Shopping

Cook from scratch, skip ready meals

Shopping bag with fresh vegetables on wooden table, illustrative depiction of shopping tips category

Home-cooked averages 40 percent less than ready meals.

$9-20 per week 5 min Updated 2026-04-22

Contents

  1. How to do it
  2. Common mistakes
  3. Bottom line

Frozen pizza costs 2.50-4 €. Homemade from flour, tomatoes, cheese: ~0.80 €. Takes 15 minutes. Savings for a family of 4: 1,500-2,000 € per year.

Step by step

Ready-made products have markups of 200-400% over raw materials. You pay for packaging, logistics, ads, profit. Store-bought carbonara: 3.50 €. Homemade: egg (0.30 €) + bacon (0.50 €) + pasta (0.40 €) + pecorino (0.40 €) = 1.60 €. Time? 12 minutes, same as before. If you cook 5-6 days a week (not daily), you save 50-70% on your grocery bill on average. Plus: you know what's in it. No emulsifiers, no hidden allergen surprises.

Source: BMEL Consumer Report, Average markup on ready-made meals: 200-400% vs. homemade

Step by step

  1. Choose beginner recipesNot: beef wellington (demanding). Instead: chicken stir-fry (chicken breast + veggies + oil, 15 min), pasta veggie (10 min), potato pot (20 min). All succeed.
  2. Batch cookSunday: roast 2 meats, prep 2 veggies. Monday-Wednesday: reheat. Thursday: fresh again. Efficient.
  3. Learn basics from YouTubePasta: boil salted water, add noodles, 8-12 min (depends on type), drain, butter + seasonings. No secrets, just technique.
  4. Start a two-recipe rotationWeekly plan: Monday & Friday meat recipe, Tuesday & Thursday veggie, Wednesday something quick (pasta), Saturday variation. Easy to remember.
  5. Stock quick ingredientsBasics: oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion. Regular: eggs, yogurt, meat. Produce/veggies by season. With these, you can always cook something.

Worked example

Before: Family M. buys ready-made twice a week for 'quick nights': 5 × 3.50 € = 17.50 € per week. Annual budget for ready-made: 910 €.
After: Family M. learns 4-5 quick recipes, cooks 4 nights herself: 4 × 2 € ingredients = 8 € per week. Annual budget: 416 €. Savings: 494 €.

How many ready-made meals do you eat per week? Calculate your from-scratch potential.

Keywords and context

This tip is written for households that want to cut energy and cost-of-living spending concretely. It complements the other measures in the same category and has the greatest effect when combined with them.

shoppingsave energyhouseholdcut coststipefficiency
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Frequently asked questions

Doesn't cooking take time? Isn't that a luxury for the rich?
No: a simple chicken-veggie dish takes 15 minutes, same as defrosting frozen pizza. It's not about time, it's about habit. The first 3 recipes take learning time, then it's automatic.
What do I buy if I'm unsure?
Eggs, chicken breast, potatoes, seasonal veggies, rice, oil. These 7 items make ~30 different dishes. You can get through a week without recipe stress.
Is homemade really cheaper than sale ready-made?
Yes. Sale ready-made: 1.50 € instead of 3 € = still 2-3× pricier than homemade (0.50-0.80 €). Homemade always wins.
How do I combine this with other tips?
Effects stack: the more tips applied, the higher the saving up to a cap.

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Two hours of meal prep kill impulse ordering for the week.

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