The thrifty 50: 10 super-cheap and speedy recipe ideas

• The thrifty 50

1. Remains of the roast sausage rolls

Throw leftover roast meat (pork or lamb), leftover roast veg, some fried onion, a few flavour boosters such as tomato paste and grated carrot for health in a food processor to blend, then roll this filling into puff pastry. One ready-made sheet makes two sausage rolls. Apply egg-wash and sesame seeds then bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Way easier than cottage pie. Sorry granny. Ardyn Bernoth

2. Eggy rice

When there's little more to eat in the house than a cup or two of leftover rice, onion or garlic, eggs and soy, you can have a soulful and satisfying breakfast, lunch or dinner for one in 10 minutes flat. Mix two eggs and a slurp of soy sauce together in a small bowl and set aside, then saute finely chopped onion or garlic with butter or oil in a frypan until translucent. Add the rice and heat through, breaking up any lumps. Pour over the eggs and stir through to coat the rice. And that's it. But sure, go ahead and add fried bacon, or peas, or crispy chilli oil if you like. You do you. Roslyn Grundy

3. Coconut macaroons

It's annoying to have leftover egg whites from other dishes you have cooked, so make a batch of super-easy coconut macaroons that do that "crunchy outside, chewy inside" thing we love. Beat 3 egg whites until fluffy, then gradually add 100g caster sugar, beating until glossy peaks form. Mix in 200g shredded coconut, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon sifted plain flour, then drop by the spoonful onto two baking trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 15-18 mins at 170C until lightly golden and still soft inside – they will firm up as they cool. Makes 20. Jill Dupleix​

4. Fake cassoulet

Sizzle up a few coarse Italian sausages and set aside. Fry sliced onion, bacon and garlic in the sausage fat, then add two cans of drained and rinsed white beans, a can of tomatoes, any herbs you might have lying around, and half a cup of water or stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a gratin dish, arrange sausages on top, scatter with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes. It's only sausages and beans, but it's greater than the sum of its parts. Terry Durack

5. Dumplings and bok choy

Frozen dumplings are often discounted at the supermarket, so stock up when you see them slashed and have them on standby to steam and serve atop steamed bok choy (also mercifully resistant to price hikes), with a spoonful of chilli oil mixed into a dollop of peanut butter. Trust me, delicious. (16 ways to dress up frozen dumplings.) Andrea McGinniss​

6. Roast veg tray bake

I often clear the fridge by chopping up any remaining sweet potatoes, cauliflower, capsicum, mushroom, zucchini, pumpkin, kale (anything, you get the idea) and roasting them with olive oil to make a hearty salad base for tossing with cooked rice, lentils, barley … whatever. Make a quick-dollop dressing of yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, maybe some chilli oil and you're a low-rent Ottolenghi. (Or try Neil Perry's warm lentil salad with pumpkin and chilli.) Dani Valent

7. Super soup

Pour a little oil into a heavy based pan over medium heat and saute medium chopped root veg, then add chopped celery and fennel. Deglaze with leftover wine (if there is such a thing), add stock, a bay leaf, a tin of chickpeas (including juice) and simmer for 30 minutes or until done. Add pasta 12 minutes before serving for a thicker soup. Richard Cornish

8. Puttanesca

If you've got tinned tomatoes, chilli flakes and anchovies in your pantry (and who doesn't?) plus jars of olives and capers in your fridge, you're on your way to puttanesca. It's one of my favourite pasta sauces, largely because of its "I'm-hanging-out-at-home-in-trackpants ease". Start with garlic, which is gently sizzled in lots of olive oil with the chilli and chopped anchovies until the oil is well-infused with those punchy flavours. Throw in a couple of cans of tomatoes and simmer until slightly reduced. Add capers and olives in your desired ratios and warm through while you cook your favourite long pasta, then toss it through the sauce with tongs. Emma Breheny

9. At-home pizza way cheaper than takeaway

My most exciting lockdown discovery was Hank's Hot Box, hands down the best ready-made pizza bases ever (and I've tried most of them, trust me). They're delivered frozen so you can keep a pile in the freezer and top with fresh seasonal ingredients. They're light, crunchy, chewy and charred like the best pizzeria pizza but more affordable and no delivery charges. You just pop them in a very hot oven for 6-8 minutes. Hank's also does a great hot honey and a chilli oil (plus excellent tiramisu, but I may be venturing out of budget territory here). In Melbourne, try the widely available 400 Gradi pizza at home range. Trudi Jenkins

10. Tarte tatin

Tarte tatin sounds pretty luxurious, but it's a quick way to use up fruit on the turn, and if you've got some puff pastry in the freezer, you're there. Turn the oven to 180C, drop three tablespoons of sugar into a pan and swirl it over high until it melts, then turns golden. Melt in a big knob of butter, then add enough fruit – it might be halved peaches, pears, apples, bananas, apricots – to cover the base (you can also throw in some spices). Lay your pastry on top, cramming the edges in, poke a hole in it, then transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until the fruit's tender and the pastry's golden. Cool it a little, flip it onto a board, then serve it with anything creamy. David Matthews