We've rounded up our best food articles to help you save on groceries, takeout and restaurants. This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities,...
Whether you’re a skilled home chef or love to eat out, food is something we all need to budget for.
With rising inflation making everything more expensive, we especially welcome all the advice for saving money on food.
Here are some of the best Penny Hoarder articles to help you reduce your everyday spending.
334 Tips to Save Money on Food
Stress less about food costs with these nuggets of helpful advice.
Grocery Shopping
The battle against rising food prices can be won in your grocery cart. It will take some planning but we’ve got plenty of ideas to save time and money … even gas!
15 Stores that Offer Free Pickup
You don’t always have to pay a premium to enjoy the benefits of a personal shopper. Grocery chains across the country offer free grocery pickup. This is a bonus in 2023 with gas prices still high.
Not only do you save time by not having to do the shopping yourself, but you can avoid impulse purchases, like buying that sweet treat at the register when it wasn’t on your shopping list.
8 Best Grocery Delivery Services
Choosing grocery delivery is another way to stick to your shopping list and stay within the perfect food budget, plus save on gas in 2023. Just be aware of the additional delivery or membership fees.
This article on the best grocery delivery services outlines how each service operates and the associated costs.
4 Reasons to Check Out Ethnic Grocery Stores
Neighborhood ethnic grocery stores often have better deals on staples such as rice, pasta, condiments and canned foods plus meat and fish. Part of the reason that prices may be lower is that they don’t have the overhead of a large space and don’t spend a lot of money on advertising.
Ethnic markets are also a good place to stock up on spices and other products for global cuisines such as Mexican, Vietnamese and Indian.
Learn the 11 Tricks of Buying Cheaper Meat
You never know when prices on beef, poultry and pork might skyrocket, so it won’t hurt to have our 11 tips on how to find the cheapest meat on hand. With all strategies to cut food costs, a little planning will help you find meat at better prices.
If you know what meat is on sale before you go to the store, you can plan meals around those items. Check out your grocery store’s website before you go. Or enlist the help of your smartphone once you get there if you’re the spontaneous type. Just head for the meat counter first to see what’s in stock and then you can buy the other ingredients to go with.
5 Places to Buy Ugly Produce
We tend to like our fruits and veggies in perfect condition, but nature doesn’t always cooperate. That doesn’t mean bananas with spots or a funny-shaped eggplant don’t still have plenty of nutrition and flavor. Ugly produce often comes at a better price, too, and buying it is a way to cut food waste.
Ugly produce is worth a second look. From subscription boxes to grocery store shelves to local farms, you can save money by opting for less-than-perfect fruits and vegetables.
10 Smart Strategies to Save on Spices
The right spices bring out the best flavors in a dish, but they can be a pricey addition to a recipe. It’s always tough to spend $4 — or more — on a container of spices or dried herbs when you only need a tablespoon for the recipe. And then it languishes in the cabinet for, well, forever.
This post shares 10 ways to save money on spices, including buying off-brands, learning about substitutions and buying at bulk stores when you can just get the tablespoon you need.
3 Ways Joining a CSA Can Cut Costs
Buy shares in a Community Supported Agriculture program and you’ll be helping out the farmer and getting food straight from the field. CSAs are great ways to receive farm-fresh and sometimes organic fruit and vegetables that typically cost far less than you’d find at a grocery store or even farmers market.
We’ve got tips on how to make the most of the box of veggies you pick up weekly, including splitting the bounty with family or friends and where to find recipes to prepare all of those string beans and cherry tomatoes.
Cooking at Home
Making meals in your own kitchen is cheaper over time than eating at restaurants and getting takeout. We’ve got lots of ideas on how to plan meals and stock your pantry so that you can create delicious meals easily and cheaply.
11 Ways to Stock Up On Pantry Essentials
If you have a well-stocked pantry it’s easier and cheaper to cook at home, rather than resort to takeout. A stocked pantry allows you to smartly take advantage of store sales to make meals for your family because you don’t have to buy every ingredient for something you may want to prepare.
Use this guide for pantry essentials for cooking to make your shopping list for the canned goods, grains, bakery staples, condiments, spices and more to keep on hand for easy meal prep.
10 Meal Planning Tips You’ll Be Glad to Know
Meal planning can seem like such a hassle but it’s a sure-fire way to save money as the price of food skyrockets. Just about 30 minutes each week is enough to create a solid game plan that will help keep you out of the drive-thru lane.
Our tips for budget meal planning include keeping an eye on sales, shopping for specific recipes or dishes, buying what’s in season and more.
10 Cheap Recipes to Make on a Vegan Diet
There’s a misconception that it’s expensive to maintain a vegan diet. In reality, there are plenty of low-budget options for those who only eat plant-based meals.
This article highlights 10 cheap vegan recipes that are filling, healthy and easy to make.
7 Trader Joe’s Vegetarian Recipes for the Budget Foodie
We’ve got you covered, too, vegetarians!
Some of our favorite dishes without meat from Trader Joe’s include a delicious quinoa cowboy veggie burger with fries, a kale and chickpea salad, and a tofu and vegetable biryana. And we’ve got several more.
24 Recipes to Serve Eggs for Dinner
Even when egg prices jump, eggs are still a good value because of their versatility. They
are a solid source of protein too, but often reserved for breakfast or baked goods.
But don’t limit yourself! Eggs can be the star in plenty of dinner dishes too. This post details 24 ways to use eggs to make an affordable dinner.
26 Bottles of Wine for Less Than $10
Good wine doesn’t have to be expensive, and how nice it is to have a glass of adult grape juice with your home-cooked meal.
We’ve rounded up a list of 13 bottles of white wine that cost less than $10 but still taste great. (Prefer red? Here are 13 inexpensive but delicious red wines.) Your pals at your next dinner party never have to know.
Butter Boards: The TikTok Trend Taking on Expensive Charcuterie Boards
Butter boards were all the rage in the second half of 2022. Other than being delicious, they’re much cheaper than a typical charcuterie board — making hosting a party much more simple and budget friendly for you.
We looked at some of the more popular butter boards online and through social media. And we also took a stab at creating our own butter board, which included the standard softened butter and flaky salt with roasted garlic, roasted red peppers, arugula and drizzled honey. It was rather tasty.
Dining Out
It’s a valiant effort to attempt to eat only food made at home, but scratch cooking is not likely a seven-night-a-week endeavor for many people. Work and kids’ activities combined with the many ways to get prepared food means that most of us are eating food made outside the home at least a few nights a week. That doesn’t mean you can’t shave money off the bill.
57 Places Where the Kids Eat Free
If you’ve got a family to feed, eating out at a restaurant can get pretty expensive. Sometimes, though, it’s the best idea you’ve had all day. And if you’re traveling, you may need to grab a meal at a restaurant.
Save money by going to one of these 57 restaurants where the kids eat for free.
Celebrate With 101 Birthday Freebies
You should never have to pay for food on your birthday. Don’t spend a thing on your next big day by signing up for birthday freebies from one of these places.
Our list includes special offers from dozens of national chains. You can get a free drink from Starbucks, free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, a free burger from Ruby Tuesday and much more.
10 Money-Saving Tips for Eating on the Road
While most people focus on airfare and lodging when budgeting for an upcoming trip, the cost of eating away from home also adds up.
Before jetting off on your next vacation, consider these 10 tips to save money on food while traveling.
13 Clever Starbucks Hacks
Chances are your Starbucks habit isn’t what’s stopping you from becoming the next self-made millionaire. If you want to enjoy a nice cup of coffee every now and then, we’re not going to stop you.
However, we’ve got several hacks for you to spend less at Starbucks if that’s your coffeehouse of choice. Your wallet and your tastebuds will thank you.
8 Services That Will Deliver Meals for Cheap
Signing up for a meal delivery service takes the pressure off having to figure out what to cook each day.
This article reviews eight of the cheapest meal delivery service brands so you understand what each company offers and the costs you’ll pay.
Nicole Dow is a former senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Senior writer Robert Bruce contributed.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.