It took me a while to find the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores
I found also a list of cheapest food at grocery store, any grocery store no matter what
Of course it is obvious there are so many high end supermarkets and cheap grocery stores
Although I discussed earlier how to save money at grocery stores but it is not enough
But when it comes to cheap food to get at the grocery store then I have you covered with my list below
What are the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores?
My list below is the best foods to buy on a budget at any grocery store
I strongly encourage to look in your area for the low end grocery stores
But as I said earlier these are the cheapest food to buy at grocery stores in general
1- Bananas
Bananas are one of the cheapest fruit
You can buy a pound of bananas for around 50c at least in chinese stores in Canada
At Walmart, it is 57c per pound which is around 3 bananas
It is considered a good source of Potassium plus vitamin C which I knew it recently
2- Apples
There are so many types of apples from green ones to red and yellow
I find Gala apple type to be the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores with around 79c per pound
I love apples as eating one apple can make me full with few calories
Also it is a good source of fibre
3- Oranges
When it comes to vitamin C, oranges always come to my mind as number the one source of vitamin C
Although oranges are one of the cheapest food to buy at grocery stores especially in Winter
But I always be surprised when I checkout as oranges weight much, it is always tricky to tell how many pounds you have
I remember one day on the cashier to pay $22 something as I got around 14 pounds without even noticing
4- Cantaloupes
One cantaloupe is around $2.97 so why I say it is cheap?
Well, each cantaloupe is enough to eat for 2-3 days
I always eat cantaloupe knowing that it is very little in calories
5- Potatoes
For $4.97 you can buy a bag of 4.54 kg of potatoes
It is considered a starchy vegetable and healthy carb and can be used with every dinner recipes
6- Sweet Potatoes
There are a lot of people who are cooking sweet potato instead of potato
This appears with the crispy baked sweet potato french fries, it looks like potato but it tastes a little bit different
7- Beans
Kidney, pinto , fava beans and so many are the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores
Also it is a good source of protein
It is a way cheaper to buy it raw, even if you buy it in cans it is also cheap
I buy fava beans cans for 99c which is good dish for 2 persons
8- Lentils
Lentil is an edible legume and one of the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores
You can buy it in big bags as bulky item
Lentils soup is low in calorie and excellent source of protein
9- Rice
Rice is a classic side dish and easy to prepare food but it is definitely high in carb
It should not be a big deal if you eat 2 spoons of rice, I say that as I used to have a kind of rice addict
It took me a while to reduce my consumption of rice but once I got used to it, it became the norm
10- Pasta
Pasta is one the dishes that can be eaten without any side dishes
It is preferable to mix it with ground beef sauce, you just boil the pasta and add ground beef to it according to your desire
Pasta always goes on sale where you can easily buy big quantities and stock them
11- Bread
Of course, not all types of bread are cheap
I always buy pita bread because it is the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores
Also I buy no brand brown toast when it is on sale – I buy many bags and freeze them
It is less calories and taste exactly like white toast
12- Carrots
One advice when buying carrots, always buy big bags in large quantities – you will save more
Carrots can be a good source of vitamin A which keep your eye healthy
13- Canned Tomatoes
Nobody have time and energy these days to make tomato sauce from raw tomato
You can buy canned tomatoes when they are on sale
I always find they go 50% off its original price so I buy in bulk and stock them in my garage
14- Corn
During fall, corn goes to its lowest price but during year round, I buy it in frozen bags
The good thing about frozen corn is that it is very easy to prepare, I cook it by steaming in a steaming basket
Sometimes, I just snack on the corn as is
15- Zucchini
Zucchini is not only cheap but very low in calories especially if they are roasted or barbecued
I don’t count my calories when I eat Zucchini as it is really neglectable
16- Mixed vegetables
The most thing I like about mixed vegetables is the ability to cook it in a different ways
I cook it with beef stew in tomato sauce or with ground beef in tomato sauce too
If I am not in the mood of cooking at all then I steam it, my kids love it like that
17- Flour
Flour is cheap and I know everyone thinks about cookies when I say flour
Actually if you have kids, there are so many recipes you should learn to cook at home like pancakes and mixing flour with eggs to make a dough
18- Sugar
I realized that I should stock sugar in a dry area so it does not get sticky
Although I take one spoon of sugar wit my coffee or tea but I always keep a stock of sugar in case my kids ask for cooking any recipes with flour and sugar
19- Tea and coffee
Especially if the tea is not a brand name like Lipton and for Coffee I find the cheapest is the pour over or filter coffee also known as drip coffee
20- Oats
Oats are a whole-grain food, this is one of the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores
I love it when my kids eat oats as it is a good source of fiber and it really helps their stool to stay softer
21- Pork
If you don’t have any issues eating pork over beef, definitely you will save a lot of money and you will get used to it
22- Hot dogs
Although hot dogs take some time to prepare, I always cook a bulk quantity and freeze them
It saves me a lot of time especially when my kids crave it during school lunch time
Again, hot dogs are the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores especially big packs
23- Milk
Milk has a standard price and you always save by buying the 4 Litres bags
Yes, in Canada, I buy milk in bags, not like the US in plastic jars
24- Plain Yogurt
Plain is not expensive if you buy it plain in big boxes, I find the pricey yogurt is the box of 8 or 16 small boxes with fruit flavours
25- Cottage cheese
Although you may not like plain cottage cheese but I found when I use it with boiled egg in my breakfast, it makes me full and it is very low in calories
26- Eggs
I always buy the regular sized eggs as they are sometimes cheaper than large eggs
Also I buy a pack of 30 as it saves me money
27- Tuna
Tuna cans are one of the cheapest foods to buy at grocery stores especially the flakes cans which means the leftover pieces while chunks are the broken pieces of loin
28- Sardine
I am a big fan of sarinde, I know I don’t eat it much but I love the fact that sardine cans are very cheap and they have very long expiry date
29- Ramen Noodles
Noodles are very easy to prepare and I stock them in my pantry for that day where I am completely clueless on what to eat and looking for a quick and easy recipe to cook
What are the cheapest foods to buy in bulk?
Wondering where to buy cheap food, easy buy in bulk in stores like Costco or Sam’s club
1- Rice
You can buy a 22 pounds of rice bag, not only you will save money but you are good for at least 3 months
2- Potatoes
These big bags of potatoes that weight 12-14 pounds are good price for their size
Potatoes stay long time before they start to get buds
3- Oranges
Same thing goes here for the oranges, you can save for big box of oranges
4- Apples
Although you don’t choose your apples but bulky stores tend to sell large bags of apples chosen well with no blemished skin
5- Carrots
Carrots stay longer than potatoes and apples so you can buy big bag of carrots and keep using it
6- Flour
In Costco, I buy the big bag of flour and I never worry about running out of it
I store it in my pantry and keep using it every now and then
7- Ground beef
If you have a space in your fridge, I recommend buying 6-7 pounds of ground beef – you save money on large quantities
8- Hot dogs
Bulky stores sell a pack of 40 to 50 hot dogs, I like it since they don’t space in my freezer
9- Plain yogurt
Bulky stores like Costco sell a pack of 3 boxes of plain yogurt – I always get it if the it has an extended expiry date
What are the cheapest snacks to buy?
1- Bananas
If I am hungry then eating one banana can make me full
As I said earlier with 57c you can buy 1 pound of bananas equivalent to 3 bananas
2- Apples
Sometimes I snack by eating one apple – less calories and it makes me full
3- Oranges
Orange has a lot of juice inside so eating one orange makes me full for long time
4- Cantaloupes
Once I cut one cantaloupes I know I can snack on it for 2-3 days
I don’t count its calories and it makes me really full
5- Oats
Sometimes when eating oats, I mix it with milk
I know one cup 250 ml of milk is 130 calories plus 100 grams of oat is 5 calories
Try the above recipe and oat swells in milk and makes my stomach super full
6- Carrots
I refer to baby carrots as I snack by eating 5-6 baby carrots
7- Boiled eggs
Boiled egg is the least number of calories around 70 calories
It is easy to prepare, I always leave it to boil using a timer
8- Plain yogurt
I add my touch to plain yogurt by adding liquid lemon – I heard it speeds up the metabolism
Anyway if the above is not correct, I like its taste
9- Tuna sandwich
Tuna is very low in calories – I mix it with honey mustard and keep it in the fridge
Just one box of tuna is good for 2-3 snacks