Cook under CHF 5 per person: through the ingredients, not the promise
Cooking for under five francs per person is doable, and not marketing: Swissmilk runs a recipe collection "for under five francs per person". The key is the ingredients: pulses, eggs, low-fat quark, seasonal vegetables and own-brand pasta are cheapest per portion. Expensive: meat, fish and ready meals. The exact price depends on the promotions, so you see it live in Rappn.
Updated regularly. Cooking for under five francs per person is doable in Switzerland, and it is not a marketing promise: Swissmilk runs a whole recipe collection "for under five francs per person". The trick is not a single recipe but the choice of ingredients. Relying on cheap staples and cooking around the promotions keeps you reliably within budget.
Rappn is the only neutral grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreement with any retailer. Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro and Otto's do not pay us to rank them, and nothing below is sponsored.
How do I cook for under five francs per person?
Through the ingredients. Structurally cheapest per portion are dried pulses (lentils, chickpeas, beans), eggs, low-fat quark, seasonal vegetables, and pasta and rice, ideally own-brand. A lentil curry, a vegetable frittata or a pasta with seasonal vegetables easily comes in under five francs per person. It gets expensive through fresh meat, fish and ready meals, exactly the categories you cut back. Important and honest: the exact price of a dish depends on the current prices and promotions and changes weekly, which is why we name no fixed franc figure per recipe here.
| Cheap base | Why | Example dish |
|---|---|---|
| Dried pulses | cheapest protein source | lentil curry, chickpea stew |
| Eggs | cheap and versatile | frittata, shakshuka |
| Seasonal veg + own-brand pasta | cheapest in season | pasta with vegetables |
| Fresh meat, fish, ready meals | cost drivers, use sparingly | only on offer |
From principle to concrete price
Whether your dish stays under five francs this week depends on what is on offer. That is exactly what Rappn works out for you: the recipes section suggests cheap dishes matched to the current promotions, and through the price comparison you see, per ingredient, the lowest price across all chains. That turns "under five francs" from a promise into a checkable number. The whole method is explained in cook cheaply, and how to plan a week in weekly meal plan on a budget.
Sources checked: .
These are live offers in Rappn: search cheap staples like lentils and see the lowest price across chains, so 'under five francs' becomes a checkable number. Type a product to try it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can you cook for under five francs per person in Switzerland?
Yes. Swissmilk runs a recipe collection "for under five francs per person", and with cheap staples like pulses, eggs and seasonal vegetables it is well doable. The exact price depends on the current promotions and changes weekly, which is why you see it live in Rappn rather than as a fixed number.
Which dishes are most likely to stay under five francs per person?
Dishes based on cheap ingredients: lentil curry, chickpea stew, vegetable frittata, shakshuka or pasta with seasonal vegetables. They use the cheapest categories (pulses, eggs, seasonal veg, own-brand pasta) and avoid the cost drivers meat, fish and ready meals.
Why do you name no fixed price per recipe?
Because the price of a dish depends on the current prices and promotions and changes weekly. A fixed franc figure would soon be wrong. So we explain the ingredient logic, and Rappn works out the concrete, current price for you through the price comparison.
Are pulses really the cheapest protein source?
Dried pulses are structurally among the cheapest protein sources per portion, often cheaper than eggs and much cheaper than fresh meat. That is a rough ordering, not a fixed franc figure; you see the current price live in Rappn.