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One of the hardest parts of cooking and meal planning for a hungry family is budgeting your wallet and time to hit the grocery store week after week. If you want to cut down on money and time spent while hitting the aisles, consider this grocery store insider tip: value packs. These cost-effective options allow you to stock up on your family’s favorite ingredients in bulk, especially the pricier items like meat, while getting more bang for your buck. Here’s everything you need to know about shopping for value packs like a pro.
What Is a Value Pack?
Value packs are ingredients packaged in larger quantities and sold at a lower price per unit. For example, a value pack of two pounds of chicken or pork would be priced lower per pound than a single pound of the same chicken or pork. In short: value packs mean you get more value for more food.
Why Purchase a Value Pack?
The secret to value packs is they stretch your grocery dollars further by yielding multiple meals for less money. Bulk buying gives you the flexibility to scale a recipe up or down depending on how many people you’re feeding and whether you want leftovers during the week. We especially love mixing things up during the week with exciting recipes that use up all that money-saving goodness—but we’ll get to that shortly.
If you don’t need to use the value packs in the same week, do not fret! You can easily freeze the extra chicken or pork in freezer-safe bags or containers for later use. This can give you a head start when planning future meals or free up some time down the road when you can’t make it to the grocery store.
What to Make with Value Packs
Bulk buying doesn’t have to mean eating the same meal on repeat. Here are four tasty ideas using chicken or pork value pack finds that taste like a trip around the world without leaving the dining table.
Pork chops
Moo Shu Pork
Satisfy your family’s takeout food cravings with a homemade version that’s more affordable and ready to eat in minutes. One half of a boneless pork chop value pack pairs with another time-saver—pre-cut vegetable slaw—to speed this Moo Shoo Pork and get it on the table in 30 minutes.
Mojo Pork Chops with Black Beans and Rice
Experience the vibrant flavors of Cuban-inspired mojo without a plane ticket—or another run to the grocery store. Use the rest of your value pack of boneless pork chops with a marinade of citrus, garlic, and spices. Use your mixture to flavor a side of brown rice and black beans and dinner is ready.
Chicken breasts
Greek Chicken Breasts and Potatoes
This complete one-pan meal inspired by Greece starts with a value pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and finishes with just 10 minutes of easy prep. Fresh lemon, garlic, and oregano bring Mediterranean vibes to chicken, onion, and potatoes roasted together in a single baking dish.
Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
It’s back to the good ol’ USA where the remaining value pack of chicken breasts stack up into a handheld meal that boasts more flavor than your average chicken sandwich. Store-bought broccoli slaw and your favorite creamy dressing add crunchy zing to juicy, pan-seared chicken breasts smothered in barbecue sauce and piled onto hamburger rolls.
Air Fryer Sesame Chicken with Broccoli
This DIY version of your favorite takeout dish can come together quickly with the power of your air fryer. A quick sauce of orange juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar brings a ton of sweet and salty flavors and a microwavable bag of rice keeps things moving quickly. We love it with broccoli florets, but swap in your family’s favorite veggies!
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
While frozen crescent dinner rolls make this casserole ultra-decadent and impressive, riced cauliflower sneaks in some good-for-you nutrients you can feel good about. Each bite is cheesy, meaty, dreamy, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for busy weeknights.
Beef
Ground Beef Stroganoff
Ground beef acts as a secret weapon to keep this impressive meal weeknight-worthy. The creamy, meaty sauce is kid-friendly and decadent without being too heavy thanks to a splash of low-fat milk and some reduced-fat sour cream to cut the richness. Bonus: You can prepare the meat in advance and freeze for another night.
French Canadian Shepherd’s Pie
Use store-bought mashed potatoes and a value pack of ground meat for a budget-friendly weeknight wonder. Cans of creamed corn pack a ton of flavor without much effort, and it’s so good, your family will definitely request seconds. We especially love you can save a whole casserole to dig into another night.
