How often do you buy a vegetable, spice, or bag of lettuce that gets used once, forgotten about, and thrown away?
With grocery prices weighing heavily on family budgets, shoppers are looking for ways to spend less and cook smarter — and that often means rethinking what goes in the cart.
The key question before buying any ingredient: Can it be used for more than one meal?
Registered dietitian Kayla Pasquale said choosing versatile ingredients can make the entire cooking process less stressful.
"It takes off some of that stress on meal prep," she said, "if you can buy these ingredients that you can really cook once and reinvent a couple times."
WATCH as a dietitian shows foods that can be used in multiple meals during the week:
More shoppers are already thinking this way. According to a survey from Talker Research and the Idaho Potato Commission, 60% of shoppers are building meal plans around ingredient overlap.
Nearly two-thirds, 63%, said a single ingredient's ability to work across breakfast, lunch, and dinner is an essential or strong factor in whether it earns a regular spot in their cart.
So which foods offer the most versatility? We asked registered dietitians to weigh in.
Chicken
Pasquale points to boneless chicken breasts as one of the most versatile proteins available.
"You also can use that chicken next day for lunch, over a salad, or a grain bowl, or even in a wrap. Or something like our classic tacos," Pasquale said. "The last thing I love doing is dumping it in a soup."
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Experts also recommend chicken thighs, ground chicken, or rotisserie chicken that can be shredded and saved for later use.
Chuck roast
An affordable chuck roast offers similar flexibility.
"You can also shred that beef and use that on something like a taco, grain bowl, or a soup would be fantastic," Pasquale said.
Spinach
Registered dietitian Samantha Cassetty recommends spinach as a go-to multipurpose ingredient.
"I can put it in my smoothie. I can make a salad out of it. I can sauté it, use it in pasta dishes," she said.
Eggs
Eggs are efficient across all day parts, especially since prices have come down. Think about mixing eggs with vegetables for casseroles or other egg dishes.
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"Frittatas are great because they can be used as a breakfast dish that can feed the entire family, but they're great for a leftover lunch as well," Pasquale said.
Frozen or canned produce
Cassetty also adds canned or frozen fruits and vegetables to the list of budget-friendly, versatile options.
"They're less expensive to begin with and they can also be used in multiple ways," she explained, "like berries are in your smoothie, in your yogurt; you can heat them and use them instead of jelly on your peanut butter toast or over your waffles."
Potatoes
Potatoes are another budget-friendly option that can anchor multiple meals.
"I'll cut up a baked potato and load that with ground beef, some cheese, veggies, and that's kind of a boat for a meal throughout the week," Pasquale said.
More recommended staples include:
- Rice
- Pasta
- Quinoa
- Greek yogurt
- Beans
- Tofu
Why plan around ingredient overlap?
Cassetty said the problem many shoppers run into is buying ingredients for a single use, "and that's really going to drain your resources," she said
Cassetty said the benefits of multipurpose ingredients go far beyond financial savings.
"You're really cutting down on some of the decision fatigue that might lead to feeling overwhelmed at the end of the day, which is when we start ordering takeout," she said.
For those short on time during the week, Pasquale suggests using NFL Sundays or other televised events as a built-in cooking window.
You may be surprised when you go to heat up those leftovers.
"A slow cooker or even an Instant Pot will get you that nice sear, so it doesn't taste like it was produced on Sunday," she said. "It's got some of that char, some of that crisp and good flavor, and often times things taste better once the flavors can kind of set in and sink in several days later."
Add versatility to your shopping list, so you don't waste your money.
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