10 budget cooking hacks from the Good Food team
The Good Food team share their top tips for saving money in the kitchen – from transforming veg scraps into stocks and essentials to keep in the freezer
Many of us are looking to cut costs in the kitchen, not to mention reducing our food waste, too. The good thing is that the more we can transform food leftovers into new meals or make the most of the raw ingredients in the first place, the more money we'll save overall. If you can get two meals rather than one out of an ingredient, why not?
From planning ahead to transforming scraps, find out the Good Food team's top tips for saving money in the kitchen. Many of these tips will help to save you time on busy weekdays too, so with a little organisation, you can eat delicious, budget-friendly meals every day of the week with minimal effort.
Next try our zero waste recipes for every day to keep reducing food waste, then try our budget slow cooker recipes, budget Sunday lunch recipes, budget entertaining recipes and even more budget recipes.
Budget cooking hacks from the Good Food team
1. Samuel Goldsmith, senior food editor & podcast editor
"I rely heavily on the freezer. I also tend to cook in bulk so that I can freeze leftovers – if I am cooking a batch anyway I may as well save the energy and cook more."
Discover our top freezable family meals and budget batch-cooking recipes, plus how to make your freezer work for you.
2. Anna Glover, food director
"Buy spices in bulk and share with your friends by divvying up into jam jars. Much cheaper from world food stores than supermarkets in small jars. Less packaging, too!"
Learn more about how to use storecupboard spices.
3. Isabella Keeling, deputy health editor
"I like to keep a tin of beans in the cupboard at all times to stretch meals further. There is almost nothing that doesn’t welcome one variety of bean or another. Butter beans bulk out a veggie traybake, black beans take a chilli further, chickpeas stretch a curry and haricot beans make a delicious stew with any leftover chicken from a Sunday roast."
Learn more about types of beans and how to cook them and then try some of our favourite bean stew recipes, bean salad recipes and bean soup recipes.
4. Helen Salter, digital writer
"Ditch the overpriced pack of fresh edamame beans from the on-the-go section of the supermarket and buy a large pack of frozen soy beans instead. They’re perfect for throwing into midweek meals – such as stir-fries, rice bowls and salads – for a nutty nutritious boost, plus you get way more bang for your buck. Frozen blueberries are also a great economical choice, even in summer. I heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds or so then stir through porridge or Greek yogurt."
Discover our favourite edamame recipes.
5. Natalie Bass, senior digital reviews writer
"My top budgeting tip would be to grow your own. Seeds tend to be pretty cheap, and providing you give the seedlings everything they need (water, sunlight and a bit of fertiliser), they should flourish into a bountiful harvest that you can enjoy fresh or pop in the freezer. The tomatoes I’ve grown over the last few summers have been so plump and sweet, and worked perfectly in a pasta sauce or salad. Herbs also grow well on a windowsill if you don’t have any outdoor space."
Learn how to grow your own healthy seasonal fruit and vegetables.
6. Emily Knox, head of community growth
"I save and freeze bones and veg scraps for stock."
Try our vegetable stock recipe and more ideas for how to use up fruit and vegetable scraps.
7. Isabella Keeling, deputy health editor
"I am never without tinned anchovies, capers, garlic and chill flakes. You get plenty of bang for your buck with them all as they’re all all super flavoursome. At the end of the month when I’m counting the pennies, I make a cheap and cheerful supper where I fry all of the above in olive oil and toss through some spaghetti and a few handfuls of rocket."
Try our spaghetti with fennel, anchovies, currants, pine nuts & capers for a similarly budget-friendly yet delicious meal.
8. Emily Burg, digital content producer
"I keep all my chicken bones and then make a bone broth to drink that also helps with gut health."
Find out how to make bone broth, the health benefits of bone broth and then try our slow cooker bone broth.
9. Anna Glover, food director
"A money saving tip, but also time saving – I make a large batch of breaded chicken, wheat tortillas and pancakes to stash in the freezer. The breaded chicken goes straight into the air fryer for burgers, katsu curries and serving with herby butters, the pancakes get defrosted in the microwave, and the tortillas get rewarmed in the pan or in a microwave for lunchtime wraps and fajitas etc."
Discover our favourite katsu curry recipes and fajitas recipes.
10. Emily Marten, digital assistant
"My top tip to help me stick to my food budget is to plan out my meals for the week ahead and then make a shopping list of everything I need to buy. It means I can look forward to the upcoming meals and takes away the stress of worrying what to cook after a busy day at work. I generally leave at least one day off the schedule in case I have any last-minute dinner plans or extra leftovers – that way I don't buy more than I need and no food goes to waste."
Discover our whole-food meal plan and more one-pan budget meal plan.
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What's your top tip for reducing food costs?
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