15 Trader Joe’s Meals that Can Feed a Family for Under $20

If you're looking for a meal for dinner or breakfast and you want to stay well within your budget, then head over to Trader Joe's. They sell many tasty and unique items for a great price. They have so much there that you can walk the aisles and mix and match to create the perfect dish. Perhaps the best thing about shopping here is that many Trader Joe's Meals can feed a family for under $20.

Check out this list. You're sure to find a new favorite. We have everything on here, including mandarin orange chicken, cascatelli pasta, crispy chicken parmesan, shrimp tacos, and more. We'll tell you what to get, some cooking suggestions, and more.

One of the first Trader Joe's Meals that you can prepare for your family is a delicious mandarin orange chicken meal. As of this writing, the actual chicken is close to $5 per bag. After that, you can add rice and stir fry vegetables, and you'll have a full meal for under $20. You can likely also add a beverage and still stay below your budget threshold.

Head to Trader Joe's and get a bag of cauliflower gnocchi when you're looking for something new for dinner. You can get a bag for under $5. You can add the gnocchi to soups or pasta along with other inexpensive ingredients. Plus, the gnocchi you get at Trader Joe's is 75% cauliflower, so it's an affordable and healthy meal.

You can make many different soups for less when you shop at Trader Joe's. One of the best meals involves the company's trademark steamed chicken soup dumplings. You can get them for around $5. You can add the dumplings to a soup or justpop them in the microwave and enjoy them as they are. Either way, your family won't regret it.

Trader Joe's has many boxed meals that are above and beyond what you'll find at retailers like Walmart. Case in point,head to the freezer section and check out the amazing chicken tikka masala. You'll often find it for around $5. Cook up this chicken and you'll find that it's incredibly tender and creamy, especially with the basmati rice. If you want to add a little more to the meal, get some pitas to dip in.

These days, it's hard to find eggs for a good price. However, Trader Joe's still has a pretty good price for a dozen cage-free white eggs. You can get them for a fraction of the cost of the other places. Then, you can get some sausage or pancakes and stay well below your $20 total. You can make breakfast for the whole family for that.

Head to Trader Joe's, and you can still get a whole 16-ounce bag of organic cavatelli pasta for under $5. Serve this on a plate, and you'll be amazed at the unique texture that you'll get with each fulfilling bite. The pasta also holds the sauce remarkably well, so you'll love dinner. Pair this dish with some garlic bread and your family will be ranting and raving.

You can make family dinner even easier by heading to Trader Joe's and laying down close to $7 per pound for fully marinated shawarma chicken thighs. They are always juicy and tender. You won't even believe it. Many people choose to serve this chicken delicacy with yellow rice, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pitas. If you're smart, you can get everything for under $20.

You can make a very tasty chicken parmesan dish for cheap at Trader Joe's. All you need is the package of chicken, bruschetta sauce, mozzarella, and Genova pesto. Depending on costs, this one may verge slightly over $20, but it's worth it. Defrost the chicken first, and then top it off with the mozzarella and bruschetta sauce. Chances are you'll be coming back for more.

To make this delicious and affordable dish, start with Trader Joe's famous uncooked Argentinian red shrimp. You can get it for cheap. Also, purchase tortillas, coleslaw, and pineapple sauce. This is an inexpensive dish that can feed your whole family. The bag of shrimp is good for multiple tacos.

For this tasty pork fried rice dish, you'll need eggs, pork belly, vegetable fried rice, and soyaki. If you already have eggs at home then you can surely get this meal for under $20. Cook it all together and you'll have a full meal for the family. If you don't love pork belly, then you can substitute any protein and make it a great meal.

Another great soup option is the chicken tortellini soup. It's affordable and filling for the whole family. To make it, head to Trader Joe's and pick up chicken tenders, chicken broth, mirepoix, and cheese-filled tortellini. Most of the recipe includes adding the ingredients in a bowl and season it. You can also make this into a vegetarian dish by leaving out the chicken and using chickpeas as the protein.

There are also many affordable meals that you can get for breakfast at Trader Joe's. You can make a classy hash brown eggs Benedict by purchasing hash browns, smoked salmon, and avocado. If you don't have eggs at home, you can get those as well, and you should stay below your $20 budget. If you don't like the eggs, you can substitute potato latkes or waffles instead.

There are other ways to get your hash brown fix at Trader Joe's for less than $20. This one is quite simple. Go to the store and fill your cart with sharp cheddar, breakfast sausage, eggs, and roasted potatoes with peppers and onions. Once again, you can turn this into a vegetarian dish by swapping out the sausage and instead using plant-based sausage.

For something a big more exotic, consider this tasty Korean-inspired dish that will feed your entire family for cheap. You'll need to be a bit careful to stay within your budget, but you can do it. To do so, load your cart with Korean-style beef short ribs, rice, baby bok chop, and Kimchi. If you like the idea but want to try something different, then substitute shrimp tempura or teriyaki chicken instead. 

For something a bit different, consider the baked meatball sandwiches that you can buy and prepare for under $20. For the best results, make them with bread & butter pickle chips, Italian-style cooked meatballs, and Trader Joe's magnifisauce, and put it all between two brioche buns. Make sure to drizzle the bubs in olive oil for a great taste. If it's within your taste, then top the meal off with garlic mustard aioli.