Frugal Baking Choices to Save Money

Last Updated on October 22, 2022 by Ellen Christian

If you’re looking for frugal baking choices, you might be thinking you cannot eat healthy and save money. You would be wrong. I won’t say that it’s always easy. But, you can definitely stick to a budget and still make your food from scratch.

Frugal Baking Choices

At times, it’s cheaper to by premade food at the store on sale. But, these frugal baking choices will help you make healthy food at home.

The things I buy at the store aren’t always as good for me as what I can make at home. If you’re careful with your choices, you can stick to your budget without a problem.

How do you bake on a budget?

When you’re looking for frugal baking choices the first place to start is with the ingredients you choose. Buying on sale is the first step. If flour is on sale this week, buy extra if possible.

But, don’t buy more than you will realistically use or it will go to waste.

If you have them, combine coupons with sales. And submit to your favorite rebate apps. My favorites are iBotta and Fetch Rewards. Don’t forget Honey for online purchases.

The next step is to switch to store brands. For the most part, the quality of a store brand ingredient is the same as the name brand alternative.

If you’re not sure, try one and see for yourself. Buy just one and test it for your family.

If you have a bulk store in your area, check the prices there. Our food coop offers bins of whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ, flax seeds, and a variety of other items.

I can purchase in bulk for a much lower price than I can find at the store. It’s easier to make frugal baking choices when you buy in bulk.

Finally, evaluate the ingredients you’re choosing. Are they in season? Are there less expensive alternatives? If you want to make chocolate chip cookies, consider that oatmeal cookies are probably less expensive.

Or, if you want to make fresh blueberry muffins but it’s January, you might want to pick raisin muffins instead. You will save money by buying less-expensive ingredients.

When summertime arrives again, head to the pick your own places or the farmer’s market and buy fresh berries. Then, freeze them to use them during the colder months. 

What can you bake when you have no ingredients?

If you’re checking out the pantry and aren’t finding much, you can still do a little bit of baking if you have unexpected guests.

These sugar cookies require only three ingredients. This Nutella cake uses only two ingredients. These eggnog muffins take only two ingredients.

There are quite a few frugal baking choices you can make if you need a quick dessert but not a lot in the cupboard.

While I don’t do a lot of super sweet desserts, it’s nice to have something special to offer to company if someone stops by unexpectedly. 

How do you eat healthy and frugal?

The key to being able to eat healthy and frugal or make frugal baking choices is to plan. When you make your grocery list, look at what’s on sale. Look at what’s in your cupboard. And, then make choices for what you’ll be making 

Stick to your list to avoid impulse buys that might not be frugal choices. Don’t shop when you’re hungry or rushed for time. Take the time to make sure that you’re making good choices.

Frugal baking choices from scratch

One of the downfalls to modern baking is the temptation to buy pre-made mixes for everything we need. Many people have only baked cakes using a box of cake mix.

If making cookies usually involves a box of cookie mix or a tub of cookie dough, invest in a good cookbook and learn to cook from scratch.

You will find that it is almost always cheaper to bake with ingredients rather than mixes.

Frugal cooking from-scratch recipes

If you’re hoping for a few frugal baking choices, here are some of my favorite recipes for when money is tight.

• Healthy banana bread
• Maple sugar muffins
• Biscuit cheese sticks
• Wild apple pie recipe