Recipe costs

Updated 14 March 2026

Cheap kids dinners they will actually eat

Kid-friendly dinners that cost $1.50-4 per serve. Meals they will actually eat, with real supermarket prices.

The frozen food reality

Frozen fish fingers, chicken nuggets, and chips get a bad reputation they don't deserve. They're cheap ($4-6 per box), quick (15 minutes), and kids love them. Two to three nights of frozen food per week is completely normal. The maths: a $5 box of fish fingers feeds four kids for around $1.25 per serve.

Pre-packaged "kids meals" at the supermarket cost $4-6 per serve. The same food made from scratch costs half that.

10 dinners kids will actually eat (with real prices)

1. Fish fingers and chips: $2 per serve

Frozen fish fingers ($4-6/box), frozen chips ($3-4/bag). Serve with tomato sauce. Feeds four. This is your anchor meal: cheap, fast, and universally loved.

2. Spaghetti bolognese: $2.50 per serve

Pasta ($1.50), tinned tomatoes ($1), mince ($8-10/kg), onion, garlic. Feeds four to five. Make double and freeze half. This is the meal that works across all age ranges.

3. Chicken nuggets and veg: $2 per serve

Frozen chicken nuggets ($4-6), frozen peas ($1.50), rice or pasta. Pair with something they'll eat. If they won't touch the veg, don't fight it, just serve it.

4. Mac and cheese: $1.50 per serve

Pasta ($1.50), milk ($2), butter (50 cents), cheese ($1.50). Make the sauce thick, grate zucchini into it if they'll tolerate it. This feeds four.

5. Fried rice: $1.50 per serve

Cooked rice (leftover is perfect), eggs ($3/dozen), frozen mixed veg ($1.50), soy sauce. Use yesterday's rice. This is the meal that clears the fridge.

6. Pizza toast: $1.50 per serve

Bread ($2), passata ($1.50), grated cheese ($1.50), ham ($8/kg, use 100g). Toast bread, spread sauce, add cheese and ham, grill. Feels fancy. Costs nothing.

7. Sausages and mash: $2 per serve

Sausages ($8-12/kg), potatoes ($3/2kg), frozen peas ($1.50), butter (50 cents). Mash the potatoes, serve sausages on top. This feeds four.

8. Chicken wraps: $2.50 per serve

Wraps ($4), cooked chicken (rotisserie, $8-10), lettuce ($2), grated cheese ($1.50). Shred the chicken, let them build their own. Engagement = less food waste.

9. Pasta with hidden veg sauce: $1.50 per serve

Pasta ($1.50), tinned tomatoes ($1), zucchini (grate it in), carrot (grate it in), garlic. The grating is the key: they can't see it, they'll eat it. Feeds four to five.

10. Pancakes for dinner: $1 per serve

Flour ($3/kg), eggs ($3/dozen), milk ($2), banana ($1/kg), maple syrup ($8/bottle). Make a big batch. Top with banana and a drizzle of syrup. This feeds four and takes 20 minutes.

Hidden veg strategies that actually work

Don't announce the vegetables. Just do it:

• Grate zucchini and carrot into bolognese sauce. They dissolve in.
• Blend cauliflower into mac and cheese sauce. You need slightly more cheese, but they won't notice.
• Add frozen spinach to fried rice. It disappears in the colour.
• Dice finely into pizza sauce and let it cook down.
• Use frozen veg: kids are more likely to eat frozen peas than fresh because they're soft and sweet.

The money part

Here's what changes when you stop buying pre-packaged kids meals and make these 10 dinners instead:

• Pre-packaged kids meal: $4-6 per serve, $20-30 per week for 5 dinners.
• Homemade from this list: $1.50-2.50 per serve, $7.50-12.50 per week for 5 dinners.
• Annual saving: roughly $400-1,000 per kid, depending on how many nights you cook.

Track your actual supermarket prices with Pinch. Fish finger prices move: $4.50 one week, $6.50 the next. Knowing when to stock up saves money faster than any recipe hack.

The real advice

Kids who eat the same meals repeatedly is not picky eating, it's normal. Let them eat the same five dinners if they will. A rotisserie chicken and rice every Wednesday night is a win, not a parenting failure.

Frozen food is fine. Tinned tomatoes are fine. Grated vegetables they don't know about are fine. Perfect is the enemy of done.