If you need some recipe ideas, check out my Chicken and Rice Casserole , or my Dump and Bake Italian Meatball and Rice Casserole recipe.

Pasta is another filling food that can be used in a variety of different ways. They can be easily added to stews, chili, and soup, or you can use them for pizza and pasta sauce, lasagna, and DIY salsa.

I regularly use canned tomatoes to make my Dump-and-Bake Salsa Chicken recipe. Canned chickpeas can be used straight away, whereas dried chickpeas need to be prepared by soaking them overnight so they can expand and soften. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed type, meaning it retains its vitamins and antioxidants, making it a healthier oil overall.

It can be used for all types of cooking as well as drizzling, dipping, seasoning, and marinating, and is great for DIY salad dressings as an alternative to pricey bottled dressings. Lentils are great for stews, soups, curries, and salads.

Salt is a must-have for a well-stocked pantry. Beyond sprinkling it on just about everything, you can use it for DIY seasoning on meat and vegetables, preserving items, and pickling although pickling salt is recommended for the latter, which can be used as table salt if you want.

Buying salt in bulk will save you money, and you can also use it around the house for getting stains out of coffee cups and pots, sanitizing cutting boards, and for restoring worn sponges just soak them in salt and water overnight.

Adding pepper to your recipes can transform the taste. Another addition to your budget grocery list is apple cider vinegar, which can be used in numerous recipes and can be used for cleaning up afterward.

I use it in many of my recipes including my Roasted Chicken Breast with Molasses and Apples and my Cowboy Baked Beans. Or, combine it with olive oil for an easy salad dressing or marinade.

Chicken stock is a versatile and cheap pantry item that can be used to create sauces, gravy, chicken stew, and soups. To save some cash, consider baking your own bread! My dinner rolls and easy homemade bread are two great beginner bread recipes to get you started.

Sugar is another must-have for your budget grocery list. Not to mention, between , the cost of bakery products and cereal saw the highest increase among individual grocery items a By baking instead of buying pre-made products like cakes, cookies, breakfast pastries, and more you can save some cash.

Baking powder and baking soda can be used in a variety of dishes and are necessities for home bakers. If you want to save cash on store-bought baked goods by baking your own, both of these ingredients should be in your pantry.

When considering which budget-friendly groceries to buy, stick to produce that can be used in multiple ways. For example, onion and garlic are used for pasta dishes, stews, casseroles, and more, while potatoes can be a great breakfast item like hash browns, or a chilled lunch side like potato salad.

Whenever possible, buy in bulk to reduce costs even further. You can also prep and freeze certain produce to use later. Onions are a must-have as almost every savory recipe calls for them.

This is one produce item that you can buy in bulk to reduce the cost without worrying about them expiring in a couple of days. If you store them correctly in a cool, dark, and dry place, onions should last for months.

Much like onions, garlic is a staple item in most kitchens. Potatoes are an incredibly versatile and economical food with a fairly long shelf life about two months if stored in the refrigerator.

They can be mashed, baked, roasted, fried, and steamed and are great for filling up hungry bellies. Cabbage is a cheap, long-lasting vegetable that can be used in different ways. You can add it to recipes such as hearty stews and soup or create a tasty side dish.

For an easy cabbage recipe that you can make in bulk and stash away in the freezer, try my Crockpot Cabbage Soup recipe. They can be eaten raw as a healthy snack or roasted, baked, and steamed.

Plus, they make a colorful addition to soups and salads. One of my favorite things to do with carrots is to make homemade carrot cake. Celery is a budget-friendly vegetable with a distinct and unique flavor that can be added to multiple recipes.

To prolong the life of your celery, place it in a jar with a small amount of water. Lemons are great for adding an acidic kick to your dishes and can be used in both savory and sweet recipes.

They make great marinades and dressings as well, like my Lemon Vinaigrette. For example, powdered milk is a cheap alternative to fresh milk. Sweet cream butter is often the cheapest option, and since butter can be easily frozen until you need it, if you see a deal, stock up!

If you really want smooth whipped butter, you can make your own! My Honey Butter recipe is a perfect option for spreading on cornbread or biscuits. Instead of buying smaller containers of flavored yogurt, buy non-fat yogurt in larger containers and add cinnamon, honey, raisins, or other flavors yourself.

Plus, yogurt can be used as an egg substitute in baking if the cost of eggs is too high. Avoid the pre-sliced cheese bags and save some cash by grating your own cheese. Opt for harder cheese like Cheddar, Colby, Gouda, parmesan, and Swiss, which last several weeks in the refrigerator after being opened.

If you need some hearty meal ideas to stretch your budget, check out my Stovetop Mac and Cheese and my Cheese Grits recipe. Frozen items last much longer than fresh and can be portioned out, which means less waste in the long run.

You can also save even more money by freezing your leftovers for another day. Frozen mixed vegetables like peas, carrots, corn, and beans , provide a good selection of different nutrients and are one of the most affordable bags of frozen veggies.

Berries can be added to a number of items including desserts, overnight oats, or cereals. I use berries in breakfast recipes like my Croissant Breakfast Casserole , as well as in sweet treats like my Strawberry Cake recipe.

Ground beef can be used to make a variety of meals, including chili , burritos , spaghetti bolognese sauce , and casseroles. So I tried a lot of things, substituted a lot of ingredients, and made decent food. It worked for us. I had grown up on a homestead where we raised our own chickens, goats, and grew a huge organic garden every year.

Real food was important to me because I knew how much better we felt when we ate well. But mostly, we ate oatmeal. I learned how to flavor it in all kinds of ways here. Toasted oatmeal is really good too! Read more about how to buy fruits and vegetables on a budget here.

We focused a lot on meatless or mostly meatless meals. Read more about how we made meatless meals our family loved here. I would buy a whole chicken, cook it in the slow cooker, then take all the meat off and use that in several meals fried rice, parmesan pasta, salad, etc.

I used the broth to make a big pot of vegetable soup with lentils. Read more about how to buy good quality meat on a budget here. We exclusively bought ground beef, and when I cooked it, I added cooked lentils or riced cauliflower or just beans , seasoned everything really well with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and I used that for tacos, sloppy joes, Nacho Dip , etc.

We also stretched ground beef by using ground turkey instead or adding the turkey to the ground beef. Was this a completely balanced diet? Probably not. But we never eat perfectly, do we? My goal is to keep a balanced approach to our eating, health, and grocery budget. How to Build a Budget-Friendly Pantry with Healthy Food.

How Much Shoud You be Spending on Goceries? Budget-Friendly Menu Plan. Real Food Cheap. Simple and straightforward meal planning. My husband and I are preparing for a cross country road trip. He is 67 and I am Also, we will shed a few pounds.

Your email address will not be published. Don't subscribe All new comments Replies to my comments Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. We kept our menu super flexible. We cooked from scratch. You Might Also Like:. How to Build a Budget-Friendly Pantry with Healthy Food How Much Shoud You be Spending on Goceries?

21 Cheap Foods to Buy if You're Broke or on a Budget · 1. Apples · 2. Bananas · 3. Beans · 4. Brown Rice · 5. Chicken · 6. Corn Tortillas · 7 Carrots, potatoes and bananas are usually cheap and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Get seasonings from the dollar store. They're usually Some categories that I found to be cheap in some grocery stores were: Fresh fruits and vegetables, grocery staples, and packaged foods and

Video

Sale on budget-friendly groceries - Missing 21 Cheap Foods to Buy if You're Broke or on a Budget · 1. Apples · 2. Bananas · 3. Beans · 4. Brown Rice · 5. Chicken · 6. Corn Tortillas · 7 Carrots, potatoes and bananas are usually cheap and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Get seasonings from the dollar store. They're usually Some categories that I found to be cheap in some grocery stores were: Fresh fruits and vegetables, grocery staples, and packaged foods and

I personally feel that the best grocery store to shop on a budget is Aldi. As you can see, you can still buy healthy food, such a fresh fruits, whole grains, and nut butters to make a ton of healthy meals. The very first step in making your cheap grocery list is knowing how much you can actually spend.

Having a budget boils down to simply having a plan. That structure will help determine what you buy. Food just might be one of your biggest expenditures. The good news? Read next: How to Budget for Groceries.

The biggest savings at the grocery store actually comes from the sale prices. While I love coupons and rebate apps like Ibotta , the sales are where the biggest discounts are.

Related: How does Ibotta work? A Review and Tutorial of My Favorite Rebate App. Well the joke is on them if we go and buy almost entirely stuff on sale!

Pro-tip: If there are a few different stores in your area, check out ALL of their sales ads to decide which store has your favorite stuff on sale.

The best prices tend to be on the front and back pages. You can even search by item, such as chicken breasts, to compare what stores have it on sale. While shopping, write down the cost of each item on your list. For the items you buy often , start keeping a list of the best prices you see.

You know that really convenient cut up fruit, and those individually packaged pretzels? Fruits and vegetables are SO much cheaper and more delicious! The good news for you? You just save money automatically! Get to the checkout line of any grocery store these days and you may be shocked to see the amount at the bottom of your receipt.

One of the best ways to find cheap groceries is to create a budget-friendly, healthy grocery list and stick to it. By prioritizing seasonal items, frozen foods and certain cuts of meat and seafood, shopping strategically can help keep sticker shock to a minimum.

The key to locating cheap groceries is to create a system for shopping, and that begins before you even grab a cart. Start by identifying the closest supermarkets to you hello, high gas prices! and cross check the cost of your favorite items online before you shop.

Think about what you spend the most on and prioritize finding the best price for those items. The next step is to follow that quintessential shopping advice: Don't go to the grocery store hungry. You're much more likely to make impulse and unhealthy purchases if you do, so shop after a meal or grab a healthy snack before heading to the store.

And remember: The cheapest groceries are not always the most nutritious; consider spending slightly more for foods that are filling and nutrient-dense. For tips and recommendations for a more economical shopping experience, see below for advice from the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab.

Fruit and vegetables are among the groceries with the largest price jumps lately , but you can still find affordable produce by buying seasonally.

Purchasing when produce is abundant helps lower the cost and will all but assure the best taste and highest levels of nutrition. Seasonal Fruits. Seasonal Vegetables. Another way to save money on produce is to opt for fruit and vegetables that have a longer shelf-life.

For example, to help extend your grocery dollars, choose apples over berries or carrots or celery over leafy greens. Generally, some of the cheapest fruit and vegetables year-round tend to be bananas, apples, oranges, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes.

Meat can be the most expensive category for most food budgets, and can account for a large portion of the overall grocery bill. To save money, opt for the ground variety of your favorite protein. Ground beef, chicken or turkey are super versatile, easily frozen and can be used in many different recipes.

Larger cuts of meat will usually cost less per pound, but they may require marinating, braising and slow cooking to bring out the tenderness. If you do prefer to include cheaper cuts of meat, consider including:.

Buying a whole chicken instead of pre-portioned cuts can also save money and the leftovers, including the bones, are great for making chicken soup or bone broth.

Even if you buy high end eggs, they are still one of the least expensive protein sources around, second to legumes. If you enjoy them, lentils should be in every frugal pantry. They are high in fiber and full of nutrition. They are great in soup, sloppy Joes, curries, and my favorite lentils and rice.

White beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, black beans are all super cheap and a definite buy if you are on a budget. I love a big pot of slow cooker pinto beans and cornbread. Total comfort food and ultra cheap.

Dry beans are more economical than canned, but they do require some time to prepare. Read: WAYS TO USE LEFTOVER BEANS. For emergencies and when you need something super fast, canned beans should be another cheap pantry staple.

You can make inexpensive crispy black bean tacos or chickpea curry. Both are very delicious and frugal. Read: 30 AWESOME RECIPES WITH BEANS.

There's a reason why when people talk about cheap food they call it a rice and beans budget. Rice is very inexpensive and filling. It is also extremely versatile. Read: 20 DELICIOUS RECIPES USING RICE. Oatmeal is a very inexpensive breakfast option and much cheaper than cereal.

I also love making oat muffins for snacks or breakfast. Pasta is the ultimate cheap food and also great for beginner cooks. It can be as simple as buttered noodles, pasta with peas and bacon , or paired with pasta sauce.

Pasta sauce also is a great cheap food to have on hand for a quick and easy meal with pasta. Eat it meatless, with poached eggs, or chickpeas for a very frugal meal. This is more of a southern food, but grits are very cheap and stretch a long way. It makes for a cheap breakfast item or inexpensive side dish.

Cornmeal is great to have for homemade cornbread, breading foods, or corn cakes. I don't often use cornmeal in my kitchen, but it is very inexpensive and deserves its place on the cheap grocery list.

Corn tortillas are an inexpensive alternative to flour tortillas. Use them in enchiladas , tacos, or slice them and crisp them up for tortilla soup. Canned tomato products come in so handy.

Tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and tomato puree are all very versatile and inexpensive. You can make a pasta sauce, pizza sauce, put it in a soup, or make sloppy Joes. I always have a couple of varieties in my pantry. Skip the bags of popcorn and go for the kernels.

It is a frugal high fiber snack and very kid friendly. Use an air popper or make stovetop popcorn. A jar of peanut butter stretches a long way for sandwiches, snacks or stirred into oatmeal or smoothies. It's another frugal protein source and kid friendly. Flour is very inexpensive per pound and can be used in so many ways.

Make pancakes or waffles, biscuits , tortillas, bread , homemade desserts, use as a thickener for gravy, or bread chicken tenders. Yeast is not a necessity, but if you want to make your own bread products, it is recommended.

Try my pizza dough or whole wheat bread. If you are going to bake, sugar is an inexpensive sweetener to have in your pantry. Even organic sugar is inexpensive compared to other sweetening agents. Another staple baking supply, baking powder is cheap and great for getting that rise in your homemade baked goods.

Similar to baking powder, baking soda is also a cheap baking staple. Bonus: It also makes a dirt cheap deodorizer for your fridge and a great soap scum buster for tubs and sinks!

REAL FOOD MEAL PLAN FOR THE BROKE. It was definitely a stretch for us, but doable. Week 5: Grocery shopping on a budget. Read my E-book for loads more grocery savings tips! Hi, thank you for sharing this. At the moment unemployed and with a kid.

Your email address will not be published. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar About Recipe Index Money Saving Tips Meal Plans Gardening Shop Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube. menu icon. search icon. Facebook Instagram Pinterest YouTube.