15 Grocery Store Items That Are Cheaper to Make Yourself
Easy homemade foods that will help you save
Updated June 21, 2019 
It’s fairly common knowledge that buying food from the grocery store instead of eating out is a great way to save money on meals. What’s not so well known is that the grocery store is often not the thriftiest option for buying food.
It may surprise you that even staple foods or items stereotyped as ‘cheap’ may be draining little bits of value every time you go to the store. This list of 15 food items that are cheaper homemade will help you reclaim that value. A lot of these from-scratch foods are tastier and more healthy than the store-bought versions too!
Canned Pasta Sauce
You might expect spaghetti sauce and other tomato-based pasta sauces to be difficult to make, but they're actually quite easy and use cheap, on-hand ingredients. Plus, letting all those delicious flavors and seasonings go bland on a grocery store shelf is such a waste.
Homemade Guacamole
It's not just grocery stores; certain fast food chains love charging you extra for guacamole as if its some sort of premium luxury item. If you crave avocados as much as the next person, you'll be glad to know that's just not true.
Homemade Pancakes
Do you have any idea how simple pancake mix is? You almost certainly have everything you need in your fridge and pantry to make better, fresher, healthier pancakes at home for less.
Buttercream Frosting
Luxurious buttercream frosting. Truly a luxury, right? Wrong! Frosting is super simple to make from scratch.
Granola Bars
Granola bars are reasonably healthy snack alternatives but they can be quite expensive, even if you’re buying the cheaper, store-brand stuff. No one should have to go without their afternoon energy booster, so it's a good thing granola bars are actually some of the easiest grocery items to make at home.
No matter how busy you are or how tight your budget is, these cheap weeknight dinner recipes are here to help. Dinner on a Dime: 15 Cheap Dinners for Easy Weeknight Meals
Yogurt
Yogurt is a great way to start your morning off right. You won't need a decked-out chemistry lab to make it from scratch either. If you've got an oven, you've got all you need to take another step toward skipping the checkout line.
Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are such a tasty weekend breakfast, but they sometimes seem daunting. That's probably why so many people turn to overpriced store-bought cinnamon roll packages for help. Thankfully, this recipe only requires six ingredients and is done in 20 minutes.
From Scratch French Toast Sticks
The frozen section can seem like a bargain, but it's often full of small amounts of subpar food in deceptively-large packaging. The homemade version of french toast sticks is super simple to make, absolutely delicious, and shockingly cheap as well.
Deli Style Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Why buy expensive, lukewarm, slimy deli salad when you can make it quickly and easily in your own kitchen?
Easy Homemade Butter
As long as you have a food processor, homemade butter doesn't have to be a pioneer-era relic. You'll only need 20 minutes before you can try this creamy, soothing homemade staple for yourself.
Homemade Hamburger Buns
There are so many problems with grocery store hamburger buns: it's hard to find the perfect size, you usually end up wasting a few because you can't buy the exact number you want, and they just don't taste very good. This recipe fixes all those problems.
Most fast food chains have already abandoned $5 meals except for special limited time offers. Thankfully, that doesn't mean you have to. 18 Family-Friendly 5 Dollar Dinner Ideas
Copycat Pop Tarts
Toaster pastries are super addicting, and they go fast. Before long, the cost really starts adding up. This homemade version is just as tasty, but it's healthier for you and for your wallet.
Homemade Peanut Butter
If you've never tried homemade peanut butter before, you're in for a real treat. It might be a little different from the stuff everyone remembers growing up with, but if you give it a real shot, there's no way you'll end up regretting it. The flavor and texture are out of this world!
5-Ingredient Pizza
For the amount of quality it sacrifices, frozen pizza doesn't even save you too much money. Homemade pizza is simple, easy, and oh so delicious.
From Scratch Lemonade
Child entrepreneurs have been capitalizing on how cheap lemonade is to make for decades now. If they can figure it out, there's no reason you should be stuck paying the retail price. Plus, homemade lemonade is so much better than the watery stuff you can buy at the store.
Think we left something out? What's your favorite thrifty grocery store hack?
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