In short

In the MoodDish catalogue, a home-cooked dish can cost less than one euro a serving. The ten dishes below cost between €0.79 and €1.57 per serving, based on prices recorded at French retailers.

How much does a home-cooked meal really cost? It depends on the dish, not on cooking in general. Some catalogue dishes go over €8 a serving, others stay under one euro.

Prices are estimates per serving, calculated on 13 November 2026 from prices recorded at French retailers, in euros. They vary with your shop and the season.

Ten dishes under €2 a serving

DishTimeEstimated price per serving
Carrot red lentil and ginger soup42 min€0.79
Spaghetti all’assassina41 min€0.84
Pea and mint soup26 min€0.86
Cream and chive baked eggs28 min€0.89
Potato egg and mustard salad37 min€1.19
Garlic chilli and olive oil spaghetti25 min€1.23
Egg and vegetable fried rice30 min€1.24
Leek and potato soup with toast42 min€1.32
Red lentil and carrot curry42 min€1.48
Béchamel croque-monsieur35 min€1.57

Why these dishes cost so little

  • Their base is dry or keeps well. Red lentils, pasta, rice and potatoes last a long time and are cheap per kilo.
  • Eggs replace meat. They appear in three of the ten dishes.
  • Few ingredients. The garlic spaghetti needs only a handful.
  • The vegetables are in season or frozen. Carrots, leeks, peas.

What the price per serving does not tell you

A price per serving assumes you use the whole pack. On shopping day you pay for the full bag of lentils, even if the recipe takes only part of it. The saving shows over several meals, not on a single receipt.

For a full priced week: How much should one person spend on food a week?. And to know what to keep in the cupboard: What are the cheapest ingredients to cook with all week?.

Three of these dishes, in detail

The carrot and red lentil soup, the spaghetti all’assassina and the baked eggs are detailed below.

cheap mealsbudget cookinghomemadeprice per serving

Recipes from MoodDish

Carrot red lentil and ginger soup

Recipe 1: Carrot red lentil and ginger soup

A smooth carrot and lentil soup flavoured with fresh ginger.

  • Prep 12 min
  • Cook 30 min
  • Servings 4
  • Difficulty Easy
Ingredients 9
  • 600 g Carrot
  • 150 g Dried red lentils
  • 120 g Onion
  • 15 g Fresh ginger
  • 20 ml Olive oil
  • 1100 ml Water
  • 0.5 piece Lemon
  • 4 g Salt
  • 1 g Black pepper
Steps 4
  1. Prepare the vegetables

    Peel the carrots, onion and ginger. Thinly slice the carrots, chop the onion and grate the ginger. Rinse the lentils.

  2. Start the soup

    Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the ginger for 30 seconds, then the carrots, lentils, water, salt and pepper.

    5 min
  3. Simmer

    Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 22–25 minutes, stirring regularly. The carrots should crush easily and the lentils should break down.

    25 min
  4. Blend and add lemon

    Remove from the heat and blend with a hand blender, keeping the head submerged. Add 15g lemon juice. Loosen with a little hot water if needed and serve.

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Spaghetti all’assassina

Recipe 2: Spaghetti all’assassina

A Bari preparation in which uncooked spaghetti are toasted and then cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. Lightly caramelised patches are intended; do not let the sauce turn black. A large 30 cm frying pan is needed.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 26 min
  • Servings 4
  • Difficulty Easy
Ingredients 7
  • 320 g Dried spaghetti
  • 500 g Tomato passata
  • 900 ml Water
  • 45 ml Olive oil
  • 12 g Garlic
  • 10 g Fresh red chilli
  • 4 g Salt
Steps 4
  1. Step 1

    Peel and crush the garlic and chop the chilli. Bring water, 300 g passata and salt to a simmer in a saucepan; keep hot.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oil in a large steel frying pan. Cook garlic and chilli for 1 minute, add the remaining 200 g passata and cook for 3 minutes. Lay the uncooked spaghetti in the pan.

  3. Step 3

    Toast for 2 minutes without stirring, then turn the pasta with tongs. Add two ladles of hot liquid. When nearly absorbed, add another ladle and gently release the pasta from the base.

  4. Step 4

    Continue for 15–20 minutes, gradually adding all the liquid. Turn occasionally to create a few browned patches without burning. Serve once the spaghetti are cooked with a firm bite and well coated.

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Cream and chive baked eggs

Recipe 3: Cream and chive baked eggs

Eggs baked in a water bath in small ramekins with cream and chives.

  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 18 min
  • Servings 4
  • Difficulty Easy
Ingredients 6
  • 8 piece Egg
  • 200 ml Cream
  • 15 g Unsalted butter
  • 10 g Fresh chives
  • 2 g Salt
  • 1 g Black pepper
Steps 4
  1. Prepare the ramekins

    Preheat the oven to 170°C and boil a kettle of water. Butter four ramekins large enough for two eggs each. Finely chop the chives.

  2. Fill

    Divide the cream between the ramekins. Crack two eggs into each, keeping the yolks intact. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

  3. Bake in a water bath

    Place the ramekins in a deep baking dish. Pour hot water around them to halfway up their sides. Bake for 15–18 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.

  4. Finish

    Lift the ramekins from the water bath using oven gloves. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, as they continue cooking in the hot ceramic.

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