Many families around the world are feeling the squeeze. With many groceries being jaw-droppingly expensive, people are looking for ways to make every cent go further. Some cut back on eating out. Others focus on buying items only on sale. And then there are the most creative folks who embrace home cooking to an impressive new level.
Redditor u/jeron_gwendolen fired up a very interesting discussion after asking the internet about the foods that are far cheaper to make at home than to buy at stores. Many redditors shared their nuggets of wisdom, and we’ve collected the best ones to share with you. Scroll down to check them out—they might just inspire you to do something new in the kitchen.
We reached out to the author of the viral thread, u/jeron_gwendolen, and they were kind enough to share their personal tips on saving money when it comes to food. You’ll find Bored Panda’s full interview with them below.
Image credits: jeron_gwendolen
#1
Omelette. Can be whipped up in a very short amount of time for a fraction of the price that it costs at a restaurant. A restaurant charges $10-15 for what is really about $1 in ingredients since the price of eggs has fallen.
Most breakfast foods are like this.
Image source: SaraAB87, Klaus Nielsen
#2
Popcorn
Image source: rps1rai, Lisa Fotios
#3
Came here because I learned this year 1. How fast basil grows and 2. How expensive pesto is lol. I buy all the other ingredients then once a week when my basil plant is uncontrollably growing I get fresh pesto sauce. This is one of my favorite meals and never fails to make me smile. A very small jar of pesto can be 10-20$.
Image source: simpgod420, Katerina Holmes
#4
German Pancakes (Dutch Babies). They are so easy to make at home. There are only a few breakfast places that make them and I just checked, $19.59. The basic ingredients only cost $1.18.
Image source: Human_2468, Jengod
#5
I just made bread for the first time and holy moly it’s so easy and cheap. I’m not a huge bread person or baker hence why I’m in my 40s and never made bread before lol. I was going to make the only cookies that I ever make once a year for work— pumpkin chocolate chip— but bought bread flour instead of AP flour. So I made bread instead!
Image source: MistakeVisual3733, Nadya Spetnitskaya
#6
Spaghetti sauce. Instead of buying that expensive name-brand spaghetti sauce, do the following. Get a big can or jar of tomato paste. Add fried onions, garlic, oregano, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar. If you want, add ground beef, or textured soy. Options for mushrooms, bell peppers, even seafood, basil, condensed milk, liver, sausage, wine, etc etc.
Make a huge batch and freeze the leftovers.
Much better than the Ragu or Prego c**p you find in the grocery, and a fraction of the cost.
Image source: casapulapula, Gary Barnes
#7
We have a large vegetable garden that gives us plenty to eat for now and to can. A friend just gave us a lot of grapes and we made some jelly
Image source: Gracie5659, Kampus Production
#8
Salad dressing. It’s so much better tasting than bottled dressing, it’s cheap, and can be made from items I already have on hand.
I will say that sometimes I buy the Italian dressing mixes. They’re cheap, quick, and tasty.
Image source: eejm, Caroline Green
#9
Hummus!
Image source: Elitsila, Christopher Alvarenga
#10
I make a pretty good deli meat sandwich. Subway is so expensive these days. I shouldn’t have to pay $20 for a sandwich.
Image source: Colorless82, Geraud pfeiffer
#11
It seems like everything nowadays 😂. I’ve recently learned how to make our own bread, pickles, pickled banana peppers, mayonnaise, taco seasoning, and tortillas. We grew a ton of cherry tomatoes and are gonna make pasta sauce and then ketchup. Just small things, but I think it really makes a difference! Sure you have to buy some ingredients, but if I can use them to make multiple batches of something, it’s really worth it.
Image source: little_ginger1216, Greta Hoffman
#12
Pizza
Image source: PROfessorShred, Grant Ritchie
#13
Definitely anything related to meat. Where I live for example, a good steak is usually around $40-$80 in a restaurant. Whereas if I buy USDA choice ribeye/New York steaks and reverse sear them, I’m instantly saving a minimum of 50% of the cost and tastes very similar.
Image source: duma_kebs, Chad Montano
#14
Kimchi.
A small 16 oz jar at jewel costs $13. That will last me a week.
For $13 of ingredients I can make 3 60 oz jars that can last me 1-2 months each.
Plus I have my kimchi recipe down to a perfection. *chef’s kiss*
Image source: Busy-Claim6797, Antoni Shkraba
#15
most food is much cheaper at home. I can cook a lot of basic asian foods and its easily 1/4 to 1/3 the cost for some dishes. I wouldn’t bother with something that takes hours to make like ramen broth (and I doubt it’d be as good). But something like japanese oyakodon costs $15 in a restaurant, and might take 15 min to make for $3.
I’ve noticed a lot of chinese restaurants charging $5 for … plain white rice around me. Rice that you can make 5x the quantity of for $5. Just have to be smart about stuff like that.
Image source: sleepyguy007, puamelia
#16
Cake is stupid cheap and easy to make homemade, and lived ones will appreciate the effort that went into it.
Image source: Ookami_Unleashed, cottonbro studio
#17
Have you read the book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese? It answers this question extensively with a price breakdown on many different foods and even factors find and lack rubric the equation. It’s a great resource.
Image source: 1n1n1is3, ROMAN ODINTSOV
#18
Oatmilk. Like $5 at the store and can make it for pennies. Just water, oats, blend and strain! I like to add sweetener like maple syrup and some vanilla, but up to the maker.
Image source: Suitable-Towel9666, Polina Tankilevitch
#19
Creme Fraiche. They want $6 for a tiny jar in the store. Take a cup of cream or half and half, stir in a tablespoon of buttermilk and let it sit on the counter overnight. Delicious magic.
Image source: CedarHill601, Katerina Holmes
#20
Corn bread and tater tots.
When I was younger I always thought these were delicacies because they charged so much for them when eating out. As an adult I was gobsmacked when I saw how cheap and easy to prepare they actually are. It pretty much started my habit of eating out as little as possible after I realized how overpriced everything is and how much healthier it is to cook at home.
Image source: GamingGems, Jose luis
#21
My partner and I just started making homemade pan pizzas in cast iron and calzones. So insanely good. And anywhere from 1/8 to 1/2 of the cost, even buying from Trader Joe’s (expensive dairy there) and premade dough
Image source: woketinydog
#22
Nearly everything. But I’d say pasta, soup and salads are way cheaper to make yourself at home. Pasta is like $2.00 a box and it makes a lot, making homemade sauce might be $10 for a pot full. If you go out for it, you’ll pay maybe $15-20 for a plate. Same with soup, make it at home for a couple dollars a serving or pay $8-10 a bowl. Salad? No doubt it’s way cheaper at home. $10 and up for someone to chop up a couple veggies and add a couple ingredients.
Image source: SensibleFriend, Margaret Jaszowska
#23
Cold brew concentrate. Bought one of those amazon coldbrew makers (basically a pitcher with a fine mesh sieve inside) and a bag of lavazza beans. Makes about a quart. Must have saved myself almost $1000 this summer not buying bottles of Grady’s coldbrew every week.
Also, ESPRESSO. I was gifted an espresso maker. Not a super expensive one (I think I saw it on amazon for $300) I can’t even fathom how much money it’s saved me on espresso shots over the last couple of years.
Image source: preezyfabreezy, Marta Dzedyshko
#24
Greek yogurt. Exponentially.
#25
Tallow and bone broth are almost free to make at home, but so expensive at the store! Very simple to make, very little effort or processing time, and you’re using what you might normally throw away!
If you eat beef or chicken, save the bones in the freezer. Once you have enough to fill up a crock pot, toss them in with some vinegar and a little salt. Let it go between 12-24 hours and then strain through cheese cloth. Now you’ve got bone broth.
Put that in the fridge and let the fat solidify. Use a butter knife to pull the fat off the top. That’s the tallow. You’ll want to add water, heat, strain again, cool again, discard the water and gently scrape anything discolored(I usually immediately put that stuff on toast, lol). Now you’ve got clean tallow to cook with, and it is incredible.
Image source: 64557175, jenvit keiwalinsarid
#26
Martinis and gin & tonics.
Image source: Butt-Guyome, Valeriya Kobzar
#27
Espresso, if you ignore the sunk cost of the espresso machine.
Image source: ignescentOne, Diana Smykova
#28
Perhaps I misunderstand your question, but there are so many things – in fact, I believe that *almost* everything you could buy premade from a store would be cheaper than buying it at a store. Examples include:
* Tuna salad from the deli – this is so easy to make yourself. I use an immersion blender to get it as finely textured as the deli
* Just about any “frozen entree” (but some are so much easier to buy premade. For me, I like breaded fish filets, and I can get them pretty cheap and prefer to do so versus making them myself
* Frozen vegetables
* Baked goods
* Pies
Some exceptions include:
* Yogurt – I tried making my own. It cost more.
* Ice cream – It is so cheap to buy, and I didn’t much like what I made (adapter fora kitchenaid mixer – a waste of money)
Image source: joesperrazza, Inna Rabotyagina
#29
Soda pop. I was gifted a soda stream but discovered, since I don’t care for the fizzies anyway, I just use the syrup and make my pop. What else is nice, made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (which causes additional sweet cravings) and is less calories overall, even with using the amount they claim in directions.
Image source: OhNoNotAgain1532, Fernando Andrade
#30
pretty much most foods, honestly tho there are some things by the time I buy all the stuff it is way more practical to just go eat out. Like one time I was determined to make my own pho and all the time and effort it was cheaper just to go to the restraunt and buy it. Brisket is kinda the same way like unless I wanna have a lot of it, its better to just go buy it at my local rundown bbq joint. Other than those specific cases I cook everything at home now tho.
Image source: orientbambino, RDNE Stock project
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