What’s another cheap meal you can cook at home? How about baked beans?
You can do a lot with baked beans. There are so many versatile ways we can use them, and they just sit in the cupboard until they are needed. They’re great if you are on a budget as well, because they are always cheaply available. Quite often they can be even cheaper if you buy them in bulk, so bear that in mind.
But let’s get back to how you can actually use them. If all you can think of is the standard beans on toast, think again. Here are some more ideas:
1. Beans on toast with a twist. Add some raw chopped up onion and your choice of some hot sauce –- anything spicy you have a taste for. Mix it all together and serve it on hot buttered toast as you would normally. Test your taste buds with that!
2. Bulk out a cottage pie by adding in a tin of beans as well. Mince can be expensive and if you are on a tight budget you’ll want to make sure your meals go as far as they possibly can. One key way to do this is to add some baked beans to a dish. Cottage pie is ideal. Once you have cooked your mince, add some chopped onion, a tin of beans and some frozen peas and sweetcorn. Stir it all in together and look forward to a bulked out and very tasty meal when you serve it up.
3. Try a sausage casserole. You’ll need to partially cook your choice of sausages first, otherwise you will end up with insipid looking meats. But once you have done that you can chop them up into chunks, sling in a tin of baked beans, add some mixed up gravy and some roughly chopped onions. Cover the oven dish and cook it on a low temperature for a couple of hours for perfection.
4. Make a baked bean sandwich. Some people swear by these, especially when toasted. Butter two slices of bread and put them butter side down on your sandwich toaster. Add some beans and grated cheese and two more slices of bread to finish off. Toast and enjoy!
5. Have corned beef hash with beans. This is another favorite because you’ve got the means to bulk it out again. And corned beef and beans always go nicely together. Whatever recipe you have for corned beef hash, just stir some beans in as well.
As you can see, there are plenty of things you can do with a tin of baked beans. Beans get bad press sometimes because they are thought of as student food and food for those who are budgeting as much as they can. But there is so much more you can do with them that you really should get your thinking cap on to find as many recipes as you can that use them.
I tend to think of them as a basic ingredient that can be used in lots of different ways –- just as chicken or beef can be. Once you start thinking along these lines, you will see the benefits of stocking up your cupboard with the basics.
If you are trying to beat debt by cutting down on your food bills to free up some more cash each month, think about being creative when using the simpler ingredients. Don’t underestimate the power of beans!
For more food ideas that will allow you to stretch your budget, check out our other articles!