6 Cheap Protein Sources to Save You Money

This post is part of the Eating on a Budget series, which includes the essential tools, tricks and tips that underpin eating on a budget, and a collection of recipes to put those tools into practice.

When I used to think about protein, my mind usually conjured up an image of a massive chicken breast or a juicy beef steak. While there’s no doubt that for meat-eaters like myself, these protein sources are delicious and are indeed high in protein, it’s not until the last few years that I realised that there are other reliable sources of protein out there.

Better yet, most of these alternative cheap protein sources are much cheaper than the typical protein sources that we think of.

In short, despite what the gym-bros tell you, you don’t need to chow down on 20 chicken breasts a day to get sufficient protein (and by the way, protein is essential for our general well-being, it’s not just useful to the gym-bros).

In this post, we’re going to explore 6 of these alternative protein sources — most of which are cheap, vegan and easy to find.

One thing to note, though: many of these cheap protein sources, like beans and nuts, are considered ‘incomplete’ proteins, which means they don’t contain all of the essential amino acids that humans need to consume to, well, stay alive. (I don’t know about you, but I’d love to keep living).

In practice, if you do want to continue living, current thinking suggests that these protein sources need to be paired with another source of amino acids to give us all the protein that we need. A typical example of this is rice and beans, a classic across South America.

That being said, this “incomplete” protein idea has been challenged in recent years.

Whatever the case, I’ve also included a bunch of cost-effective sources of complete protein in this list too, including fish and cheaper cuts of meat. If you’re careful with your choices, it is possible to find surprisingly cheap meat and fish.

My girlfriend and I are currently travelling around New Zealand and although the country is known for its agriculture, most of its meat products are exported abroad. That means that meat is more expensive here than you might expect.

Because of that, switching to these sources of protein have helped us save a fortune, and I hope this guide helps you too.

Right! That’s enough waffle. Let’s start with the classic: beans .

#1: Beans and Legumes

Beans and legumes have been a staple of the peasant diet for thousands of years across the world, including medieval Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Peasants in Britain ate pottage, a stew made from lentils; the Aztecs eat beans alongside corn and squash and while legumes are generally considered “peasant” protein in the Western world, they’re still a staple in India, where the dal (a basic lentil curry) is often consumed at least daily.

Legumes are the fruits and seeds of the Fabaceae family, and include:

• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Peas
• Kidney beans
• Black beans
• Soybeans
• Pinto beans
• Peanuts (yes, they’re not a nut — more on this later)

As I mentioned earlier, legumes are high in protein, but they aren’t a complete source of protein, which means that they lack certain essential amino acids.

But when paired with rice, a common combination across the world, they form a complete protein.

#2: Tinned fish

Unlike beans, fish is a rich source of complete protein, along with a bunch of vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fats.

While fresh fish is generally one of the most expensive items at the supermarket, tinned fish is invariably one of the cheapest.

Mackerel, sardines and tuna can be found for under £1.00 (~$1.20 USD / ~$2.10 NZD) at most supermarkets in the UK.

Tinned fish is usually packaged in oil or water (I usually opt for the latter, because I prefer to be in control of the fats I add to my food). You can add them as a topping onto any dish, or eat them directly as a snack (if you don’t mind stinky breath).

My favourite thing about tinned fish, though, is that you can also buy it packaged in a pre-made sauce, such as a tomato sauce.

Fish tinned with a sauce is handy if you’re looking to make a quick, cheap meal. Mackerel or sardines packaged in tomato sauce can be throw onto toast or added to pasta to make a cheap, healthy meal in minutes.

#3: Peanuts and peanut butter

Nuts aren’t a typical candidate for a budget-friendly list, but peanuts are an exception to the rule. They’re a tasty, cheap protein source.

As promised — peanuts aren’t actually nuts, they’re just legumes with a high fat and protein content. That means that culinarily we treat them as nuts, even though they’re not nuts by botanical definition.

In any case, peanuts are a lot more abundant and easier to grow and harvest than other nuts, and therefore they’re generally a lot cheaper.

In terms of how to eat them: peanut butter. I can’t stress it enough.

I’m obsessed with the stuff. It is one of those ingredients that shines in so many contexts, whether for sweet (such as peanut butter cookies or as a topping on porridge) or in a savoury context (such as the base for a red Thai curry, satay chicken or on toast).

If PB isn’t your thing (my girlfriend doesn’t like it because it’s too gummy for her), then peanuts themselves are a great snack, especially if roasted with a sprinkle of salt. They’re also great as a topping on dishes, especially salads.

Peanuts and peanut butter are rich in protein. As it’s a legume, it’s an incomplete protein just like the rest of the bean family, but when paired with certain foods, such as whole-grain bread, you have a meal that gives you all the essential amino acids a human could ever need.

#4: Dairy

Moving away from vegan-friendly ingredients (sorry), let’s talk about milk.

Milk and many of the products made from it, such as cheese and yoghurt, are rich sources of protein, as well as other essential vitamins and minerals, such as B12. Dairy products are usually a lot cheaper than meat.

But unfortunately in my experience dairy is often overlooked as a source of protein because of its general high fat content. However, the anti-fat scare of the late 20th century has been widely contested and for many people it seems that saturated fat is back on the menu.

In any case, it certainly is for my girlfriend and me. Full-fat milk, full-fat Greek yoghurt and huge wedges of budget supermarket cheddar are staples on our shopping list at the moment, and they seem to find their way into most of the dishes that we cook.

Milky porridge with extra yoghurt on top is our breakfast staple, and we use cheese as a garnish on almost any savoury dish, or it could be used to make a delicious mac and cheese.

#5: Eggs

While eggs are technically classified as dairy, I’m including it as an entirely separate item because eggs are the black sheep of the dairy family.

They’re more versatile than most other dairy products, they’re not considered vegetarian in many societies and they’re also considered by some to be the healthiest food on the planet.

From my perspective, that makes total sense. Eggs are literally the base for creating life. You’d expect that these things are carrying all the stuff that a living creature would need to literally come into existent — vitamins, minerals and, of course, protein.

You could say they’re the ultimate super-food, if you subscribe to that malarkey.

As I mentioned, the whole saturated-fat thing is up in the air. So if you remove that from the equation, eggs are delicious, versatile and generally quite cheap.

There’s loads you can do with eggs: eggs on toast, shakshuka or carbonara (don’t even think about using cream). Plus you can bang a fried egg on top of any dish and it pretty much always makes it better.

#6: Cheaper cuts of meat

If you’re on a tight budget, my advice is to consider the previous five suggestions before opting for meat.

But if you really want meat for whatever reason, you’re best off going for the cheaper animals, and the cheapest cuts of those animals.

Chicken is generally the cheapest animal meat you can buy, and bone-in cuts are usually the cheapest parts of the chicken.

Thighs and drumsticks are invariably cheaper at the supermarket than chicken breast, and are in my opinion, infinitely more flavourful.

But see what your supermarket has. In New Zealand, we’ve noticed that certain cuts of beef are surprisingly more affordable than chicken breast.

If you’re going to go for red meat, go for the cheaper cuts. These budget-friendly cuts generally have more muscle fiber and collagen, making them tougher.

These cuts, such as lamb shoulder or beef chuck, don’t lend themselves well to frying or any other forms of fast-cooking. For these cuts of meat, it’s best to cook them low-and-slow, such as braising them in a stew.

Cheap protein sources: bottom line

Whatever you go for, just remember that there’s more sources of protein out there than just chicken breast and steak.

These cheap protein sources can be used in a multitude of different ways, and can help you meet your nutritional goals, whether you’re a gym-bro or you just want to eat a little healthier.