• Pasta sauces
• Tacos, enchiladas and burritos
• Shepherd’s pie
• Sausage rolls
• Rissoles and meatballs
How to use them:
Grate vegetables such as potato, zucchini, carrot, cabbage, eggplant, tomato, onion or celery into mince dishes, pasta sauces and casseroles.
Finely chop vegetables such as mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, beetroot, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, swede, turnip or parsnip and add them to soups, stews, pasta sauces or pie fillings.
This is an excellent way to use vegetables that need using up, and it helps boost vegetable intake without serving individual piles of vegetables on the plate — especially handy when feeding finicky eaters.
Mashed Potato
Mashed potato is cheap, filling and wonderfully useful for stretching leftover meat or fish.
Use mashed potato to:
• Stretch leftover diced meat into patties
• Turn one tin of tuna into twice as many fish cakes
• Bulk out sausage roll filling
• Top shepherd’s pie or leftover casserole pies
• Make croquettes from small amounts of cooked meat or vegetables
Adding mashed potato to sausage roll filling not only helps make the meat go further, it also keeps the filling moist and tender.
Stretching Meals Without Looking Stingy
Any of these simple meal stretchers can help a little meat, chicken or fish go a long way. The secret is to use them thoughtfully, so the finished meal still feels generous, appetising and satisfying.
Stretching meals is not about pretending there is plenty when there isn’t. It is about using our ingredients wisely, getting the very best value from the food we buy, and making sure everyone leaves the table well fed.
It is a practical skill, a frugal habit and one that becomes more valuable every time grocery prices rise.
So next time you are making dinner, take a look in the pantry, fridge or freezer and ask yourself: What can I add to make this meal go just a little further?
That small habit can make a very useful difference to your grocery budget.