11 Cheap Foods People Would Still Eat If They Were Rich, According To Reddit

Surely we've all sung to ourselves the famous "If I Were a Rich Man" song, daydreaming about the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe or the pricey vintage bottles of wine that suddenly wouldn't be off-limits. The world of the rich and famous usually includes private chefs and food bills that would send most of us into a panic.

In our regular lives, we budget the weekly grocery runs and excitedly snag any cheap deal that saves us a few bucks. We develop a special appreciation for low-cost, low-effort foods that carried us through difficult financial times or that we grew up eating as kids while our parents navigated busy weeknights. Those foods become the backdrop of core memories, shaping our tastes in ways that often last a lifetime — and many people admit they'd still eat them, even if they were rich.

While each person likely has their own mental list of sacred budget-friendly foods, we went looking for the most commonly answered. Turning to two specific Reddit threads, we came up with 11 foods that were mentioned by commenters most frequently. Here are the most beloved cheap foods that transcend tax brackets.

Ramen was easily the winner on the Reddit threads, with many people confessing they just couldn't give it up. We're talking about instant ramen, the one that's done in two minutes and comes with a spicy flavor packet. A cup of cheap ramen noodles just hits different, millions be damned. As one commenter put it, "a few times a year I need some ramen." It's biology.

Much like with ramen, people aren't referring to gourmet mac and cheese here — they're pledging their loyalty to the cheap boxed version that feels like a five-star meal as soon as you add some extra American cheese to it. Who didn't love this as a kid? "I will eat Kraft Mac and cheese until I die," reads a comment on Reddit. Unlimited money could also mean unlimited cheesy mac — just saying.

Rice and beans are often considered a quintessential "poor man's" meal thanks to the affordability and nutrition of their two main ingredients. In Latin America, however, the dish carries a deep cultural significance that extends far beyond economic class. Many have confessed online that they wouldn't take rice and beans off the menu, even if they won the lottery. "Rice and beans are my favorite comfort food. I don't want to live in a world where they were no longer available," earnestly admits one Redditor.

Princess Diana's favorite breakfast dish may have been the fancy schmancy eggs Suzette, but she also loved a good ol' bowl of cereal, according to her former chef Darren McGrady. One does have to wonder, though, whether Cocoa Puffs taste any different inside a palace and served with a golden spoon. As some Redditors noted, they would continue eating cereal in spite of the riches, so perhaps they can let us know someday.

Bread, butter, cheese. That's the base of every indulgent grilled cheese recipe, and to be completely honest, you need little else most of the time. Redditors openly admit they wouldn't give up the grilled cheese sandwich despite a bigger bank account — but, as pointed out, "There would be signs I was rich though. I'd get all the cheeses. Still cheap white bread though."

You might think that bathing in riches would mark the end of your canned food days, but don't overestimate your palate. Sometimes our taste buds ask for the simple things, and as this comment says, "I will never be too good for canned tuna." Even celebrity chefs were happy to tell Tasting Table their top canned tuna tips.

We can imagine many a fancy sammie, but peanut butter and jelly is a marriage that no amount of money can break up. "Nothing hits like a pb&j," says a commenter. The extra money in your bank account could, however, make you swap the low-budget peanut butter with one of the pricey high-end brands.

Spam is the canned meat that helped families stretch meals during the Depression and has nourished many generations since. Coming into wealth won't make us forget the food that fed us when money was scarce. "My grandma was raised in a dirt floor shack in the West Virginia Appalachians and married an executive for an international paper distribution company. There were always cans of Spam in the walk-in pantry," shared somebody on Reddit.

When we asked 5 chefs for their favorite frozen meals, you better believe frozen pizza made the list. "Pizza transcends wealth," reads a comment that we wholeheartedly agree with. Eating frozen pizza on a Friday night while binge-watching your comfort show is an experience that no fancy pie could ever touch.

Hamburger Helper is yet another example of a meal that carries a deeply nostalgic note. You wouldn't really need to eat this trending retro dinner if you were rich, as your hypothetical private chef could easily make you a high-quality meal from scratch. But some admit they'd simply crave the taste. "It's criminal how good it tastes," wrote one fan of the boxed meal.

The Beatles sang that money can't buy you love, but it also can't buy you new taste buds. As this comment highlights, "My wife loves McDonald's hamburgers, with extra pickle. That would never change, no matter how much money we had." Many of the world's highest-earning celebrities have publicly declared their love for the fast food chain, proving that Mickey D's has a place in every tax bracket.