“I Was Shocked At How Easy It Is”: People Are Sharing Foods That Are Way Cheaper To Make At Home Than Buy In A Store
“I’ve noticed a lot of restaurants charging $5 for plain white rice around me. You can make five times that quantity for $5.”
Recently, u/jeron_gwendolen asked people on the r/Frugal subreddit to share the foods that are cheaper (and even tastier) when they make them at home. In the replies, people shared lots of great ideas that had me taking notes. Here’s what they had to say:
1. “My partner and I just started making homemade pan pizzas in a cast iron skillet 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 with premade dough.”
2. “Cold brew concentrate. I bought one of those Amazon cold brew 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 cold brew every week.”
3. “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 all-purpose flour. So I made bread instead!”
4. “Oat milk. It’s like $5 at the store and I can make it for pennies. Just water, oats, blend, and strain! I like to add sweetener like maple syrup and some vanilla, but it’s up to the maker.”
5. “The only problem with homemade hummus is that I can’t seem to find a recipe that only makes a very little bit. Even a recipe that calls for a single can of chickpeas makes what seems like a gallon of hummus. I like it, but not that much.”
6. “Air fryer chicken wings. OMG, these things are bomb! You have to do some experimenting at first with temperatures and such, but once you nail it down how you want, it’s the best!”
7. “Greek yogurt.”
8. “Espresso, if you ignore the sunk cost of the espresso machine.”
9. “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 minutes to make for $3.”