It’s a classic question for any adult with a stomach and a wallet: Is fast food cheaper than cooking at home? And there is no easy answer.
“The answer depends entirely on how much you value your time, and how much you value your health, as well as your wallet,” says Chip Carter, the producer and host of a national TV show “Where the Food Comes From.”
“Your time is worth money, no doubt. So that has to factor into the equation. Poor health costs a lot too, so there’s the flipside of that,” Carter adds.
Still, you worry about clearing the plates, and we’ll try to clear up the mystery of whether fast food or cooking at home is cheaper.
[READ:Prepare for Higher Grocery Bills in These Food Categories]
Is It Cheaper to Cook or Eat Out?
For those who want a quick and easy answer: It’s generally cheaper to cook food at home than eat out.
The reason so many people can get stuck on the question is the human psychology variable. People don’t always spend wisely, and it isn’t as if prices are always the same at a supermarket or a fast food restaurant. There’s always a deal to be had, a discount to be scored — and if you can cook a meal a dozen different ways, that can mean a dozen different ways to pay for it.
It’s certainly possible to buy cheap fast food that costs far less than a comparable meal that you make at home.
For instance, at the time of this writing, you can get a McDonald’s McChicken for $1.79. If you wanted to replicate that at home, without spending more than $1.79, there is simply no way that you’re going to be able to make a chicken sandwich at home for a similarly cheap price, if for no other reason than chicken breasts typically come in a package, where you’re paying for several chicken breasts and not just one. You’d also have to buy the bread and some lettuce. So you’d probably spend $10 to make one chicken sandwich.
In other words, if you’re just comparing one meal to another, you can certainly find cheap food at fast food restaurants, and you can make the argument that it’s cheaper to eat out.
If you’re making a meal for yourself and several family members, or if you don’t mind having leftovers or freezing the extra chicken you bought and having it later, then it’s easy to see how going to the supermarket is going to be cheaper than going out for carryout or getting delivery.
For instance, Carter says, “A bean burrito at Taco Bell costs $1.19.” At the grocery store, Carter says, “I can get a pack of 10 tortillas for $2 and some vac-packed refried beans and a little shredded cheese and make 10 bean burritos at home in a few seconds in the microwave for about $6.”
Each burrito would cost 60 cents, and Carter asserts that he’ll have a better burrito.
But if you didn’t want to spend more than $1.19, then, with Carter’s example, you’d go to Taco Bell and not the grocery store. Overall, the more food you make at home, the math tends to work out so that your food expenses will be considerably cheaper.
What Is the Average Fast Food Spending per Year?
How much the average American spends a year on fast food varies.
According to research conducted last year by Popmenu, which specializes in restaurant technologies, 30% of all consumers spend an average of $180 a week on restaurant food. That would be $9,360 a year for some households.
On the other hand, last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put out a Consumer Expenditure Survey that suggested Americans spend, on average, $2,375 a year on fast food and other restaurants.
Whatever Americans spend, it’s a lot.
How Do Fast Food Prices Stack Up Against Prices for Cooking at Home?
To a large extent, whether fast food or groceries is cheaper comes down to how you spend your food budget. Are you purchasing the highest quality ingredients? Are you buying prime rib or less pricey pork chops at the grocery? Are you reading recipe blogs and constantly buying 20 different ingredients for each meal? When you go out to a restaurant, do you look at the prices or just get what looks good? Do you look for deals?
If you aren’t careful, both going to the supermarket or a fast food outlet can be very pricey.
Still, Carter — who buys a lot of food for the TV show — says that “dollar-for-dollar, it’s an easy answer. Cooking at home wins hands down.”
“There are huge markups on fast food. Believe it or not, grocery store prices don’t have the same margin, though that’s hard to imagine these days,” Carter says. “Margins in farming are also very low — again, surprising but true. In most cases, rather than raise prices further for consumers, retailers ask farmers to take even more pay cuts on what they’re producing. Restaurants can charge what the market will bear.”
It comes down to how you shop — and how you go out to eat.
Yelena Wheeler, a registered dietitian nutritionist with MIDSS.org, a health and wellness website, has several suggestions for people wanting to lower their bill at the supermarket.
— Purchase fruits and vegetables in season. And if you want fruit or vegetables when they aren’t in season? Buy them frozen, Wheeler says. “People often forget how amazing frozen vegetables can be. They can easily be added to any recipe: a quick omelet, on those breakfast-for-dinner nights, a casserole or a stir fry.”
— Buy only perishables that you have a plan for. If you want to try out a new recipe that you saw, Wheeler suggests only doing it if you don’t have a busy week ahead. If that’s the case, “this may not be the week to purchase proteins and short shelf-life foods that will likely not be used.”
— Purchase shelf stable items. Wheeler is talking grocery items like tuna, crackers, instant rice and pasta. All delicious foods that don’t expire fast, so there’s no rush to make sure they’re consumed quickly.
— Explore store brands. “They are often less expensive and often come with coupons,” Wheeler says.
— Check the discounted area of the grocery store. “They often place items that are close to expiration or the package was damaged,” Wheeler says. But if it’s still tasty to eat and extra cheap, it may be just what you’re looking for.
[Read: How to Save Money When Online Grocery Shopping.]
What About the Time Cooking Takes?
There’s no doubt about it. If you’re driving from work to home, it’s going to be faster to stop and pick up some carryout dinner and bring it home. Or it’s at least comparable to the time it would take to get home and put something in the microwave.
But culinary experts have a lot of suggestions for shortening your cooking time. If you want to cook more at home, but reduce your time, try doing the following:
Cook a lot. It’ll save you time eventually. “The more frequently you cook, the faster you become,” says Melanie Underwood, a chef and the founder of Gather Culinary, an educational center based out of New York City that offers online and in-person cooking and baking classes.
Seek out help. Have your family members or friends make the meal with you, Underwood suggests. It’ll go faster and be more fun.
Wing it. Obviously, follow a recipe if you aren’t experienced in the kitchen, but you can wing it a little. “Saving time with cooking requires someone to be flexible in the kitchen. You don’t need to measure every ingredient. You can eyeball,” Underwood says.
Look for time-saving shortcuts. “Think smarter when you are getting your ingredients together,” Underwood says. “If a recipe calls for whisking milk and eggs together, do so in your measuring cup, don’t get another receptacle. That will save lots of time on dishes.”
What Are the Benefits of Cooking at Home?
Aside from saving money, one of the best benefits about cooking at home is that you’ll probably eat more healthy foods than you otherwise would. That’s not guaranteed, of course. Supermarkets sell items like jelly-filled doughnuts, and you can buy plenty of processed, unhealthy foods at the grocery. Likewise, at a fast food restaurant, it isn’t always bacon burgers and curly fries. You can seek out low-calorie, healthy salads and wraps, especially at fast casual restaurants.
Still, as Carter says, when you cook or bake at home, you can “control the ingredients that go in — something you can’t do with fast food or processed food. We decide how much oil, salt, whatever goes into what we make, so there’s a huge health advantage.”
What Are Ways to Cut Down on Your Grocery Budget?
There are a number of ways you can reduce your supermarket bill. You may want to try the following:
Use everything you buy. Underwood says that’s one of the best ways to save money. “What people typically throw away can usually be cooked, which is a big money saver,” she says. “For instance, if you purchase a head of broccoli, you might roast the florets, but most people throw away the stalk. Don’t. Use it for broccoli slaw.”
Underwood continues: “Are you buying carrots, radishes, or beets? Use the tops for pesto or sauté with some garlic. Cauliflower stalks, cut up and sauté or make soup. Potato skins make a great crispy treat. Instead of tossing them in the trash, fry them in a little bit of oil and sprinkle them with salt. Also, if you use recipes, know you can be adaptable in what it calls for. If a recipe calls for a small amount of two types of herbs, use one and double it. Use what you have on hand before buying more. This might be an unconventional way of saving money, but it works.”
Get a meat freezer. You may not be interested in spending a lot of money to eventually save a lot of money, but if you cook a lot of meals, that’s an appliance that can come in very handy to store extra food.
Have a “cookdown” day. That’s what Carter calls batch cooking, which he does with his wife, Donna, a food editor and associate field producer on their show. They have five adult kids and grandchildren, so they’re often cooking for large groups.
“We’ll pick a random Saturday and Sunday for a cookdown day. We might make three or four main dishes — chicken parm, pasta sauces, pat out a few burgers, put up some steaks,” he says. In a standalone freezer, the Carters will store the food for later. Sometimes, he says, they’ll cook the food part-way through and finish it later, “or just prep and have ready to pop in the oven or microwave.”
[Read: Best Discount Shopping Apps.]
What Are Ways to Eat Out on a Budget?
While it may be generally cheaper to go to the supermarket, you can still find cheap fast food. Here are some tips and techniques you may want to try to make your cheap fast food even cheaper.
Just buy the main dish. If you’re getting carryout and taking it home, Wheeler has an interesting suggestion.
“Consider purchasing only the protein entree and not all of the sides,” she says. “The protein is something that takes the most time to cook. And on days when there is no time or energy, it’s the last thing one would like to do. However, sides such as steamable vegetables and instant rice are quite inexpensive and can take minutes to prepare.”
Along with saving money, you’ll also potentially make your meal healthier. You could get the high-calorie burger you want, skip the fries and have some microwaveable vegetables for your side.
And unless you’re parched, you’ll want to skip the drinks. Your liquid refreshments add plenty to the bill as well.
Look for the value menus. Some fast food restaurants, like McDonald’s, Burger King and Sonic Drive-In, have value meals where you can typically find food for a couple bucks. It may be not the healthiest fare on the menu, but it’s the cheapest.
Coupons in the mail. They’re easy to forget about, but odds are, you’re getting direct mail coupons to fast food outlets that you’re tossing out when they could be helping you save a few bucks a meal.
Join the restaurant’s loyalty program. As you’re probably well aware, if you use the restaurant’s app, they’ll probably send you digital coupons and alert you to various discounts.
Buy restaurant gift cards strategically. There are gift card websites like Raise.com and CardBear.com, where you can buy discounted gift cards. It may not be an amazing discount, but it could save you a few bucks. If you’re getting a gift card to a coffeehouse or restaurant for 8% off, the math would work out so that you’re paying $46 for a $50 gift card. Just don’t forget to use the restaurant gift card; plenty of gift cards end up going unused.
If you’re sold on frequenting your grocery store more often, keep in mind that some stores, like Kroger, will give you points to go toward buying discounted gas or other perks.
The main point in all of this, however, is that it’s important to pay attention to what you’re buying, whether you’re looking at fast food or wandering down the grocery aisle. It’s when we aren’t paying attention and just going through the motions of shopping that we end up paying the most.
[READ: Best Restaurant Apps That Get You Free Food.]
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Is Fast Food Cheaper Than Cooking at Home? originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/28/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
