8 Food Substitutions To Save on Groceries

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If you’ve been grocery shopping lately, it likely hasn’t escaped your notice that food prices are sky-high. Unfortunately, higher food prices can throw a wrench into anyone’s budget.

For anyone looking to save money on grocery costs, simple food substitutions could help you save big.

1. Swap Ground Beef for Ground Turkey

When making almost any recipe with ground beef, you can usually swap it with ground turkey for similar results. With ground beef prices rising, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, this simple swap could save you a lot of money.

2. Opt for Dry Milk

Do you struggle to finish a carton of milk? Many households use milk only occasionally for certain recipes. If that’s you, consider opting to buy dry milk instead of traditional milk.

When you need it, you can pull it out of the cabinet to complete your meal. But you won’t see this affordable substitute expire in your fridge after a few days.

3. Go for Frozen Fruit and Vegetables

Frozen fruit and vegetables are typically much more affordable than fresh fruit and veggies. If you are comfortable switching to frozen, you might find significant cost savings.

4. Swap Sour Cream for Yogurt

Sour cream tends to cost more than yogurt. But in many recipes, you can swap plain Greek yogurt for sour cream without a tremendous difference in taste.

You can push this savings strategy further by opting to buy your yogurt in large tubs instead of individual cups. When you buy the single large container, you’ll usually find significant savings over the smaller cups.

5. Swap Chicken Breast for Thighs

Although many recipes call for chicken breast, swapping them for thighs could trim your grocery bill.

If you want to take things even further, consider buying a whole chicken. You might be surprised by how affordable a whole chicken is, especially when you consider how much protein you can glean out of a single roasted bird.

6. Skip Fresh Herbs

Fresh herbs might add something to your meals. But, generally, fresh herbs are significantly more expensive than dried herbs. With that, it’s usually more affordable to swap dried herbs for fresh herbs in your meals.

If you prefer to stick with fresh but don’t want to break the bank, consider growing a small garden of your favorite herbs. Watering a pot or two of plants on your front porch might be more affordable than continually buying fresh herbs at the grocery store.

7. Reach for the Store Brand

Store brand options often offer similar quality to name-brand favorites. But store brands tend to be much more affordable. When possible, choose to put generic items in your cart to avoid overpaying for essentials.

8. Try Meatless Meals

When adding up the costs in your grocery cart, you’ll usually find that the amount you spend on proteins, like ground beef or chicken, accounts for the bulk of your spending. If possible, consider adding in some meatless meals to stretch out your food budget.

For example, you could try swapping out meat for black beans or chickpeas in certain recipes. One great option is to try making chickpea tacos, which taste great and are easy on the budget.

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