How to Save Money on Meat with 6 Easy Hacks

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Looking for some easy ways to save money on meat on your next grocery bill? I have 6 simple solutions!

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Having a family of 6 means we have had to learn to really stretch our budget. Back in 2021 when we were all anticipating inflation, I made it my mission to save money on meat and learn how to stretch our grocery budget like never before. That was when were only a family of 5, so these strategies can be used for any family on any budget! Eating healthy and eating well doesn’t have to cost a ton of money, it just takes knowledge and determination.

How to Save Money on Meat:

Use Less

Seems obvious right? I’m not asking you to go vegetarian, but simply by using less meals with meat in them, will cut down on the costs of meat. In the US, people tend to eat meat for every single meal. If not every meal, at least every dinner. There are so many delicious dishes that are vegetarian in nature. Aim to swap 3 dinners this week with meatless meals. Our personal favorites are burrito bowls with black beans instead of ground beef, stir fry, and black bean fajita pasta.

Don’t Make Meat the Star

Growing up, meat was the star in most dishes and still continues to be today. I am what one may call a “meat and potatoes” gal. I love meat and potatoes and tend to gravitate towards those meals. I had to switch my meal planning to include more dishes where meat was simply incorporated as an ingredient and not the main ingredient. Think soups, chilis, rice, or pasta dishes. Simply incorporating a few of these meals a week will save substantial money versus every single meal having large amounts of meat.

Use Half

For most of recipes containing meat, I usually add half of what the actual recipe calls for. No one ever notices. If the meat isn’t the star of the show, there’s no reason to add so much. In soups, chilis, pasta dishes, or anything similar, I will use about a half a pound of ground beef. I rarely ever use more than two chicken breasts for any dish, whether it’s the star or not. You can always add more beans, vegetables, or carbs to bulk up the dish, which is what is going to keep you full anyways.

Buy on Sale

Simply keeping an eye on sales is the best way to save money on meat. Knowing a general baseline for a good price will make it easier to know which store has the cheaper sale price. I usually always get my meat from Kroger. Did you know you can do pick up for sale items at Kroger? So if you’re just grabbing a few things, as long as your total is over $35, the pickup fee is waived. This makes it even easier for me to shop different stores without having to run in a million places.

Stock Up

When you do find a good sale price, stock up. I know it’s not easy for everyone to buy in bulk, but simply buying a little bit extra will drop grocery bills in the end. I don’t buy meat every week. I buy a decent amount when it’s on sale. Then, I implement these other strategies to only use a bit each week. I end up spending far less because I stocked up when it was a really good price. You may not even be able to stock up at first, but once you start clearing some room in your grocery budget, you will find you may have some extra cash to get a little extra.

Freeze It

One of my absolute favorite ways to save money on meat is simply by freezing it. There’s no other way to stock up on sale prices and keep it for weeks, if you don’t freeze it. How do I do it? Most meats I simply remove from the packaging and place in a gallon size freezer bag. Then, it gets marked with the date and placed in my freezer. For chicken specifically, I will place two large chicken breasts in each bag.

For ground beef, I will cook it up, drain, let it cool, and then place it in small sandwich bags. I usually end up stretching a 3lb roll of ground beef to 5 or 6 baggies. Then, when I go to make a meal, mainly in my crockpot, I will throw it right in from the bag. No measuring, just toss one bag in of either chicken or beef. I do have an extra freezer, but most of these are kept right in my main freezer since I am always using and rotating them.

There you have it! 6 Easy Ways to Save Money on Meat you can start implementing into your grocery shopping today. How to do you save money on meat? Let me know down in the comments!