14 Grocery Store Staples You Should Make From Scratch, According To Reddit

If you have limited time in the kitchen, you may find yourself frequently leaning on certain grocery store staples, just in order to get meals on the table. Who has time to make biscuits from scratch when you can just pop open a can from the fridge? Who's struggling to make from-scratch brownies for the school bake sale, when the boxed stuff is right there and just as good? Not you, that's for sure.

During a rushed week, if you can open a series of cans and maybe a packet of powder or two, throw it all in a slow cooker, and the result be a pretty tasty dinner, that's a win. In some cases, you may even prefer the pre-cooked or pre-made staples to the from-scratch variants (because no matter what anyone says, homemade potato chips don't really scratch the cravings itch the same way that a bag of Lay's will).

All of that said, though, while the abundance of processed foods available at one's fingertips is nothing short of a miracle, some will argue that it's also the case that, if you can ever find time to make some very specific foods from scratch, you might never go back. These are the grocery store staples that Reddit users by and large agree that you should be making on your own.

If you rarely make pie (and especially if you only make pie around the busy and stressful holiday season), you probably don't even think about making your own pie crust. You just grab one from the freezer section, already ready to go in its little aluminum plate, or you snag a roll-out crust from the dairy cooler. However, flaky, buttery pie crust is within your grasp and it's one of the items that bakers on Reddit seem to agree is worth the effort of making from scratch, for multiple reasons. Some say that, when a pie crust is done right, it's their favorite part of the pie, not just a vehicle for the pie filling. Others note that they don't quite care for the ingredients in ready-made crusts, while some describe ready-made crusts as being too thin or having an "off" flavor. The low cost of making a pie crust from scratch is also brought up as a bonus.

That said, home bakers that are pro from-scratch pie crust do acknowledge that learning how to make a good crust requires patience and practice. Over time, they assure, you'll get the hang of things. From there, the only annoyance will likely be the mess that comes with the process.

Salad dressings seem intimidating at first, but as many Reddit users have learned, making homemade salad dressing is way easier than you're probably thinking. Additionally, Redditors noted, making your own dressing takes minimal time and is far cheaper than buying it bottled, and you can pick exactly which ingredients you want in the dressing, whether you're watching your health or you're customizing your flavors to your broader meal.

So, toss the bottle and make your own salad dressing. You can even make the process pull double duty, repurposing some ingredients that you might otherwise be getting ready to toss, when you make salad dressing from nearly empty condiment jars. Whether you're looking at the last dregs of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, or pickled jalapeños, use that as the base of your dressing, adding in your oil, vinegar, and other ingredients to form a vinaigrette. Then, shake the dressing right in the jar.

If thinking about making your own pasta sauce from scratch leaves you with visions of sweating over a stove for hours upon hours, waiting for a marinara to simmer to perfection, rest assured that you don't have to labor for quite that long at all, in order to pull together an impressive tomato-based pasta sauce. However, the pro from-scratch crew on Reddit does offer a word of advice to any newbie home cook attempting homemade pasta sauce for the first time: You do not have to, by any means, make your pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes. In fact, unless you purchased your tomatoes locally, while they were in season, you're going to get a better overall flavor from the canned tomatoes.

Making pasta sauce using canned tomatoes requires minimal time (under 10 minutes in some cases) and it's cheap. Plus, you can season the sauce to your liking, while avoiding any ingredients you'd prefer less of (such as the ample salt and sugar that you'll find in many store-bought pasta sauces).

There are many reasons why you might consider making soup from scratch, according to Reddit, but two of the biggest ones? Cost and health. Not only is making a big batch of soup that you can eat for multiple meals cost-effective (particularly if you choose the type of soup you're going to make based on ingredient prices, and you utilize cheap ingredients that can bulk the soup up, like potatoes), but canned soup is often eye-wateringly high in sodium. Making the soup yourself allows you to keep that sodium in check. Plus, you can still enjoy both of these benefits while taking a few soup-cooking shortcuts, if you're not down for cooking every last ingredient from scratch.

Some of the tips that Reddit users provided include, rather than cooking the chicken you plan on using in your soup, using a rotisserie chicken, and utilizing canned and frozen vegetables and beans. You can also make a great soup by taking a Trader Joe's shortcut: Buy one of the chain's soup starters and then build upon it, adding complimentary ingredients you might have on hand, such as a protein or extra veggies. Prefer to cut your grocery list down as much as possible? Make three-ingredient tomato soup in under five minutes with just tomato paste, water, and basil.

When it comes to making your own guacamole, Reddit users agree that this might not be a choice you make for cost's sake, given the price of avocados, but it does pay off in terms of freshness and taste. Plus, it couldn't be easier — all you're really doing is mashing some ingredients together. That said, you have to pick the right ingredients and that's where Reddit users didn't really concur across the board. Cumin, jalapeños, tomatoes, garlic, scallions, and corn, and whether or not they had a place in homemade guac, were all up for debate among the comments.

Additionally, some Reddit users were a bit more lax as to what they consider "homemade" and suggested some solutions for getting your guac fix without investing in the entirely-from-scratch method — for example, combining mashed avocado and salsa, or avocado and jalapeño cream cheese. If you like the sound of that, but want something that feels a little fresher than jarred salsa, store-bought pico de gallo may be the pre-made ingredient you need for easier guacamole.

Many Redditors mention gravy as one of the top things that are just worth it to make from scratch — but with a caveat. Some pointed out that the main reason why it makes sense to make your own gravy is because, in many of the instances in which you'd want gravy to begin with, you already have the primary thing you need for a solid homemade gravy at the ready: pan drippings. It's just a point of adding a little flour and liquid, with some whisking to avoid lumps.

However, here's the caveat: If you're not actually making anything that will leave you with pan drippings, like a roast or a turkey, then many Redditors find using packets or jars of gravy to be perfectly suitable. For example, if you're just reheating leftovers and want some gravy? Packet. Making mashed potatoes but no meat? Packet. Biscuits only? Packet. Some Redditors interestingly take a "not either/or but both/and" approach, making their own gravy and then bolstering it with a packet of gravy powder. The good news is if you're specifically in the need for turkey gravy but aren't doing the from-scratch thing? The best store-bought turkey gravy is also the cheapest: Walmart's Great Value turkey gravy, as determined by a Takeout taste-test.

Stock is another item that Redditors mention again and again as something that's worth making from scratch. While, yes, the process does seem time-consuming, commenters verify that the process is mostly hands-off. Additionally, making your own stock allows you to control the sodium content, and you can use up a lot of food that might otherwise go to waste, like poultry bones, and vegetables and herb scraps. All you have to do is save up those scraps in your freezer until you're ready to make your stock. Then, if you don't want to let the stock simmer for multiple hours on the stove, you can use a pressure cooker to achieve the same effect in under half an hour.

If you're hesitant, commenters do say, though, that you'll get more value from this project if you reserve your homemade stock for certain uses. For example, if you're just using something other than water to, say, boil a vegetable, you might not bother with using the homemade stock. However, if you're preparing something that's very reliant on the stock and its flavor, like pho or chicken noodle soup, that's where you're going to see the fruits of your labors shine their brightest.

Even if you decide to make your cake from a boxed mix, Redditors urge you to make your frosting yourself, and mention that there are so, so many different kinds of frosting to pick from. If you find one type of frosting challenging, try a variety that's easier to make next. If you don't really like the taste or texture of a certain frosting, choose another. Plus, some mention if you're going to be actually decorating with the frosting (versus just slapping it onto the cake), homemade frosting is easier to adjust than canned frosting, so you get the right consistency for piping.

So, if you're brand-new to from-scratch frosting, but you want to give it a try, where should you start? When you look at every type of frosting ranked by difficulty, the clear easiest for beginners is American buttercream. It requires minimal ingredients — butter or shortening and powdered sugar, maybe some vanilla or milk — and all you really have to do is hover over your stand mixer and watch it all come together. Other beginner-friendly options include cream cheese frosting and ermine buttercream. Meanwhile, some of the most challenging are French buttercream and Italian buttercream, so you may want to avoid those for now.

Like guacamole, hummus is a dip that Redditors agree is best made from scratch, for multiple reasons including flavor, undesirable ingredients in store-bought varieties, and price. You can save the most money by purchasing dried chickpeas versus canned chickpeas, and purchasing them from an international foods store. Then, cook the dried chickpeas in a pressure cooker to save yourself some time. Want to reduce the price of your homemade hummus even more? Many complain that the tahini is the priciest ingredient in most hummus recipes, so consider making your own tahini, too. Redditors report that making tahini at home is easy and cheap, and all you really have to do is toast your sesame seeds, let them cool, and then run them through your food processor with olive oil until it's the correct consistency.

That said, Redditors admit that learning to make your own hummus may take a few tries. You might need to test out a few recipes until you find one that results in both the flavor and texture you prefer. However, if you can nail it, you may just join the many commenters who say they'll never go back to store-bought.

If you have a particular brand of mayonnaise that you absolutely love, like Duke's or Hellmann's, then there's probably no convincing you that it's worth it to make homemade mayonnaise. However, if you give it a go, you might just see why there's a large cohort of Reddit home cooks who wouldn't have it any other way — who even go so far as to say that making homemade mayonnaise is "life-changing." Sure, some do admit that if you only need a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise, you might not want to go through the effort, but if you're making a mayo-forward food, like a tuna salad or chicken salad, Redditors whole-heartedly recommend it.

Overall, making homemade mayo is easy, but you do have to follow the rules. That means using the right sized bowl, pouring your oil correctly, and combining ingredients in the right proportions. Once you master a basic mayo, you can begin branching out, making flavored mayos.

If you didn't hop onto the bread-making bandwagon in 2020, when everyone stuck at home as trying their hand at the craft, you may just want to try it out now, per the avid bakers on Reddit. Not only is homemade bread significantly cheaper than store-bought bread, but many say that homemade bread also doesn't go stale as quickly as store-bought bread. Additionally, there's just the fact that it tastes better (and is going to make your house smell great while it's baking).

If you're still feeling a little intimidated, there are plenty of easy spots for you to start, such as with a no-knead recipe or by using a bread mixer. Plus, the secret to the best homemade bread is already in your kitchen: a colander. If you're in need of a proofing basket, a colander makes an excellent stand-in, as it both supports the dough's shape, while also allowing for appropriate airflow.

While Redditors definitely think that making pasta from scratch can be worth it, many do clarify that it's not worth it under every single circumstance. They note that fresh, homemade pasta is nearly a completely different product than dried, store-bought pasta. The textures, tastes, ingredients, and ideal uses are all different. As such, if you're just trying to get some spaghetti on the table on a weeknight, making your own pasta might not be worth it at that point. If, though, you want to make something special (filled pastas and gnocchi are recommended) and you have some time, making your own pasta can be rewarding, as well as a way for you to get closer to your food (and anyone who volunteers to help in the kitchen).

If you're convinced you should make homemade pasta, you don't need to invest in a pasta machine just yet. All you probably need is all-purpose flour, semolina, eggs, and a clean workspace. Then, just make sure to avoid some of the biggest mistakes beginners make with homemade pasta: not letting the dough rest after kneading, not buying 00 flour, and not paying attention to how your dough feels. It should feel almost like Play-Doh.

Granola frequently pops up when you ask Redditors their favorite foods to make from scratch. While it'll ultimately depend on your exact granola recipe, homemade granola can often be less expensive and more nutritious than the store-bought varieties. The key to ensuring you're getting a good price and a more nutritious breakfast? Redditors offered tips such as buying your ingredients in bulk, using very little sweetener, and avoiding high-cost ingredients like nuts and dried fruit.

Once you've found a basic granola recipe that fits both your wallet and your health needs, you can begin playing around with this versatile staple. For example, the granola trick that turns your morning yogurt into the ultimate pick-me-up? Adding instant coffee to your recipe. Or, you can turn leftover party snack mix into granola, such as a snack mix that includes chips, pretzels, or cereal, for a fun, salty addition that pairs well with sweet ingredients like chocolate chips or dried fruit.

The people of Reddit love their homemade pesto, and one reason why? When you make your own pesto, you can swap out certain ingredients in order to make a truly inexpensive sauce that tastes nearly or just the same. For instance, rather than buying basil at the store, grow it on your own, a process that's supposedly easy for even those lacking a green thumb. If that's not an option for you, you can swap out the basil for a lot of different greens. You can even just combine all of your green veggie scraps to make garbage pesto, utilizing leftover kale, chard, or arugula. Pine nuts too pricey? Opt for pecans, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, or almonds — whatever you find a deal on at the grocery store. You can also use breadcrumbs in place of the nuts.

Whether you go with one of these variations or you stick to a tried-and-true, classic recipe, though, if you find yourself making a big batch of pesto from scratch, don't let it go to waste. You can freeze any pesto you're not eating right at the moment in a freezer-safe container, for up to six months. Before freezing, cover the pesto with a small amount of olive oil, which will ensure the pesto retains its green hue.