13 Savvy Ways To Save Money on Meat and Poultry

by Andrea Norris-McKnight

Meats and poultry are often the most expensive items in a family’s grocery budget. And thanks to inflation and supply problems, meat and poultry prices rose considerably in 2023.

Get immediate savings with these simple, savvy ways to save money on meat and poultry costs.

13 Ways To Save Money on Meat and Poultry

1. Meal plan around your grocery store’s meat sales.

If you aren’t meal planning around your grocer’s meat sales, you’re likely paying full price for your family’s meats most weeks.

To ensure savings, check your grocer’s weekly sales flyer before meal planning and choose recipes based on what’s on sale.

Learn how to read your grocery store sales ad and find the best savings.

2. Don’t lose meats and poultry to spoilage.

Whether you pay full or sale price for meat, if you don’t eat it before it goes bad, you’re essentially throwing money in the trash.

To minimize food waste, make sure you always have a plan for using meats or poultry you buy or know how to freeze it properly to avoid freezer burn. Refer to these tips for frugally freezing meats.

3. Use every usable part of meat and poultry.

Use the bones and scraps from meat and chicken to make broth for soup, stews and gravies. If you can’t use the broth immediately, freeze it in ice cube trays for future use.

Read The Lost Art of Making Stock From Recycled Bones if you’ve never made broth from bones.

4. Shop markdowns.

Some grocery stores discount meat that’s close to its expiration date. Talk to your grocer’s meat department folks to determine when they mark down meats and poultry.

For instance, what day does Walmart mark down meat? It varies by location, but according to EatingWell.com, many Walmart locations mark down meat on “Sunday evenings or Monday mornings.”

Plan your shopping trips during “markdown” times to take advantage of these savings. Just make sure you also have a plan to use it or freeze it before it goes bad (see #2 above).

5. Buy in bulk.

If you have the freezer space, you can save considerably by buying poultry and meat in bulk.

You will likely have to repackage bulk purchases into recipe-size portions so you can easily pull out what you need from the freezer. Once again, make sure you use these tips to prevent freezer burn to protect your savings.

6. Choose tougher cuts of meat.

Often, the tougher the cut of meat, the lower the price. But these tougher cuts can be just as tasty as tender cuts with the proper preparation.

Tougher and cheaper cuts of meat usually require longer cooking times and moist heat cooking methods such as boiling, braising and slow cooker cooking. Avoid dry heat cooking methods such as roasting, frying and broiling.

When meal planning around tougher cuts of meat, make sure you allow for the extra cooking time you may need. Or use your slow cooker.

Slow cookers are great for turning inexpensive, tough cuts of meat into tasty entrees. They are also time savers. You can make a one-dish meal in the morning and let it slow cook all day. Try these 8-to-12-hour slow cooker recipes.

Find out the best cuts of meat for slow cooker meals.

7. Substitute cheaper meats in your family’s favorite recipes.

Just because a recipe calls for ground beef doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t substitute ground chicken, turkey or pork if it’s cheaper. This is especially true for soups, casseroles, chili, tacos, and almost any other recipe calling for ground meat.

You can also try out substitutes for other types of recipes. If your family doesn’t love it, you’ll know not to make it that way again. Who says beef stroganoff can’t become a chicken stroganoff with a little creative cooking?

8. Reduce the amount of meat used in recipes.

Just because a recipe calls for a pound of meat doesn’t mean you can’t use three-quarters of a pound and use that extra quarter of a pound for another dish. Less meat may mean a healthier meal in addition to savings.

If you’re worried the recipe won’t make enough to feed your family, increase the recipe’s or meal’s veggies or starch or start the meal with an inexpensive soup or salad.

9. Find ways to stretch meat.

Another way to reduce the amount of meat used in recipes and still cook enough to feed your family is to stretch it.

Ground beef is very easy to stretch. Add smashed lentils to ground beef for cheaper and healthier taco meat. Use quick oats in meatloaf to give your meatloaf some bulk while you reduce the amount of meat.

Try these ideas for stretching ground beef.

10. Know easy ways to use up leftover meats.

Whether you bake a chicken or grill steaks for dinner, you may end up with leftovers. Rather than let them go bad in the back of your fridge, find creative ways to use them up if you’re not a big fan of leftovers.

Use that steak as a filling for a wrap for lunch the next day. Make a chicken salad from that leftover chicken. Or try these creative ideas for using up leftovers.

11. Don’t pay for convenience if possible.

You typically pay extra for labor when you buy meat that has already been cut, sliced or ground. Unless the meat is on sale or marked down, do the cutting, slicing or grinding yourself at home.

For example, don’t purchase steak cut into stir-fry strips or pieces. Buy the complete steak and cut it into strips yourself. Buy whole chickens or turkeys instead of parts and learn to cut them into pieces. Many basic cookbooks and online tutorials have instructions on cutting up poultry.

You can also grind beef or other meats at home for big savings. Slice your own lunch meats rather than buy slices from the deli. If you buy a lot of pre-cooked deli rotisserie chickens, purchasing a rotisserie cooker to use at home may be a cost-effective investment.

You might need to invest in a few new kitchen tools to avoid paying for convenience meats, but you’ll quickly recoup the costs if you use them often.

12. Stick to a meat budget.

Do you know how much of your grocery budget goes toward meat? If not, track it for a few months. Then, determine a monthly amount for your meat budget and try to come within or under budget each month.

This requires you to be very mindful of how much you are spending, and therefore saving, on meat and poultry each month.

13. Go meatless for a few meals a week.

The easiest way to save money on meat is not to eat it. Find some meatless recipes your family enjoys to rotate into your meal plans.

Beans can be an excellent alternative for filling meat-free meals. Learn more about how dry beans can help you stretch food dollars.

Saving Money on Meat and Poultry Is Simple With These Tips

You don’t have to become a vegetarian to save on meat costs. Whether you use some or all of these tips, you should save significantly in the meat department.

More meat savings:

• How To Choose the Right Cuts of Meat for Affordable Tasty Meals
• How To Reduce the Cost of Lunch Meat
• Buying Better Seafood for Less
• Avoiding Dried Out Slow Cooker Meals

Reviewed January 2024

About the Author

Andrea Norris-McKnight took over as the editor of The Dollar Stretcher and After 50 Finances after working under the site founder and previous editor for almost 15 years. She has also written for Money.com, GOBankingRates.com, HavenLife.com and The Sacramento Bee.