Is “home cooking” becoming a luxury these days?

[PetsNPaws]

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?

I took DD out for Sunday lunch (roast beef) a couple of weeks ago and it cost about £55 including two glasses of wine and a basic dessert. Admittedly there were about four different vegetable sides as well as potatoes, but not impossible quantities.

I could cook a similar roast at home for the same price, feed 6 and have leftovers.
£20-30 for the joint (depending on the cut, the quantity and the quality)
£10 max for the veg inc spuds
£5 for ingredients for the Yorkshires and the gravy, any herbs, the fuel for cooking etc.
£7 for a bottle of wine.
£10 for an apple crumble with cream - you'd have change to use for some nicer wine.

Between £52 and £62, but as I said, it would feed 6 and we'd have leftovers.

When I was single my meal prep involved ordering Italian and putting it into glass containers in the fridge. It was cheaper ordering out rather than buying groceries.

Also, I couldn’t eat the same thing every single day to make batch cooking worth while.

Now I have a family my grocery shopping is so freaking expensive. It’s not just evening meals - it’s snacks and fruits and drinks and cleaning and laundry supplies.

I had no idea on how to budget for anything and my partner doesn’t like ‘poor meals’ because it makes him feel sad.

I, however, love cheap meals as it reminds me of childhood and it takes next to no effort.

@Muffinmam you don't have to eat the same thing every day if you batch cook, as long as you've got some freezer space.

I cook double portions of almost everything. It's just DH and I. If I make a casserole, for example, I'll make enough for 4 or 6 then freeze the leftovers in 2 portions boxes. We might have some the following week or even the following month. We might have it with mashed potato the first time, with rice the second and jacket potatoes for the final batch.

However, we also don't have an issue with eating the same thing twice in a week. I could happily eat something like Shepherds pie or lentil Bolognese on a Sunday and again on a Tuesday, maybe with different veg.

I appreciate you need to have a freezer and space for it in the first place, but our freezer cost £50 second hand and has paid for itself in saving leftovers rather than them going to waste.

@Amba1998

Tesco Extra Virgin Olive Oil 250Ml
£2.95

you're already 45p out of date.

Food is expensive.

Chocolate is going to go insanely expensive because of "chocolate futures" ...

My DH always makes Kabsa with the intention of freezing some. The eats it over next 3 days (so 3 in total) with nothing going to freezer😂 He can genuinely just eat same thing for x days and be happy clam. Weirdo.
I grew up with once a week having 2 days the same thing in a row. That's my limit.

But yes, we do like you often. Cook some extra, freeze. You can end up with quite an eclectic freezer selection! Nice

I would love to see proper details about these really good quality and good for you meals that cost so little or go so far. Actual details. When I have asked before the calories per portion were tiny (I actually calculated one suggestion because I am that pedantic and it came to about 240 cals a portion) or the cost is misleading with suggestions of using a bit of something you have left over in the fridge (not if you do not, in fact, have decent left overs in the fridge!).

Or the one where someone spent very little on their food shop for that week and turned out they were using lots from their freezer…

I think knowledge and time are real adavantages/privileges here. If you're a single parent working full time and have young children who need a lot of time and attention, it will be really difficult to fit cooking in, even if it only takes 20 minutes. Much easier to heat something in a microwave for 4 mins.

Knowledge is also a HUGE bonus as it takes a long time to cook from scratch if you don't know the recipe, aren't used to certain techniques, can't think of a variety of different options, can't easily replace missing ingredients with something else, etc.

My parents were not natural cooks so I left home pretty much only knowing how to do a simple bolognese. It took me a long time to build the confidence and knowledge to do things like one pot roast meals, curries, anything to do with meat, fish or lentils. I still panic if I don't have a recipe to hand or if it turns out we forgot to buy a key ingredient etc. Luckily DH is much more experienced than I am and does a lot more of the cooking, but equally his recipies take a while and we simply don't have the time for elaborate meals after getting home quite late and needing to get the kids to bed.

Not at all, ready meals are way more expensive .

I cook at home from scratch for almost every meal and make most of my own bread, cakes, jam, chutneys etc. I have a gas double oven and plan meals to be economical with fuel. Over time and over the range of meals I cook, it is a lot cheaper even if one individual home made meal might on occasion cost more than a particular store equivalent. I don't serve meat every day (veggie curries, stews, stir fries, pasta sauce, risotto etc). In order to cook like this I keep a good larder and freezer of basic staples - an 'ingredients' household - so that I'm not buying items new per meal, I'm usually cooking from what I have in.

However, cooking like this is a way of life and it fits some people's situations more easily than others. A lot depends on individual skills and circumstances. I've been cooking for decades and am good at it - I know how to make a nutritious meal from unpromising odds and ends to use things up, and no food is wasted. I am also now virtually retired and we have a garden growing all our own herbs, soft fruits and some veg. So I have the time and the means. Cooking from scratch inexpensively all the time would be harder if I didn't already have good cooking skills, had no garden and was working full time.

We both work full time and I cook all meals from scratch including our breakfast granola at the weekend.

I’m with you. My food shop has been creeping up and up. I’ve started ordering one of the more expensive meal delivery kits (planthood which is £7.50 per portion or £48 per week for my 6 dinners) and I’m somehow saving money. I’ve always been a good cook and meal planned but I’m trying to lose weight, lower cholesterol and eat enough protein to keep my hair. I just didn’t have the headspace for it. I’ve settled into a couple of cheap lunch options and use the meal kit for dinners now.

I hate cooking so i dont do it not unless i feel like it very rear.

Whenever I go through a phase of home cooking, my expenses go DOWN. So I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’m afraid.

Home cooking is always cheaper

We have just had fish, chips and peas - for less then a fiver for 3 of us

Cod - 5 pieces - £3.50 YS from M&S, a couple of large spuds and a measure of peas

What's a fish supper from a chippy now? Here its £12 - take out

I have enough spices , herbs, vinegars, sauces, oils to open a wee shop. but they are all bought over time - maybe a £2 a week spend? Plus I grew rosemary, thyme, sage, bayleaf, and chives

I aim to feed us at £2 - £3 a head for dinner - easy done. That's meat/fish, veggies and carbs - I cant get a ready meal or take out any less

Fuel for me being out in the country is expensive. So I make the most of the microwave, slow cooker, pressure cooker and what's really opened up our diets the air fryer . Two drawers - two mini ovens that cook in minutes - with good results

I’ve simplified.
I just buy flavoured pork chops or chicken and have it with a bagged salad or basic veg like cabbage. Lunch box and for dinner It’s £1.50 a portion.

I’ve cooked elaborate meals because I thought I had too. Not fussed with it all now.

One of my cheap, reasonably healthy go-to's is pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas). It's a traditional Italian peasant's dish and you don't have to use any fresh ingredients if you don't want to, which makes it economical. Base ingredients:

supermarket own pasta shape of choice
olive oil (doesn't need to be extra virgin, and at times of greater need I've used rapeseed oil instead and added more garlic and chili powder to make up the lost flavour)
can of tinned chickpeas
can of plum or chopped tomatoes
garlic (either powder or fresh)
salt
chili (optional)

The garlic, if using fresh, is fried in heated oil until it softens, then the chickpeas are added plus salt to taste (if using garlic powder then add this at the same time as the salt). These are fried for another minute or so on medium heat. Add the tin of tomatoes and fry for a couple minutes to reduce water, then cover and simmer for ten mins. Uncover, add a couple ladles of your pasta water and simmer for a further ten mins on medium heat, then add your cooked pasta and you're done. If you want to be fancy, you can add some grated cheese at the end, but this isn't necessary.

Most Brits don't eat enough beans/legumes so it's a good meal idea to get a portion of these in to your weekly diet. And the carbs, chickpeas and oil all lead to it having a decent calorie content and leaving you feeling full and satisfied.

There's loads. Really loads of examples. Look on the food section.

What I don't get is the people that spend £120 a week for two. What on earth are they eating?!

Medium chicken £3.95
350gcheese £3.20
250 g butter £1.00
4 pts milk £1.55
Flour £0.90
Kilo carrots £0.55
3 kilo potatoes £1.45
Head broccoli ££0.89
Cauliflower £1.10
Sausages £1.50
Sage and onion stuffing £0.45
6 eggs £1.45
Celery £0.60
Bunch bananas £0.85
Kilo parsnips £0.55
Bread £0.85
Oats £0.55

Thats what, £20? It's enough for 4 days for 2 people.

If I get onions kilo for 95 and pork mince instead of sausages, an extra quid, and a bag of pasta and a tin of tomatoes, 1.50, a bag of value appl3s or Clementines, I'd have enough for 6 days for 2 people for less than £25.

And there's not one upf if you swap out the sausages.

Apart from the bread, but if you got yeast instead of bread you could make your own with the flour. I just can't be bothered with that any more now the kids are grown.

@Starconundrum you are missing the point - not everyone spending £120 a week for 2 is strapped for cash ( or moaning about food costs)!- not everyone will buy £1.50 sausages or £3.95 chickens if they don’t have to do so and yep lots of people can tell the difference. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with buying cheap quality food and I totally get that many people need to budget tighter than others -I’ve been there myself at various points years ago , but being honest my H in particular wants organic chicken from the farm shop at £14 to £17 ( very dense meat and lasts us 3 meals genuinely)? He wants the M&S Cumberland sausage at £5.50 , he eats salmon , sushi and good quality mince, nice Greek yoghurt, berries, nice veg, good pies etc - very very easy to spend £100 a week if you eat well for 2 and it’s one of the few things I don’t begrudge - and we aren’t wealthy but do prioritise food- rarely have takeaways or meals out at night unless on holiday -

Nope! I gave the same set of stainless steel saucepans from our wedding 25 years ago and they’re still going strong. I do replace my non-stick pans and sheets and chopping boards but not thst often.
Eating out is so much more unless you’re living off fast food (which isn’t cheap)! I cook from scratch for health reasons, yes I have time but even when I didn’t I still made most meals from scratch but maybe used some more upf ingredients.
Pasta is still cheap - 75p per bag? I use wholewheat - then whatever sauce you want to make or buy. Really not much at all…

Good for you! And I don't mean that sarcastically, genuinely good for you!

But this thread is saying home cooking is a luxury, and it's genuinely not, unless you're buying as you do, which is the luxury. And any ready meals that contain the premium ingredients you are buying are going to cost a damn sight more than the bog standard crap.

Home cooking is cheaper and healthier. It's not a luxury. It's a damn necessity for people on a budget invested in their kids health.

And it's really easy.

You can tell it's easy as I wrote it in two minutes and amended it twice as I thought if cheaper and healthier ways to do it😂

I do appreciate youve taken the time to say you spend more money on better produce though.

I have a sneaking suspicion some mumsnetters budgets are taken up by Charlie Bingham, Toney baloney, and premium yogurts with probiotics and added protein shakes.

And the obligatory £6 of berries a day.

I’ve got some! I will report back… but not immediately. We get a food waste box, so have to eat that first!

I agree. We have salmon once a week, including the kids. It’s all very, very affordable if you meal plan.
Same with chicken, I even buy loads of organic chicken breast and make my own mince in my food processor. With the mince I make my own flavourful burgers too! We are meat free twice a week, so that’s where my dhal, tofu , rice and veg all gets out to great use.
honestly people just don’t know how to cook properly. I can tell from the OP that she doesn’t. Who includes your pots and pans as an issue/expense stopping you? My set of pots are going strong 15 years later.