The decision is whether to cook or order in. In reality, it’s a question that many hard-working professionals and frugal families ask less expensive .
But all too frequently, people believe that eating out is a luxury for which you must pay a premium, whereas cooking at home is a more time- and labor-intensive but more affordable option.
It’s not always the case like that. In some cases, ordering out is less expensive than cooking a meal yourself. These meals not only relieve your stress and save you time in the kitchen, but they also cost less. Let’s look at six common meals in this article that are less expensive to order than to prepare from scratch.
Traditional Buffalo wings
The price of raw chicken wings from the grocery store is almost as expensive as wings that have been prepared in a restaurant. Supply chain problems may increase the price of chicken wings from the grocery store depending on where you reside.
This game-day favourite also needs a couple of extra ingredients to make it pass the mark. To create traditional Buffalo-style chicken wings, you’ll need fryer oil, hot sauce, and butter. Additionally, you must purchase carrots and celery to round out the dish (because what is dinner without vegetables? (often sold in bunches). Last but not least, blue cheese will need to be added to your grocery list because a buffalo wing is only as excellent as its dipping sauce.
The total cost of one pound of homemade chicken wings is
2. Burgers and Fries
Unexpectedly many ingredients can be found in hamburgers and fries. Burgers are reasonable to purchase in bulk when feeding a large group of people at a barbeque, but they are not more cost-effective to prepare for a small family.
You must purchase a minimum of ground beef, cheese, hamburger buns, tomatoes, a head of lettuce, an onion, a bottle each of mayonnaise and ketchup, and these ingredients. Moreover, you must purchase either boxed fries or potatoes and fryer oil (the latter of which is a pale imitation of restaurant French fries).
All in all, using a food delivery service instead of the grill saves money on burger night for a small household.
3. Bowls of poke
Any dish made with sushi-grade fish will typically cost less to order than to prepare. At specialized grocery stores, fish fit for sushi, such as tuna and salmon, can be extremely expensive. (Not to mention, it’s safer to leave raw fish to the pros).
You also need to purchase sushi rice, green onions, a bottle of soy sauce, a bottle of sesame seed oil, and a bottle of rice wine vinegar to make the popular Hawaiian dish known as poke bowls. Also, the recipe frequently asks for expensive veggies like avocados and edamame beans, which tend to cost more than regular vegetables.
With these additions, the average price of a handcrafted poke bowl per plate rises to almost $20. In contrast, poke bowls with free delivery cost about $16.
4. Burritos with all the fixings
It takes time, effort, and a lot of purchasing to make fully loaded burritos properly. In order to save space, we won’t list every single component used in loaded burritos, but you should plan to purchase at least 20 different ingredients.
Restaurants can purchase in large quantities for dishes they know they will prepare every day by buying in bulk. Families and home cooks are not as fortunate.
A handmade burrito generally costs roughly $23 in total. A convenient delivered burrito, on the other hand, costs about $14.
5. Rice and Naan with Butter Chicken
You can make authentic butter chicken pretty cheaply if you already have a wide variety of spices. Sadly, the majority of individuals have to go to the grocery shop or an Indian grocer to get their items.
For preparing a butter chicken spice blend, ingredients like coriander seed, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, and (difficult to find) fenugreek leaves are required. After that, you’ll need to purchase chicken, butter, cream, tomatoes, onions, rice, and naan bread, among other ingredients.
It’s a safer choice to order in given how cheap most Indian delivery restaurants are.
6. Classic Pad Thai Shrimp
Something similar to Pad Thai can be prepared at a reasonable price. For instance, home cooks frequently swap out more conventional ingredients like tamarind paste and fish sauce for everyday ones like ketchup and soy sauce.
It is less expensive to order delivery if you want a traditional Pad Thai, like you would find at a nice restaurant. Rice noodles, prawns, bean sprouts, peanuts, tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, eggs, and more are needed to make pad Thai. You might not be able to cook once you’ve finished all of your shopping!
Consider the actual cost of what you’re making the next time you’re deciding what to make for supper and whether to cook or order delivery. Allowing someone else to prepare meals can occasionally be more cost-effective and practical.
