Is McDonald’s Still a Budget-Friendly Option? How a Meal for 4 Compares to Home Cooking

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Fast food used to be the budget option for a quick meal for the entire family. But with fast food prices on the rise, even McDonald’s might not feel like an affordable option to feed the family.

Compare the costs of McDonald’s vs. a home-cooked meal below.

McDonald’s Dinner for Four

• Total cost: $29.07 plus sales tax

Of course, everyone has a different order. But here’s a sample order for a family of four:

• Big Mac Meal: $9.99
• Quarter Pounder With Cheese Meal: $9.29
• Hamburger Happy Meal: $4.30
• 6-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal: $5.49

McDonald’s Dinner for Four: Value Items Only

• Total cost: $20.79 plus sales tax

If the adults opt for value items only, that might bring the price down a bit. Here’s another sample order:

• $5 McDouble Meal Deal: $5
• $6 Daily Double Meal Deal: $6
• Hamburger Happy Meal: $4.30
• 6-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal: $5.49

Home Cooked Meal: Chickpea Tacos

• Total cost: $10.50 to $12

This fast and affordable recipe only takes a few minutes, so you can whip it together when you don’t really feel like cooking. For a family of four, you may want to double the recipe.

Here’s a look at what you might expect to spend:

• Two cans of chickpeas: Although the price varies, plan to spend around $1 per can.
• Tortillas: Depending on the type of tortillas you get, you might spend around $3.50 for a pack of 20.
• Olive oil: Although you might spend around $8 on a bottle of olive oil, you might already have it in your cabinet. If you have to buy it, remember you can use it for other recipes. This calculation includes 50 cents’ worth of olive oil.
• Soy sauce: You might spend around $1.50 to $2 on an entire bottle of soy sauce.
• Chili powder: Plan to spend between $2 to $2.50 on a bottle of chili powder.
• Garlic powder: Expect to spend around $1 to $1.50 on a bottle of garlic powder.

Feel free to swap out the spices for what you already have. For example, use cumin instead of chili powder if it’s already in your cabinet.

Home Cooked Meal: Chicken and Rice

• Total cost: $9.75 to $12.75

A simple chicken and rice dish could leave the whole family satisfied. Here’s what to expect it to cost:

• 1.25 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs: Plan to spend around $3 to $5 on the meat for this dish.
• 1 yellow onion: Plan to spend around 75 cents on an onion.
• 1 cup of white rice: Plan to spend around $1 on rice.
• 1 cup of veggie broth: Expect to spend around $3 to $4 on a box of broth, which you can use for another meal, too.
• Seasonings: The recipe calls for salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and paprika. If you have any of these on hand, you won’t have to add them to your grocery list. All in, expect to spend around $2 on seasonings for this dish.

Home Cooked Meal: Pot Roast

• Total cost: $18.37 to $27.50

Pot roast is a popular home-cooked meal that you can stick in the crock pot and let it cook all day with minimal effort. A standard pot roast recipe generally calls for around three pounds of roast, some beef broth, potatoes, carrots and basic spices. Since you are making it, you can tweak the recipe to minimize how much you have to buy at the store. For example, the recipe might call for parsley garnish, but you can skip this extra step and extra cost.

Here’s a look at what you might spend on a home-cooked pot roast:

• Chuck roast: For a two to three-pound roast, the costs vary, but often around $14 to $20. When possible, shopping sales leads to better pricing.
• Beef broth: For an entire box of beef broth, expect to spend $1.37 to $3. You can save the rest of the broth for another recipe.
• Potatoes: For two pounds of potatoes, expect to spend around $2.
• Carrots: For a pound of carrots, expect to spend around $1 to $1.50.
• Seasonings: You might have most of the necessary seasoning, like salt, pepper and garlic, in your cabinets, but plan to spend around $1.

The best part is you’ll likely have some leftovers, which could make a great lunch the next day.

Takeaway: What Makes Sense for You?

Fast food isn’t always the cheapest option to feed your family. In many cases, choosing to cook at home will save you money over a trip to McDonald’s. But this doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision. If you cook most of your meals at home to save money, picking up fast food occasionally might be a fun treat.

Editor’s note: McDonald’s pricing data was sourced using the McDonald’s app for a Florida location. All pricing and availability may vary depending on location.

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