This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Frugal Depression Era recipes to help you feed your family for less! Our grandmothers knew how to stretch their food budget while feeding the family well. Here are some recipes that were actually used during the Great Depression.
And keep reading to get your very own free downloadable Depression-era cookbook!
Keeping enough food on the table for a family of seven (including several older kids) can be a challenge.
And that challenge is compounded when you’re also trying to adhere to a strict grocery budget.
Related: How We Cut Our Grocery Bill in Half
In my quest for money-saving wisdom, I turned to the past. Those who lived during the Great Depression knew a lot about living on very little.
Grandma’s Wisdom
My grandma was very frugal and wise. In addition to sewing, quilting, canning, and other useful homemaking skills, she knew how to feed her family for very little.
She kept the fat from frying bacon and other foods in a metal can near her stove. Whenever she needed to fry something, she would use her saved fat. We especially loved the flavor this gave to her delicious fried eggs!
Whenever she and my grandpa would move to a new house, she would scour the property for anything she could use. At one house, they had a “sand plum” tree, and she would make plum preserves and jam with it. It tasted so delicious on her homemade biscuits!
I always loved that she would fully use whatever was freely available to her. And her food was always delicious! She was probably the best cook I ever met.
As we’re trying to save money and live below our means, I find I’m turning back to Grandma’s wisdom and her frugal ways.
Frugal Depression Era Recipes
Here are 20 frugal Depression Era recipes that are useful to keep on hand, especially if you’re trying to cut your grocery bill in half and save money!
These cheap meals are divided up into dinner recipes, soups and stews, breads, and desserts.
Dinner
Depression Era Potato Pancakes
Soups and Stews
1930’s Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup
Depression Potato Soup and Biscuits
Bread
Old Fashioned Hot Water Cornbread
Dessert
Chocolate Depression Cake
Free Depression Era Cookbook – Click here to download our FREE cookbook 25 Depression Era Recipes
Don’t Miss These Related Posts:
35 Cheap Meals for Large Families
9 Money-Saving Tips from The Great Depression
10 Lessons from The Great Depression
8 Useful Skills Our Grandmothers Knew
What a fun post! So many of the recipes were things my mom made us when we were growing up in the 70’s and 80’s. I need to make some of these family favorites again!
How neat, Sheri!
This is a great collection of recipes. Your post reminded me of my grandmother. She too used everything that she could. I remember those fried eggs cooked in saved bacon grease and the metal can that held the bacon grease. It was interesting when I saw Ida’s goulash too because my mother’s name was Ida. We could all save a lot by going back to some of the lessons that were learned during the depression. Thank you so much for sharing. I found you on Recipe of the Week link party.
Our grandmothers were such wise women when it came to frugality and resourcefulness! So glad you stopped by, Amy!
I will have to try some of these out! #homematters
Enjoy! Thanks so much for stopping by, Tracy!
Found this on the Oak Hill blog hop., Great recipes and pics, I am sharing at The Farmers Lamp.
Amber, thanks for visiting and for sharing!
Found you on Simple Homestead Hop Link Party
So glad you stopped by, Candy!
What a wonderful collection of frugal recipes! It’s wonderful what we can learn from the great depression. Sharing on the H&S Facebook page and pinning.
Thanks for sharing, April!
Good morning! This is just a little note to let you know we have *FEATURED* this post today on the ART OF HOME-MAKING MONDAYS at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth. Thank you for joining us! We hope to have you again this week and have a lovely week! 🙂
How nice! Thanks for featuring my post, JES! 🙂
Excellent collection of recipes that help to save money!
Thanks, Lanae! Hope they’re helpful!
Thank you for sharing these great ideas! I am pinning this post for sure! Have you tried the vegetable loaf? It looks interesting.
I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my list! We’re eating from our pantry right now due to a tight budget (even tighter than usual!), and I have lots of navy beans on hand, so I’m hoping to make this one soon. 🙂
I’m printing these out! Such simple recipes, a great way to save, thanks!
So glad they’re helpful, Sara!