Why Is Dollar Tree Dinners Gaining Popularity On TikTok?

Rebecca Chobat, aka Dollar Tree Dinners, is a TikTok creator who has been using her platform of 2.7 million followers to share recipes for low-budget meals that anyone can purchase at Dollar Tree. Since starting in 2022, she has created many videos showcasing a variety of meals, even making a $10 haul yield meals for three days.

Her popularity spiked this Thanksgiving season when she made a three-course Thanksgiving dinner for only $20 using food from The Dollar Tree. This included an appetizer of fried mac and cheese balls, a main course of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce casserole, and a dessert of caramel apple cookie bars.

Caleb Demeny on TikTok shared a video in which he noticed a woman shopping at The Dollar Tree using Chobat's recipes to make Thanksgiving dinner for her and her children, and he detailed how much they are helping people and how some people who are financially struggling are just finding out about her account and using it.

Since they've caught on, people have flooded Chobat's videos with support and have been inspired by her dedication to helping people feed themselves and their families. This has also opened more conversations discussing food insecurity and preparing meals on a budget.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Chobat explained that her main hope for her videos is for just one person to benefit from her content. "I try to make sure that even within this strict budget that I'm working within, that the meals are as enticing as they possibly can be. I don't want them to feel like they're budget meals," she stated.

This is very evident across her TikTok page. She diversifies her recipes and has a large variety to choose from. You can find almost anything to make, from Chipotle bowls to chicken parmesan pasta to copycat Crumbl s'mores cookies. She includes a link in her TikTok bio to her printable recipes that are transparent about price, serving size, etc. She also takes into account aspects such as having a limited amount of cooking tools.

Chobat posts on YouTube in addition to TikTok, with more detailed recipe explanations. Her videos have resonated with people across the platform for their resourcefulness and an accepting, non-judgmental view of food and cooking. Her Dollar Tree recipes are more than just budget meals. It's a way for people to save money and keep themselves fed. Food brings people together, especially on TikTok, and having accessible meal ideas available on social media, at a time when the price of groceries is difficult for many, is important and commendable.