5 Last-Minute Low-Cost Dollar Tree Dinners You Need on Your Holiday Table
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Kristen Mae
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As you wind down your shopping and wrapping, you might think you’re done with the sugarplum blitz of holiday preparations. Then the realization creeps up like the Grinch’s long, wicked grin: You still need to prepare the holiday food. Just as your budget is about to start warbling, “You’re a Mean One,” you remember Dollar Tree Dinners.
Whether you watch on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, Dollar Tree Dinners is a popular social media series dedicated to meals made entirely from inexpensive ingredients — often sourced from Dollar Tree. Created by Rebecca Chobat, the channel focuses on dishes that prioritize flavor, simplicity and affordability.
GOBankingRates explored her channel to find a few crowd-pleasing recipes that deserve a place on your holiday table, from mains to sides and even a festive dessert.
1. Grinch Cookies
In 2025, Chobat challenged herself to create 12 days of content dedicated to holiday desserts. When she wanted a unique option that minimized the chocolate — yes, there is such a thing as too much chocolate — she turned to these Grinch cookies. The full recipe is posted in the YouTube video, but the foundation is Pillsbury Traditional Vanilla Cake Mix.
Altogether, there are just five ingredients. Individually priced at $1.25, the total comes to about $6.25. The cookies are also easy enough to prepare that little ones can join you in the kitchen.
2. Rotini Pasta With Vegetables and Chickpeas
During the colder months, holiday guests often crave a meal that is both warm and healthy. You can indulge them with a unique pasta dish that’s protein-packed and loaded with fiber. Chobat chose this recipe because it was developed by a nutritionist who focuses on healthy meals made from inexpensive ingredients.
Chobat said the simple dish — which combines pasta, corn, chickpeas, peppers, minced garlic and pesto — came to about $8. It works well as a light main dish or a hearty side, making it a flexible addition to any holiday spread.
3. Olive Garden-Style Zuppa Toscana
Whether you serve it as an appetizer or as part of the main course, your holiday guests will be dazzled by this Dollar Tree Dinners take on Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana. Chobat includes her full recipe in her video, along with optional tips for making Olive Garden-style breadsticks at home.
Making the soup at home is surprisingly easy and doesn’t require specialty equipment such as immersion blenders or premium cookware. Your guests don’t need to know you didn’t splurge on the real thing.
4. Ultimate Crab Mac and Cheese
Sure, you may have already served mac and cheese at Thanksgiving, but for the holidays, you can take things up a notch. Adding crab gives the dish a special-occasion feel without restaurant-level pricing.
Chobat spent about $11.25 on ingredients for a mac and cheese dish that serves four people. She makes a truly decadent recipe look easy to prepare. Notably, she suggests using a less expensive seafood seasoning instead of Old Bay, helping to keep costs down without sacrificing flavor.
5. Swamp Potatoes
The name may not inspire confidence, but the “swamp” refers more to the Cajun-inspired approach to sausage, potatoes, green beans and onion, not the flavor itself. This recipe went viral on social media earlier this year for both its flavor and the ease of preparing it in a slow cooker.
It’s such a perfect, low-effort dish — one that can work its culinary magic while you’re wrapping gifts or entertaining guests — that even Chobat, a self-professed slow cooker skeptic, came to love it.
Putting a Lid on the Pot
When it comes to finding affordable, last-minute dishes that still feel holiday-worthy, Dollar Tree Dinners consistently delivers. While prices may vary by location and availability, you can often find most of what you need at a Dollar Tree near you — without blowing your holiday budget.
Need a little extra holiday magic in your budget? MoneyLion, a sister company of GOBankingRates, is giving away $2,000 a day through Jan. 24, 2026. Sign up here and see if this festive windfall lands under your tree.
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