20+ Cheap Food Items You Should Store Now
This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you purchase via our links. See the disclosure page for more info.
Now that stores are starting to get more items in, you may be wondering about some foods you can begin to store now. I wanted to put together a list of 20+ cheap food items you should store now. The next time you’re at the store, check out these cheap foods you can easily stock up on. Everyone loves eating, especially after a disaster. Don’t forget to have a few manual can openers.
In case you missed my post on How To Make Flour Tortillas
Cheap Foods You Should Store Now
If I’m being honest, cheap foods are the best foods to store. They don’t cost much money, so you can slowly stock up on food as you go to the store. Inexpensive foods only cost you a few dollars per unit. Remember that stocking up isn’t just going to the store to buy a bunch of stuff at once. It’s slowly stocking up on items as time and money allow it. I have more ideas in my book as well, “Prepare Your Family For Survival”.
- Rice – Everyone knows my stance on rice. It is such a cheap item to stock up on, and you can still find it at the store. Buy as big a bag of rice as you can afford. You won’t regret it.
- Beans – You already know that beans are such a cheap protein and such an essential part of cooking during a pandemic and any other time, too. How To Cook Beans.
- Peanut butter – I don’t know about you, but peanut butter is one of those things that I enjoy eating, especially during a pandemic.
- Eggs – If you can get your hands on farm-fresh eggs, they seriously last a long time. If you have the time, you can also scramble them and then freeze them in an appropriate container.
- Canned Tomatoes – One of my favorite cheap foods to stock up on and store now is canned tomatoes. If you can stock up on these, do it!
- Peanuts – Yes, if you can stock up on peanuts at the store, go for it. While they aren’t the cheapest, you can sometimes find them on sale, which is very helpful during a pandemic. Nuts can be very filling, and they are generally really good for you.
- Ramen Noodles – I think we can all agree that there isn’t any other food out there that’s as cheap as Ramen Noodles. If you see them, make sure you stock up!
- Oatmeal – When my girls were younger, all it took was some oatmeal to fill them up. Right now, overnight oats are a huge thing and so delicious!
- Frozen fruits and veggies – You can’t forget to eat healthy, even during a pandemic, so it’s wise that you stock up on fruits and veggies when you can. Frozen seems to be the cheapest way to stock up!
- Flour – I know you hear me say this one all the time, but flour is a great item to have on hand, and it’s so inexpensive.
- Crackers – I have posted a recipe on how to make your own crackers, but you should also buy them if you find them on sale. How To Make Homemade Crackers
- Canned meat – When I’m at the grocery store, canned meat is always my go-to. You can buy canned meat a lot cheaper, and you don’t have to worry about it going bad quickly.
- Spaghetti Sauce – is cheap right now. Sure, I can make it from scratch, but sometimes I want a heat-and-serve dinner. I can boil the pasta and pour the heated sauce over it. So easy!
- Flour Tortillas – I ALWAYS have ready-to-serve flour tortillas in the freezer. I also like to freeze several packages of the uncooked flour tortillas. Yes, I can make my own tortillas, but if I spend the day writing and researching, sometimes I need a quick meal. I can add some cooked onions and bell peppers with refried beans, and dinner will be ready in no time. Please note: I buy several packages of medium-sized flour tortillas at Costco and then place 4-6 tortillas in one-gallon-size bags and freeze them. When I need tortillas, I remove a bag from the freezer as needed.
- Salsa – I love salsa on just about everything, I highly recommend stocking up a few jars.
- Pasta – If you need to feed several bellies, then pasta is a good option. You can almost always find pasta on sale at your favorite store.
- Popcorn – Honestly, this is one cheap food that I’m not afraid to stock up on. It’s inexpensive and filling. Plus, you can add toppings to the popcorn for a special flavor treat.
- Potatoes – One food that is cheap and lasts a few weeks is potatoes. You can buy these and make many different dishes with them. Plus, making mashed potatoes in the middle of a pandemic isn’t a bad idea.
- Chocolate – This is a food that is inexpensive, but can be so good. When you are stressed and trying to deal with the pandemic, you can take a little chocolate out of the freezer to relax and enjoy.
- Canned Veggies – Another easy food to stock up on is canned veggies. They seem to last forever, and you can find them cheaply.
- Boxed Cake Mixes – When you want something sweet, but don’t want to spend a lot of money, a boxed cake is a perfect way to go. Stock up on boxed cake mixes if you can.
- Cheese – I make a lot of foods with cheese. When I can buy it on sale, I do. It’s incredible how many different meals you can make with cheese. I freeze grated/shredded cheese all the time. Sometimes I freeze it in the bags it comes in, or fill a quart or some pint mason jars with grated cheese before freezing it.
- Seasonings – While this may not be a food directly, it’s something essential to stock up on whenever you can! Your food won’t taste delicious without some seasonings.
Why Should I Stock Up on Cheap Foods?
Well, if you want to stock up on expensive foods, you can. However, cheap foods are helpful when times are tough. Cheap foods allow you to stock up a little at a time, which is essential. Not many people can afford to run out and stock up on tons of expensive food at one time. One can at a time, and one box of pasta at a time is how we do it!
Related: 10 Low-Cost Ways to Prep
Final Word
The next time you are at the store, look and see what you can stock more cheaply. If coffee is on sale, grab an extra container. Stocking up should be done over time. You can do this! What is one cheap food that you like to stock up on? I’d love to know in the comment section. What do you think about my list of inexpensive foods you should store now? May God bless this world, Linda.
Copyright Images: Wheat Flour Tortillas Deposit photos_46480169_s-2019
So, this may be a dumb question, what is the best way to freeze store bought tortillas. Asking for a friend!
Hi Karl, no question is ever a dumb one. Thanks for the reminder, I just added this to the post: Please note: I buy several packages of the medium size flour tortillas at Costco and then place 4-6 tortillas in one-gallon size bags and freeze them. When I need tortillas I remove a bag from the freezer as needed. I don’t like to buy really big ones, I buy the ones that are line 8-9-inch in diameter. Let your friend know, I love it! Linda
Would it be a good idea to freeze them individually on a parchment paper lined cookie tray first and then bag them?
Hi Karl, I just stack them together and place them in a one-gallon freezer bag. I buy 12 packages of tortillas at a time. I would never have the time to freeze them individually. It’s just me and they never stick to each other once they thaw in the frig. I have been doing this for years. The corn tortillas crumble so I rarely stock up on them. Linda
Freezer space is very dear here but I like flour tortillas. I thought about what would I do if I could not find them any more so I bought The mexican masa to make my own. It is cheap and available at your grocery store. I also have flour in gallon cans from the LDS church. Also cheap. Cheerio !
Hi Donald, oh homemade tortillas are the best ever!! I have two bags of Mexican Masa in my freezer! I love making tortillas! Linda
Karl, Not sure how anyone else does it but I vac seal them in a food saver bag after I take them out of the original packaging. I put some freezer paper in between the tortillas before I vac seal them I can then take them out of the vac seal bag and thaw them on a paper towel when needed. So far for me it works.
Linda, I stock up on and vac seal pasta, either in jars or the vac seal bags, depending on the shape of the noodles. All kinds of shapes and flavors. I do watch the whole wheat types though as they can go stale sometimes due to the oil in whole wheat.
Hi Kathy, yes, the whole pasta goes rancid faster than regular pasta. I like the idea of the paper towel between the tortillas. I may try that with the tortillas that I buy uncooked. Great tip! Linda
In my HO, a dumb question is one not asked.
I love the ideas you post here! Never thought to stock up on tortillas but will have to pick some up when I shop this week. Could. You also share your Best recipe to make them?
Hi Debbie, I should have added it to the post. Here it is https://www.foodstoragemoms.com/how-to-make-flour-tortillas-from-scratch/. I will go add it to the post. Thanks for the reminder, Linda
Store YEAST…why ,sure are some breads you can make without YEAST but Incase you did not see my comment I made a short while ago ,it is one of those items that wii run out on the shelves over night. Home made lasts if stored Correct,1 year. And when you start go run low yow can make another year’s batch. And can keep going year after year.I hope food storage Mom kept the recipe so you can use it to make all of the YEAST you will ever need. Grow whole GRAIN AND DO NOT GRIND IT TILL YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE SOMETHING WITH. It Will. GO RANCID IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME DUE TO THE OILS IN THE GRAIN. FREEZES ITH GRAIN FOR 3 Or 4 DAYS AND VACUUM SEAL IT. Then keep it frozen until you are ready to grind some more
Hi Michele, great comment, yes store yeast or make my sourdough bread which uses no yeast. I’m like you, I only grind my wheat when I need it or store some in the freezer to use within a month. Linda
You can make your own tortillas. I bought 5 lb bag of the flour and corn tortilla mix at our local store. I will be making some before too long. You can also make them with all purpose flour. Just google for the recipe. There are a lot out there.
I have stocked up on almost all of these. I have a recipe for cake mix that I’ll use instead of the boxed. Sugar free boxed mixes are limited in flavors. Hubby is diabetic. I do have a stock of Splenda and Stevia. So many bags my cubbard Is full. LOL I have more of those than Sugar. Although, I do have some sugar.
I forgot to add that I need to stock up on more tomato products. Sauce, crushed, and diced. Also, V-8 juice. I use it in soups Instead of tomato juice. I have to admit I buy the store brand, and can’t tell the difference except in my grocery bill.
Hi Deborah, I can make all types of tortillas, my blog has several tortilla recipes. Life is so good when you can cook from scratch! Linda
This is so true. And, it’s healthier for you. Even if it’s cheaper. Too many people can only cook from a box. It’s sad. I wonder what they’ll do when they can’t get boxed meals. I do like convenient occasionally, but not a steady diet of it. My favorite meals are all vegetables. With cornbread of course. Gotta have some cornbread. I grew up eating veggie meals most of the time. We did have breakfast meat, and about twice a week, we’d have meat at dinner. The rest of the time, we ate fresh or home canned veggies. Or from the freezer. Peas or dried beans, corn and potatoes were staples for our meals. I love it still.
Hi Deborah, I like the idea of a one layer cake or a recipe that makes 12 cookies! I swear I sometimes think I still have 6 people living at home and there are only 2 of us!! LOL! I freeze leftovers or we eat them the next day. I love cornbread too! Yummy! Linda
I call the left overs, Encore meals. LOL We usually eat them the next day, too. IF I cook enough. We had large Lima beans and cabbage with cornbread tonight. The cornbread was left over from last night. Wast not, want not.
I definitely recommend getting extra food within your limits especially right now. This is a good list.
Having extra isn’t some paranoid kook thing rather it’s smart because of threats that are present or likely to be. It doesn’t matter if it’s political, geographical or whatever.
Play it smart and be safe.
Matt, I agree with you. We never know what will come our way. I’ve felt that a big, bad depression is coming. I’ve felt this way for a while now. I don’t want my family to go hungry. Hubby and I are retires, so finances are limited, but we buy extras on sale. We have found that we can buy mail-order on some veggies, cheaper that on sale at the stores. We keep an eye on prices.
I learned from the best to stock up. My grandmother, born in 1901, and my Mother, born in 1928. Both always had extra food. I miss them both so much. I didn’t learn enough from them.
My motto is “Hope for the Best. Prepare for the Worst.”
Hi Matt, we must stock up whenever we go to a store. We have to be smart to stock up we will eat and know how to cook. If we can cook from scratch we will never starve as long as our pantry is stocked! Great comment, Linda
I like the idea of storing some boxed cake mixes and brownie mixes too. These were handy to have when we had our lock-down here because I wasn’t using my flour to make them. I used my flour for bread and biscuit making. This is a very good list!
Hi Paula, I love stocking up on cake mixes when they go on sale. I need to grab some brownie mixes, thanks for the reminder! I’m glad you like the list. I’m working on another one as well. Thank you, Linda
I make cake mixes and brownie mixes in jars. One layer cakes are good for the two of us. And I can make them sugar free for hubby. Store in jars and use as needed. I try to keep a couple of each in stock at all times.
I forgot cookie mix in jars too.
Hi Linda, What I love about your site, is that you give people a way to start. Some sites I have visited, make it seem if you aren’t living in the woods, with an outhouse and no electricity, you are sunk.
Thanks for all the common sense things that we can do to prepare.
Hi Janet, thank you for your kind words. I love to go camping or at least I did when I was younger with our family. I’m prepared to stay in my home, where I can cook, bake, and use my skills. I will not head to the middle of the woods, it doesn’t make sense for me anyways. We can do what we need to right in our own home unless of course, my house falls apart by an earthquake. Then I will leave! Stay safe, Linda
I would add locally sourced honey to that list.
One of our favorite easy meals is something my wife calls Cherry Valley Burritos. Cook and drain 1 lb of ground beef (we use chuck for more flavor). Add 1/2-2/3 cup of La Victoria Green sauce and a couple of dashes of tabasco to the ground chuck and heat it up for a few minutes.
Using 6 or 8″ flour tortillas, butter one side then place is buttered side down on a large baking tray. Place 2 heaping tbsps of the beef mix into the center of the tortilla and spread it just a bit along the middle. Add 4-5 1/4″x 1/4″ sticks of Monterey Jack cheese. Fold the tortilla to form a burrito and place it folded side down on the baking tray. Repeat until you run out of beef mix–I usually get 8 burritos making them this way. How many you get will depend on how much or little filling you use in each one.
Sprinkle a bit of paprika over the unbaked burritos and bake at 350 F for 23-25 minutes. If you use a Sun Oven to do the baking it can take up to 45 minutes and your tortillas won’t get that golden brown tint, but they’ll taste just as good.
If you like your food spicier use Pepper Jack and add in some Jalapeno chilies to the mix.
Hi Ray, oh my gosh, this is the best idea ever! Now my mouth is watering, thanks for the “recipe”! I want to make these tonight! Linda
Glenna,
It’s one half to two thirds cup of La Victoria, not 12-23. for some reason the slash marks didn’t come through.
Hi Ray, I will fix it. Thank you, Linda
Good ideas! A few more things about using cake mixes, they can be used to make cookies especially if you use canned beans–no oil needed. Also, popcorn can be ground for flour to make corn bread. See I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storeage for more on using beans instead of oil. Never hurts to have more than one way to use our food storeage.
Hi Cheryl, I need to try the cookies with the cake mixes!! Great reminders, Linda
There’s a whole list of mixes and such at Budget101.com I have no affiliation with this site, but love it. Check it out if you want to make your own mixes. Even baking mix.
Linda, if this is not acceptable, please delete.
Hi Deborah, thanks for sharing the link! It’s got some interesting stuff, thank you! Linda
Hi Deborah, Me too! I finally broke down and bought some smaller pans, it was getting out of control, my leftovers. I had to force myself to make smaller recipes. AND it’s working! Linda
Thank you Linda, for sharing. I’ve learned so much from you.
God bless us all.
Hi Sabrina, oh, you made my day, thank you for your kind words! Stay safe, we can do this! Linda
Check out bakingmischief.com for recipes for one or two. Even if you’re not interested in the recipes it can give you a good place to start with actual amounts. I, too, suffer from making enough food for an army and there’s just the two of us!
Hi Janie, thank you for that website! I need to start making up recipes for my self and others for one to two people. Linda
Hi, Linda et al.: Here we are in Sept., 2025, so we don’t have such bad troubles buying food like during the 2020+lockdowns. However, we have to eat gluten free, so ALWAYS buy the sprouted corn tortillas for roll-up sandwiches. The real deal is to take one package out of the freezer and store it in your fridge, then take one tortilla out when you’re ready to use it. Just turn on your toaster and lay it across the top, which will warm it up and make it pliable! Then you can fold it however you need and WHA-LA! My super smart hubby figured this out, plus it leaves no fry pan to wash afterwards, either!! Such a win-win!!
Hi Jess, oh my gosh, the tortilla idea is awesome! We are still having trouble in Utah getting certain foods. Then IF you can get it, it’s 4 times as much money. Life has changed for sure. Thank you for the tip on the tortillas!! Love it! Linda
Hi, Linda: Yes, I do see that some foods are 4 times more expensive over here in Central New York, but not all. We have been having a relatively “good time”growing our own food, buying foods from our local farmers and Azure Standard (as you know)… though now the competition to buy say, 1/2 a cow, is much fiercer than before. Well, we cannot buy 1/2 a cow or even 1/4 of a cow, anyway, because our freezer is still too full of blueberries and other fruits and veggies! And THAT’S after my freeze-dried mylar packages are practically exploding out of the large plastic totes they’re in. That’s O.K. I bought a case or 4 of various canned meats and Safe Catch Skipjack Tunafish and Think Pink Salmon plus had already pressure canned a lot of meat. If hubby gets a deer this year, like usual, then we will be overflowing with meat around here. We had to remove an extra turkey I had in the freezer yesterday in order to get 3 Lummi Island ReefNet Salmon fillets (huge!) into our main freezer yesterday! I guess we will be enjoying a turkey and pressure-canning some more turkey this weekend! Last night, we discovered that the cherry tomatoes that reseeded in our garden (that we let live) ended up being the product of paste tomatoes and cherry tomatoes from last year. GEE! Roma-type cherry tomatoes are AWESOME!!
Hope things get better over there soon in UTAH! We have always been enthralled by your gorgeous state and how cool SLCity is, plus the Young Living Farm, too…just now not such a huge fan after the assassination of dear Charlie K. What a shame to extinguish such a young life!
Hi Jess, it sounds like you have found some delicious food! Yes, the assassination of Charlie Kirk was terrible. Linda
This is so important – LEARN TO COOK FROM SCRATCH.
Since this post originally came out in 2020, it reminded me of a grocery shopping trip! The shelves were pretty bare. All the pasta sauce was gone! But there were cans of tomato products. So, I was able to get several cans and make my own sauce!! Yeast was another thing that was non-existent. So definitely learn how to make a sourdough starter!!!
I have all the things on the list except crackers! that is something that I purchase only in the fall and winter to go with some of my soups. Some soups require cornbread, some sourdough bread, some crackers!! Just the way I was raised!!
Hi Leanne, oh yes, the yeast was so hard to get! It’s critical for people to learn to make sourdough. It’s so easy, and can be used in so many recipes! We must learn to cook from scratch! God bless Phineas (Leanne’s grandson), still praying my sweet friend. Hugs, Linda