10 Meals for £30 – 02nd Mar 2026

In this challenge, I test out making 5 lunches, 5 dinners and 2 snacks for £30 using only tinned and storecupboard ingredients!

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri
Lunch	Sundried Tomato & Butterbean Houmous with Mackerel on Sourdough	Coronation Chickpea on Sourdough	Sweetcorn Chowder & Sourdough	Lentil & Tomato Soup & Sourdough	Tomato & Butterbean Soup & Sourdough
Dinner	Cheesy Tortilla Bake	Sardine & Tomato Pasta Bake	Creamy Chickpea & Tomato Curry & Rice	Boston Baked Beans topped Baked Potato	Loaded Mixed Bean Nachos
Snack	Black Bean Brownie	Mixed Nuts	Black Bean Brownie	Mixed Nuts	Black Bean Brownie

Ingredients / Shopping List: 

4 tins butterbeans	1 tin mackerel in tomato sauce	2 loaves of sourdough
3 tins sweetcorn (large)	1 jar sundried tomatoes	1 pack microwave rice
2 tins chickpeas	3 veg stock cubes	1 bag tortilla chips
3 tins cannellini beans	1 tube tomato puree	250g dried pasta
2 tins lentils	1x 400g block cheddar cheese	1 tin sardines
6 tins chopped tomatoes	1 pack tortilla wraps	200g mixed nuts
1x 500g box passata	1 jar jalapenos	1 bag frozen summer fruits
2 tins black beans	1 tin beans in chilli sauce

Storecupboard Items

Butter	Mustard Powder	Garlic Granules
Milk	Curry Powder	Onion Granules
Flour	Smoked Paprika	Chilli Flakes
Soy Sauce	Cumin	Dried Basil
Lemon Juice	Dried Oregano	Dried Mixed Herbs
Ketchup	Olive Oil	Vanilla Extract
Maple Syrup / Honey	Cacao or Cocoa Powder	Red Lentils
Mayonnaise	Peanut Butter	Chia  Seeds
Salt	Pepper

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Lunch Recipes

Sundried Tomato & Butterbean Houmous with Mackerel 

I really like this houmous base as a change to the usual version with chickpeas, and it tastes delicious with the mackerel on top. We would enjoy this on some sourdough perhaps with some salad on the side, you could just serve with a salad. I also topped mine with some olives I had leftover from the pasta bake. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tin butterbeans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin mackerel in tom sauce 
• ½ jar sundried tomatoes
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1-2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt / Pepper

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor with 1-2tbsp oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes and blitz until smooth
2. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking – i.e. you might want a bit more lemon, spice or salt
3. Store in an airtight container in the fridge
4. Then serve by spreading the houmous on sourdough and topping with the mackerel.

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Coronation Chickpea 

The first time I made this was for our daughter’s christening and everyone loved it – in fact, it went down even better than the chicken version!

Method:

1. Mash up the chickpeas roughly with the back of a fork
2. Add the mayonnaise, curry powder, mango chutney and sultanas / raisins to a bowl and stir – taste and adjust to suit your preferred level of spice and seasoning
3. Store in the fridge in an airtight container & serve with salad or as a sourdough topper.

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Soups

Soups are so easy to make and great to have in for the colder months! They often can heavily lean on tinned goods, so are a pretty budget friendly option too! We like to serve ours with a toasted slice of sourdough and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

Soup 1: Sweetcorn Chowder

Ingredients: 

• 2 tins sweetcorn (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin cannellini beans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 80-100ml water
• 1 tsp onion granules
• Salt & pepper
• Chilli Flakes / Smoked Paprika (optional) 

Method:

1. Blend beans and half the corn along with the stock cube and water
2. Add to a saucepan and simmer for 10 mins – if it looks thick, you can loosen up with some more water
3. Add seasoning to your taste – I went for chilli flakes and smoked paprika

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Soup 2: Lentil & Tomato 

• 1 tin lentils (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 80-100ml water
• 1 tsp garlic / onion granules
• Salt & pepper
• 20g Red lentils 

Method:

1. Blitz the red lentils in a high speed processor until they are fine powder like consistency
2. Add all the ingredients, including the blitzed lentils, to a pan and simmer for 10-15 mins. 
3. Keep chunky or blend a little. 

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Soup 3: Tomato & Butterbean 

• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin butterbeans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 80-100ml water
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tsp dried basil / oregano
• Salt & pepper
• Chilli Flakes (optional)

Method:

1. Add tomatoes and stock to a saucepan and simmer for 10 mins 
2. Add butter beans and blend until smooth
3. Add seasoning to your taste.

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Dinners

Boston Baked Beans & Baked Potato

This is a great way to add more beans into your diet and packs a bit more flavour than your usual tin of shop bought beans!

Ingredients: 

• 2 tins cannellini beans (rinsed & drained)
• 1x 500g box of passata
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1-2 tbsp brown sugar / maple syrup / honey
• 1 tsp mustard (or mustard powder)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• Soy sauce / chilli flakes 
• Salt & pepper

Method: 

1. Add everything except for the beans to a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add drained beans and simmer on a low heat for a further 15-20 mins until the sauce has thickened.
3. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as required. 
4. Serve with baked potatoes (we like to do ours in the microwave and airfryer to save time!) and grated cheddar cheese. 

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Tortilla Lasagne

This recipe is quite a fun way to enjoy a chilli style base and is really freezer friendly – provide you ensure the sauce isn’t too wet!

• 1 tin butterbeans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin black beans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin sweetcorn (rinsed & drained)
• 100g Passata 
• 100g Cheddar cheese 
• 50g tomato puree
• Smoked paprika
• Salt & Pepper
• Tortilla wraps 
• Optional – jalapenos to top / avocados for serving

Method: 

1. Lightly mash up the butterbeans in a large bowl
2. Add in the black beans, sweetcorn, tomato puree, smoked paprika and salt / pepper, along with any other seasonings you fancy like chilli flakes for example – the goal is to create quite a dry and thick sauce (to prevent the lasagne going soggy!)
3. Lightly grease a baking dish and add a tortilla wrap on the base, then add a thin layer of bean filling and some grated cheese, repeat until you have reached the top of the dish and used all of the filling. 
4. For the final layer use a wrap and a generous handful of cheddar, along with some jalapenos. 
5. Bake at 160 fan for 20-25 mins then leave to rest for 10 mins before slicing. 

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Creamy Chickpea Curry & Rice 

Ingredients

• 1 tin chickpeas (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin butterbeans (rinsed & drained)
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp mango chutney (optional)
• 1 pack microwave rice

Method:

1. Blend the beans & tinned tomatoes.
2. Meanwhile, fry off the chickpeas in a hot pan with the curry powder for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add in the tomato mix and simmer for 10 mins.
4. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding mango chutney now if desired.

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Loaded Bean Chilli Nachos

This recipe was really delicious and so easy to assemble on the day – I kept one half without jalapenos for the kids and upped the spice on our side.

Ingredients:

• 250g Passata 
• Chopped Toms (drain in a sieve) 
• 1 tin beans in chilli sauce
• Jar of jalapenos (optional) 
• 100g Grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tin lentils (rinsed & drained)
• ½ large tin sweetcorn (rinsed & drained)
• 1 bag tortilla chips
• Herbs
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt / pepper 

Method:

1. Add the beans, chopped tomatoes, tinned lentils, passata and herbs and spices into a pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened. 
2. Add a layer of tortillas to the dish, top with the chilli by spooning small spoonfuls across the dish, add some grated cheese and then repeat. You could also top with some jalapenos for an extra kick.
3. Bake at 160 fan for 8-12 minutes until the cheese is melted and the chips are lightly toasted.
4. You could serve with avocado or freshly sliced pepper.

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Sardine & Tomato Pasta 

This recipe was a great way to use crossover ingredients such as the passata, sundried tomatoes and the olives and it was really tasty – to save on cost

• 250g Pasta
• 1 tin sardines 
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (seived) 
• 150g passata blended with 1 tin butterbeans 
• ½ jar sundried tomatoes 
• Garlic granules, Chilli flakes, Dried basil / oregano, Salt & pepper, Olive oil
• Optional – lemon juice/ olives 

Method: 

1. Cook pasta al dente and drain, reserving some of the pasta water
2. Heat up oil in the pan and add in the garlic granules & chilli flakes, then the tomatoes / passata.
3. Simmer for 10 mins until thickened.
4. Gently break up the sardines
5. Add the drained pasta and a splash of pasta water and toss.
6. Stir in the sardines and season to your taste – I’ve added some olives to mine. 

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Snacks

Roasted Herby Nuts 

I absolutely love making these and they taste amazing if you use walnuts – they soak up some of the buttery seasoning and have the most delicious taste and texture!

• 200g Mixed Nuts
• Herbs – I used 1 sprig of fresh rosemary (chopped) and some dried sage and thyme
• 20g Butter
• 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt / Pepper 

Method:

1. Melt the butter 
2. Stir the butter in with the mixed nuts, herbs and seasoning
3. Lay flat on a baking tray and roast for 10-15 mins at 170, turning halfway. 

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Blackbean Blackforest Brownies

I love to incorporate beans into our desserts / snacks, as in those which contain a decent amount of cacao, you barely notice that they’re there! I fancied a black forest gateau vibe with the snacks this week, and this one really hit the spot.

As you’ll see in the video, I was a little too generous with the berries – be aware that the more you use, the more liquid there will be in the brownies! 

• 1 tin black beans (rinsed & drained)
• 2 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
• 2-4 tbsp maple syrup / honey
• 2 tbsp oil / melted butter / nut butter (I used peanut in mine) 
• 4 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• Pinch salt
• Handful frozen fruits – I’d recommend summer fruits 

Method: 

1. Add all of the ingredients except for the berries to a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Gently stir in the frozen berries – don’t use too many otherwise there will be a lot of liquid in the mix and they will take longer to cook.
3. Pour into a lined dish
4. Bake at 160 fan for 20-25 minutes 
5. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Tip for using the rest of the frozen berries… make some chia jam! 

If you want to use up the rest of the bag of frozen berries – simply place in a microwave safe container and microwave and until heated through. Mash with a fork and add 2-3 tbsp chia seeds and a splash of maple syrup. Leave to chill in the fridge.