10 Recipes

Healthy Recipes for Weight Loss on a Budget

Healthy recipes for weight loss on a budget — chicken and rice bowls, ground beef chilis, one-pot soups, bean-based meals, and lean-protein dinners under $3 a serving.

Contributors
Samantha Robertson
Carolanne Maria
Brittany Khamille
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Popular

Chicken Tortilla SoupPopular

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Unintentionally healthy, but purposely good. This soup is jam packed with veggies and protein in a silky and spicy broth. It is just asking to be your favorite. Hungry yet?

25 min250 cal30g proteinServes 87,661 saves
Samantha RobertsonSamantha Robertson

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Chicken Breast (Boneless/Skinless)
  • 1 Onion (medium)
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper; chopped
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 tsp Chili Powder
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 2 tbsp Chicken Bouillon
  • 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 2 cans Rotel
  • 1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes (not drained)
  • 1 can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1/2 can Corn
  • 6 cup Chicken Broth
  • Cilantro (garnish)

Instructions

  1. 1Over medium high heat, add olive oil to the bottom of a large soup pot.
  2. 2Add onions and bell pepper to pot, and cover with lid until onions are almost translucent and peppers are soft.
  3. 3Stir in minced garlic, sauté 30 seconds.
  4. 4Add chicken broth, rotel, tomatoes, black beans, corn and chicken breast to pot.
  5. 5Cover Soup and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over medium low.
  6. 6Simmer for 20-25 minutes OR just until the chicken is tender enough to shred. Remove chicken and let rest 5 minutes, then shred.
  7. 7Add chicken back to pot along with lime juice and cilantro. Taste and season with additional kosher salt/lime juice to taste.
  8. 8Stir in additional chicken broth if you would like a less chunky soup.
  9. 9Top individual servings with desired amount of Tortilla strips amd garnishes. We used cilantro, sour cream, and Tortilla strips!

P.S. We update the recipes on this page every few days. If you want to cook this recipe over and over again, we'd love it if you downloaded Pepper 🤝.

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Weight Loss That Doesn't Wreck the Grocery Budget

Eating for weight loss doesn't need salmon, avocado, and a specialty grocery run — chicken breast, rice, eggs, beans, and frozen vegetables do the same job for a fraction of the price.

Cooks on Pepper open this collection when the goal is both weight loss and a working grocery budget — high volume, high protein, low cost per plate.

Every recipe here stays under $3 a serving, over 25g of protein, and under 550 calories — the exact math for a plate that fills you up and moves the scale without breaking the bank.

Quick Tips

  1. 1

    Buy chicken thighs bulk

    Bone-in thighs are half the price of breasts and hold flavor better in soups and chilis.

  2. 2

    Rice and beans stretch dinner

    A cup of dried beans and a bag of rice turns any protein into 6 servings.

  3. 3

    Frozen veggies beat fresh on price

    Same nutrition, half the cost, zero waste — the freezer aisle is a weight-loss cheat code.

  4. 4

    Cook once, eat four times

    Batch-cook Sunday for the week — takeout costs 4x what leftovers do.

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