5 Healthy Tasty Meals for Single Parents and Small Families

When you’re on a budget or don’t have much time, you might turn to boring single-parent meal ideas to carry you and your child through the week. These cheap ideas for single moms will have you fixing meals that delight you and your child. Plus, they’re healthy and easy to make, making them perfect for weeknights or weekends!

Healthy Meals for Single Parent Families

photo of boy giving food to his mom
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Sriracha Lime Shrimp Tacos

Everyone loves tacos. They’re simple and perfect for school nights when you have limited time to work on something for yourself and your child. With flavors from a burst of sriracha, the creaminess of yogurt, and flavors of other ingredients, this dish will automatically become a favorite of your small household.

This meal can be ready in just a few short steps:

  • Use oil and soy sauce for cooking the shrimp. Add in your favorite seasonings.
  • Create a sauce using sriracha, yogurt, and seasonings of your choice, like black pepper or garlic powder.
  • Pack each taco full of red cabbage, cilantro, and any other ingredient you want. Top it with the cooked shrimp and the sauce mixture. For an extra zing, you can sprinkle some cheese or lime juice.

These tacos can be made in just a few minutes, but they’re filling and flavorful. They might become your child’s new favorite meal after you make it a few times. In about 20 minutes, you’ll have a platter of tacos ready to go, and you and your family can enjoy your meal together.

Related: How to Plan Meals as a Single Parent and Keep Your Sanity

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Nothing beats this standard cold-weather meal. While grilled cheese may not sound healthy, it depends on how you make it. Swapping white bread for whole wheat bread can make the sandwich much healthier. Pick your type of cheese wisely, and rely on other ingredients to help carry the flavor, not just the cheese, so you don’t have to use a lot of it.

Related: A Single Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Kids to Love Cooking

You can make the soup simultaneously with the sandwich on a different burner. Follow the directions on a can of soup for the fastest version of this meal. You can quickly make grilled cheese by buttering slices of bread and toasting them over a pan. In no time, you can serve this healthy version of a quick traditional meal, making it great for a school night when you don’t have a lot of time. It’s an easy combination that makes it one of the best cheap meals for single moms.

Oven-Baked Fries

Everyone loves fries, but not everyone loves how terrible fast food versions can be for you. These fries are made entirely from scratch, so you’ll know exactly what goes into them. You can serve these fries as their meal or as a side to another home-cooked dish. These fries can be made healthily by setting peeled and cut potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with oil and sprinkle a medley of spices you enjoy. Some of the best ones for these fries are garlic powder and paprika.

With the oven at 400°F, set the potatoes on the greased baking sheet. You can reduce the added salt to make these fries even healthier. Bake the fries for about 40 minutes — or longer if you want them to be crispier. Serve them alone or with your favorite dipping sauce. Your child is bound to love this tasty, healthy meal. Just be careful about eating too many of them because excess carbohydrates can lead to more plaque on teeth. Practice good personal hygiene before and after eating.

Related: How to Get Your Children Cooking

Southwestern Chicken Casserole

Casseroles are easy to make because you dump everything into an oven-friendly container and set it to bake. This southwestern casserole should include healthy brown rice and canned black beans. In addition, you should include boneless, skinless chicken breasts and other vegetables like corn and onions as you see fit.

Once you include all the ingredients of this casserole, bake it at around 375°F with foil on top. After 50 minutes, pull it out of the oven and sprinkle it with as much cheese as you like. The ingredients you choose can make this casserole delicious, filling, and healthy, all at the same time.

The amount of chicken in this casserole is up to you, but you can’t go wrong with adding more protein. Since chicken is poultry and not red meat, it won’t heighten the risk of heart disease, making it valuable with few drawbacks.

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so when you have time to make yourself and your child something in the morning, try this delicious meal. One of the best single-parent meal ideas is perfect for setting the stage for the rest of the day.

It’s heavily egg-based, so it’s full of protein that will keep your little one feeling full throughout the day. It also features spinach, a superfood good for building immune health, among several other benefits. You can put any vegetables or breakfast elements your child loves into this casserole.

The most common ingredients for this type of breakfast recipe are two chopped red bell peppers, green onions, five cups of spinach, and 12 eggs. You could also include dairy to make a creamier version of this casserole and cheese for something tastier. Mix the dairy items with your eggs, then pour them over all the other ingredients.

Make sure the oven is set to 350°F. You can bake this breakfast casserole for about 35 minutes maximum. Depending on the power of your oven, you may put it in for less. You want the eggs to be cooked thoroughly, and the whole casserole should wiggle a bit when you poke it.

Find Cheap Meals for Single Moms

When groceries seem to be getting more expensive, you need a few reliable meals you can turn to, either to carry you through the week or to make when you just don’t have enough time.

Related: Here are 44 Ways to Easily Save Money You Can Do Today

Cheap meals for single moms don’t have to be flavorless and bland — you can make some of the most incredible meals by working with what you have or adding only a limited number of supplies to your grocery basket.

These single-parent meal ideas should carry your small household through the week and show you that you can make something with little time.

Author Bio

Beth is the content manager and Managing Editor at Body+Mind. She writes about parenting, fitness, mental health, and nutrition. You can find Beth on Twitter @bodymindmag.