Page 2 | Is “home cooking” becoming a luxury these days?

PetsNPaws · 2025-10-23T02:56:17+00:00

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how expensive cooking at home has become — not just food prices, but everything else too. Energy bills, cookware, ingredients that used to be cheap but now feel like treats. Even a simple pasta dish doesn’t feel “budget” anymore if you want decent olive oil and veg. It used to be that eating out was the luxury and home cooking was the sensible, money-saving option. But now, between the cost of groceries and the time it takes (especially if you’re working full-time or have kids), I’m not sure that’s true anymore. I genuinely enjoy cooking, but I’ve noticed I’m doing it less because I can’t justify the effort when it’s often cheaper or easier to grab something ready-made. Has anyone else noticed this shift? Do you still find cooking from scratch worthwhile, or is it turning into something only people with time and money can afford to do properly?

Unstoppered · 23/10/2025 06:53

BringBackCatsEyes · 23/10/2025 04:57

@Amba1998what’s this £2.50 virgin olive oil from Tesco ?

what I came here to ask!!

BG2015 · 23/10/2025 06:54

We have a whole rack of spices, use tinned tomatoes, own brand rice or pasta, baked potatoes, wonky veg. All cheap.

femfemlicious · 23/10/2025 06:54

Snorlaxo · 23/10/2025 04:22

Do you add an expensive protein like steak or lobster to make your pasta expensive?

I use supermarket own brand olive oil which I assume isn’t what you’d call decent because decent sounds like you mean premium.

There are some very good ready meals out there and I pick ones that I would have time to cook from scratch.

Yeah, she must be using steaks , lamb chops , fresh cod and salmon fillets. Cooking with mince, chicken drumsticks and thighs etc are really affordable. I only eat stuff like that as q treat maybe once a week.

Anything you cook yourself will always be cheaper than anything you buy of the same quality.

xla · 23/10/2025 06:55

It’s still cheaper to cook at home than it is to buy ready meals.

I do all my bulk cooking on a Sunday. The smart meter shows the gas and electric go up to probably 75p per hour each, but that’s for the couple of hours that I’m cooking. So max £2 in electricity.

root veg etc this time of year is cheaper. You can make a leek and potato soup for under a fiver, which then gives you a weeks worth of lunches.

again with stewing steak etc., a week of meals for £10.

femfemlicious · 23/10/2025 07:01

Fabulously · 23/10/2025 05:41

It probably depends on how many people are in your household.

I’m in my 20s, high earner and got my own place as soon as I left university. I’d say that sometimes it’s more expensive to home cook every meal from scratch as a single adult. Over the years, I definitely ate out much more than I grocery shopped. Or buy ready meals/ordering takeaways in etc. It often was the case that food would go off quicker than I could eat it, so my home cooked food wouldn’t have much variety as I’d have to ensure I’m using X and Y up before Z date first.

I imagine in a larger household that being flipped, where it’s cheaper home cooking every meal as opposed to eating out.

For example I could go to Nando’s and spend £20 on a meal and 2 sides for dinner. It probably would cost me the same in raw ingredients to make that from scratch at home to the same standard. Whereas that may present a saving on the cost for multiple people to order the same thing at Nando’s.

Yeah definitely, I thinks it may be cheaper to eat out as a single person. It's definitely much more expensive to eat out as a family than cooking.

What did you study in university and what do you do to earn well in your 20s. I'm trying to guide my 14 year old to be financially successful. Please give me sone advice 😊

DeafLeppard · 23/10/2025 07:10

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 06:46

Also, there is a privilege to home cooking, but it isn't really a purely financial association. Its more of a time/culture/education based privilege. It is having the time, having the health, the energy, the lack of burdens/stress/problems etc. and having grown up in a family culture that prioritizes it over alternatives, making it the norm.

Imagine someone in Italy calling it a privilege to knock up a quick pasta dish. British culture is such trash in so many respects, and we've set the lowest standards for ourselves.

Totally agree. It’s not a bloody privilege to cook and feed your family, and I do judge anyone who can’t be arsed to make the effort this day and age when we have a wealth of information about how to do so at our fingertips.

Next people will be saying it’s a privilege to be able to wipe your own arse…

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:16

@DeafLeppard and @TattooStan if you work with people living in poverty, you’d see the privilege. We have to stock supplies at food bank for people who have one pan and a single burner to cook with.

Some homes are chaotic and children don’t see food being cooked. I have seen children cry when food was put into the oven- they were unfamiliar with the concept, and thought the food was being taken away. Their experience of food was instant. Open the packet, eat.

If you have nothing, home cooked food is an expensive privilege in comparison with a Greg’s sausage roll.

DancefloorAcrobatics · 23/10/2025 07:18

@PetsNPaws what are you cooking & for how many people if you find eating out & ready meals cheaper than cooking?

Even if you work FT, most every day meals can be done in around 20min.

The bigger issue is a luck of cooking sskills for many people- this has nothing to do with the cost of food.

xla · 23/10/2025 07:20

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:16

@DeafLeppard and @TattooStan if you work with people living in poverty, you’d see the privilege. We have to stock supplies at food bank for people who have one pan and a single burner to cook with.

Some homes are chaotic and children don’t see food being cooked. I have seen children cry when food was put into the oven- they were unfamiliar with the concept, and thought the food was being taken away. Their experience of food was instant. Open the packet, eat.

If you have nothing, home cooked food is an expensive privilege in comparison with a Greg’s sausage roll.

In reality though this is a very niche situation and the vast majority of the country go for a Greggs sausage roll because they’re lazy

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:22

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:16

@DeafLeppard and @TattooStan if you work with people living in poverty, you’d see the privilege. We have to stock supplies at food bank for people who have one pan and a single burner to cook with.

Some homes are chaotic and children don’t see food being cooked. I have seen children cry when food was put into the oven- they were unfamiliar with the concept, and thought the food was being taken away. Their experience of food was instant. Open the packet, eat.

If you have nothing, home cooked food is an expensive privilege in comparison with a Greg’s sausage roll.

Come on, you're describing extreme poverty. People in extreme poverty aren't grabbing a Nandos for £20 because they think it's cheaper than making a stew.
And in places like southern Italy, they live in severe poverty, but eat vegetable soups padded out with pasta or lentils, and vegetarian pasta dishes. They cost pennies and need one pan to cook.
Yes some Brits are so vulnerable they can't rustle up a spag bol, but your average person who is eating ready made crap just can't be arsed.

Bumblebee72 · 23/10/2025 07:23

I don't think cost is the problem for most, it is just that many prefer to sit and watch netflix.

drspouse · 23/10/2025 07:24

The only ingredient that is really pricey is beef mince - you can't really get that for a family of four under a fiver (if you can let me know where!). We've started mixing beef and pork or (if DH isn't looking) beef and red lentils.
As others have said, oil is available cheaply (we buy in bulk), veg and pasta ditto. Tin of tomatoes is pennies, onions likewise. Garlic is less of a faff and you waste less if you buy garlic paste (not "lazy cook" chopped in vinegar, KTC brand is good).

Edit: yellow sticker ready meals are possibly cheaper if they are from the Essentials range, but you can't be sure you'll even get enough for your family.

MidnightPatrol · 23/10/2025 07:27

I doubt it’s cheaper unless getting real ‘value’ ready meals, which have always been cheap…!

I would say what I buy has changed due to the price. Salmon fillets used to be a weekly regular but are so expensive now.

Also if following a recipe which requires different fresh herbs etc it can add up a bit..!

What I really can’t believe the price of at the moment is ham. About a pound a slice in my local supermarket. Astonishing.

SumUp · 23/10/2025 07:28

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:22

Come on, you're describing extreme poverty. People in extreme poverty aren't grabbing a Nandos for £20 because they think it's cheaper than making a stew.
And in places like southern Italy, they live in severe poverty, but eat vegetable soups padded out with pasta or lentils, and vegetarian pasta dishes. They cost pennies and need one pan to cook.
Yes some Brits are so vulnerable they can't rustle up a spag bol, but your average person who is eating ready made crap just can't be arsed.

Show quote history

I agree. It’s a niche situation. The vast majority eat ready meals because they lack time or just cannot be bothered.

Most adults, even those with poor literacy, are capable of searching for videos to watch on YouTube, so they are capable of finding simple recipe videos.

DeafLeppard · 23/10/2025 07:29

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:16

@DeafLeppard and @TattooStan if you work with people living in poverty, you’d see the privilege. We have to stock supplies at food bank for people who have one pan and a single burner to cook with.

Some homes are chaotic and children don’t see food being cooked. I have seen children cry when food was put into the oven- they were unfamiliar with the concept, and thought the food was being taken away. Their experience of food was instant. Open the packet, eat.

If you have nothing, home cooked food is an expensive privilege in comparison with a Greg’s sausage roll.

And yet we have immigrants in hotels making home cooked food in their shower on a single burner from their £10/week budget, as per the recent BBC documentary.

i don’t see how those asylum seekers and refugees living in hotels have fewer barriers to home cooking than native UK people who are supported by social work and food banks.

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:30

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:22

Come on, you're describing extreme poverty. People in extreme poverty aren't grabbing a Nandos for £20 because they think it's cheaper than making a stew.
And in places like southern Italy, they live in severe poverty, but eat vegetable soups padded out with pasta or lentils, and vegetarian pasta dishes. They cost pennies and need one pan to cook.
Yes some Brits are so vulnerable they can't rustle up a spag bol, but your average person who is eating ready made crap just can't be arsed.

Show quote history

Right, but that’s where the ‘privilege’ narrative comes from.

I understand that narrative but I also understand it’s not much of a ‘privilege’ to have to cook a meal every day for a family- it’s a bit relentless, especially on a budget.

Everyone’s perspective is different!

As for Italy, food grows easily there which helps with the poverty situation!

xla · 23/10/2025 07:30

drspouse · 23/10/2025 07:24

The only ingredient that is really pricey is beef mince - you can't really get that for a family of four under a fiver (if you can let me know where!). We've started mixing beef and pork or (if DH isn't looking) beef and red lentils.
As others have said, oil is available cheaply (we buy in bulk), veg and pasta ditto. Tin of tomatoes is pennies, onions likewise. Garlic is less of a faff and you waste less if you buy garlic paste (not "lazy cook" chopped in vinegar, KTC brand is good).

Edit: yellow sticker ready meals are possibly cheaper if they are from the Essentials range, but you can't be sure you'll even get enough for your family.

Edited

500g of 20% mince at Aldi is £3.25, or if you buy bigger packs it’s cheaper per gram and you can freeze anything not used

squashyhat · 23/10/2025 07:31

In any 'basic' cookery book (which you can pick up from a charity shop - Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Nadiya Hussain etc) there will be a list of basic ingredients. A bit of initial outlay, but once you have them you are never going to replace them all at once. Be organised with a shopping list and weekly menu, batch cook and let go of eating meat with every meal and there is no way cooking at home is more expensive than buying ready made food.

xla · 23/10/2025 07:32

Also re. Greggs sausage rolls - one is £1.30. If you’re getting one a day that’s £9.10 a week.

you can buy 8 pork sausages for £1.79 from Sainsbury’s and get puff pastry for £1.30, and make 8 sausage rolls (or more if you split the sausage meat!) for £3.09.

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 23/10/2025 07:33

We still cook everything from scratch, we wouldn't be able to afford to eat out at restaurants and we don't like takeaways.
A big pot of veggie stew or soup will do three meals if we freeze some. Pasta, rice or lentils with a sauce made from tinned toms and olive oil is also still a very cheap and quick dinner.
It's alcohol that I can't comprehend, I don't know how people can afford to drink.

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:34

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:30

Right, but that’s where the ‘privilege’ narrative comes from.

I understand that narrative but I also understand it’s not much of a ‘privilege’ to have to cook a meal every day for a family- it’s a bit relentless, especially on a budget.

Everyone’s perspective is different!

As for Italy, food grows easily there which helps with the poverty situation!

Show quote history

Unless you're profoundly vulnerable, I think feeding your family with decent home cooked food is a basic requirement of parenthood and people should go into parenthood with that expectation in mind.
This speaks to my 'low standards' point above.

Exhausteddog · 23/10/2025 07:35

dontcomeatme · 23/10/2025 06:48

I get your point OP, we wanted to make a slow roast beef dinner the other week and the joint of beef was extortionate! Plus the hours it would have to cook and then all the trimming on top. It was cheaper to go for a carvery! Although agree with many a PP, pasta and such should be a lot cheaper to make yourself. We make a lot of home cooked stuff like soup, chilli, pasta etc because that does work out cheaper. I have found though that the "big" things are definitely a luxury now x

I did slow roast beef at the weekend , the joint of meat cost £26. But we had the roast on Sunday, and beef fajitas on Monday so it did 8 meals altogether. Still not a budget option but definitely cheaper than eating out.
We had a take away recently and it was £50 for 3 of us. Admittedly there were left overs so potentially £50 for 4 or 5 meals but still a significant proportion of the cost of a weekly shop.

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 23/10/2025 07:38

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:34

Unless you're profoundly vulnerable, I think feeding your family with decent home cooked food is a basic requirement of parenthood and people should go into parenthood with that expectation in mind.
This speaks to my 'low standards' point above.

Show quote history

I don’t disagree. It’s also a burden. Like nappy changing, but day in day out until they leave home!

I used to love it, really enjoyed cooking efficiently, and I had a big family.

Round about COVID times it started to feel like a real drag and I haven’t really recovered that sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

35 years of feeding a family of various sizes. It’s got a bit old. Especially when budget comes into it.

It can be both a basic requirement and also a bit of a drag.

RedRiverShore5 · 23/10/2025 07:39

Probably cheaper to cook from scratch if you are cooking for four or more but not so much for one or two

TattooStan · 23/10/2025 07:40

RedRiverShore5 · 23/10/2025 07:39

Probably cheaper to cook from scratch if you are cooking for four or more but not so much for one or two

But if there's only 1 or 2 of you, you get to eat what you've made for 2 or 3 days. It can be frozen if needed.