Pantry staples are items that don’t often go on sale, but that you probably use almost every day in your kitchen! Because of this, it’s worth seeing how prices compare among the stores near you. Think about the items you’d want to have on hand in severe weather, and that will help you figure out what is a pantry staple for you! There’s a reason why milk and bread run out first in our area when a hurricane is coming.
I compared prices on 20 pantry staples at 5 different stores: Target, Aldi, Walmart, Kroger,and Publix.
Note that occasionally, these stores will run sales on these items (for example, Kroger recently had a weekly digital deal where you could get butter for $1.99), but prices mostly stay the same on these items.
Comparing Prices on 20 Pantry Staples
Where you buy pantry staples is going to depend on the stores available to you. If Target is having a sale on canned goods but you don’t have one near you, then that doesn’t really matter!
As you look at the chart below, I wanted to note that Target, Aldi, and Walmart rarely put these items on sale, so the price you are seeing is the regular price on store brand items. For Kroger and Publix, they do have special deals, so I put the price of either the store brand item or, if the price was lower, the price of a name brand item that was on sale.
It is possible to get BOGO items on this list cheaper at Publix than the regular price at Aldi or Walmart. However, again, if you don’t have a Publix near you, that doesn’t really matter!
With all that said, here’s the chart!
How you use this chart to do your shopping will depend on how often you eat these things and how far away the store is from you. Honestly, if I had an Aldi nearby, I’d probably go every so often and stock up on the main pantry staples that we use. Since many of the items on this list are shelf-stable for a long time or can be frozen, you could go once a month and get what you’ll use, and then do the rest of your shopping at whatever other store you prefer.
If you don’t like to use coupons or shop sales, then this chart makes it clear that Aldi or Walmart are your best options for doing all of your grocery shopping if you want to get the lowest price.
Where do you buy your pantry staples? Let us know in the comments!