9 Ways to Save Money Cooking at Home with a Tight Budget (And Stay Healthy)

This post is part of the Eating on a Budget series, which includes the essential tools, tricks and tips that underpin eating on a budget, and a collection of recipes to put those tools into practice.

Most of us are looking for ways to save money in the kitchen, whether we’re travelling, being squeezed by the cost of living crisis, or just trying to keep the bills low. But this can be a challenge, especially if you also want to eat a healthy diet.

After all, most cheap food options are often laden with sugar, unhealthy refined carbohydrates or otherwise nutritionally void.

But it’s not impossible to eat on a budget and maintain a healthy, “balanced¹” diet.

My girlfriend and I are currently travelling around New Zealand. At the time of writing, we’ve been travelling for 7 months, and we’re living on an extremely tight budget.

This means that we can’t stock up on the ingredients we used to buy back in the UK. But that doesn’t mean we’re living on instant noodles and chocolate bars. Instead, we’ve got creative and put together a few strategies so that we can save money and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In this post, I will share those “essential” strategies to help you save money cooking. This is the first post in a series that I’ll be putting together over the coming weeks. The strategies that I’ve wrote about here are essentially a high-level guide to cooking healthy meals on a budget.

In some follow-up posts, I’ll elaborate on some of the more important (and less obvious) points that I’ve raised. I’ll share practical methods and approaches that you can take to save money and not compromise your diet, no matter where you are or what your living situation is.

I’ll follow up this series with a bunch of budget-friendly recipes so that you can put everything I’ve talked about into practice and effectively save money cooking.

But why, you might be wondering, do you need “strategies” to eat cheap? Can’t you just follow some budget-friendly recipes and be done with it?

In short, no.

Why budget-friendly recipes aren’t enough

The foundation of any budget-friendly recipe is budget friendly ingredients.

That may sound obvious, but it’s not as clear-cut as you might think.

Ingredients that are cheap at a certain time in a certain part of the world, may not be cheap in another place, or even in the same place at another time.

A recipe calls for ingredients based on the location of the author, and the season during which it was written. While it’s certainly possible that you, too, are in the same (or a close enough) location and season when you’re reading it, it’s more likely that you’re not.

If you’re not in the same location or season as the recipe’s author, the ingredients that they’re suggesting you use may be much more expensive for you, if they’re available at all. These parameters alone could turn a “budget-friendly” recipe into something massively expensive.

That’s not to mention that you may already have appropriate (albeit substitute) ingredients in your pantry at home, and so you may not even need to go to the grocery store at all.

In short, you need to understand that budget-friendly recipes are only budget-friendly for certain people at certain times. But with an understanding of how to substitute ingredients for what is seasonal, cheap and (most importantly) available in your area (or your pantry), you can make sure you keep your recipes in budget.

And don’t worry — we’ll learn how to do all that in this post.

But there’s just one more caveat before we start.

There’s cheap, then there’s cheap

And by ‘cheap’ ingredients, I do NOT mean poor quality ingredients.

I mean nutritionally dense ingredients that are cost-effective.

Refined sugar, for instance, is probably one of the cheapest ingredients in the supermarket, but sugar is also linked with diabetes, heart disease and a bunch of other health issues. That’s why you won’t find any sugar in this budget recipe series.

On the other hand, beans (such as chickpeas, haricot and red kidney beans) are also cheap. But unlike sugar, they’re widely considered healthy and nutritious.

The aim of this post, as well as the follow-up entries in this budget-cooking series, is to give you the tools to source (and maximise) ingredients that are not just easy on the wallet, but also nutritious.

And all of this begins before you even go to the grocery store.

#1: Re-use ingredients that you already have

The first step is to take inventory of the ingredients that you already have.

What ingredients are sitting in your fridge, freezer and pantry? Chances are, there are already enough ingredients in your kitchen to pull together a meal. And if there isn’t, you’ve still probably got more than you realise.

With a source of protein, some vegetables and a handful of pantry staples (such as salt, oil, stock and spices), you could easily whip up a meal.

Check what’s lying at the back of your cupboard and think creatively about how you can use it or Google recipes that use those ingredients.

Another thing to consider is leftovers sitting in the fridge or freezer.

Leftovers are often a meal in themselves, but you can also use leftovers to create an entirely new meal, which can help you save money cooking for yourself.

You can use leftover bolognese sauce to make a lasagna, a half-eat tin of baked beans with some cheese to make cheesy bean wraps or last night’s takeaway kebab with a pita bread and some home-made tzatziki sauce to make a gyros. (And who doesn’t want gyros literally all the time?)

You can purposely reserve some ingredients after cooking to have them available for your next meal. You don’t have to use all of a given ingredient all at once.

#2: Save money cooking with food scraps

Aside from the things you’ve got lying in your pantry, fridge and freezer than you know you could use, there may be even more foodstuffs lying around than you realise that could help you save money cooking.

There are a bunch of food “scraps” that people generally throw away, but which can actually be used in the kitchen in a number of interesting and creative ways, for instance:

• Aquafaba (the juice inside a tin of chickpeas) can be used instead of eggs to make mayonnaise.
• Broccoli stems are actually just as delicious as the broccoli heads if cooked correctly.
• The brine that feta and mozzarella is packaged in can be used as a delicious, salty base for sauces or in place of water or stock (for instance, to boil pasta or for soup).

I’ll be writing about these, and several more examples, in detail in a follow-up post.

#3: Check for FREE food sources

Once you’ve taken advantage of all the food that you have (even the stuff which you didn’t realise counted), it’s time to start looking outside of your kitchen.

But we’re not going to the grocery store, yet.

Instead, it’s time to explore the places where you can get food for free.

There is free food everywhere, if you know where to look — from vegetables and herbs growing in your back garden to (cheekily) the food going to waste in your friend or family’s kitchen.

For a list of 6 places to find free food, check out my follow-up post.

#4: Learn about substituting ingredients

Once you’ve got a full inventory of your ingredients, the next step is to start figuring out how to use them. That’s where the concept of substitution comes in.

Substitution is a simple as it sounds: replacing an ingredient in a recipe with a different ingredient with similar properties.

For example, nutmeg and cinnamon are both nutty, festive ingredients that can be used interchangeably in …

Onions and leeks are all from the allium family and are more similar than you may realise. These can often also be used interchangeably as the base of a dish.

The same is true of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, all of which stem from the brassica family of vegetables. They are also largely be used interchangeably (cabbage may be more tricky, depending on the context).

There are hundreds of similar examples of substitutions, and it really pays off to learn them in general, but especially if you want to save money cooking.

The problem is that as I already mentioned, a recipe is a reflection of the author, their location and the season when they wrote it: the ingredients are what make sense to them, and may not make sense to you.

The ingredients may be out of season, generally expensive or unavailable (or hard to get) in your location.

An ingredient I’ve seen mentioned a lot in U.S. recipes is molasses — especially bootstrap molasses. Being from the UK, I’d never heard of molasses, nevermind this bootstrapped version (whatever that means). I did manage to find some in a health-food store, but it was much more expensive than it should be given that molasses is just a by-product of sugar production. What I didn’t realise then, though, was that molasses is basically just the same thing as black treacle, a very inexpensive ingredient in the UK (which also comes in a cool little tin).

In short, a little research would have led me to discover a more suitable and easier to find ingredient at a fraction of the price.

#5: Eat seasonally

Okay, now we can start to think about actually shopping!

As I’m sure you’re now sick of me mentioning, eating seasonally is one of the hallmarks of eating on a budget.

This is especially important if you’re abroad, because what is generally seasonal at home may differ in your location.

Here in New Zealand, for example, avocados are currently in season and they’re funnily the cheapest vegetable in the supermarket, costing ¢50/~25p each (well, technically they’re a fruit but whatever).

Anyone from the UK reading this may find that surprising, because back in the UK they’re one of the most expensive produce available.

Conversely in the UK, turnips and parsnips are seasonal in winter (two absolutely delicious vegetables) and they’re always insanely cheap and should be readily snapped up.

Regardless of where you are, ask in the supermarket or grocers to find out what’s in season, or look online to find a guide. For the UK, there’s plenty of resources available, and I’m sure they exist wherever you may be.

For those who are interested, I’ve wrote a more comprehensive guide to eating seasonally.

#6: Eat cheaper sources of protein

While food rich in carbs and fat at the supermarket is generally cheap, protein is something that seemed to always hike up the grocery bill.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re willing to forgo the beef steaks, king prawns and chicken breast, you can actually get complete sources of protein relatively cheap.

Legumes — such as chickpeas, lentils and red kidney beans — are insanely cheap and rich in protein, as well as fibre and other vitamins and minerals. When legumes are paired with rice, they become a “complete” protein. (And as an extra bonus in the case of chickpeas, you can use their juice to make mayo).

Another protein-rich option is tinned fish, such as tuna, mackerel or sardines, all of which are also insanely cheap and rich in protein.

There are a number of other options, too, which I’ve explored in a follow-up post. In short, don’t let the gym-bros tell you otherwise, you do NOT need meat to get a sufficient amount of protein in your diet.

#7: Create meal plans based on what you have, and what you can get

Now that you’ve taken stock of everything you’ve got in your kitchen, you’ve nabbed some freebies and you know what ingredients are in season and are the cheapest, it’s time to begin planning your meals.

You don’t need to plan, but it helps massively to minimise waste and reduce your grocery bill.

This is my strategy:

• Take inventory — take note of everything that you’ve got in the pantry, fridge and freezer.
• Gather up local ingredients — see what herbs and other produce you can get nearby, see if there are any freebies available in your accommodation or from friends and family.
• Brainstorm recipes — research and/or brainstorm potential recipes based on what you have and what would require buying the fewest ingredients.
• Substitutes — either write-up your own recipe which uses the cheapest (and healthiest) seasonal ingredients, or use an existing recipe but substitute the ingredients based on what you have or what’s in season.
• Plan — draft up your meal plan based on the days I’m planning for and the recipes I’ve got in my head (it doesn’t need to be fancy, I draft up a scrappy meal plan in a battered old notepad).
• Shop — write up a shopping list and (finally) go out to the shop to buy them.

#8: Shop at the cheapest grocery stores

With a meal plan in place, it’s finally time to head to the grocery store.

It might sound obvious, but to get cheap ingredients, you need to shop at a cheap grocery store. I choose nearest grocery store that offers the cheapest possible ingredients, while not compromising on quality.

Often, many grocery stores offer the exact same products, but at wildly different prices. In the UK, you can get many of the same products at Waitrose and ASDA, yet Waitrose often charge double the price

I get it — the experience of shopping at Waitrose is different, and many people don’t mind paying for that. But if you’re on a budget, a more luxurious shopping experience is probably something you can forgo.

Thankfully, there are apps that you can use to compare the price of a given product across different stores. In New Zealand, Grocer is an excellent choice. I’ve heard X in the UK is good, though I’ve not personally used it.

I’m sure there are also app options for the U.S. and elsewhere.

This approach makes sense for pantry goods, but it less relevant for fresh produce.

For fresh produce, you’ll have to use your wits and decide if your store of choice is trust worthy. Do you trust that the produce they’re selling you is “good quality” or is it old or full of nasties, like pesticides?

I suppose it’s impossible to know for sure what goes on with the production of supermarket vegetables, but personally I believe that there is little that sets them apart. All supermarkets want the lowest possible production costs, and that means they’re using pesticides and chemical fertiliser.

If this concerns you, there are organic stores across the world, and many supermarkets also have organic sections these days, but the cost will be notably higher. Again, if you’re on a budget, this may be something you have to forgo.

#9: When available, buy multi-packs or bulk

This tip, too, may seem obvious, but I’m going to mention it anyway: if it makes sense to do so, buy in bulk.

If you’re using certain products consistently and it’s cheaper to buy multi-packs, or to buy lots in one go, then do so. The extra cost might sting at the time, but it’ll pay off in the long run.

A few ingredients that I do buy in bulk to save money are peanut butter, instant coffee and porridge.

But this isn’t applicable to all ingredients. There are many ingredients that deteriorate rapidly in storage, making bulk purchases impractical (unless you’re consuming them extra quickly).

A few ingredients that I don’t buy in bulk are fresh coffee granules, milk and meat.

Bulk purchase discounts exist at most supermarkets across New Zealand and the UK, and probably exist in your country too.

Bonus: the cheapest ingredient is also the most important

Here’s one last bonus tip for you. It won’t help you save money cooking, but it will help make your budget-friendly recipes a lot more enjoyable.

To make healthy and budget-friendly meals extra delicious (this is a cooking blog, not a shopping blog, after all), then here’s my advice:

Salt is (probably) the cheapest ingredient that you can find, but it’s also the MOST IMPORTANT.

In my opinion and experience, salt is often the single component that separates mediocre from sublime. People generally don’t use enough salt in cooking, whether seasoning at the start of cooking, during or at the end.

The thing I’ve found that most people don’t realise is that the goal of salt is not to make food salty but instead it is to make food seasoned, and properly seasoned food is food that tastes more of itself. For instance, a properly seasoned chicken breast is one that tastes the more chicken-like.

My parting advice is this: salt is super cheap, buy a lot of it and use it liberally (if your health permits it). You will not be disappointed.

Notes

1. I’m not entirely sure what people mean by “balanced” as it’s such an abstract and vague term, but it seems appropriate here.