By the Daily Kitchen Dishes Kitchen Team
*A practical weeknight recipe for busy households looking to spend less, cook faster and still put a satisfying homemade dinner on the table.
Make a budget-friendly 20-minute tomato chicken pasta with simple ingredients, one pan and less washing up.
🍽️ Your Daily Dish
This Week: A Budget-Friendly Dinner
When grocery bills are under pressure, dinner doesn't have to become boring—or rely on expensive convenience food.
This week's Daily Dish is a 20-minute tomato chicken pasta: tender chicken, pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic and a handful of greens cooked into one satisfying meal.
It's deliberately flexible, too. Use chicken breast, chicken thighs or leftover cooked chicken. Swap spinach for frozen peas, kale or whatever vegetables need using up.
Why this recipe matters this week
Food affordability remains a live issue for households. In the US, the USDA's latest August 2026 outlook says food-at-home prices were 2.7% higher year over year in July, with 2026 grocery prices forecast to rise 2.5% overall.
In the UK, grocery-price inflation accelerated to 2.8% in August, while fresh-food inflation remained around 3%.
Canada's July figures showed grocery prices up 3.1% year over year, while Australia reported food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation of 3.2% in July.
Ireland offers a slightly different picture: August food prices were estimated to be only 0.1% higher than a year earlier, although overall inflation rose to 3.4%.
And globally, the FAO reported that food prices jumped in August to their highest level since late 2022, citing weather, geopolitical disruption and supply risks.
The practical takeaway? This is a good moment to make inexpensive staples work harder: pasta, tinned tomatoes, onions and seasonal or frozen vegetables can turn a modest amount of protein into a generous family meal.
💬 Today's Table Talk
We've all had that moment: it's nearly dinner time, everyone's hungry, the fridge looks uninspiring and the temptation is to order takeaway.
But a good weeknight meal doesn't need a long ingredient list.
This pasta is designed for real-life cooking. You can make it after work, adapt it to what's already in your kitchen and have fewer dishes waiting for you afterwards.
Let's get cooking.
🍝 20-Minute Tomato Chicken Pasta
Serves
4 people
Time
About 20 minutes
You'll need
300–350g pasta — penne, fusilli or spaghetti
350–400g boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon olive or cooking oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2–3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato purée/paste
250ml chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs or mixed herbs
2 generous handfuls spinach or frozen peas
30–50g grated hard cheese, optional
Salt and black pepper
Pinch of chilli flakes, optional
Budget swap: Replace some of the chicken with a drained tin of chickpeas or extra vegetables. You'll stretch the meal further without needing another expensive protein.
👩🍳 Easy Instructions
1. Start the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet directions.
Before draining, reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.
2. Brown the chicken
While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 4–5 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly browned and cooked through.
Don't overcrowd the pan. If necessary, cook the chicken in two batches.
3. Build the sauce
Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and tomato purée. Stir for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock. Add the dried herbs and chilli flakes if using.
Simmer for 4–5 minutes.
4. Bring everything together
Add the drained pasta and spinach or peas.
Toss everything together for 1–2 minutes.
If the sauce looks too thick, add a splash of reserved pasta water until it becomes glossy and coats the pasta.
5. Finish and serve
Taste before adding more salt.
Scatter over grated cheese, black pepper and any fresh herbs you have available.
Serve immediately.
💰 How to Make It Even Cheaper
Use the supermarket own-brand staples
For this recipe, branded ingredients aren't necessary. Own-brand pasta, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes and dried herbs work perfectly.
Buy chicken when it's discounted
If chicken is on special, portion it at home and freeze what you won't use immediately.
Choose frozen vegetables
Frozen spinach and peas are particularly useful because they last for months and eliminate the pressure to use fresh vegetables before they spoil.
Make the sauce do more work
A spoonful of tomato purée intensifies the flavour without requiring more meat or cheese.
Don't throw away edible leftovers
Extra cooked vegetables, roasted chicken or half an onion can all find a home in this pasta.
🏆 Kitchen Win
The Pasta-Water Trick
Before draining your pasta, always save a little cooking water.
Why?
The starchy water helps loosen a thick sauce while helping it cling to the pasta.
Instead of adding another splash of cream or extra oil, start with 1–2 tablespoons of pasta water, toss, and add more only if needed.
One small habit can make inexpensive ingredients taste much more luxurious.
🔪 Kitchen Tip of the Day
Prep Your “Weeknight Base” Once
Here's a simple habit that can save you several minutes every evening.
When you have 10 spare minutes, chop:
2–3 onions
several garlic cloves
a couple of carrots or peppers
Store the chopped vegetables in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
You can then start pasta sauces, curries, stir-fries, soups and omelettes without reaching for the chopping board every night.
Make it even more useful
Keep a small container labelled “USE FIRST” in your refrigerator.
Put vegetables or herbs that are approaching their best-before/use-by point inside it.
When you're deciding what to cook, look there first.
It's a simple way to reduce food waste and grocery spending.
💡 Smart Cooking Tip
Don't automatically cook the amount printed on the pasta packet.
For a sauce-heavy dinner like this, around 75–90g dry pasta per adult is often plenty when you're adding chicken and vegetables.
If you're feeding children, adjust according to appetite.
Cooking only what you need can reduce leftovers, prevent waste and make a packet of pasta stretch across more meals.
🌍 Make It Work Wherever You Shop
The beauty of this dinner is that it doesn't depend on one country's supermarket selection.
USA: Look for canned diced tomatoes, chicken thighs and frozen spinach on promotion.
UK: Passata can replace chopped tomatoes, while frozen peas are an inexpensive vegetable option.
Canada: Use whatever pasta shape is cheapest per 100g and check supermarket flyers for chicken specials.
Australia: Take advantage of seasonal vegetables; September produce such as pumpkin, cabbage and asparagus can offer useful alternatives depending on local prices.
Germany: Penne, passata, canned tomatoes and frozen vegetables are easy substitutes for the ingredients listed.
Ireland: With grocery-price inflation recently easing, compare own-brand and promotional products rather than assuming the most expensive option is better.
🗣️ Conversation Starter
What's your favourite ingredient for stretching a small amount of meat into a dinner that feeds the whole family?
Tell us in the comments—your idea might give another busy cook their next great weeknight meal.
📝 Quick Recipe Card
20-Minute Tomato Chicken Pasta
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Key ingredients: pasta, chicken, canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato purée and spinach or peas.
Best money-saving swaps: chicken thighs, chickpeas, frozen vegetables and supermarket own-brand ingredients.
Best kitchen hack: save your pasta water.
Best leftover idea: Reheat portions with a splash of water or stock and a little extra tomato sauce.
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