12 Dollar Store Hidden Gems That'll Make A Delicious Meal For Less

Food keeps getting more expensive all the time, but it's not like we can just stop eating. Instead, we cut down on expenses however we can. One way to save on groceries is by switching from name brands to generic products, but in some cases, it's best to skip the supermarket altogether and shop at the dollar store. My personal favorite is Dollar Tree — although very few items cost only a dollar these days, it still seems to carry a larger number of budget-priced items than even more misleadingly named competitors like Dollar General and Family Dollar. I've been buying some of my groceries there long before Dollar Tree dinner (or even TikTok) was a thing.

All of these items on the list are things I can personally stand behind. I have bought them, I have eaten them, and I have all kinds of ideas for different ways to use them. For the most part, they come from the lower end of the Dollar Tree price range, but even the few "premium" items are priced lower than the same or comparable items at the grocery store.

I admit I'm usually lazy and use canned black beans in salads, soups, and other preparations, but one of my favorite recipes starts with the dried kind: a black bean cassoulet where they simmer for several hours in red wine and soak up so much flavor. Dried beans are also cheaper than canned. At Dollar Tree, this 12-ounce bag of black beans is just $1.25 and will yield about five cups once cooked.

Don't turn up your nose at canned chicken — it's shelf-stable, affordable, and a great way to make chicken fries. You can also use it in chicken salad, soup, tacos, casseroles ... basically, any recipe calling for leftover rotisserie chicken. A 4.5-ounce can of Crider white chicken only costs $1.25, and unlike a $5 Costco roast chicken, you can stash it in the back of your pantry for months, if not years.

Remember that whole "girl dinner" thing from a few years back? Luckily, that silly term fell out of favor, but nonetheless, a girl, boy, or adult sometimes wants something light and simple to snack on in lieu of a full-fledged meal. While the Hillshire Snacking Small Plates cost a whopping (by Dollar Tree standards) $3 each, they feel pretty fancy with their sliced salami, cheddar cheese, and tiny toasts. Opening a package is like having your own personal-sized charcuterie board in a box. Pair this with a Jarritos sangria (something I see frequently at my local Dollar Tree) for the perfect N/A accompaniment.

Frozen chicken tenders are a surprisingly versatile food. You can eat them as is or pair them with fries or mashed potatoes for a quick and easy meal, but they can also be used to stuff tacos, make stir-fries, fill breakfast burritos, or make chicken-in-a-biscuit sandwiches a la Chick-fil-A. Dollar Tree's frozen food section sells a 19.5-ounce bag of Tyson Frozen Honey Battered Chicken Tenders for $5. Although standard supermarkets sell the same item in a larger bag (25.5 ounces), the price per ounce (around 26 cents) is comparable.

Want to turn a bowl of ramen into a full-fledged meal? Sure, you can upgrade your noodles with kimchi, cheese, or an egg, but my favorite way to make this quick and easy dinner feel even more satisfying is to add a starter course of steamed dumplings. Specifically, the $3 Bibigo Korean-style dumplings from Dollar Tree, which can be cooked in just a minute or so in the microwave. They come in two different styles: round ones with a pork filling and crispy half-moons stuffed with bulgogi chicken. Each variety has its own sauce packet, too, so you don't need to do a thing besides unwrapping and zapping.

My dad makes the best homemade pizza, but when I try it myself, I always fall at one hurdle: the crust. None of my many, many efforts at making pizza crust over the years have ever worked out, so these days I outsource the job to Dollar Tree. In my opinion, the Golden Home ultra-thin pizza crust is everything this base layer should be: thin, yet sturdy, and unobtrusive enough to let the sauce, cheese, and toppings shine. Oh, and cheap, too — you can get one 12-inch crust or two 7-inch ones for just a buck and a quarter.

One thing that constantly frustrates me when I want a quick dinner is that, no matter how easily I can throw together a quick stir-fry or pasta sauce, I then have to spend time steaming rice or boiling noodles. Or not ... purists may scoff, but I find the pre-cooked versions of both to be pretty decent in-a-pinch substitutes. And where do I buy these staples? Dollar Tree, of course. Pasta Zing precooked pasta comes in farfalle (bowtie) and spaghetti, while Eat Regal precooked rice offers a choice of jasmine, brown rice with quinoa, broccoli and cheddar, cilantro lime, Mexican-style, Spanish-style, and vegetable fried rice. Both rice and pasta are shelf-stable, microwaveable, and cheap (just $1.25 per two-serving package), thus delivering the convenience food trifecta.

Instant ramen can be so much more than soup. You can use these noodles to make pizza crust, cook them in a waffle iron, toss raw ones into a salad, or even incorporate them into a dessert recipe like our miso ramen halva (we kid you not). It all starts with a cheap and versatile five-pack, and at Dollar Tree, you can buy Nissin Top Ramen in chicken or beef flavors for $1.50. This works out to 30 cents per packet — budget-wise, you can't beat that with a kendo stick.

Some people may be dubious at the thought of Dollar Tree meat, but I'm here to tell you, there is nothing wrong with the John Morrell smoked sausage it sells. In fact, you can buy this exact same product at Kroger, only it'll cost you a bit more. Kroger's currently listing it at $1.69, while at Dollar Tree, it's still just $1.25. I've been buying it regularly for years, and one of my favorite cheap meals is Dollar Tree jambalaya made with this sausage, maybe some canned chicken, a packet of pre-cooked rice, canned tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce. (Yes, the store sells these last three items, as well.)

If you put anything into a taco shell, does that make it a taco? Sure, why not? As long as it's edible, go for it ... pulled pork, tuna salad, or even spaghetti. (Spaghetti tacos were a running gag on the '00s Nickelodeon show "iCarly," but people actually started making and enjoying them.) If you pile those same ingredients on a flat, crispy corn tortilla shell, you've got yourself a tostada. Dollar Tree sells Ortega taco shells and Maizada corn tostadas, both for $1.25 — the rest is up to you.

Should you prefer your tacos floppy rather than crunchy or you're making a different Mexican-style dish like burritos, quesadillas, or homemade tortilla chips, then you're going to need soft tortillas. Dollar Tree's got you covered with these, as well, since the chain carries a 10-pack of Del Barrio flour tortillas and a 20-pack of Del Barrio corn tortillas. Neither item is considered a premium one, which means that both staples are priced at the standard $1.25.

If canned (or pouched) tuna were safe to eat every day, I probably would, since I love, love, love flavored tuna pouches. This is one item I buy every time I'm at Dollar Tree — the chain carries both the StarKist Creations brand in plain, ranch, and lemon pepper and the Bumble Bee brand in plain, lemon pepper, cracked pepper and sea salt, roasted garlic and herb, spicy Thai chili, and jalapeño (this last one is my absolute favorite). I mostly eat it plain atop some chopped lettuce, but sometimes I add mayonnaise to make a super-simple, but incredibly tasty, tuna salad. If I'm feeling really indulgent, though, I'll go all out and have a flavored tuna melt. (Best sandwich ever, IMO.)