Cooking vs Takeaway: How much will you save by preparing meals at home? (2023)

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Listen, I understand. The decision to orderremoverrarely has economic roots. It's more about convenience, not having to do that.should, familiarity, a sense of comfort, or the satisfaction of an obvious desire. However, if you are someone who orders standard takeaway food, and especiallyleverage, more often than you think you should -it's me, hi- you should already be feeling the impact of all that food on your bank account. Preparing meals at home is often a more financially sound option than eating out or ordering delivery. This is not news. But that raises some questions: what if you learned how to make your favorites to take home? Does making a spicy chicken or Thai sandwich really encourage you to cook more?

We've done the math before to find out how much you saveshopping at costcoofTrader Joe's(spoiler: it's a lot). We made some more tables to see ifmeal kits were even more expensiveso do all the shopping yourself (spoiler: bad).

For this exercise, I considered eight relatively easy-to-prepare dishes that represent some of America's favorite dishes, then counted grocery and delivery receipts for the respective results and, more importantly, the difference between them. So now the big question is, how much can you really save by making your take-out favorites at home?

Most popular takeaway items

Googling "most popular takeout in the US" turns up several websites that claim to have calculated these stats, so I consulted several of them and then zeroed in on the items or cuisines that popped up repeatedly. "Chicken" mysteriously tops the list of America's most popular takeout foods, without much context as to the chicken's shape. However, I think it's fair to assume that a lot of take-out chicken is deep-fried, either in bread, like wings, whole chicken pieces, or even fingers. If you can relate to the urge to order chicken (probably fried) on a regular basis, and especially if even just reading that sentence made you cringe reflexivelyuntiedon your phone, I already have some strong money-saving advice: invest in one nowfryer. (Seriously, small options starting at $50 will save you a lot of money in the long run.)

Other take-out favorites I've covered here includepizza, burritos, hamburgers, fried rice and pad thaipasta with cheese.

To-go versus make-at-home

	spicy chicken sandwich	Chicken fillets with fries	deluxe burger combo	Pepperoni-pizza	kip burrito	chicken fried rice	chicken pad thai	pasta with cheese
serving size	1 sandwich	1 order	1 order	1 large pizza	1 burrito	1 quarter	1 order	2 cups
Remover	$ 4,99	$ 10,99	$ 13,69	$ 15,49	$ 14,25	$ 11,75	$ 11,50	$ 13,29
leverage	$ 11,32	$ 18,86	$ 23,79	$ 24,25	$ 24,40	$ 16,88	$ 19,45	$ 24,98
DIY version	$ 2,78	$ 2,60	$ 4,63	$ 9,90	$ 4,10	$ 7,57	$ 6,47	$ 5,73
save versus collect	$ 2,21	$ 8,39	$ 9,06	$ 5,59	$ 10,15	$ 4,18	$ 5,03	$ 7,56
savings versus delivery	$ 8,54	$ 16,26	$ 19,16	$ 14,35	$ 20,30	$ 9,31	$ 12,98	$ 19,25

Takeout vs. do at home: how I calculated

I used similar recipes to bring back favorites that are easy to find online.supermarket pricesthrough mainstream stores in my area (Astoria, Queens) to map out the cost of purchasing the items needed to make these recipes, following the path of least resistance whenever possible (i.e. making pizza dough and pizza sauce instead of invent both from scratch).

I scaled the cost based on the actual amount needed of a given item for each recipe. If you start with an empty fridge and pantry, you'll have to spend more up front, that's true, but over time, as you get more skilled with fake food, you'll start with a lot of stuff you already have in your pocket. House. Because the theme was cost savings, I used generic brands rather than private labels whenever possible.

Takeout/delivery comparison prices were obtained through Seamless or Uber Eats. I opted for fast-food or fast-casual menus to compare prices, which are more specifically described below under "course by course". You can imagine even greater savings if you typically order from local, non-chain restaurants or bars. Tax and tip were also accounted for because that's the reality of delivery, right? (I've been known to spend $20 on a slice of carrot cake, since all allowances are accounted for just for the convenience of bringing it to me.)

A few notes on these stats: In many cases, delivery fees were too high due to a number of factors, usually delivery fees charged by the restaurant in addition to the tip you would give the driver. That's why I wrote down only the cost of the item, if you pick it up from the store yourself, and not sit on the couch waiting for it to be delivered to you. (it's me again, hi.)

Since I was only looking at the cost of that single item, any delivery fees charged by the restaurant are usually split between multiple items, assuming you ordered more than one item, and in some cases delivery fees are waived if you spend more. of a certain amount. However, if the reality of your life is, as mine is, that you are very willing to overlook this type of expense in order to fulfill a wish or make your life easier, and all you crave is that spicy chicken sandwich, for example, so my numbers reflect the true cost of getting just that item delivered to satisfy your whim.

Plate by plate: where are the biggest savings?

spicy chicken sandwich

Working with "chicken" as a guideline, I went with what is becoming arguably America's favorite sandwich and compared the cost of a spicy Popeye chicken sandwich with the homemade version. If you usually pick it up at the drive thru, while the savings here are still close to 50% if you buy it at home, it only costs about $2. While every little bit counts in today's economy, I'm willing to admit it might not. be worth. But what if you have it delivered? That sandwich is more than doubled in price. Even considering the price of gas, I'd probably get in the car and go get it myself.

• Withdrawal cost: $4.99
• Delivery cost: $11.32
• Cost to make at home: $2.78

Breaded chicken with fries

Again, I opted for Popeye's here, but you can save even more if you order a basket of chicken fingers and fries at your local sports bar. I opted for frozen chicken tenderloins and frozen french fries here as a do-it-yourself version, partly because I believe in the almighty power of the airfryer, but also because I'm not crazy. Who in the real world cuts potatoes from scratch at home and fries chicken to save a few bucks? You save about $8 if you pick up your meal instead of preparing it at home, or about $16 for delivery.

• Withdrawal cost: $10.99
• Delivery cost: $11.32
• Cost to make at home: $2.78

(Video) What's the point of cooking at home anymore?

deluxe burger combo

I've based the numbers here on the McDonald's Quarter Pounder and cheese combo, which includes fries and soda. Once you've thrown some frozen snacks and fries into the deep fryer (or the oven, if you're not already a convert), grilling a burger doesn't take much effort. And for your minimal effort, you can save nearly $20 if you resist the urge to hand it over. Pro tip: I freeze hamburger meat in 4-ounce portions in freezer bags already whipped into a hamburger shape, which takes very little time to defrost. Also a bonus here? Your fries are probably still hot and crispy if you didn't sweat them in the bag during delivery.

• Withdrawal cost: $13.69
• Delivery cost: $23.79
• Cost to make at home: $4.63

Pepperoni-pizza

Taking the path of least resistance, my numbers here were based on a large Papa John's pepperoni pizza, rather than making my own with supermarket pizza dough, pre-made sauce, pre-shredded mozzarella and pepperoni slices. However, each of these elements can be even cheaper if you're determined to do it all. (Look up a pizza dough recipe that uses beer for one of the all-time best cooking hacks.) Even with the quick version, you can save between $10 and $15 by satisfying your pizza cravings at home.

• Withdrawal cost: $15.49
• Delivery fees: $24.25
• Cost to make at home: $9.90

chicken fried rice

There's something to be said for the economics of ordering from your local Chinese restaurant, especially depending on how many meals you can make from a gallon of fried rice. (If the answer is one, no judgment.) On the other hand, there's something to be said for how easy fried rice is to make, especially since you can customize it with whatever meat and veggies you have on hand. The only ingredients really needed are rice, eggs, and soy sauce. The savings here are more modest, but still not insignificant, and you can save about $10 in your pocket for 10 minutes of your time at the stove. (Aside from my love of deep fryers, if you have a goodrice panthing goes, this will be useful here too.)

• Withdrawal cost: $11.75
• Delivery cost: $16.88
• Cost to make at home: $7.57

kip burrito

There are savings to be made here if you're willing to make a pollo burrito at home yes, but I have to admit that there are certain X factors that can make Chipotle burritos worth their weight, one of those factors is the weight of the fillings that the team seems to want to give it. Also, I don't even know if you can find a Chipotle-sized tortilla in a regular grocery store. (They are literally a foot wide.) The other X factor for me is variety; you need to line up a lot of ingredients to really approach the Chipotle experience. That said, a modest and arguably better burrito made at home can save you up to $20 over having a Chipotle burrito delivered.

• Withdrawal cost: $14.25
• Delivery Fees: $24.40
• Cost to make at home: $4.10

chicken pad thai

Admittedly, pad Thai will have a little more specialty ingredients than you might already have on hand, like flat rice noodles and fish sauce. I cooked pad thai in a culinary education setting, but I appreciate howthis recipeuses several workarounds that bypass the need for even more special ingredients like tamarind paste or palm sugar. It's a little more complicated than fried rice, but there are certain bragging rights or complacencies that come with making pad thai from scratch, in addition to the nearly $13 in savings.

• Withdrawal cost: $11.50
• Delivery fees: $19.45
• Cost to make at home: $6.47

pasta with cheese

Panera is one of the most copied fast-casual chains when it comes to their recipes, and their macaroni and cheese tops the list. We brought you ways to spice up your fantasy beforemacaroni and cheese box, but if you really want a decadent experience, a copycat version of Panera's will set you back just over $5 worth of groceries, which equates to a savings of between $8 and $20 if you pick up or deliver.

• Withdrawal cost: $13.29
• Delivery fees: $24.98
• Cost to make at home: $5.73

Bottom line: Pickup and delivery are incredibly expensive

By my calculations, cooking your takeout meals at home saved an average of about 50% over ordering the same items to go, and a shocking 75% savings if you routinely have them delivered. (Delivery costs and driver tips are no joke, folks.) Conservatively, let's say you ordered each of these eight items once over the course of a month - that's about two pickups a week - the total savings compared to fulfillment was just over $50, and the total savings versus delivery was... wait... $120.In a month. Now look at that number over 12 months if you're basically someone who gets deliveries more than once a week - that's $1,440 in savings over the year. Imagine what this can bring you. (Certainly,a deep fryermust be fine, yeah?)

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