qicooking

Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet

If you’re looking for a filling, comforting dinner that hits all the right marks without leaving you with a sink full of dishes, this Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet is about to become your new weeknight obsession! Tender, seasoned chicken, plump cheese tortellini, sweet onions, and aromatic garlic come together in a velvety Parmesan cream sauce. Packed with lean protein and a healthy dose of spinach, it’s a complete, satisfying meal that goes from skillet to table in under 30 minutes. My husband even asked me to make an extra batch so he could bring some to his buddies at work!

From the Freezer to Creamy Comfort Food

The real beauty of this creamy chicken tortellini is its one-skillet convenience and how it delivers maximum flavor with hardly any effort (minimal cleanup? Count me in!). I season the chicken before coating it in a little flour, which helps thicken the broth and pan juices into a creamy sauce without making a separate roux. Even the frozen tortellini goes straight into the skillet without precooking. I add the cream when the broth is a little cooler to keep the sauce smooth, and I leave it slightly loose because the tortellini keeps soaking it up as it sits (which makes it even better for leftovers!).

Frozen spinach is another budget-friendly shortcut I love here. It goes straight from the freezer into the skillet with no chopping, making this a restaurant-worthy dinner without the expensive ingredients or extra prep! Prefer a meat-free alternative? Just leave the chicken out of this dish and swap the chicken broth, or try our spinach tortellini skillet next.

Butter and olive oil are better together here! I use both because the olive oil helps coat the skillet for sautéing, while the butter adds a rich flavor that carries through into the creamy sauce. Keep the heat at medium, though, as butter can still burn when mixed with oil.
Don’t cut the chicken too small! Aim for evenly sized, generous bite-sized pieces (check out my step-by-step photos below for reference). Chicken shrinks as it cooks, and tiny pieces can dry out quickly. Giving the chicken some room to make contact with the hot skillet also helps develop a little golden color and extra flavor. Just make sure the chicken reaches 165°F internally before serving.
Keep the tortellini FROZEN until you’re ready to use it. No thawing or boiling beforehand! This recipe is designed for tortellini straight from the freezer, so thawing it first can throw off the cooking time and leave you with mushy pasta. Different brands may cook a little faster or slower, so check that the tortellini is tender all the way through before serving.
A gentle simmer is your friend. Once the heavy cream and Parmesan go in, I keep the heat at medium-low. You only want small and gentle bubbles. Too much heat can reduce the sauce too quickly or cause the cheese to turn grainy instead of melting smoothly. Stir everything gently, too, so those little cheese-filled tortellini stay intact!
Customize your skillet! I think adding peas or substituting them instead of spinach would be delicious. Asparagus or broccoli florets would also be delicious choices for substitutes or additions.

Print Add to Collection

Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet

This Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet cooks everything together in a garlicky Parmesan sauce with spinach. No need to boil the pasta separately!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Total Cost $13.94 recipe / $2.32 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings (1.5 cups each)

Calories 595kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

Large Sauté Pan

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast I used just over that- 1.31lbs, $6.31*
1 small yellow onion diced, (5.79 oz) $0.42
3 garlic cloves minced, $0.18
½ tsp salt $0.01
½ tsp black pepper freshly cracked, $0.03
½ tsp garlic powder $0.03
½ tsp Italian seasoning $0.04
¼ cup all-purpose flour $0.05
1 Tbsp olive oil $0.09
2 Tbsp salted butter $0.20
2 cups chicken broth $0.26**
19 oz. frozen cheese tortellini not thawed, $3.75***
¾ cup heavy cream room temp, $1.11
1 cup frozen spinach $0.32
½ cup Parmesan cheese $1.14

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Gather ingredients.
Dice chicken breast into bite-size pieces. They will shrink up a little as they cook.
Mince onion and garlic. Set aside for now.
Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning to the diced chicken. Toss so every piece of chicken is seasoned.
Then, add the flour to the seasoned chicken. Toss until fully coated on all sides.
In a large sauté pan, add olive oil and salted butter over medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add the diced onion. Cook the onions until glossy and softened, about 4 minutes.
Nudge the onions to the edge of the sauté pan and pour the chicken into the pan, giving each piece of chicken some surface contact with the hot pan.
After 5 minutes, flip the chicken and sear on the opposite side, cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and deglaze the pan with the chicken broth, stirring the onions and the chicken together. Let that simmer on medium-low for 4 minutes.
Add the entire package of frozen cheese tortellini to the simmering chicken and broth mixture. Stir the frozen tortellini until well-combined.
Then, add the heavy cream. The frozen tortellini has lowered the temperature of the broth mixture which will lessen the chances of a curdled sauce.
Stir everything together and add the shredded Parmesan and frozen spinach. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low heat for 2 more minutes.
The sauce will remain loose but will thicken slightly due to the starch from the cooked tortellini and the shredded cheese. I like the sauce to remain a little loose, because the tortellini will continue to soak up the sauce as it sits. (And I find it’s better for leftovers!) It should lightly coat the back of a spoon.
Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. This is delicious hot, warm, or cold!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*Boneless, skinless chicken thighs should work well here too. For food safety, check that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), measuring the thickest pieces.

**To keep costs low, we use Better Than Bouillon to make our broth. Making it from scratch will help you control the sodium in your recipe, but I recommend tasting the dish before adding additional salt, as bouillon does tend to be on the salty side.

***Keep your cheese tortellini frozen until the step where they hit the pan. If they are defrosted, they will likely overcook and become mushy. The amount of time required to cook them in this recipe from a frozen state results in perfectly cooked tortellini.

Nutrition

how to make Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet step-by-step photos

The ingredients to make a creamy chicken and tortellini skillet with labels.

Gather and prep your fresh ingredients. Keep the frozen tortellini in the freezer until you’re ready to add it.

Prep the chicken: Dice 1 lb. chicken breast into even, bite-sized pieces, keeping them slightly larger than you might think since they’ll shrink as they cook.

Diced onions and minced garlic on a wooden cutting board.

Prep the aromatics: Now dice 1 small yellow onion and mince 3 cloves of garlic.

Seasonings added to a mixing bowl of diced chicken.

Season and coat the chicken: Add ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp Italian seasoning to the diced chicken. Toss until every piece is evenly seasoned.

Flour and seasonings added to a mixing bowl.

Then sprinkle over ¼ cup all-purpose flour.

Chicken tossed in flour in a mixing bowl.

Toss again until the chicken is coated on all sides with the flour.

Sauté the onion: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp salted butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Onions in a skillet with butter and oil.

Once the butter has melted and begins to gently bubble, add the diced onion. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion looks glossy, softened, and slightly translucent.

Chicken added to a skillet with softened onions.

Sear the chicken: Push the onions to the edges of the pan, then add the flour-coated chicken, spreading the pieces out so they contact the hot surface. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the undersides are lightly golden, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

A wooden spoon stirring cooked chicken in a skillet.

Avoid moving the chicken around too much while it sears. Let it sit against the hot pan to develop color and flavor.

Chicken broth added to a skillet of cooked chicken.

Add the broth and garlic: Pour 2 cups chicken broth into the skillet along with the 3 cloves of minced garlic, stirring to combine everything with the chicken and onions. Gently scrape the bottom of the pan to release any flavorful browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let everything simmer gently for about 4 minutes. The broth should start to look slightly thickened as the flour coating incorporates into the liquid.

Frozen tortellini added to a skillet of chicken and onion sauce.

Add the frozen tortellini: Pour the entire 19 oz. package of frozen cheese tortellini directly into the simmering chicken and broth mixture. There’s no need to thaw or precook it. Gently stir to distribute the tortellini throughout the skillet without breaking the delicate pasta.

Frozen tortellini and cream being added to a skillet.

Make it creamy: Pour in ¾ cup room-temperature heavy cream and stir gently to combine. Adding the cream after the frozen tortellini helps because the pasta has slightly cooled the broth, reducing the chance of the sauce curdling. Keep the heat at medium-low so the sauce simmers gently rather than boiling vigorously.

A creamy chicken and tortellini skillet with added parmesan and spinach.

Add the cheese and spinach: Stir in ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese and 1 cup frozen spinach. Continue simmering gently over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cheese has melted into the sauce and the spinach is heated through. The sauce should look smooth and creamy, with the spinach evenly distributed. Check that the tortellini is tender all the way through, simmering for longer if needed. Make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.

A spoon checking the consistency of a cream pan sauce in a skillet.

Check the sauce and serve: The sauce should remain slightly loose but still lightly coat the back of a spoon. Don’t worry if it looks a little thinner than a typical Alfredo sauce! The tortellini will continue absorbing the liquid as it sits, thickening the sauce naturally.

Overhead view of a finish pan of creamy chicken and tortellini skillet.

Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Serve and enjoy!

Side view of creamy chicken tortellini in a bowl.

What to Serve with Creamy Chicken Tortellini

This recipe makes 6 generous servings of about 1½ cups each. It’s perfect for dinner tonight, with leftovers to look forward to at lunchtime tomorrow! I would pair this with a bright, fresh salad with a decent vinegary bite to cut through the richness of the oh-so-creamy sauce and cheesy tortellini. My go-to is our Greek salad, but this kale salad is another one of my absolute favorites! The subtle sweetness from the raisins and green apples really balances out this creamy chicken skillet.

For something warm, our air fryer Brussels sprouts have deliciously crispy edges and are ready in about 20 minutes, so you can whip them up while the tortellini cooks. Or if you love a little bread with your saucy pasta, our no-knead focaccia rolls can be made ahead of time, making dinner even easier.

Storage & Reheating

Let any leftovers cool, then transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate within two hours of cooking. They’ll keep for up to 3-4 days. The tortellini will soak up the creamy sauce as it sits (which is why I especially like the sauce to be looser when I know I’ll have leftovers!), so expect it to thicken in the fridge.

Reheating

Warm leftovers in a skillet over medium-low heat. You may need to add a splash of chicken broth or milk to loosen the sauce if the pasta has absorbed a lot. Stir gently until heated through to 165°F. You can also microwave individual portions in short intervals, stirring between each one for even heating.

Freezing

I wouldn’t recommend freezing this one. The cheese-filled tortellini can lose its tender texture, and the cream sauce may separate once thawed. You’ll get much better results keeping any leftovers in the fridge and enjoying them over the next few days.

Love Tortellini? Try These Easy Recipes Next

Our Cheese Tortellini and Sausage Skillet brings together savory Italian sausage, marinara sauce, spinach, and plenty of melty mozzarella for a hearty one-pan dinner.
I love how our Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup turns simple ingredients into a rich, creamy, veggie-packed bowl of comfort!
For potlucks or make-ahead lunches, I’d go with this colorful Tortellini Salad tossed with fresh veggies and a zesty Italian dressing.
Loaded with tender pasta, Italian sausage, and vegetables, our Sausage and Tortellini Soup is just the thing for a chilly evening!

Marry Me Chicken Pasta

$8.44 recipe / $1.41 serving

Overhead view of Overhead view of Pasta Primavera with chicken in a skillet.

Chicken Pasta Primavera

$13.66 recipe / $3.42 serving

One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

$9.41 recipe / $2.35 serving

Chicken and Broccoli Skillet Lasagna

$9.19 recipe / $1.53 serving

The post Creamy Chicken and Tortellini Skillet appeared first on Budget Bytes.

from Budget Bytes https://ift.tt/hLJt0MV

The Holiday Tariff Trap: How to Host a Crowd Without Breaking the Bank

Before the first kitchen timer goes off, international trade duties have already driven up the cost of your holiday dinner. Between a historic shortage in American cattle herds raising beef prices sky-high, tariffs on tinplate steel inflating the price of canned goods, and foreign trade duties hitting European cheeses, wines, and sweets, hosting a holiday meal in 2026 can feel like walking a tightrope. I’ve been seeing these price hikes firsthand while shopping, and it’s definitely made me rethink a few of my usual grocery picks.

And while we can’t control international trade policies, we can outsmart them at the grocery store!

Overhead view of a thanksgiving tablespace with a turkey, cranberry sauce, green beans, carrots, mashed potato, and pumpkin pie.

Your Guide to a Budget-Friendly Holiday Feast

Hosting family shouldn’t mean taking on a mountain of stress or spending your whole paycheck on dinner. With a few smart, budget-savvy pivots, I’m here to help you put together a celebratory feast that tastes incredible, looks festive, and sidesteps the latest markups on the shelves. Alongside my favorite budget-saving swaps and shopping tips, we’ve also put together a complete holiday menu that feeds eight people for around $45!

A woman walking down the freezer aisle at a grocery store.

Instead of buying the exact same grocery list you’ve used over the holidays for years, we found making these four simple adjustments will help keep your receipt total down:

Ditch the canned goods: Tariffs on tinplate steel and imported aluminum have turned these former budget heroes into surprise budget busters. Buying canned pumpkin puree, canned green beans, canned yams, and canned cranberry sauce means you’re paying a hefty markup just for the packaging. Stick to fresh, bagged, or frozen U.S. produce instead. It’s cheaper, avoids the packaging surcharge, and often tastes noticeably better.
Rethink the centerpiece protein: Avoid expensive beef roasts and foreign seafood this holiday season, both of which are carrying markups right now. Focus on domestic whole turkeys, bone-in turkey breasts, pork roasts, or glazed holiday hams. These proteins rely on local agricultural supply chains and are largely insulated from foreign trade taxes. We found whole turkey for as little as $0.85 per pound at Walmart, making it a fantastic budget-friendly centerpiece!
Keep your dairy and drinks domestic: European cheeses like French Brie and Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano, along with wine and imported European butters, are carrying heavy import taxes. The U.S. produces both dairy and wine, so if you’re avoiding tariffs, they make a great swap. Switch to Wisconsin aged cheddar, Vermont goat cheese, domestic sweet cream butter, and West Coast wines.
Focus on seasonal fruit, grain, and spice desserts: High tariffs have sent the price of specialty chocolates soaring, but we’re not giving up dessert! Lean into fruit-forward desserts like a pear galette or an apple crumble. You could also try an egg-rich chess pie, or any number of bread-based desserts. Other great options include sweet potato pie or pecan pie using pantry grains and domestic sweeteners.

A woman at a grocery store looking at pumpkin pies.

“Kicking the Can” at Thanksgiving

A stress-free Thanksgiving dinner often relies on convenience canned products like jellied cranberry sauce, condensed cream-of-mushroom soup bases, and pumpkin puree. But in 2026, paying a premium for steel packaging is the quickest way to run up your total at the register.

Aside from straight facts about how tinplate steel and aluminum tariffs are impacting our grocery carts this holiday season, let’s talk about yield, which applies to pre (and post–let’s hope!) tariff times, too. For example, if you want to give 8 people an honest half-cup portion of carrots, you cannot rely on the canned carrot’s label touting that 3.5 servings are ready to be enjoyed inside. You’d need at least 4 cans, yielding roughly 5 to 6 cups total; at $0.96 per can, that’s $3.84, and over a third of what you bought was salt water and packaging.

On the flip side, a 4 lb. bag of raw carrots yields a solid 14 to 16 generous side servings. Even after peeling and trimming the tips (about a 10% prep loss), you are left with roughly 57 to 58 oz of pure edible veg. At $4.77 for the 4 lb bag, you feed twice as many guests for roughly 40% less out of pocket than buying the 6 to 7 cans needed to match that yield, paying around 8.3 cents per edible ounce compared to over 13 cents for canned solids, while skipping the canned brine (and tinplate steel and aluminum tariffs) completely!

Here is how to ditch the cans and build a fresher table for less money with just a little bit of extra elbow grease:

Make a 15-Minute Fresh Cranberry Sauce with 3 Ingredients

Front view of homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl.

A can of jellied cranberry sauce seems cheap until you compare its price per ounce to a simple bag of fresh, American-grown cranberries. Simmering whole cranberries on the stove with a little sugar, a splash of water, and fresh orange zest takes less than twenty minutes. It thickens naturally as it cools, costs less, and delivers a vibrant flavor that makes the canned jelly completely obsolete. Our easy three-ingredient cranberry sauce recipe (shown above) has become my go-to.

Only need a small batch of cranberry sauce? Put the rest of those fresh cranberries to good use and make my sugared cranberries. They’re a delicious, festive, budget-friendly treat that doubles as a gorgeous garnish for your turkey platter and holiday desserts.

A little update from the grocery aisle! When we photographed our holiday menu on 10/22/26 for this blog post, Great Value fresh cranberries weren’t available at Walmart yet, so we picked up a 12 oz. bag from Kroger instead. But when we checked Walmart again on 10/26/26, they were finally in stock for just $0.76 a bag! That’s cheaper than a can of cranberry sauce AND a whopping $2.23 less than we paid at Kroger for the same size bag. Proof that a little comparison shopping can make a big difference to your holiday grocery bill.

Fresh cranberries for sale at the store. — *This photo was taken on 10/26/26 at our local Walmart in Nashville, TN.*

Swap Out the Green Bean Casserole

Side view of sauteed green beans on a white serving platter.

Traditional green bean casserole often relies on canned french-cut green beans and canned cream soups…a double hit of packaging markups! Instead, grab two pounds of fresh green beans from the produce section or a couple bags of frozen from the freezer section. Sauté them in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil or domestic butter, garlic, and a pinch of other ingredients you probably already have on hand. It’s crisp, colorful, and feels like something you’d order at a nice restaurant.

Elevate the Bread Basket

Instead of spending $8 to $12 on a small wedge of imported cheese to snack on before dinner, make the bread basket your showstopper instead. Bake a quick batch of warm homemade dinner rolls or a skillet of golden cornbread, and serve it alongside whipped domestic sweet cream butter drizzled with local honey and sea salt. They cost pennies per serving, actually fill people up, and feel deeply comforting. Short on time? Don’t feel bad about grabbing a bag of ready-made dinner rolls at the grocery store like we did this time. At only $1.52 for 12 dinner rolls, I have no regrets…just extra time to spend with my family!

Prep Ahead to Keep Your Sanity

Prepped carrots, potatoes and celery in plastic containers. — *Prepped carrots, celery, and potatoes in deli containers with cold water.*

Admittedly, scratch-cooking fresh foods takes more prep than opening a row of cans with a can opener, but that doesn’t mean you need to be glued to the stove all day. Make your cranberry sauce two days in advance. Peel and chop your carrots, celery, and potatoes the day before and keep them refrigerated in water. Then on the holiday morning, you’re just assembling, roasting, and mashing, not stressing!

Christmas dinner and New Year’s Eve often lean toward luxury imports like Champagne, ornate cheese boards, and expensive cuts of beef and roasts. You can still create an indulgent spread without absorbing tariffs:

1. Build an American Charcuterie Board

Packaged cheese on the shelf at a grocery store. — **Spot the savings!** The imported Swiss Gruyère on the right costs $7.97 for 6 oz., while the Wisconsin-made Gruyère right next to it is just $4.87 for 7 oz. That’s $3.10 less for an EXTRA ounce!

The days of carefree grazing boards might be behind us (for now…fingers crossed!), but you don’t need imported French cheeses or Italian prosciutto to put together an impressive board. The U.S. produces excellent artisanal cheeses! While we navigate this timeline with import taxes kicking us while we’re down, try a sharp, aged Wisconsin white cheddar, a log of creamy Vermont goat cheese, or an Oregon blue cheese instead. Pair your American-made cheeses with domestic cured salami, crisp sliced apples, local honey, and candied Georgia pecans. It looks gorgeous, takes no time at all, supports local dairies, and dodges hefty markups.

2. Pour West Coast Bubbles or Switch to a Festive Mocktail

If your holiday tradition calls for a celebratory toast, you might need to leave the French Champagne and Italian Prosecco behind. Luckily, California, Oregon, and Washington state produce exceptional sparkling wines at a fraction of the cost of imported bottles, giving you festive bubbles without paying international shipping and tariff penalties! If alcohol isn’t in your budget, period, swap it out and save yourself a bunch of money by making a festive mocktail instead!

3. The Real Math: Why We Retired Our Holiday Pot Roast

At Budget Bytes, we don’t typically build holiday recipes around $70 rib roasts, but a cozy beef chuck roast used to be one of our favorite reasonably-priced celebratory centerpieces. Historically, our absolute max to keep a recipe accessible on the site is staying under $3.50 per serving.

So, when we ran the numbers on our classic pot roast between 2024 and 2026 at Walmart, the math was eye-opening:

2024 Beef Pot Roast (8 Servings): A 2.61 lb chuck roast ran $17.33. Combined with basic vegetables, bouillon, and seasonings, the whole pot cost $25.86, or $3.23 per serving.
2026 Beef Pot Roast (8 Servings): That exact same 2.61 lb cut of chuck roast at the same store jumped to $25.02—a 44% increase on the beef alone. Factoring in slight cost increases on the rest of the ingredients, the meal totaled $33.95, or $4.24 per serving.

A 44% jump pushes an everyday pot roast right out of budget territory. Save our pot roast recipe for later, but we’re pivoting for the holidays this year.

It’s All About the Bird!

Domestic turkeys are waiting for you at the grocery store right now at drool-worthy prices because they are raised, processed, and distributed entirely within the United States. While beef prices climbed, we found a whole turkey that easily feeds 7 to 9 people for just $13.11. (I also found another 11.72-pound turkey a few days later for $9.84! Today, I found a frozen whole turkey, 13.55 lbs, for $11.52! That’s a pretty good deal at 85 cents per pound.)

If you’re hosting a smaller gathering, a 5.5 lb bone-in turkey breast came out to $16.33. But from a budget perspective, the whole bird is easily the better value, giving you more than double the meat at a fraction of the price per pound. If your oven can’t fit a giant bird, you can always spatchcock your turkey to lay it flat, opt for an even cheaper roasted chicken, or go for the turkey breast-only option. Otherwise, go for the full bird and enjoy the leftovers if you have the oven space! (And if you ARE tackling a whole turkey this year, keep an eye out for our ultimate guide to the best Thanksgiving turkey, which is coming soon! It’ll have everything you need to know to get it just right.)

A woman shopping for frozen turkeys at the grocery store.

Pro Tip: Roasting a whole bird or a bone-in breast alongside cheap root vegetables like carrots, onions, and potatoes allows the vegetables to caramelize in the flavorful pan drippings, creating your main dish and side dishes all in one pan. After dinner, simmer the roasted bones with water and vegetable scraps to make rich broth, then turn the leftovers into a comforting turkey noodle soup (recipe also coming soon!) or a creamy turkey pot pie later in the week.

The Complete ~$45 Holiday Feast

Here is a full, holiday dinner menu built around fresh, American-grown staples and domestic supply chains. It comfortably feeds a family gathering of 8 for $45.72 total (calculated with Tennessee’s 4% grocery tax):

The Menu:

Roast whole turkey with herb butter (you could even brine it, too!)
Classic fluffy mashed potatoes (3 lbs)
Savory vegetable stuffing
Fresh sautéed garlic green beans (Double batch)
Easy roasted carrots (Double batch)
3-ingredient cranberry sauce
Classic turkey gravy
Store-bought bakery pumpkin or fruit pie
Soft warm dinner rolls

The Grocery Cart Breakdown:

Whole domestic turkey: $11.52
Russet potatoes (3 lb bag): $2.47
Sweet cream butter (1 lb): $3.06
Whole milk (64 oz): $2.32
Fresh celery (1 bunch): $2.04
Fresh French loaf/bakery bread: $1.47
Yellow onion (1 large): $0.97
Fresh garlic (1 bulb): $0.72
Fresh green beans (2 lbs): $3.63
Fresh whole carrots (4 lbs): $4.77
Fresh cranberries (12 oz bag): $2.99*
Fresh navel orange (1): $0.98
Bakery pre-made pie: $4.94
Pre-made dinner rolls: $1.00

Total: $42.88

Note: *When we photographed our menu on 10/22/26, Great Value brand fresh cranberries were not available at Walmart yet, so we picked up a bag from Kroger, which was significantly more expensive. I manually added the cranberries from the 2nd grocery stop (and the 4% sales tax) to our total. But now that fresh cranberries are available at Walmart for just $0.76 a bag (as I saw on 10/26/26), you should be able to bring your total down even more by buying them there instead!

The ingredients for our almost tariff-proof holiday menu.

Pantry Staples Used:

Salt, black pepper, flour, granulated sugar, vegetable broth, and dried baking spices (dried thyme, rosemary, sage, and parsley).

Why This Strategy Works

This menu works because it centers on staple proteins and produce, featuring domestically raised turkey alongside hearty crops like potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and cranberries. The U.S. produces massive quantities of these staples locally, so their prices aren’t tied to shipping containers, port disputes, or trade friction. The rising cost of gas and diesel does affect domestic products (and our plans to travel for the holidays!), but we’re doing the best we can.

By buying raw or frozen, domestically grown produce and relying on basic American dairy and pantry seasonings, you avoid the packaging tariffs hitting canned goods and the trade surcharges driving up imported meats and luxury items. You don’t have to sacrifice flavor, tradition, or hospitality to survive this season’s grocery landscape; you just have to shop with a plan.

To our friends outside the U.S.A.: While this breakdown is tailored to U.S. supply chains, the exact same principle applies where you are. Leaning into your domestically grown root crops, greenhouse produce, and domestic staples is your best defense against punishing import markups and currency exchange rates.

Sources:

USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) – Cattle & Beef Market Outlook (Beef inventory and market pricing trends)
Consumer Brands Association (CBA) – Tinplate Steel Tariffs Impact Report (Canned food and metal packaging duties)
Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) – Enforcement & Tariff Actions (Import duties on European cheeses, wine, and confections)
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) – Turkey Sector Background & Statistics (Domestic poultry production and supply chains)
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) – Dairy Tariff-Rate Quotas (Import regulations on foreign butter and specialty dairy)

A women wearing an 'i voted' sticker looking at a receipt, surrounded by groceries.

The Almost Tariff-Proof Grocery Guide: How to Eat Well When Supply Chains Shift

woman comparing two cans of tomato sauce at grocery store

Smart Grocery Shopping Tips When You’re Already Pinching Pennies

Blueberry muffins in a freezer bag with article title text overlay.

10 Foods I Freeze to Save Money and Reduce Waste

The post The Holiday Tariff Trap: How to Host a Crowd Without Breaking the Bank appeared first on Budget Bytes.

from Budget Bytes https://ift.tt/aAOvk2F

Ham and Bean Soup

It’s officially soup season, and I’m SO ready for it! This easy Ham and Bean Soup is loaded with tender canned white beans, colorful veggies, and savory chunks of browned ham, all in a thick, creamy broth (made without any actual cream or dairy). It’s a great way to use up leftover holiday ham, but I certainly don’t wait for a holiday to make it! I use just 8 basic ingredients plus a few seasonings to make this hearty, easy, budget-friendly soup, and it’s ready in less than an hour!

“This is excellent. I added leftover chopped up asparagus and four cups of the chicken broth. If ham is not an option smoked kielbasa is great too. I topped the soup with mozzarella an smoked parmigiana cheese.”
Julie W

How I Build Big Flavor in Less Time

Traditional ham and bean soups often start with dried beans and a ham bone that simmer together for hours. And there’s definitely a time and place for that! But I wanted an easy version that didn’t require soaking beans or spending all afternoon waiting for dinner. So I use canned cannellini beans and fully cooked ham to get a head start. They’re already cooked, which means I can spend my time building flavor instead.

One thing I do differently is brown the ham before adding anything else. This gives the edges a little color and leaves behind tasty browned bits on the bottom of the pot (called fond). When I add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, their natural moisture loosens those bits and brings that extra flavor into the soup. Sautéing the vegetables also softens them and brings out a little natural sweetness. For the broth, I borrowed a trick from my white bean soup and purée one can of beans with its liquid. This thickens the soup and adds a lovely creaminess without flour, cornstarch, or heavy cream. I leave the other two cans whole for a chunky texture, and after the initial flavor-building stages, everything comes together with just 15 minutes of simmering!

Give the ham a chance to brown. I cook the diced ham in oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and golden-brown bits form on the bottom of the pot. This builds the salty ham flavor you’d normally get from simmering a ham bone for hours, just in much less time! If those bits start turning very dark, lower the heat so they don’t burn.
Blend one can of beans, liquid and all! Purée ONE can of cannellini beans with its canning liquid, then drain the other two. The smooth beans thicken the broth, and the whole beans give the soup its chunky texture. No blender? You can thoroughly mash that first can with a potato masher or fork instead. It won’t be as smooth, but this is a chunky soup anyway!
Let the soup boil and thicken. The 15-minute boil allows some of the broth to evaporate while the puréed beans thicken the soup. I give the pot a good stir every few minutes, making sure to scrape along the bottom, to keep the beans from sticking. If it gets thicker than you’d like, stir in a little more broth or water until you reach your preferred consistency.
Taste before adding salt. Cooked ham is pretty salty, especially when it’s cured, and chicken broth adds even more seasoning. That’s why I wait until the ham goes back into the pot before tasting and adjusting. I didn’t need any extra salt in my batch, but I finished each bowl with a little extra black pepper.

For this quick ham and bean soup, I recommend fully cooked ham (or leftover cooked ham from another meal) rather than a ham hock. We’re using canned beans and other ingredients that cook quickly, so there’s no need to spend hours simmering a ham bone to flavor the broth! Thicker pieces work best because they hold their shape and develop nicely browned edges when sautéed.

Boneless vs. Bone-In Ham Steaks

Both of these ham steaks are fully cooked and work well in this recipe:

Boneless ham steak: My easiest choice! There’s no bone to work around, and the thick slices are easy to cut into bite-sized pieces. You can buy ham steaks in smaller packs (shown above) or use a package of fully cooked, boneless, sliced ham (as I did in the recipe below).
Bone-in ham steak: This works just as well once you’ve removed the bone and any tough rind. Just remember that you need 1 lb. of usable ham, so you’ll need to buy a little extra to account for the weight of the bone.

What About Other Types of Ham?

A spiral cut ham, smoked ham joimt and a package of ham hocks,

I saw a LOT of ham options at the store when shopping for this recipe, and you probably will too, especially around the holidays. The fully cooked, boneless spiral-cut ham and smoked shank portion ham shown above can both work, BUT I’d save those bigger hams for a holiday centerpiece (like our baked ham) and use the leftovers for this soup.

I wouldn’t splurge on a big ham for this recipe unless you plan to use it for several meals. Ham slices are cheaper, easier, and all you need for this quickie soup.

Ham hocks are a different story! They’re better suited to traditional bean soups that simmer for hours. The long simmer gives the connective tissue time to soften and the smoky flavor time to develop. The pork hocks pictured above are only partially cooked, so they aren’t suitable for this shortcut recipe as written. If you’d prefer to make soup using a ham hock and dried beans, check out our navy bean soup recipe instead. It uses a smoked ham hock and takes over two hours of cooking, plus soaking time for the beans.

Print Add to Collection

Ham and Bean Soup

This incredibly easy and deliciously chunky Ham and Bean Soup features a medley of colorful vegetables, browned ham, and plenty of hearty white beans.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Total Cost $11.47 recipe / $2.87 serving

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings servings (1.5 cups each)

Calories 385kcal

Author Beth Moncel