With inflation increasing the prices of groceries, people are opting to eat out rather than make it at home. Apart from inflation, it’s easier to eat out than cook because, at a restaurant, money is paid not just for food but also for the labor of making food. Here are some foods that cost less to eat out than to make at home.
BURRITOS
One could get a big burrito for $8. This includes grilled veggies, rice and beans, corn salsa, guacamole, queso, and hot sauce. Buying all the ingredients and making them at home can go up to $10-12$.
BREAKFAST FOODS
Many fast-food chains offer breakfast deals cheaper than buying eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast to make your own breakfast at home.
For example, McDonald’s Big Breakfast comes with scrambled eggs, a hash brown, a biscuit, a sausage patty, and pancakes cost only 7$ while buying all the ingredients and cooking them could cost more than 10$
PIZZA
It is much cheaper to buy pizzas than to make them at home. Pizza chains like Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s offer many deals and coupons, making their pizzas much cheaper.
SOUP
Soup, salad, and breadsticks Lunch at Olive Garden cost just $6.99. A chicken noodle soup that may cost $10-15 to make at home with the required ingredients could be purchased for $5-8 at a local diner or soup shop.
RICE DISHES
Rice is cheaper, but buying all the vegetables and spices adds up to more. Fried rice or other rice combination dishes at Chinese takeout restaurants like Panda Express are much cheaper.
SUSHI
Sushi is a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or rolls of vinegar-flavored cold rice served with a garnish of vegetables, egg, or raw seafood.
The specialized skills and ingredients required to make Sushi, like high-quality raw fish, making it cheaper to eat out from a restaurant, are impossible to match at home.
BURGER
The average price of the signature McDonald’s burger is $3.91, but it can range from $3.91 to $5.31, depending on where you eat.
But making it home could cost more than $6 plus the effort.
PASTA
Simple pasta dishes with tomato sauce or pesto can be cheaper to eat out than to make at home. Restaurants can buy pasta, sauce, and other ingredients in bulk, offering pasta dishes at a lower cost per serving than homemade.
ETHNIC CUISINES
Many ethnic cuisines, like Thai or Indian food, can be cheaper to eat at a restaurant than to make at home. This is because the ingredients to make these cuisines are expensive and unavailable everywhere.
TIRAMISU
Making an authentic tiramisu at home involves multiple components like ladyfingers, espresso, mascarpone cheese, and liqueur. The specialized ingredients and time-consuming layering process make tiramisu more economical to order from a restaurant or bakery that can prepare it efficiently in larger batches, making it cheaper.
BEEF WELLINGTON
Beef Wellington is a complicated dish to make. The intricate preparation, expensive cuts of beef, and pastry required to make It at home can make it a pricier option than ordering it from a fine-dining establishment.
CREME BRULEE
This classic French dessert requires specialized equipment, such as a kitchen torch, and precise technique to caramelize the sugar topping properly. It is easier to eat this out than at home, especially because of the sophistication, cost of the ingredients, equipment, and time involved.
