Santa Fe Rice and Beans: A delicious dinner for 6 for $3!
SANTA FE RICE AND BEANS
Suddenly a “Rice and Beans Budget” doesn’t sound so bad!
Let me introduce you to the cheapest, most delicious dinner in the world.
This was created from my love of Lean Cuisine Santa Fe Rice and Beans TV Dinner. I think it tastes just like it but for a fraction of the cost (and without the weird crunchy bits that the microwave ruins on a TV dinner).
If you need to reduce your grocery bill quickly, this dinner will do the trick. One dish makes enough to serve 2 adults and 4 children for two meals! We usually finish it up for lunch the next day. If you happen to be on a rice and beans budget, then what better dish than rice and beans? You can add an easy veggie or fruit to this to make a complete dinner. We had leftover apples in the fridge so we served this with apple slices.
Santa Fe Rice and Beans
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Rosemarie Groner
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Southwest
Serves: 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 can black beans (use what you have, this tastes great with kidney beans as well)
- 1 cup of corn kernels (frozen or canned)
- 1¼ cups of salsa, diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with chillies (like Rotel)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup of Mexican cheese (we've used cheddar, Monterey Jack or a taco blend that Wegmans sells)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the rice according to package directions.
- Combine all ingredients, reserving half of the cheese to sprinkle on top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a greased baking dish (about 2 quart) and spoon ingredients in.
- Top with the reserved cheese. If you forgot to reserve cheese- don't worry, it will still be delicious.
- Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes.
- Then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.If you don't have foil. Don't stress, it'll be fine. Or you can bake it for 30 without the cheese on top, then add the cheese and finish cooking for another 10 minutes.
Cost:
(Costs of goods figured at Aldi.)
Rice: $ .25
Black beans: $ .55
Corn: $ .49 for 1 can
Salsa: $ .57
Sour cream: $ .60
Cheese: $ .94
Total: $3.40 to feed 2 adults and 4 children for 2 meals.
Cost per meal: $1.70
Cost per person: $ .29
Just for illustrative purposes- if you could eat this for 3 meals a day, every day for a month, then your monthly grocery bill would be $153 or $39 a week! (But don’t do that! We have much better options for just a few dollars more).
Head over to Pinterest to follow my “Foodie” Board. I have lots of great recipes and ideas waiting for you there.
If you have a favorite cheap recipe, Let me know about it! I love new ideas from you guys.
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Yes! Drain the black beans first! 🙂
I LOVE this recipe! It’s by far my favorite rice and bean recipe. Thank you 🙂
Happy to help! Thanks Amanda! 🙂
Does this mean 2 cups of dry rice, cooked OR 2 cups of already cooked rice? Thanks!
This was really good. Typically when I make a new recipe my husband will like it but I won’t or vise versa. This time the entire family used it. I used salsa I had canned from the garden and corn I had frozen during corn season. Since my corn was already in 2 cup packs I just threw the whole bag in. It was delicious! I printed this for future use. Thank you!