Full disclosure: This post about ways to save money on groceries was written for purely selfish reasons.

I actually first started writing this post in early 2024, and finally, now in May 2025, it is REALLY time to publish it. In a word: Ouch! Grocery prices in the U.S. are awful.

Maybe it’s just because I live in a high-cost-of-living area in the U.S. (Seattle), but food prices really are out of hand. And the prices just keep going up while sizes go down (so maddening). My favorite canned refried beans were $6 a can the last time I checked, and the most recent standard-sized box of cereal I bought was so tiny (yet so expensive!)

I was adding some veggie scraps to my Crock Pot for a batch of homemade veggie broth and congratulating myself on the money I was going to be saving, when I thought … “hmm, what else can I do, right now, to help give us a little relief when it comes to grocery expenses?” My immediate next thought was, “I should write a blog post about that!” And so here I am.

A quick note: One thing I will not be recommending is cutting coupons. If you like to do that, by all means, do! Personally though, I’m not a huge fan of couponing; I’ve tried it, but I feel like it takes so much time sorting through coupons, figuring out which will work, going from store to store … the amount of time it takes is not worth the savings for me. But again, if you love couponing, go for it (and consider me impressed by your dedication!)

BUT I have a lot of other ways to save money on groceries in 2025! If you are in the U.S. too, maybe one or two will help you out in this crazy expensive era.

1. Make Your Own Broth/Stock

How to Make Vegetable Broth in the Slow Cooker

Every time you peel a carrot, dice an onion and have that stubborn undiceable end, or have a handful of puny celery ends, save them in a gallon-size freezer bag. Then, when it’s full, whip up a batch of stovetop veggie-scrap vegetable broth or Slow Cooker Vegetable Broth. Use it for soups over the next week, or freeze some for down the road.

I also like to use vegetable Better than Bullion for a cheap and easy vegetable broth alternative. Just one teaspoon of Better than Bullion mix is needed per cup of broth, making it a much more financially friendly option vs. boxed broth.

upremely Delicious Black Beans from Scratch - My favorite way to enjoy black beans is straight out of the pot after they've simmered with this simple list of heady aromatics. So easy and truly "supremely delicious."

2. Cook Beans from Scratch

Canned beans are super convenient, no doubt. But it is so much cheaper to grab a bag of beans and cook them! Then you can freeze your beans for later, or just have a very bean-heavy week full of delicious and healthy legumes.

A jar of homemade taco seasoning with a measuring spoon inside it.

3. Buy Spices in Bulk

Spices and seasonings can be a painful part of grocery shopping. Granted, they tend to last awhile, but when you’re trying a new recipe or finally run out of something, spending $7-$10 a pop on a new bottle of spices is rough.

If you have a grocery store with bulk spices available, I enthusiastically recommend going that route. Spices are light, and often cost well under $1 for the same quantity found in a $7 glass bottle. I just reuse the bottle and pour the spices in using a funnel. Easy.

a bowl full of homemade curry powder mix with a wooden spoon

4. Make Your Own Spice Mixes

Another way to save money on spices and seasonings? Make your own spice blends! From chili powder to fajita seasoning to curry powder, you can whip up your own mix at home super easily while saving $$. Bonus: You can customize spice mixes to your own tastes!

Spice Mix Recipes:

Collage image showing five different meals for a vegetarian meal plan. The text reads, "Vegetarian Meal Plan 2"

5. Make a Meal Plan

I find I save SO much money when I make (and stick to!) a meal plan at the beginning of the week. You can also go full-hog and meal prep, but I personally don’t love sacrificing a weekend day to meal prep. Meal planning, I can do! They’re pretty easy to come up with yourself, or do a quick web search to find something good. Or, I started writing vegetarian meal plans this year and only have a couple up so far, but plan to create more.

6. Shop Your Pantry/Fridge

Sometimes a gourmet meal lies right under your nose! Okay, maybe not gourmet, but pretty darn good, and you didn’t have to go to the grocery store. Which is better than gourmet! Take a good look in your pantry, fridge, or freezer for any items that have made their way toward the back and use what you find to inspire a new meal. Minestrone is my favorite use-up-loose-ingredients meal!

7. Go Meatless Occasionally

Studies show that eating vegetarian every once in awhile – or all the time – can reduce your overall grocery budget. (source) Not sure? Try taking part in Meatless Monday to kick off your vegetarian eating adventures, and see how you like it!

Top view of White bowl full of Vegetarian Navy Bean Soup

8. Make Cheap Meals

This one’s fairly obvious, but if you’re like me, sometimes you draw a blank when trying to come up with a frugal meal idea. Here are a few of my cheap food faves to help inspire you:

9. Make Freezer Meals

I’m pretty diligent about freezing leftovers or making extra of something for the freezer. Sometimes I’ll even make a meal specifically for the freezer like these Refried Bean and Cheese Burritos or Bagel Breakfast Sandwiches. This one is less about saving money on groceries and more about helping us resist spending an exorbitant amount of money on take-out (again, CRAZY high prices in our area, I say as I sip my $8 matcha latte and eat a $5 muffin at a local coffee shop. Ugh).

10. Buy Generic

This tip can be hit or miss – sometimes generic versions of foods just aren’t as good. But give them a try and soon you’ll have a category of foods that are just as good in generic form as more expensive branded form.

10. Make Your Own Coffee/Cold Brew

Instead of buying bottled cold brew or, speaking of $$$, grabbing your coffee at a coffee shop, try making your own iced coffee and lattes at home. You don’t need a fancy latte machine! I use a little stovetop number and a plug-in frother for lattes, and just a simple mason jar for cold brew.

We have a Keurig for quick coffee emergencies and guests, and we recently started using reusable Keurig cups to save money and contribute a little less plastic to the landfills. It’s working out great!

11. Choose Lower-Cost Stores

We’re huge fans of Trader Joes and Costco for groceries that cost less overall (and if we had an Aldi in our area, we’d be going there, too!) Winco is another that many people love. Some of my favorite money-saving tips for these stores (I’ll add more as I stumble across them):

Costco Money-Saving Tips

  • Buy shredded mozzarella cheese for our Friday night pizzas and various kid-friendly meals throughout the week. Keep one bag in the fridge to go through and freeze the other bag until we’re ready to use it.
  • Buy canned goods like chickpeas, black beans, and diced tomatoes. They can keep in the garage in a “deep pantry,” and often the cost is around $1 per can.
  • Buy Better than Bullion. Our local Costco offers giant jars of Better than Bullion that are a great price.
  • Eggs! We all know the prices of eggs has been painful. We eat a lot of eggs in our house, and have found that Costco’s eggs are the best price: $8.99 for two dozen organic eggs.

12. Shop Online & Do Curbside Pick-Up

Granted, you’ll get less steps and movement in, but this is a great way to resist temptation at the grocery store. Review your meals and recipes, add just those items to your cart, and don’t waste money on all of the shiny objects displayed to get your attention actually in-store.

Note that some stores charge an extra fee for this service, so that might be worth weighing the savings.

13. Grow Your Groceries!

Okay, I know gardening costs can quickly get out of hand. But have you bought an heirloom tomato recently? I’ve spent $5 on one before!

If you have any grocery budget pain points when it comes to produce, consider if you might be able to grow it easily at home. Tomatoes love heat, so fill a container with potting soil and place it in a good spot on the warm side of the house or on the deck. Then throw in a tomato plant along with a tomato cage, and come August/September, you’ll get all the tomatoes!

Growing your own herbs are an amazing money-saver, too. I have a dedicated raised bed in my garden for herbs, and in my garden zone, many of the herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and chives overwinter so they come back year after year. Annually, I plant parsley, basil, and dill and I’m certain this saves me hundreds of dollars per year. You can even freeze your parsley and other herbs to use all winter long!

We have several blueberry bushes that produce a good amount every summer, and they’re so delicious! This year I’ve started some potatoes and onions for the first time, too. And as always, I’ll be growing zucchini and squash like nobody’s business.

Gardening websites I love:

14. Make Your Own Bread

This year I’ve finally jumped on the sourdough bandwagon and I’m loving it! I buy my all-purpose and bread flours at Costco and make delicious artisan-quality loaves for pennies.

Here are the sourdough recipes I like:

15. Don’t Shop Hungry

I’m sure you’ve heard this age-old adage: A hungry shopper spends more (and gives into impulse purchases). I have too, but still, sometimeI forget and I’ll go to the store hungry – and be quickly reminded that I should have eaten first! So I thought it was worth mentioning.

16. Make Your Own Sauces, Condiments, and Dressings

From hummus to vinaigrette to pizza sauce, it’s easy to make your own sauces, condiments, and dressings. And it can save you a TON of money!

I hope at least a couple of these money-saving ideas help you with your grocery budget this month and beyond! If you have any ideas of your own that I missed, I’d love it if you left your tips in the comments section below. We’re in this together!

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