Meal ideas for busy weeknights that can be quicker and cheaper than takeout or ready meals

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Instructions for kids' activities are always in purple boxes.

When do we need alternatives to takeaway?

We all have nights when we're not intending to have a takeaway or ready meals, but we've come in from an activity late, or one of our kids has had a meltdown. By the time you're in the kitchen it's too late to start cooking the thing that you had in mind, or you're just knackered and don't want to start on a complicated meal.

On lots of those nights we might order something in or pick up some ready meals on the way home and there is nothing wrong with that some of the time. If it feels like a treat because everyone gets to eat something special, or if it feels like a genuine rest for the cook, then why not! The problem comes when it doesn't feel like a treat, no one particularly fancies it and it ends up being more work than just making something quick. Those are the times when you wish your brain would be able to come up with some alternatives to takeaway but you're too tired to think.

Takeaways and ready meals can really add up

While a ready meal or a take out for one person can be very quick and cheap compared to cooking from scratch, by the time you've ordered take out for a family of four the price can really make your eyes water. Ready meals for three or four people can really add up too, especially if you have to order side dishes because there are bigger appetites in the family or the meals don't include starchy sides.

image of someone paying for takeaway with a car payment machine

Takeaways and ready meals aren't always time savers either

If you live very close to a takeaway that you can pick up on the way home, then obviously that will save time, you can just wash hands and plate up straight away. But if you have to order a delivery because you don't want to go out again and your kids aren't old enough to leave alone, then you can be looking at anything from half an hour to an hour to wait. Even if someone can go out to fetch something, unless you live on the same street as the takeaway you're usually looking at 30 minutes with getting there and back and queuing.

And unless you manage to find ready meal choices for everyone that can all go into the oven at a similar temperature, you can often end up microwaving three or four ready meals in a row, which ends up taking 20 to 30 minutes back to back - longer than a pan of pasta. And because the the food isn't always hot at the same time, so you can't always eat them together anyway.

Image of a ready meal in the microwave

So what are the alternatives to takeaway on busy nights?

Everybody's got a couple of struggle meals in their idea bank, that's the name for meals that are cheap and low effort, but because these busy days are the days where you have least brain power left to be creative, here is a list of some suggestions all in one place.

All of these should be things that you are either likely to have or you can easily make sure that you have in the store cupboard or freezer as a backup.

They should all be able to be done from scratch in less time than a delivery or fetching something from a takeout and they should all cost less than several ready meals or a takeaway for four.

See if any of these ideas would be good for you to have in the cupboard or freezer as alternatives to takeaway on your busy nights!

beef salad wrap

"Bready" alternatives to takeaways

  • Sandwich with oven chips, crisps or salady bits on the side
  • Sandwich with soup
  • Grilled cheese / ham and cheese with soup or salad
  • Sandwich fillings that are easy to store or can be frozen - tinned tuna, cheese, egg (store boiled eggs in the fridge), ham (can be frozen), tofu (can be pan or air fried with some sauce)
  •  Pita breads with a protein source and bulk out with salad. Examples are frozen chicken or quorn nuggets, falafel, grated cheese, mini deli meatballs or frozen ones, leftover meat from a roast dinner, hummus, feta cheese. Pair with some frozen french fries or soup as above
  • Beans on toast - with or without cheese, add chilli sauce if wanted
  • Wraps with a protein source, some sauce and whatever veg works to make up salad wraps, fajitas, tacos or burritos.  Examples of fillings are leftover frozen chilli, leftover roast meats, shredded tofu, canned chilli, meatballs, leftover bolognese, beans. Can be as simple as chicken nuggets or quorn nuggets or even just grated cheese for hesitant eaters. Add some salsa or some hot sauce to spice things up, or mayo or yoghurt to cool things down. Add shredded lettuce or cucumbers for hesitant eaters, or tinned corn, tomatoes, fried peppers, mushrooms or onions for more texture. Tinned refried beans and jars of salsa and jalapenos can keep for ages, sour cream and guac can be bought in a shelf stable version for emergencies too.
  • Nachos - corn tortilla chips - lightly salted, not flavoured - can be used with all of these toppings too.
  • Homemade pizzas - can be with mini frozen cheapo margaritas as a base but also naan breads, flat breads, pitas or even wraps. Topping can be as simple as tomato puree mixed with ketchup or keep a jar of sauce in the cupboard. Salami and pepperoni keep for ages in the fridge because they are cured. Mozzarella and ham can be torn up and frozen ahead and go on the pizza from frozen. Everyone can add their own toppings. One tray of oven chips to share in the same oven or some cucumber or tomato or apple on the side.
  • Puff pastry pizza - as above but using long life or frozen puff pastry and leaving a border around. Keep fillings a little drier than pizza so the pastry isn't soggy.
  • Puff pastry pinwheels - with the toppings applied then rolled up in to a swiss roll, cut into rounds and cooked. You can do all the prep on the paper that the pastry came in, so minimal clean up.
Asian pancakes

Asian and Middle Eastern inspired quick alternatives to takeaways

  • Quick Thai style curry - everyone's favourite veg or leftover meat with some thai curry paste from a jar and a can of coconut milk
  • Asian style pancakes / pajeon - traditionally spring onions but basically any bottom of the fridge veg fried up with a thin batter added to tie them together and then dips to dip them in
  • Couscous fluffed up quickly with whatever leftovers you have mixed in or on top, or with frozen or tinned veg
  • Korean fried egg on rice / Gyeran - pack of 2 minute rice and a fried egg on top, traditionally with a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil and spring onions, but add whatever sauce and frozen veg works for your kids. Soft yolk mixes into the rice beautifully
  • Frozen dumplings or gyoza with packet rice, bit of stir fried veg
  • Ramen noodles on their own or with any combo of toppings - for ideas go to the videos below:

Video 1 - Ramen from around the world

Video 2 - 21 Ways to eat instant noodles

Video 3 - Instant noodle hacks

frozen battered fish and chips

Economical frozen alternatives to takeaway, easy to tray bake

  • Battered or breadcrumbed white fish, oven chips
  • Chicken goujons or nuggets, quorn nuggets and chips or pasta
  • Frozen tarts and pasties, with oven chips or jacket potatoes
  • Veggie burgers and fries - you can keep buns and cheese slices in the freezer
  • Any offer frozen items you can keep in hand.
  • With any of these, add quick microwaveable / steamable veg, or some tomato and cucumber, or some apple, pear or orange slices on the side  
Pasta and pesto on a plate with a spoon

Pasta based alternatives to takeaway

  • Pasta pesto (half jars of pesto can be frozen)
  • Pasta with jarred red sauce
  • Sausage pasta - fry chopped up sausages and add the pasta and sauce to the same pan, add any frozen or canned veg and cheese
  • Meatballs from the freezer, can be airfried or oven baked and added to red sauce (or you can do a swedish style sauce and add to frozen fries)
  • Easy Carbonara made with eggs and cheese, and any sandwich ham or sausage knocking about
  • Tuna pasta - tinned tuna with either a red sauce, a white sauce (can be from a packet with milk) or even mayo
  • Fresh pastas are good to pick up on the way home, with a jar of sauce, they only take about 4 minutes
diner breakfast plate with scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon and toast

Breakfast for dinner

  • Pancakes
  • French toast
  • Scrambled or fried egg on toast (or tofu scramble)
  • Bacon or sausage sandwich
  • Frozen hash browns and and egg
  • Cereal and a yoghurt and fruit
  • Waffles with nut butter or spread
jacket potato with chilli and cheese on it

Potato alternatives to takeaway

  • Microwave jacket potatoes (crisp up in oven or airfryer if you want)
  • Tuna mayo
  • Baked beans
  • Cheese
  • Ham
  • Tinned chilli or bolognaise
  • Leftover casserole or curry
  • Egg mayo or coleslaw or any leftover sandwich fillings
  • Don't forget you can cook a bag of jacket sized spuds when you have the oven on and then freeze them so you only need to heat them through.
picky bits example or easy ploughmans, breadm eggs, celery, pickle and cheese

Picky bits or lap picnics

Any combination of random things to make up a plate with some protein sources, some carbs, some fruit and veg. Preferably something soft and something crunchy, something sweet and something savoury. Here are some suggestions:

  • Bread, waffles, pancakes, rice cakes, toast or pitta pieces
  • Ham, sausage, cheese, boiled egg, cream cheese, hummus, refried beans, quorn or chicken nuggets, salami, mini satays
  • Crisps, crackers, nuts, seeds
  • Celery sticks, carrot sticks, pepper strips, tomatoes, cucumber
  •  Yoghurt, drinking yoghurt, milkshake, mini mousses
  •  Grapes, berries, banana, apples, pears, raisins

What are your alternatives to takeaway?

These are just some ideas rounded up from families into one place. They will not all work for your family, but some of them might and making sure you have the ingredients for a couple always in the cupboard or freezer means you know you don't have to pick up that takeaway or ready meals unless you really fancy them.

What is your family's go to alternative to takeaway meal?

Let me know in the comments below!

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