--- description: Here are seven delicious and nutritious foods you can enjoy for less than a buck per serving. title: 7 Healthy Foods That All Cost Less Than $1 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Diet & Nutrition](/tag/dietnutrition/) ## Diet & Nutrition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 7 Healthy Foods That All Cost Less Than $1 by [Beth Lipton / Health.com](/author/health-com/) ## Beth Lipton / Health.com Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2017 1:43 PM CUT  Danny Kim for TIME by [Beth Lipton / Health.com](/author/health-com/) ## Beth Lipton / Health.com Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2017 1:43 PM CUT It’s a common complaint: Healthy food is so expensive. While there’s no question you can spend a ton on good-for-you fare, the fact is, there are plenty of ways to save a bundle and still eat well. Here are seven delicious and nutritious foods you can enjoy for less than a dollar per serving. ### **Peanut butter** PB has taken a backseat in recent years to more glamorous spreads made from [almonds](http://www.health.com/food/best-nut-butters "undefined"), cashews, [sunflower seeds](http://www.health.com/nutrition/seed-butter "undefined") and more. And while variety is great, classic peanut butter is hard to beat when it comes to inexpensive-yet-nutritious foods. Sixteen-ounce jars run from around $2.50 to $6 and beyond, with organic and flavored varieties at the pricier end of the spectrum. But even at $6 per jar, one serving (2 Tbsp.) is only about 43¢—and you get around 8g protein, healthy fats, fiber and great flavor. Slather it on a sandwich or sliced apples or bananas, [whirl it into a smoothie,](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,50400000118685,00.html "undefined") bake with it or whisk it with tamari, garlic and ginger for a tangy dipping sauce. ### **Frozen chopped organic spinach** Frozen vegetables are a great option for money-saving: They’re less expensive than fresh, and since you only use what you need, there’s no waste. I like spinach in particular because of its versatility. Toss a handful into a skillet for an egg scramble, or add it to soup, mix into meatballs, swirl it into a dip, or blitz it into a smoothie. It can be a prominent ingredient (as in a [spanakopita](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001117820,00.html "undefined")) or it can disappear into brownies. A 16-oz. bag of the Whole Foods 365 brand contains six 1-cup servings and costs $1.99, which works out to 31¢ per serving. **RELATED:** [**12 Foods You Need to Stop Buying—and 17 You Should Eat More**](http://www.health.com/food/best-worst-food-choices/?xid=time "undefined") ### **Eggs** Eggs are another versatile food packed with nutrients. They’re readily available, easy to make into multiple dishes and a great source of protein, [vitamin D](http://www.health.com/nutrition/get-vitamin-d-in-diet "undefined") (which is hard to find in food), choline, B vitamins and selenium. You can find them for as little as $1.50 a dozen. And you can get organic eggs for $6 per dozen, which is only 50¢ per egg. ### **Beans** Talk about a great deal. Dried beans are cheapest; for a buck you can get a pound, which will yield you around 5 cups of cooked beans. But they require some planning, as they need to be soaked for a few hours and then cooked (unless you use a pressure cooker, in which case you can do it in less than an hour, even without soaking). But if you prefer the convenience of canned beans, you’re still looking at a pocket-change investment. A can of 15-15.5-oz. runs between $1.10 and around $2.50 (for organic), which works out to between 31¢ and 71¢ per ½-cup serving. Whirl them into [dips](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,50400000118673,00.html "undefined"), toss into salads or mash with vegetables and grain and turn them into [veggie burgers](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,20919038,00.html "undefined"). ### **Cabbage** One of the healthiest, most readily available and most versatile vegetables in the produce section also happens to be one of the cheapest. A humble head of green cabbage, which costs around $2, yields about 5 cups, or 10 servings (5 servings if you cook it). So for 20¢, you get not only nearly half of your day’s [vitamin C](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20745689,00.html "undefined"), but also nearly your full day’s vitamin K, plus folate and [fiber](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20553010,00.html "undefined"). Cabbage is also a good source of [prebiotics](http://www.health.com/digestive-health/prebiotic-foods "undefined"), carbohydrates that are non-digestible in the body but that feed good gut bacteria. Shred it and turn it into a [simple slaw](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000000443498,00.html "undefined"), or use the leaves as sandwich wraps in place of bread. You can also transform cabbage into a fast, healthy side dish by chopping and sautéing in a bit of butter until tender and turning golden in parts; then season lightly with salt and pepper. Red cabbage, at about $3 per head, is also a steal, and has all of the same benefits of its green cousin, plus it’s also loaded with vitamin A and phytonutrients. ### **Lentils** These small-but-mighty [legumes](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410301,00.html "undefined") are a superfood, loaded with protein, fiber, iron, B vitamins and folate. A pound of dried lentils, which costs about a dollar, contains about 2 ½ cups, which works out to about eight or nine ½-cup servings cooked (at 8 servings, that’s about 13¢ a serving). Lentils make excellent [dips](http://www.health.com/recipes/beet-lentil-dip "undefined"), [salads](http://www.health.com/food/recipe-of-the-day-grilled-vegetable-salad-with-lentils "undefined"), [spreads](http://www.health.com/health/video/0,,20807836,00.html "undefined"), [soups](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000001992635,00.html "undefined"), [sauces](http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,50400000134505,00.html "undefined") and more. ### **Oats** It’s hard to find a more comforting, familiar staple than oats—though in recent years, they’ve been overshadowed by fancier grains (that’s you, [farro](http://www.health.com/recipes/crispy-farro-shrimp "undefined"), [quinoa](http://www.health.com/food/14-ways-to-add-quinoa-to-your-diet "undefined") and [spelt](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410346,00.html "undefined")). Time to give them a fresh look: Not only are they able to magically transform into many different dishes suitable for any time of day, they’re also amazingly inexpensive. An 18-oz. can of old-fashioned rolled oats, which has thirteen ½-cup servings, costs around $3, which calculates to 23¢ per serving. Of course you can have it for breakfast, made the traditional way, prepped in advance for grab-and-go [overnight oats](http://www.health.com/health/video/0,,20945356,00.html "undefined"), baked into [squares](http://www.health.com/food/baked-oatmeal-recipe-samoa "undefined") or whirled into a [smoothie.](http://www.thekitchn.com/drink-your-oats-5-nourishing-whole-grain-smoothie-recipes-176741 "undefined") But oats also work well as a binder for meatballs or meatloaf, and as a savory side dish or the base for a grain bowl. _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/food/cheap-healthy-foods/?xid=time "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4855542/cheap-healthy-foods/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4855542/cheap-healthy-foods/"},"headline":"7 Healthy Foods That All Cost Less Than $1","datePublished":"2017-07-13T13:43:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:31:49.661Z","description":"Here are seven delicious and nutritious foods you can enjoy for less than a buck per serving.","url":"https://time.com/4855542/cheap-healthy-foods/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Food & Drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Beth Lipton / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, raw peanut butter","caption":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, raw peanut butter","creditText":"Danny Kim for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4855542/cheap-healthy-foods/","name":"7 Healthy Foods That All Cost Less Than $1"}}]}] ```