If you’ve been facepalming whenever you see the prices at your local grocery shop, then you’re not alone. This ‘totally-not-a-recession’ we’re in has wreaked havoc on food costs in many parts of the world. In the UK alone, food price inflation reached 12.4% in November. Meanwhile, grocery prices in the US were up 12%, compared to the year before. So you’re definitely not alone if you’ve been feeling your wallet getting thinner.
Shoppers have been forced to react to this in different ways. Some are working overtime or have picked up a new side hustle. Others are cutting back on their favorite foods, eating out, and the size of their meals. However, food budgets, creative cooking solutions, and buying things at discounts are new to some people.
Luckily, the internet is chock full of friendly folks who love to lend a helping hand. Some budget-savvy shoppers from the r/Cooking online community shared their best tips on what underrated cheap foods you definitely shouldn’t ignore. You’ll find their awesome advice below. Upvote the posts that you found the most useful, and share some cost-saving food tips of your own in the comments. Us? We’re not big on cabbage, but lentils are great!
#21
Cottage cheese — cheap protein/calcium and you can use it savory or sweet.
bluejayghosts added:
Cottage cheese is the best—Costco sells large quantities for like $4!!
traditora added:
In a bowl with some cinnamon and sugar or honey is a nice snack. Add some granola and it's breakfast.
Or my favorite breakfast: a hardboiled egg, cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, lots of olive oil, salt and pepper, and good crusty bread to soak up the oil.
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64points
#22
A nice baguette. Wish I could get my hands on one, but US grocery stores tend to not give a s**t about quality baked goods, and quality independent bakeries are few and far in between (and usually only focus on sweets).
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64points
#23
I find a lot of canned meats and seafood are looked down upon but I really enjoy them. Spam, smoked oysters, sardines etc
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63points
#24
You can do a lot with a few veggies and fruit. Individually it sounds boring and not fulfilling. But I like to make a salsa with cilantro, a red onion, a tomato, a mini pineapple OR a mango, and a lime. I’ve purchased one of each of these ingredients for under $5 and made a huge salsa out of it after chopping and stirring them all up (and squeezing the lime over). Along with tortilla chips it’s great or you can use it in fish tacos too.
63points
#26
Spinach! I made this really nice spinach and artichoke dip last night, and it's so much better homemade. The stuff you find it stores is like 50% mayo and i think that's gross lol
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59points
#28
I really love a cheap grilled cheese with American cheese (the processed kinda plastic stuff in individual sheets) just cheap white bread, cheese, and margarine. The American cheese almost tastes fluffy, like a cheese cloud.
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55points
#29
Dried jarred herbs and spices. Yes, they don't compare to fresh, and yes they lose some oomph the longer they sit.
But modern cooking trends have resulted in people feeling like jarred seasonings are automatically inferior. But the truth is they are comparable to fresh (you may need to use more) and while I wouldn't suggest making dinner for the King of England with them or for your Michelin Star restaurant, for Saturday spaghetti, you absolutely can throw in jarred dried oregano instead of spending a ton on fresh. In my area buying Badia brand seasonings is typically the cheapest way to go, plus they carry large sizes.
And while we're at things in the spice cabinet, get yourself some MSG, buying it from the Asian grocery store (or online even from Amazon in the asian brands) is cheaper than buying a jar of Accent from the grocery store, because its that secret ingredient you are missing from your meals!
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54points
#31
Baked beans for me. If you buy them just in tomato sauce you can doctor the sauce and make just about any breakfast and add them to different meats with a little thought using seasonings and sauces. No its not gourmet but it is an imitation food I suppose that can make you quite a few BS versions of meals. Im not advocating making a hummus by straining them, just things like left over duck with baked beans and a salad is sort of cassoulet like, or adding the mornings bacon is pork and beans, or tossing tobacco and smoky sauce puts you into a tex mex breakfast territory with some eggs... lots of reasons to buy a 12 pack when they are on special because when you dont have power you can have a small fire and go different places with a relatively cheap canned food.
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52points
#33
Really any “salad” involving mayo. And I don’t even like mayo on it’s own. But a good tuna salad SLAPS and it’s cheap as hell
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48points
#34
Spam
Bruh, i dont give a damn what time of day or night it is you put spam masubi near me and ill be scarfing that b***h down before i can say thanks.
48points
#35
I just made an imitation crab salad sandwich and it was quite good. It definitely doesn't taste like crab, but it's good nonetheless. I consider it its own food product and not a substitute. It has a really nice flavorful sweet taste.
No-Dirt-8737 added
Oh yeah imitation crab and lobster is often made from pollock and are really good.
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48points
#36
Frozen veggies
Instant mashed potatoes
Canned tomatoes
Instant mashed potatoes
Canned tomatoes
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47points
#37
Chicken drumsticks. I can get them for 49 cents a pound on sale sometimes.
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44points
#38
Pork Carnitas are really easy too. Drop a big chunk of butt in with 1% salt by weight and put water up to its shoulders. Black pepper, Lime, garlic, cumin, bay leaf, anything you want adds to it but just salt is fine. Simmer it til the water is basically gone, 2 hours or so. It falls apart and is incredible pan fried for putting in tacos all week.
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43points
#39
I have loved liverwurst since I was a kid, and it's very cheap. I can get a pound of it at my usual grocery store for $2.49, whereas any sliced lunchmeat will cost me at least double that.
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43points