Fresh, home-cooked meals are a labor of love, but they’re also often seen as a luxury. We don’t all have time to spend an hour chopping vegetables and preparing an elaborate meal after work, so many of us have to pick and choose what we can have homemade. But even in this age of convenience, there are certain foods that, once you start making them yourself, you’ll never want to touch a store-bought version of again.
Redditors have recently been sharing all of the ingredients and dishes they’ve realized are much tastier and more affordable when made at home, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts down below. Enjoy scrolling through this list that might give you some culinary inspiration, and be sure to upvote the foods you’ll only eat fresh from home as well!
#1
There's a thing I remember for a while back where an American asked a French person why they didn't respect American food they replied "You buy croutons"That always stuck with me.
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#2
I completely understand people buying just about anything rather than making it, especially products like stock, pasta, and bread that are simple to make but take more time than a lot of folks have.Having said that - buying guacamole confounds me, unless you don't have access to avocadoes, need a ton of guac for a party, or have a good Mexican grocer nearby where you can get quality guac. Making guac at home takes maybe five minutes, and it tastes substantially better than store-bought. Like I can get really good bread and pasta from the store, but any guac I could buy near me isn't gonna hold a candle to homemade.
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#3
Kind of related - "light" coconut milk is more expensive than normal coconut milk and it's generally just coconut milk with added water.Just buy the normal stuff and add water if you want it light. You effectively get twice as much for less.
Image credits: DuckingKoala
#4
Eh I understand that many people don't have the desire, time, skills or confidence to cook from scratch all the time. So whilst I bake my own cakes, make my own pasta and ferment my own kimchi and it is all way better and cheaper, I can understand why it's not for everyone.I will say though I don't understand pancake mix or bread dough mix. That is literally just flour/sugar/salt/yeast mixed together and you still have to add milk or eggs or water. It saves you a couple of mins of measuring stuff but costs like 10x more than the individual ingredients. You still have to bake it or cook it so doesn't save you time there. Really baffles me!
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#5
ready made rice
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#6
Caramel corn. The tubs of Topsy's here in Kansas City are something like $15 for a gallon? I can make twice that for about $3...and do at least twice a year.Although I do miss the old KaramelKorn shops in the malls, I also miss the malls....and being 12.
But my caramel corn is awesome.
Image credits: kcbirder11
#7
Making popcorn in a wok with coconut oil at home is a game changer. Moist, fluffy popcorn with only 3-4 unpopped kernels. Haven't bought a single bag of microwave popcorn since.
Image credits: KinkyQuesadilla
#8
Hummus.Chick peas are super cheap, but hummus is super expensive? Wtf.
Image credits: Knytemare44
#9
Homemade Mayo lasts a couple days. A jar of store Mayo lasts months. No way it’s something I’m going to do unless it’s for something special.Pasta sauce is something I just make myself. Good canned tomatoes, onion, garlic and some occasional additions beyond that. Freeze in containers.
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#10
Alfredo sauce. It's only like 3 ingredients (minus seasoning), and most people already have them on hand? The jarred stuff tastes like vomit
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#11
Salad dressings. So easy and flexible to make with whatever you have on hand, and exponentially more delicious. I would just as soon not have a salad than have one with bottled Italian dressing.
Image credits: Substantial-Sky3081
#12
Pesto. Homemade is literally miles better than store bought, especially when you can customize it however you like, and you can make use of fresh herbs
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#13
Ice tea. So simple and easy to make at home
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#14
People who don't eat the bread crusts, throw them out, and then buy breadcrumbs.....
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#15
Those pouches of pre-cooked rice that taste all stale and waxy. or even the frozen cooked rice pouches.rice is the easiest thing in the world to cook. It takes hardly any time at all, and it's dirt cheap.
Image credits: apple-masher
#16
Maybe less cooking and more drinking, but simple syrup.The prices for a small bottle at the grocery store were almost as expensive per oz as the rum I was using in my mojitos. It’s literally just water and sugar boiled together in equal parts. Now I make a gallon of it at the beginning of summer and enjoy mojitos with mint from my garden all season.
Image credits: MarginallySeaworthy
#17
Sandwiches. I mean standard bread meat cheese veggies condiments.I refuse to buy subway. They cost too much for something I can make at home in 2min.
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#18
Bearnaise sauce. It is so much better from scratch than the grocery store bagged/powdered sauce. And Anthony Bourdain warned people about ordering Bearnaise sauce on eggs Benedict in restaurants once, I think it was something like "only order Bearnaise sauce/eggs Benedict on Sunday, because that's the only day you get it fresh" or something like that.As far as coleslaw, there never really is much variety at the grocery stores. If you start making it yourself, and you get into it, the different ingredients you can put into a slaw, and the different flavors you can get out of it is mind blowing (truth in advertising: I'm in that stage now, been making 1 coleslaw a week for about 3 months, starting to get adventurous).
Image credits: KinkyQuesadilla
#19
Cookies!#20
There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t even know about until I saw it in a store, like crunchy chili sauce. Now I can make it at home, but I love trying new things I see in stores. A couple of things I think are awful in stores and fabulous made at home are antipasto in a jar and potato salad from grocery store delis. Those two things made at home are a couple of my favorites, but the grocery store version (that I’ve tried) are awful
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#21
Chicken noodle soup…quick, simple, makes a lot, you can freeze it, so much better than canned soup.
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#22
Stock. The stuff from the store is either crazy expensive or flavored water.
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#23
Home made fried tortilla chips and homemade salsa.
Image credits: knittingthemoon
#24
Coffee…. I want that first thing. I don’t want to put clothes on, drive a few miles, wait in line just to spend $6 on a simple (or complex) coffee. There’s nothing better than waking up to the smell of coffee that turned itself on 15 minutes before I have to get up
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#25
Pasta sauce! Alfredo, bolognese, all. Waaay better and far less expensive. I usually make double batches and freeze half, then, when in a pinch, all you have to do it boil some pasta!
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#26
Don’t know how much cheaper it would be (and only useful during holidays), but cranberry sauce. It’s so much better made from scratch and it takes almost no time.
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#27
Frosting for cake, that stuff in a can is so subpar. Also, stir fry sauces. The ones at the store are generally loaded with sugar and not as tasty.#28
Pickles. Pickle prices can be crazy! If it’s something like dill that has a blend of herbs I don’t really want to make, sure. But I pretty much always keep onions, cucumbers, couple other things pickled and ready to go.#29
Pasta! Ok so maybe not cheeper but so worth it. I’m still hit or miss on getting the dough just right and getting it to dry right for storing, but when I nail it there’s nothing better. Bread is the same. I’ve got pretzels mastered, working on my bagels. Homemade gravy!!! So easy, sooo good! I’ve already roasted a chicken, why dump all the pan juices out when I can make a big pot of gravy and freeze some for another day?? Also anyone here have canning advice? Asking for a friend lol.#30
Baby food, it’s so easy to roast a potato or steam peas.#31
Pico de gallo.Tomatoes, I fire roast mine.
Jalapeños
Onions
Cilantro
Fresh squeezed lime juice
A little Sicilian sea salt
It beats the hell out store bought and is better than most Mexican food restaurants. I can’t make any Mexican dishes without making homemade Pico as well.
#32
Already roasted beets... beets themselves are relatively cheap and it is easy to roast them. The packaged roasted ones are always way more expensive.#33
Hard boiled eggs.
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#34
I have to make my own bread, because the race to the bottom in the bakery industry has produced nothing but overpriced c**p, and independent bakeries are a distant memory.Another thing is learning to make pro-quality pizza. In the restaurant industry, the food cost in a typical pizza is vanishingly small.
#35
Mustard: I learned how and will never buy it again. Plus, you can customize a recipe to your exact preferences. Mine is a Dijon style, with white wine, fresh local horseradish and a touch of local maple syrup.#36
Learned how to make ghee the other day. Way easier than I thought and about 25% of the price of the pre made stuff#37
Those frozen packs of pulled pork. Sure, smoking it takes a lot of time and technique. But you can make some damn good pulled pork in your crockpot or countertop roasting pan for about the same price and have enough to fill like five of those store bought packs.#38
Fruit trays. They're SO expensive and you could just cut it up yourself and have so much more fruit ?#39
Maybe not stores, but I never buy steaks from restaurants anymore. Ever since I learned the reverse sear and sous vide techniques and got a good thermometer, it has ruined steakhouses for me. It just feels like a gamble whether that day the chef knows how to cook a steak correctly. I’d rather spend the restaurant markup money on a nicer cut and do it at home, and I can eat it in my PJs and watch whatever trashy TV show I want.Edited a word spelling is hard.
#40
Soup, stew, chilli or gumbo. No can or restaurant can beat the quality, taste or value of making fresh at home.#41
Taco seasoning. We make our own in a huge batch.
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#42
Gravy#43
I pretty much only eat beans from dry. On occasion I’ll do canned but they’re just so much better when cooked on my own. I even do stovetop and not the instant pot because I like to add things over the course of several hours. But I totally understand people just sticking with canned. Beans take forever on the stovetop.Hummus is very easy to make at home, but I always buy the stuff already made mostly because I can’t be bothered to clean out my food processor.
#44
Coleslaw. Just cut up cabbage and add dressing- why buy it already covered in dressing? Cabbage keeps better without dressing on it.#45
Tomato sauce. Much cheaper to buy better quality canned tomatoes and stew for a few hrs#46
Pizza, there is no good pizza place near me, and making a decent pie at home is cheap and easy once you know how. I can make a good pie for like $3 and it's a great way to use leftover anything.#47
Whipped Cream.#48
Mashed potatoes, in australia instant mash isn’t super popular but I don’t get why anyone would choose it over homemade mash tbh#49
Apple sauce, apple sauce, apple sauce!!!!!!!#50
I can't think of a single item that can't be explained through lack of knowledge, time, physical ability, or availability of raw materials.If I had to pick something, it would be fresh pasta out of the refrigerated section, though. (Says the person whose never made her own pasta, so I guess I better get on that so I can back up my own claims)
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#51
Potato salad, store bought is so sickly sweet, I like how much vinegar I can adjust etc. I can do it with or without homemade pickle/relish. I can make my own mayo for it. I can really get the right texture on the potato.#52
Pre-cut veggies in a package.
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#53
Minced or pureed garlic. I can whip it on ya faster than you can spoon it from a jar.#54
quiche is typically pretty expensive out, but really easy to make at home.
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#55
Kind of an obscure one but premixed hot mustard/wasabi. Throw a bag of wasabi powder in the freezer and it’ll last you pretty much your whole life, all you need to do to is mix it with a little water and it’ll be far more potent than anything you’ll find in a tube.
Image credits: ahrumah
#56
BBQ sauce. Taco seasoning. Chili kits like Shelby's.#57
Seasonings that include salt.#58
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