3-ingredient recipes: easy as 1, 2, 3

Brownies, pancakes, and macaroni cheese – what do they have in common? Three ingredients, that’s what! When I first heard about these cheap recipes I decided it was time to put them to the test.

For most of these recipes I didn’t even need to head to the shop since I had a lot of the ingredients lurking in the cupboards somewhere.

Now I’m not the best cook in the world, but they say good things come in threes and armed with my cheap ingredients it was time to get stuck in.

1. Banana pancakes

Banana and eggs don’t seem a likely combination but mash them together and you’ll have yourself a cheap, healthy banana pancake recipe to keep cravings away until Shrove Tuesday.

The recipe I’ve found uses two ingredients but I’ll let you get creative with the third. My personal favourite is Nutella, but see what you can find in the cupboards! Check out the healthy pancake recipe over at topwithcinnamon.com

2. Student shortbread

This one comes courtesy of studentrecipes.com and is a perfect little recipe for tasty shortbread. The recipe is really simple and I’ve managed to impress my friends with my ‘baking skills’ a few times with this one. You can find the shortbread recipe at the student recipes blog.

3. Creamy macaroni cheese

Macaroni cheese (or ‘mac and cheese’ if you prefer) is a quick comfort food that’s cheap and delicious. This one’s a little trickier than it looks as the milk has to be heated to just the right temperature to avoid a lumpy mess. Once you’ve mastered the technique it’s a recipe you’ll nearly always have ingredients for at home. Check out the recipe on Tasty.

4. Coconut macaroons

Macaroons are a very English treat, the sort you see in your local baker next to sponge puddings. The 3 ingredient version is so quick and easy you can’t go wrong at all! By swapping out the sugar and eggs for condensed milk you can whip these up in a matter of minutes. If you want to whip up these little treats the recipe is available

5. Gooey Chocolate mug cake

If you’ve got a hankering for something sweet and 5 minutes to spare then why not satisfy the craving with a simple microwave mug cake. I decided to make this for my niece and judging by the 10 minutes of quiet and the smile on her face I’d say it went down a treat!

 

You can get even more frugal ideas by signing up to our email newsletter.

Tags

• Budgeting

bakingcheap recipescookingfoodmoney savingrecipes