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Grocery shopping can get expensive, especially if you are shopping for a family.
What is the simplest way to do this? My best tip for saving money on groceries is to keep a stocked up pantry with all the staples!
You can definitely stock up a pantry really nicely and eat food that’s totally not boring too. Frugal pantry staples do not have to be boring or tasteless.
Everything on this list of inexpensive pantry basics is packed with flavor and nutrition. In order to save a few dollars, decreasing your grocery budget does not entail sacrificing the quality of the food you purchase or even the enjoyment of your meals.
Stocking up on these inexpensive necessities can help you save money and make you a more flexible cook who is prepared to adjust at a moment’s notice rather than ordering pricey takeout.
See our list of essential, low-cost pantry staples and ideas for using them in regular meals.
Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
In many cases, frozen vegetables are less expensive and survive longer than fresh ones. There are also a ton of ways to incorporate vegetables into your meal because you can buy a bag of mixed vegetables.
Frozen spinach, mixed veggies, and corn can all be added to quiche, fried rice, and tortilla soup, respectively. Alternatively, you might cook your preferred vegetables and serve them as a side dish.
Dried fruit like this is also a great idea, especially since dried fruit makes an excellent on the go snack.
Canned Meats
As a wonderful substitute for fresh meats, canned meats like this including chicken, salmon, and tuna are available. Additionally, it is a non-perishable good that, even in your freezer, will keep for a lot longer than fresh meat would.
Salads, casseroles, and sandwiches can all be made with canned tuna. While chicken in a can can be used in dips, soups, and salads. For quick and tasty cakes or patties, combine with some breading, spices, and egg.
Sauces
Although spaghetti is a convenient weeknight meal, traditional pasta sauce can be used for other dishes as well. Pizza, meatloaf, stuffed peppers, chicken Parmesan, and many other dishes can be made with leftover marinara sauce. Grab the multipack of sauce the next time you’re at the grocery; you’ll save money and have enough of meals for the month.
Broth
Soups, sauces, and casseroles frequently contain stock or broth like this as an ingredient. Additionally, you can flavor your rice (or other grains) and sautéed vegetables with chicken stock. Additionally, if you need a little extra for a complete meal, a little stock might help you stretch soups and sauces.
Rice
Compared to white rice, brown rice like this is a whole grain and is more nutrient-dense. Purchase plenty of brown rice or other grains, like quinoa, and add them to your meals for an increase in fiber.
Use the brown rice in side salads, puddings, grain bowls with black beans or other proteins. Naturally, you can also prepare fried rice or stir-fries with brown rice. Rice can be prepared in bulk and frozen for later use, or you can buy pre-cooked rice that just requires a little microwave time to be ready for serving.
Ground Beef and Other Meats
For a quick and simple supper, ground meat like beef, turkey, and chicken works well. With ground meat, you may prepare tacos, hamburger patties, soups, and casseroles.
Although buying ground beef in large packages and freezing them for later use is a wonderful idea, ground meat isn’t the most affordable meat, especially depending on how lean you want it to be. Additionally, due to its versatility, you can nearly always swap out one type of ground meat for another that is on sale, such as ground beef for ground turkey.
Peanut Butter
Due to its versatility and low cost, peanut butter can be added to any meal of the day. The jar of peanut butter in your pantry won’t go to waste thanks to smoothies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter noodles, and a ton of peanut butter desserts.
Additionally, if you are allergic to peanuts, many recipes call for other nut butters, such as almond butter.
Beans
Beans are an inexpensive and effective way to increase the protein in any dish.
Although canned beans are a few cents more expensive than dried beans, they are more practical because they may be used right away. (Depending on how much time you have, either is worthwhile to stock.)
You can substitute any bean for meat in your meals, such as in a black bean burger, whether it’s black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, or white beans.
Additionally, beans are a fantastic ingredient to stews, soups, and chili. To stretch a pound of meat to feed five or six people rather than three or four, they can be cooked with ground beef or other meats.
Cooking Oils
Many recipes call for oil as their first ingredient, and for most cooking tasks, regular olive oil will do. However, investing in a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil is crucial if you intend to make sauces, salad dressings, and no-cook foods. How come that? Cheap olive oils have a bad-olive flavor. Good oils have a strong, floral flavor that permeates your food.
While a more expensive oil may seem exorbitant at first, keep in mind that you’ll be using teaspoons or tablespoons at a time, which spreads the cost over countless meals.
Garlic and Onion
Have you ever wondered why garlic is used in so many recipes? It’s because garlic is an item that easily adds a ton of flavor to your food and is aromatic (it has a unique smell, which is a key component of taste).
Depending on your preferences (and perhaps your budget), there are numerous methods to incorporate garlic into a recipe. You can use fresh garlic cloves, garlic powder like this, or minced garlic from the grocery store. Although fresh garlic is typically preferred, any type of garlic will suffice to add taste.
Conclusion
Having your pantry stocked up with dried foods is a great way to save money on your overall grocery bill. Was there anything else that needs to be added to this list? Let me know!
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