In shortWe looked at the 101 catalogue dishes at €1.60 a serving or less. The ingredients that come up most are onion, eggs, carrot, potatoes, milk, lentils, tinned tomatoes and rice.
Rather than comparing prices per kilo, we asked the question the other way round: which ingredients show up in the dishes that cost the least?
The method
We took the lunches and dinners in the MoodDish catalogue with an estimated price of €1.60 a serving or less: 101 dishes, on 13 November 2026. Then we counted in how many of those dishes each ingredient appears. Salt, pepper, oil, water, butter, garlic and flour are left aside: they are almost everywhere.
The ingredients that come up most
| Ingredient | In how many of the 101 dishes |
|---|
| Onion | 45 |
| Eggs | 28 |
| Carrot | 22 |
| Potatoes | 20 |
| Milk | 19 |
| Green or red lentils | 16 |
| Tinned chopped tomatoes | 15 |
| Rice | 13 |
| Plain yogurt | 10 |
| Grated cheese | 10 |
| Frozen peas | 8 |
This ranking shows which ingredients are often used in cheap dishes. It is not a list of prices per kilo.
What to take from it
- Three long-keeping vegetables do most of the work: onion, carrot, potato. They last for weeks.
- Eggs are the most frequent protein in these dishes.
- Dried pulses (green and red lentils) come up in 16 dishes.
- Two tins and one frozen item are enough: chopped tomatoes, and peas in the freezer.
A basic cupboard for the week
With these eleven ingredients and the basics, you can already make a soup, an omelette, a lentil curry, fried rice and a potato salad.
To see what that gives in real meals: 10 dishes under €2 a serving and How much should one person spend on food a week?.
Three dishes made with these ingredients
The red lentil curry, the potato and egg salad and the leek and potato soup are detailed below.
budget cookingcheap ingredientspantryshopping
Recipes from MoodDish
Ingredients 11
- 250 g Dried red lentils
- 350 g Carrot
- 120 g Onion
- 8 g Garlic
- 300 ml Coconut milk
- 200 g Tinned chopped tomatoes
- 5 g Mustard-free curry powder
- 240 g Dried long-grain rice
- 20 ml Olive oil
- 500 ml Water
- 4 g Salt
Steps 5
- Prepare the ingredients
Peel the onion, garlic and carrots. Chop the onion and garlic and dice the carrots into 1 cm pieces. Rinse the lentils in a fine sieve.
- Soften the vegetables
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Cook the onion and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder for 30 seconds.
5 min - Simmer the lentils
Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk, measured water and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat, partly covered, for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
20 min - Cook the rice
Meanwhile cook the rice in a separate pan of boiling water according to the packet, about 12 minutes. Drain.
12 min - Check and serve
Check that the carrots and lentils are tender. Add a little water if the curry catches, or cook for another 5 minutes if needed. Serve hot with the rice.
Ingredients 10
- 650 g Potatoes
- 3 piece Eggs
- 150 g Plain yogurt
- 20 g Dijon mustard
- 60 g Red onion
- 10 g Fresh chives
- 15 ml Olive oil
- 15 ml Rice vinegar without added sulphites
- 3 g Salt
- 1 g Black pepper
Steps 4
- Cook the potatoes
Peel and cut the potatoes into 2 cm pieces. Cover with cold salted water, bring to a simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes until tender. Drain and cool slightly.
20 min - Boil the eggs
Gently lower the eggs into a second pan of simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Cool, peel and quarter; the yolks should be set.
10 min - Make the dressing
Finely chop the peeled onion and washed chives. Whisk the yogurt, mustard, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Toss and serve
Toss the warm potatoes with the dressing, onion and chives. Arrange the eggs on top. Serve immediately or promptly refrigerate.
Ingredients 9
- 450 g White part of leek
- 500 g Potatoes
- 100 g Onion
- 200 ml Semi-skimmed milk
- 900 ml Water
- 20 ml Olive oil
- 240 g Wheat country bread
- 4 g Salt
- 1 g Black pepper
Steps 5
- Wash and chop the vegetables
Split the leeks and wash thoroughly between the layers. Slice them. Peel the onion and potatoes and cut into small pieces.
- Soften the leeks
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Soften the onion and leeks over medium heat for 5 minutes without browning.
5 min - Cook the soup
Add the potatoes, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes crush easily.
20 min - Blend and reheat
Remove from the heat. Add the milk and blend with a hand blender, keeping the head submerged. Reheat gently for 2 minutes without boiling hard.
2 min - Toast the bread
Toast the bread and divide between the servings. Serve alongside the hot soup.
