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Easy Cheap Few Ingredient Recipes

These 3 to 5 few ingredient recipes are perfect when you need an easy and quick meal for dinner. Throw together one pot meals are my jam I tell you!

Few Ingredient Recipes

You might need a bunch of few 3 ingredient recipes right about now right?? Well, we have over 100 of them right here to keep you busy for months! Get ready for lots of easy family friendly recipes even your kids will love. (affiliate links present, originally published 4/20)

Easy Recipes with Few Ingredients

Let me tell you how I categorize all of these! I do NOT count water or any seasonings as ingredients, you have them at home already. There are many roundup links that have 10-50 easy recipes within them so really there are well over 3 months of breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts to choose from.

Yes there are a few things you can make all by themselves like the best brats in the world! Whether you make them in your pressure cooker, smoke sausage or air fryer they’re cheap meals packed with protein.

Instant Pot Brats 2

Few ingredient breakfast recipes

Yes of course you can just throw in some toast with peanut butter and honey on top, but let’s think outside the box a bit here. 😉 There are way better meals you can make that can be just as fast, and healthier too. Here are a few to get you going at the beginning of the day;

Our most popular 4 ingredient banana bread could be breakfast too. Add crushed nuts to it, mini chocolate chips or leave as is. You can make this dairy free too with plant based butter and almond milk.

4 ingredient banana bread

Few ingredient recipes 

Even though these aren’t main dishes, many of these only have one ingredient! Since we’re going for EASY so we can’t leave these comfort foods then right??!! I would say the #1 thing we cook on a weekly basis is white rice!

  1. Followed by Crockpot baked potatoes as a close second choice.
    1. If you have a hot air machine you can make air fryer baked potatoes as well
    2. Or use your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi to make these fluffy pressure cooker baked potatoes.
    3. We have lots of easy potato recipes here too.
  2. Mashed potatoes can be as simple as you want with salt and pepper, or loaded up with shredded cheese.
    1. These and our air fryer tortillas are super easy to make in just a few minutes.
  3. You can make steamed vegetables or make air fryer vegetables crispy with nothing more than a bit of olive oil and seasonings.

If you want to amp it up a bit with lots of seasonings and a shallot, try our dill air fryer red potatoes. There are a bunch of other air fryer potato recipes here too.

Air Fryer Red Potatoes

There are many choices on our cheap Instant Pot recipes post you can choose from. If inexpensive meals are what you’re looking for, I’d recommend bookmarking that page.

Chicken recipes with few ingredients

Air Fryer Whole Chicken

Cheap Recipes with Few Ingredients

I don’t do super expensive, hardly ever that is. My win is all 4 of us eating for 20 bucks. Seriously you can do a lot with just this much. You just need to keep it simple and always use ingredients that are in season and on sale. If you can find both then you’re in luck as far as that goes. You have to be flexible, if something isn’t, then make something else.

    • Of course throwing it into the oven or slow cooker chicken is a no brainer. BUT if you’re going for quick and easy I’d opt for one of these methods.
  • I have a bunch of easy chicken recipes here as well on my site. Look thru them all and see what you have on hand to make.
  • Quick Chicken Thigh Recipes

3 to 5 Ingredient Recipes

Most all of these are main dishes vs. side dishes. Those are typically more simple because you can just cut up fresh vegetables and roast on a sheet pan pretty easily. Toss with some olive oil with salt and pepper if you like a little crisp on the edges. If you want ideas for those you can search under that category on our site too.

Air fryer chicken tenders no breading are keto friendly if you use this sugar free bbq sauce

air fryer chicken strips

3 ingredient recipes

The old fashioned version is quite easy if you just want to roast chicken quarters in oven this way. I have done this with fresh and frozen pieces. We have a TON of 3 ingredient Instant Pot recipes to choose from here. If you have a Ninja Foodi or other pressure cooker you’ll be set for months! Just a few we love are:

Our homemade macaroni and cheese recipe has 4 ingredients and SO worth it. You’ll probably never make boxed again after this one.

3 ingredient instant pot recipes

5 ingredient recipes

We have a TON of other 5 ingredient Instant Pot recipes to choose from right here too like:

Our most popular 5 ingredient Instant Pot chili is a great pantry meal if you skip the meat. We have directions for a 5 ingredient Crockpot chili as well for ya’. 😉

instant pot chili recipe

Recipes with under 10 ingredients

Want a creamy old fashioned dish from your childhood? Beef stroganoff is just that and so easy to throw together for sure.

  • Our pressure cooker carnitas are seriously over the top too!
  • Here is our list of easy slow cooker recipes here.
    • I never use things you couldn’t find on Amazon or have in your cupboards already. They’re all family friendly meals that require no significant prep time.
  • Looking for easy ground beef recipes in particular? I have a bunch of those because we always have a pound or more in the freezer. Cheap and simple to do, the kids always love a good hearty meal using hamburger.
  • Throw together this cheesy potato casserole and have breakfast for dinner tonight.

If you want the best chicken enchilada casserole, this is it!

Instant Pot ground beef recipes 4

Few ingredient desserts

2 ingredient strawberry cake
sausage recipes
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Few Ingredient Recipes

Tons of few ingredient recipes that are cheap are here. Using chicken, pork or beef with 1, 3 or 5 ingredients only.
Course Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword 2 ingredient, easy, one pot meal
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Servings 6
Calories 302kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Slice medium size boneless skinless breasts in half width wise. Put into slow cooker with sauce or salsa over the top.
  • Close lid and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or until meat falls apart or shreds easily with 2 forks. Shred, toss with sauce and serve over rice or in tortillas.
Nutrition Facts
Few Ingredient Recipes
Amount Per Serving (2 oz)
Calories 302 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Trans Fat 0.02g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 952mg41%
Potassium 733mg21%
Carbohydrates 31g10%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 25g28%
Protein 33g66%
Vitamin A 214IU4%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 32mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

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the typical mom
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Brian

Monday 6th of April 2020

Hi, I love your recipes. I am lost on this one. I was looking for 24 3 ingredient Instant Pot recipes and only see a few. Can you email them to me? Also, I do not see your 101 3 -5 ingredient recipes. Sorry, I am a bit lost on this one.

The Typical Mom

Monday 6th of April 2020

If you only want 3 ingredient IP recipes there is a specific link for that. Click on that and you'll get over 30 of just those. There are many roundups in this list. If you click on say the 5 ingredient IP recipes link you'll find about 30 more of those so in all there are over 100 to choose from.

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