If You’re Trying to Save Money on Groceries, These 5 Items Are Must-Buys

If your grocery bill has been climbing every week, I’m right there with you: Nowadays, it’s way too easy to head into a store, pick up a handful of items, and walk out having spent $100 or more. 

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To keep your grocery bill within budget — or, at the very least, less expensive than it potentially can be — you’ll want to fill your cart with these five must-buy items. They’re not just cheap, with most running far less than $10, but also highly versatile, giving you plenty of satisfying options you can turn to for any meal of the day.

Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

Tired of seeing tiny $4 containers of blueberries and $5 raspberries at your go-to grocery store? Same. But there’s a simple swap you can make to decrease your produce spending: Switch to frozen.

Frozen fruits and vegetables can cost as little as $1 per bag, and their per-ounce price ranges from $0.10 to $0.45. Even more importantly, these fruits and veggies won’t go bad nearly as quickly as their fresh counterparts. So, you’ll get more food at a cheaper price and avoid having to throw out mushy, rotten pieces if you aren’t able to eat it quickly enough.

Now, not every bag of frozen fruit or veggies is necessarily the cheapest option, so you’ll want to swing by the fresh produce to compare prices. As the USDA laid out in 2024, sometimes you’ll find that fresh carrots are cheaper than frozen or another of your favorite fruits is on sale for less than their frozen counterpart. But, in general, frozen is often the cheapest pick.

Rotisserie Chicken

Costco’s rotisserie chicken is famous for good reasons: It’s delicious, it makes a quick and easy meal, and it’s cheap. But regardless of whether you grab a rotisserie chicken from Costco, Sam’s Club, or another bulk retailer, it’s a great money-saving choice.

At just $4.99 for a roughly 3-pound bird (if you’re buying yours at Costco), that’s a great price compared to chicken you actually have to cook before eating.

In addition to tearing into the chicken and eating its meat, you can also turn a rotisserie chicken into so many more meals. Instead of reaching for raw chicken cuts for your casseroles, tacos, burritos, sandwiches, or even crockpot or one-pot meals, you can break down a rotisserie chicken and use its meat in these dishes. So it’s a money-saver and a time-saver in one.

Canned Chicken and Fish

Typically priced at under $2 to $3 a can, depending on the size, canned chicken and fish are a great money-saving item to grab at the grocery store. It’s a protein-rich pick that can round out plenty of dishes and meals, and it’s so easy to prepare in a pinch. Plus, swapping your usual freshly-cut seafood or chicken for these canned alternatives can allow you to keep eating meat and do more with your budget.

Best of all, in addition to being versatile (you can use canned chicken or fish in pretty much any recipe you’d use the non-canned versions in, including pasta, casseroles, and salads) these two canned foods are also able to be eaten hot or cold. That can be a time-saver and make them even more usable regardless of what you’re whipping up.

Beans

Beans are one of the most versatile and economical foods you can buy, which is why I always stock my cart (and my pantry) with a wide variety of them. Black, kidney, pinto, refried, with a touch of jalapeño — you can find beans in just about any form and with or without seasoning mixed in. 

Beans can be used in pretty much any way you can dream up. Protein-packed, fiber-rich, and hunger-satiating, they can take the place of meat in many recipes. Or, slip them into soups, add them to chili and casseroles, or sprinkle them atop bowls or salads. They can be eaten hot or cooked and cooled; they can be tasty on their own or when seasoned. Now that’s serious bang for your buck.

You have tons of options, too: You can opt for dried beans (which require soaking and a little more preparation, but are usually the cheapest kind) or canned (which are super easy to utilize, even if they’re slightly pricier). On average, a pound of dried beans costs $1.60 right now; the canned variety can cost anywhere from $0.90 to $2, depending on what you’re buying and the size of the can. 

Bananas

There’s one fruit you might not want to buy frozen, because when it’s fresh it’s cheap, easy to eat, and plenty satisfying. Oh, and it’s packed with nutrients, too. 

Bananas are rich in potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 — and they’re also under a dollar per banana. Right now, bananas are sitting at an average price of just $0.65 per pound. So, you can easily add a bunch (literally) to your cart when you’re shopping on a budget.

And while you can obviously eat bananas solo for a quick snack or pair them with other fruit, there are also so many other ways to use them. You can mash them into pancakes, turn them into muffins or loaves of bread, or even incorporate them in cakes. They can also become a natural sweetener, egg substitute, or creamy ice cream if you need to get creative.