Here are 30 easy ways to save money on meat and significantly reduce your grocery bill:
- Stretch meat further by adding it to pastas or rice and serving it with veggies, beans, bread, salad or starches
- Buy frozen meat
- Skip the deli
- Know the average price per pound for the different cuts of meats so you know when a sale is a good deal or not.
- Buy meat in bulk and divide your it into portions. Portion the meat a little less than you normally would (3/4 lb. instead of a whole pound) to make it last longer.
- Buy cheap cuts of meat and make crock pot meals out of them
- Buy a whole chicken instead of just the breasts and use the extra meat to make more meals (ex: chicken salad sandwiches, chicken pot pie)
- Buy canned meat and fish
- Substitute inexpensive vegetarian foods such as beans, eggs, tofu, and legumes for more expensive meat
- Buy a whole ham and get it sliced for cheaper lunch meat
- Have a Meatless Monday
- Grid your own meat (e.g buy chuck roast to make ground beef)
- Buy meat on sale (e.g. manager’s special, clearance, weekly deals)
- Stock up on hams and turkeys around the holidays when they are on sale and freeze them for later.
- Make your own marinade
- Shop at ethnic or speciality stores (like latin or asian markets for better deals on meats)
- Be aware that sometimes two different cuts are really the same exact meat, but are called different things and priced differently.
- Save bones to flavor soups and sides (e.g. ham hocks used to flavor beans)
- Know that quality of meat that you are buying and determine if it’s worth the price
- Cheapest meats are chicken legs, chicken thighs, ground beef, beef brisket, pork shoulder
- Consider buying meat from local farms
- Find coupons for meat
- Cut meat into smaller pieces (cubed, crumbled, thinner slices)
- Add breadcrumbs to the meat to make it last longer (examples: meatloaf, meatballs, tuna patties)
- Make meat an accent ingredient instead of the main ingredient
- Don’t buy pre-shaped hamburger patties or pre-marinaded meats. The convenience of these items increases the price you pay.
- Buy the family-sized meats
- If you really want lunchmeat from the deli, you can buy the ends of lunchmeat for a discounted price.
- Pay attention to the seasonal meat sales
- Know when the best time and day to get meat when it’s deeply discounted at your grocery store.