8 restaurant dishes I used to order that I now make better at home with plants for a fraction of the price

I spent years dropping $18 on mediocre pad thai and $22 on forgettable pasta. Then I started tracking what I actually spent eating out versus cooking at home, and the numbers were honestly embarrassing.

The wild part? Once I figured out the formulas, my homemade versions started tasting better than what I was getting at restaurants. No more soggy takeout or dishes that arrive lukewarm. Just food that actually hits the spot, made exactly how I want it, for maybe four bucks a serving.

1. Creamy tomato pasta

Restaurant version: $16-24. My version: about $3 per serving. The secret is cashew cream blended with roasted tomatoes and garlic. Most restaurants use heavy cream, which makes the sauce feel heavy and one-note.

I roast cherry tomatoes until they burst, blend them with soaked cashews and nutritional yeast, and toss everything with pasta and fresh basil. The result has more depth and doesn't leave you feeling like you need a nap.

The whole thing takes 25 minutes, and I usually double the sauce to freeze half. That's four restaurant-quality meals for the price of one mediocre delivery order.

2. Buddha bowls with tahini dressing

Restaurants charge $14-18 for what's essentially roasted vegetables over grains. The markup is wild when you realize how cheap sweet potatoes and quinoa actually are.

I batch-cook everything on Sunday. Roast a sheet pan of vegetables, make a big pot of grains, prep some crispy chickpeas. The tahini dressing is just tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and water. Mix it until it's pourable.

All week, I have five-minute lunches that cost maybe $2.50 each. Restaurant versions often skimp on the good stuff anyway, giving you mostly lettuce with a few sad vegetable pieces on top.

3. Breakfast burritos

I used to hit this local spot every Saturday for a $12 breakfast burrito. Good, but not $12 good. Now I make a scramble with crumbled tofu, black beans, potatoes, and salsa.

The tofu scramble trick is nutritional yeast and black salt, which gives it that eggy flavor. Add turmeric for color. I make enough filling for four burritos, wrap them in foil, and freeze three.

Microwave one whenever I want it, and it's honestly better than the restaurant version. Plus I can load it up with avocado without paying an extra $3 for the privilege.

4. Thai curry

Restaurant Thai curry runs $15-20, and half the time it's too sweet or swimming in coconut milk. At home, I control the sugar and the spice level actually means something.

A jar of curry paste costs $4 and lasts for months. Add coconut milk, whatever vegetables you have, some tofu or chickpeas, and serve over rice. The whole meal costs under $5 and feeds two people.

I've started making it spicier than any restaurant would dare, which is exactly the point. It's my food, calibrated to my preferences, not averaged out for the masses.

5. Loaded nachos

Sports bar nachos are $16 and arrive as a soggy mess with fake cheese. My version uses cashew queso that's somehow both richer and lighter than the dairy version.

Blend soaked cashews with salsa, nutritional yeast, and spices. Layer tortilla chips with black beans, the queso, jalapeños, and whatever else sounds good. Bake until crispy.

The whole plate costs maybe $4 and actually stays crispy because I'm eating it immediately instead of waiting for a delivery driver. Plus I can make it as loaded as I want without worrying about the upcharge.

6. Ramen with all the toppings

Fancy ramen spots charge $18-22 for a bowl. The broth is admittedly complex, but you can get 80% of the way there at home with miso paste, soy sauce, and ginger.

I keep good ramen noodles in the pantry, make a quick broth, and top it with whatever I have. Sautéed mushrooms, corn, scallions, crispy tofu. The toppings are where restaurants really get you, charging $3 extra for a single soft-boiled egg.

My version costs about $4 and I can pile on the toppings without doing mental math about whether bamboo shoots are worth an additional charge.

7. Pizza with cashew mozzarella

Vegan pizza delivery is $20-25 and often disappointing. The cheese doesn't melt right, or there's barely any on there. Making it at home means I can be generous with the toppings.

I buy pre-made dough from the grocery store for $2, stretch it out, and top it with whatever I want. The cashew mozzarella melts beautifully if you add a bit of tapioca starch to the blend.

Total cost per pizza: maybe $6, and it's exactly what I'm craving. No more picking off toppings I didn't want or wishing they'd been more generous with the vegetables.

8. Chickpea tikka masala

Indian takeout was my biggest weakness. $16-18 for tikka masala that varied wildly in quality. Some nights it was perfect, other nights it tasted like tomato soup with garam masala.

The homemade version is incredibly consistent. Sauté onions and garlic, add spices and tomato paste, pour in coconut milk, simmer with chickpeas. Serve over rice with naan from the store.

It costs about $4 per serving and tastes exactly how I want it every single time. I make a big batch and freeze half, which means future me gets restaurant-quality Indian food in 10 minutes.

Final thoughts

I'm not saying never eat out. I still do, especially at places doing things I can't replicate at home. But these eight dishes? They were costing me hundreds of dollars a month for results I can beat in my own kitchen.

The money adds up fast. If you're spending $18 on takeout three times a week, that's over $2,800 a year. Making the same meals at home brings it down to maybe $600. That's a vacation, or a really nice blender, or just less financial stress.

Start with one dish you order all the time. Figure out the formula. Once you nail it, you'll probably never go back to the restaurant version.