Budget menu for New Year 2023: cheaper and tastier than you think!

Today we will dispel the myth that a good, generous New Year's table requires significant financial investments. The budget menu for the New Year 2023 will delight you with modern dishes and original recipes.

A few tips...

The New Year's menu can be budget-friendly and at the same time delicious, luxurious, and surprising. You have to be smart and be prudent.

What you need to ensure that the menu for the New Year does not hit your pocket:

Buy only what you need. Many people, on the eve of the holiday, buy everything they can get their hands on: ready-made cheese and sausage slices, sauces, sweets, etc. The lion's share of the budget is spent on them, and in fact the table remains empty.
Write a list of products according to the menu you have compiled. This way you can see how much money you have to spend, and you can plan on buying everything you need.
Make your main purchase 2-4 weeks before the holiday. On New Year's Eve, prices skyrocket.
Avoid preparations. They cost 1.5-2 times more than raw products. Salt the fish yourself, boil the beets, marinate the champignons. You can even make your own mayonnaise.
Prepare for 1-2 holidays. Give up the habit of doing everything in large portions. Dishes are stored for 48-72 hours, and then they are considered spoiled and can cause poisoning.

What to treat your Rabbit - top 3 dishes

The rabbit is a herbivorous animal. In 2023, the New Year's table will welcome an abundance of greens, vegetables, and dishes with them.

What will the symbol of the year like:

microgreens;
carrot;
lettuce, parsley, dill, cilantro and other fresh herbs;
beet;
fruit slices and desserts;
cabbage salads;
pumpkin.

For a side dish, you should prepare vegetable puree - potato, carrot, beetroot, pumpkin-potato, broccoli. The rabbit does not like meat, fish and seafood, but their presence on the table is quite acceptable. What the symbol of the year will definitely not forgive is dishes with rabbit meat. Designs in the form of hares and rabbits should be avoided. Forms of plant products would be appropriate: tangerines, apples, twigs.

Advice. The black water rabbit is distinguished by its generosity, altruism and hard work. It would be good if the menu included 10-12 different dishes, prepared taking into account the tastes and preferences of the guests.

Salad with microgreens

The modern dish is very rich in vitamins and is inexpensive. You can grow your own microgreens.

Ingredients:

radish microgreens – 80 g;
shrimp – 200 g;
walnuts – 20 g;
carrots – 100 g;
apple – 100 g;
salt, black pepper;
olive oil and balsamic vinegar (lemon juice) for dressing.

Preparation:

Boil the shrimp, peel and cut in half.
Grate the carrots and apples on a coarse grater.
Chop the nuts.
Mix everything, salt, pepper, pour over the dressing.
Place microgreens on top before serving.

Dessert of apples with honey, nuts and cottage cheese

The dish resembles New Year's balls. Baked apples are the taste of childhood, home comfort and warmth.

Making dessert on a budget is not difficult. Need to:

Cut off the tops of large, beautiful apples.
Remove the core with seeds.
Crush the walnuts. You can add steamed and chopped candied fruits, raisins, dried apricots.
Mix soft cottage cheese with egg and honey. Add some goodies.
Fill the apples. Close with the top. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Carrot appetizer

What do rabbits love most? Of course, carrots!

For the snack you need to knead the dough from 70 g of soft butter, 140 g of flour, 1 tsp. paprika, 0.5 tsp. salt, 80 ml sour cream and 1.5 tbsp. l. tomato paste. Roll out into a layer, cut into strips. Roll the strips into tubes and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling - grate boiled eggs, cheese, garlic, add mayonnaise. Fill the finished tubes. Insert small bunches of greenery for decoration.

How to make a snack step by step:

We are making a menu for the New Year 2023

Everyone has their own understanding of the word “budget”. Someone wants to spend up to 5 thousand rubles on the New Year's menu, while for others spending 3 thousand rubles seems wasteful. We are for a reasonable approach. Budget means nourishing, tasty, but without expensive frills.

Products for salads and main courses will cost 400-500 rubles, desserts - 200-300 rubles (based on 3-4 servings). The final cost of the New Year's menu will depend on the number of guests and the selected items.

Main dishes

Celebrating the New Year requires a signature dish on the table. The most budget-friendly and at the same time presentable option is a whole baked chicken. You can fill it with pumpkin, oranges, apples. You can also consider budget pork dishes.

Pork ribs in coffee marinade

The dish will delight you not only with its inexpensive cost, but also with the taste and juiciness of the meat.

For preparation you will need:

pork ribs – 1 kg;
onions – 3 pcs.;
spicy ketchup – 150 g;
ground coffee – 4 tsp;
sugar – 50 g;
soy sauce – 3 tbsp. l.;
wine vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.;
salt and pepper to taste.

How to prepare the dish:

Brew coffee in a Turk (sauce pan), strain.
Rinse the ribs, cut into bones. Salt and pepper.
Cut the onion into cubes and combine in a deep bowl with ketchup, sauce, coffee and vinegar.
Marinate the ribs for 3 hours.
Transfer to a mold and bake at 180 degrees for 60-80 minutes. For 20 minutes, grease with juice from the mold.

Juicy boiled pork

The ham, back of the carcass and neck are best suited for the dish. This is what a wonderful New Year's boiled pork it turns out to be.

A piece weighing 300-400 g should be spread with a mixture of 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 3 cloves of garlic (gruel), salt, Provençal herbs, mustard seeds, adjika (1 tsp each). Wrap in foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 1.5 hours. Then unfold the foil and leave in the oven for another half hour to form a golden crust.

Salads

It’s hard to imagine New Year, even the most budget-friendly one, without salads. You need to understand that to prepare a salad you will need several different products. Therefore, no salad can be very cheap. You can save money by choosing recipes for products that you have on hand (sauerkraut, pickles, etc.)

Sunflower

The salad has an original look. And “Sunflower” is layered, very filling and tasty.

The first layer is boiled chicken fillet, cut into small cubes, the second layer is chopped marinated champignons. Then boiled carrots and eggs are grated on a coarse grater. Top the salad with finely grated hard cheese and pitted olives. Each layer is coated with sour cream or mayonnaise. Chips imitating flower petals are laid out along the edges of the plate.

Fishes in the pond

One of the most budget salads. Its highlight is in its design. The little fish looked like they were frozen in an icy pond.

A salad is prepared from boiled potatoes, eggs, processed cheese, mayonnaise, green onions and sprats. If desired, you can add boiled carrots and crackers inside.

Typically the layers are arranged as follows:

grated potatoes;
mashed sprats;
grated eggs;
grated cheese;
4-5 whole sprouts, tails sticking up, and green onion feathers (garnish).

Each layer is soaked in mayonnaise.

Chicken heart salad

The amazing taste of the salad will surprise anyone who has not tried it yet. The dish also looks very appetizing and bright.

About 500 g of chicken hearts need to be washed well, all excess removed, and boiled (20 minutes). Add salt, peppercorns and bay leaf. Cut 2 onions into half rings and fry until golden brown. Cut 2-3 pickled cucumbers into strips. Cut the cooled hearts into rings. Mix with 100 g of Korean carrots and 2 tbsp. spoons of mayonnaise. If you like, you can crush 1-2 cloves of garlic into the salad.

Dessert

For the rabbit, the symbol of the coming year, the best dessert is fruit. You can beautifully arrange fruit slices on a tray. Design examples:

If you want something more substantial, recipes for light cake, champagne jelly and sugar cookies will come to the rescue.

Oreo cake

The dessert is incredibly tasty and can be prepared without baking. After 15-20 minutes, the cake will already be soaked in the refrigerator and harden.

Ingredients:

Oreo cookies – 20 pcs.;
butter – 100 g;
cottage cheese – 300 g;
sour cream – 50 g;
gelatin – 8 g;
water – 40 ml;
sugar – 2 tbsp. spoons.

How to cook step by step:

Fill the jelly with water. Place half the butter in a water bath to melt.
Using a knife, scrape off the creamy center of 10 Oreos. Grind the cookies in a blender into fine crumbs.
Mix with melted butter and press into the bottom of the pan.
Roll out the remaining cookies in the bag with a rolling pin (leaving 2-4 for decoration).
Blend cottage cheese, sour cream with sugar, 50 g of butter, and Oreo creamy center with a blender.
Melt gelatin in a water bath. Pour into curd cream. Mix with cookie crumbs.
Pour into mold. Garnish with large Oreo pieces. You can try the cake after 4 hours.

Heady jelly

Dessert for adults who drink alcohol. Jelly with sparkling wine will surprise you with its unusual taste. Everyone will want to try it. Its cost is equal to the cost of half a bottle of champagne (you can take a budget, but with a pleasant taste, semi-sweet).

Recipe:

Place 200 ml of champagne in a water bath, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar and 2 tbsp. spoons of gelatin.
After the gelatin has dissolved, pour in another 200 ml of champagne and stir.
Pour into mold and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Dip the mold in warm water and turn it over. The jelly will come out easily.
Cut into cubes with a sharp knife, sprinkle with sugar, insert skewers.

Sugar cookies

The delicacy simply melts in your mouth.Crispy cookies covered with sugar frost can be served with tea or coffee after the New Year's feast.

First, knead the dough from 125 g of softened butter, 2 egg yolks, 60 g of sugar, a pinch of vanillin, salt, 225 g of flour and 0.5 tsp. baking powder. The finished dough should be soft and pliable. It must be left under the film for half an hour, then rolled out into a layer 5 mm thick. It is better to cut out the figures using molds, but you can simply cut the cubes with a knife. Bake in a hot oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Snacks

For appetizers, you can always use the ingredients left over after preparing the main dishes. Finely chop the delicacies, pour in the sauce and wrap in pita bread. Fill tartlets with salad and decorate beautifully with small sprigs of herbs. Place cream cheese, shrimp, cucumber or cheese slice on deliciously toasted croutons.

Design examples:

Beverages

Buying good alcoholic drinks can cost more than the entire New Year's table. If the company is large and without alcohol, New Year is not a holiday, you can get out by making cocktails. Cocktails are based on soda or juice, and alcohol consumption is minimal. At the same time, cocktails are no less dizzying, and sometimes they taste better than strong drinks. Try:

Sea breeze: 180 g of ice, 50 ml of vodka, 100 ml of cranberry and 50 ml of grapefruit juice. Garnish: a slice of lime.
Radler: light beer and lemonade, mixed 1 to 1. Refrigerate before serving.
Isabella: 750 ml champagne, 250 ml red wine or grape juice. Serve with ice.
Sangria: 300 ml highly carbonated mineral water, 750 ml dry red wine, 50 g sugar, 200 g small fruit slices (pineapple, grapes, apples, banana, kiwi, tangerine, any berries and fruits). Place the slices in a decanter, pour in sugar, pour in wine and mineral water. Shake well.

And, of course, a budget menu for the New Year is unthinkable without a delicious dried fruit compote and homemade lemonade.

New Year's lemonade

The best drink for children and adults on New Year's Eve is lemonade. Vitamin, invigorating, it will not let you get bored and catch a cold. Healthy drinks and meals help you save a lot on medications.

New Year's lemonade is made from frozen oranges and lemons. The edge of the serving glass should be moistened and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Serve with a straw.

How to cook:

Place 2 oranges in the freezer overnight.
Rinse with warm water and cut into 8 pieces.
Grind in a blender into a paste.
Pour 1.5 liters of water.
After 1 hour, strain.
Add the juice of 1 lemon, 350 g of sugar and another 3 liters of water.
Stir.

Fairytale compote

The aroma of the drink is truly fabulous, and the taste is unlike any other drink. You can serve it directly with dried fruits in a transparent glass.

For 3 liters of compote you will need:

drying apples – 1 tbsp;
prunes – 50 g;
dried apricots – 50 g;
raisins – 50 g;
sugar (preferably brown) – 200 g.

First you need to boil water with sugar. Then boil the dried apples for 10 minutes, add all the other ingredients. The drink simmers over low heat for another 10 minutes. Leave covered for 3 hours. It is important to rinse the compote dryer well. For taste and aroma, you can add the juice of 1 lemon and a cinnamon stick.

What other housewives cook for the New Year - menu examples

The experience of other housewives will help you understand how you can celebrate the New Year on a budget:

Elena: “Last year my beloved and I ordered sushi, pizza, a couple of salads. We bought a bottle of good wine. We spent about 2500 rubles. We ate our fill. We've watched enough New Year's films. I have never had such a rest on New Year's Day. There is no need to cook or wash dishes. And we ate too much salad at our parents’ place on January 1st. I really enjoyed celebrating the New Year this way.”
Natalia. “I also cook as little as possible. Instead of sushi - Philadelphia cake. I make tartlets with red caviar. Fruits, some fresh salad. Champagne. It turns out to be very budget-friendly and quite festive.”
Svetlana: “I believe that New Year is an occasion to cook your favorite dishes that you cannot afford on a regular day. It’s better to save on quantity, but not on quality!”
Igor: “We always negotiate with guests. Each person brings 2-3 dishes. The table is simply crowded, and it’s not expensive for one family.”

Question answer

How to decorate a table for New Year 2023?

First of all, the black water rabbit loves cleanliness, warmth and comfort. The table should look neat. You should not overload it with details. The best decor is natural. The use of a tablecloth or napkins made of cotton or linen is encouraged. Wooden serving elements will add coziness: a menagerie, a napkin holder, a pepper shaker and salt shaker, and other utensils. Small bouquets of dried flowers, dried rye and wheat ears are well suited for decoration.

What inexpensive things can you put on the New Year's table?

Various pickles, canned cucumbers and tomatoes are an inexpensive and versatile snack for any holiday table. You can bread and fry balls of mashed potatoes (with a piece of cheese inside or something else delicious).Baked chicken drumsticks in spices, with potatoes - another budget dish.

You can celebrate the New Year cheerfully at a “rich” festive table without spending fabulous money. Plan your menu in advance, be reasonable in the quantity and portions of dishes. You can easily invest 2000-3000 rubles or even less!