The Meat Alternative To Grab For Affordable Protein-Packed Dollar Tree Meals

Dollar Tree meals have been a fad as of late and our current economy is certainly encouraging this frugal creativity. The price of beef and chicken seems to be forever on the rise, pushing many to seek new sources of protein in their dinners. While there are some meat options at dollar stores, they tend to be limited and are often highly processed. Not to mention, everything at the dollar store isn't a dollar anymore, so refrigerated meat products tend to be slightly more expensive. This leaves people still looking for a bargain meat-alternative. Luckily, there's one item that all dollar stores carry that boasts a perpetually low price tag — beans.

Black, pinto, and refried beans are all canned beans you should always have in your pantry and they're available in Dollar Generals, Dollar Trees, Family Dollars, and more. Most shops also have bags of dried beans ranging from great northern beans to red kidney beans. For the most part, both bags and cans of beans cost $1.25 or less. Compare that to beef which sells nationally for an average of $6.50 per pound. While beans won't taste the same as beef or chicken when used as a one-to-one substitute, the upside is that beans have plenty of protein in them while offering less fat per serving. Another pro is that they're versatile enough to work in anything from soups to burgers, as long as you know how to handle them.

Beans are incredibly nutrient-rich and feature in nearly every cultural cuisine. Plus, they're good for you and filling. A one-cup serving of canned black beans contains 240 calories and 16 grams of protein. It also provides significant amounts of magnesium, potassium, and iron.

An important questions is whether you should opt for canned or dry. Canned beans are admittedly easier to work with, as you can heat them on the stove or microwave then immediately eat or cook with them. Dried beans, on the other hand, need to be rinsed and soaked, preferably overnight. That doesn't mean dried beans aren't a good choice, though. One reason you should go for dried beans over canned has to do with sheer quantity. Dried beans create more food than canned beans once prepared (1 cup of dried beans is equal to 3 cups of canned beans). A single bag of dollar-store beans is often more than enough to feed a whole family.

As far as what you can make with beans, the world is your oyster. The most bang for your bean is to make soup, adding whatever broth or veggies you have on hand. You can use the beans to make burritos or tacos if you're craving something with a Latin flair. Get creative with seasonings and you can make beans a flavorful alternative for ground beef in your next burger. They work in so many dishes that it's fun to experiment. Beans are one grocery item you should definitely buy at Dollar Tree whenever you visit.