One of my favorite places to save a dollar on food is the bulk bin section of my grocery store. Not all stores offer bulk goods, but it’s a a great feature when they do. I always feel like a kid in a candy store when browsing the bulk goods. So many colors, textures, and flavors; I want to try them all!
Why do I love the bulk bins? Because they allow me to buy the exact quantity of food that I need, they reduce packaging waste (especially if you use reusable bags, like these), and allow me to try out new foods without committing to a large quantity. And, most importantly, you can often get a lower price per pound than the pre-packaged items on the shelf.
That being said, it’s always smart to compare the prices found in the bulk bins to packaged goods. Depending on the item, you might find a generic packaged version for a lower price than bulk, which are sometimes reserved for organic or specialty varieties. Many larger grocery stores are now offering bulk goods, but I find that natural and ethnic food stores seem to have a better variety and lower prices.
While I don’t buy everything from the bulk bins, here are five of my favorite things to stock up on when I get the chance:
Nuts and seeds are one thing that I buy almost exclusively from bulk bins. I love the large variety of nuts offered in bulk, including raw, roasted & salted, and seasoned (hello black pepper cashews!), and the price is almost always lower than the bagged nuts you’ll find in the baking aisle. With nuts especially, I like to buy in the quantity that I know I need because they will go stale and get rancid if they’re left hanging out in your pantry too long. Rancid nuts = NO. (insert joke here)
Oats used to be one of the cheapest items in the cereal aisle, but ever since their heart healthy attributes made them the most popular kid in the class, the price has sky rocketed. A large tub of name brand rolled oats at my local grocery store runs almost six dollars! And generic is only slightly less. No ma’am. Oats should not cost that much. So, I stock up on my oats at the bulk bins. Not only are they less expensive, but I’m not left with that big bulky cardboard tub afterward. If I had kids, I’m sure that empty tub would come in handy for art projects, but I don’t, so it’s just more packaging.
THIS. This might be my favorite item in the bulk food section. Really high quality spices at really good prices. This is a great way to get that one miscellaneous spice that you need for a recipe without having to buy a whole bottle. Get just a tablespoon if you want! It’s allowed! It’s also a great way to experiment with new spices without committing to a $5+ container of it. And remember, herbs and spices don’t weigh a lot, so don’t be frightened by the high price per pound. Those whole cumin seeds in the photo above were $21.99/lb., but that bag was only 0.05 lbs., so the total price was a whopping $0.68. Not bad. Also, fresh spices = big flavor, so buy in small quantities. (I’m really excited to try that Jerk Seasoning, BTW.)
Dried fruit is another item that is usually very pricy, so I prefer to buy the small amount that I need rather than buying a large package and being forced to find a use for the leftovers. Once again, you’ll usually find more variety in the bulk bins, with options like sulfured vs. non-sulfured, or sweetened vs. unsweetened. Not to mention all the fun dried fruit, like papaya, mango, and pineapple.
I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but sometimes I want just a little treat. I might want one cookie, not a box of cookies. I might want a half handful of chocolate covered almonds, not a whole bag of chocolate covered almonds. The bulk bins allow me to do just that. I’ve been known to buy 5-6 mini chocolate covered pretzels from the bulk bins and leave it at that. Three or four malted milk balls? Sure. Although, I will say that one time I bought such a small quantity of something that the scale at the register couldn’t detect it, but I guess I had to learn the limits some how.
Storing Bulk Food
The only caveat to buying food from the bulk bins is that you need a container to transfer them into later. Sure, you could keep them in the plastic bags used to transport them home from the store, but they’re not air tight so your food will go stale faster. Plus, having 20 different plastic bags in your pantry can become a mess. So, here are some ideas for storage containers.
I have two of these Better Homes & Gardens Flip Tite container sets that I use for my flour, sugar, grains, and other large quantity dry goods. I love them and they’re quite inexpensive. Most home goods stores will have some sort of container that is similar, whether plastic or glass.
For miscellaneous small items, I use the same Ziploc reusable plastic containers that I keep most of my refrigerated and frozen food in. Ziploc bags are another option and the freezer bags have a label area, which is great for noting date of purchase to keep things fresh.
If you don’t like plastic, mason jars are a great option. Or, if you need larger storage, there are a variety of large glass jars and canisters made specifically for food storage. Make sure to get the type with a gasket lid to keep air and moisture out of your food. The great thing about glass storage is that they can last a lifetime and are usually very pretty when displayed in the kitchen. You may even be able to find quality glass storage containers at thrift shops.
A great way to store bulk spices is to simply save your old spice container and refill it with the newly purchased bulk spices. Or, get some really cool brand new glass spice bottles. You can wash and reuse them so they’re a good investment.
What about you?
What are your favorite items to buy from the bulk food bins? How do you like to store your dry goods? Share your tips, tricks, and super good finds with the rest of us in the comments below. We can all learn from each other! :)
I love your blog! The pictures are gorgeous, making the recipes look so good. I can’t wait to try some your recipes.
I like that you said that bulk bins reduce packaging waste. It might be a good idea to learn about the things that you would need and be able to get in a bulk bin. If I was going to get a bulk bin I would want to know that I would be able to get everything that I would be needing specifically.
Hey! I’ve been a longtime “lurker” in that I’ve browsed your website for a long time and have used some of your recipes (with great success at lot of times!).
I don’t know too many grocery stores where you can buy in bulk spices or oats… I’ll have to compare prices when it comes to nuts and dried fruit though.
I noticed you use the OXO pop-up lid containers. I have those as well and love them. However, I must ask if you’ve ever noticed that your lids can “slide” off. A couple of mine which hold flour and sugar do this, and I’m not sure why. I checked if I put them on and/or reassembled correctly, which I have. My sis-in-law has these too and noticed hers do that as well. *shrugs*
Yes, mine definitely do that! I have to remember to lift them from the bottom instead of trying to pick them up by the lid. My containers are actually made by Better Homes and Gardens, but they’re almost exactly like those Oxo containers. :)
I usually go to ethnic markets for bulk, especially spices. I got 2 pounds of every indian spicy I could find for $2.50 a pound at a local Indian market. When you’re looking to buy bulk, get as close to the source as possible. This includes farmers markets.
I normally buy spices in the bulk aisle. I’ll make a spice rub, buying random spices like a tablespoon or two at a time.
If you buy items in small amounts the scales at the checkout counter generally can’t distinguish that low of a weight. I generally get each spice for around a nickle it’s a great bargain.
I just spent a ton of money on bulk foods today (i only go to the places that have bulk bins once every few months)
My favorite thing to get is rice, couscous and other grains – i can get different blends of rice in smaller/cheaper quantities.
For spices, i prefer christmas tree shops (cinnamon sticks for $1 = chai concentrate joy) and world market (best price i’ve seen for cardamom )
Storage – i actually hate mason jars. Love the concept, but i always find them too big or too small for what i need, easy to drop, and the two-part lids annoy me. But i just today decided to try oul the steralized starbucks frappachini bottles i’d been collecting. I think i’ll like them for things i’ll use relatively quickly, even though the lids aren’t air tight,
There are plastic lids sold for mason jars available. I generally find them above eye level on the top shelf over the canning supplies where the jars are sold. Just another option for you.
I have not yet found a bulk bin section in the grocery stores I visit. I’m sad. :(
My grocery doesn’t have bulk items, but here’s another trick for buying spices/herbs: try the ethnic aisle! They have a decent selection of spices in the Hispanic section, and they’re a fraction of the price of the spices in the ‘regular’ section of the same store. (Same for certain teas, too, like chamomile.)
good blog.
I never shop at whole foods, because of the price and the fact that I’ve never lived too close to one. People kept telling me how cheap the bulk bins where, so I got the prices on a ton of different things and compared them at Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Whole Foods. I looked at baking staples, nuts, dried fruits, and snack items. I didn’t look into spices, but rolled oats were the only thing that were cheapest at Whole Foods. I think if you really need a small quantity, or want a wider variety, the bulk bins are the right choice. But if you’re just going for cost, and eating organic isn’t all that important to you, it’s best to shop somewhere else and just try to use it all before it goes bad.
Whole wheat flour was 400% more expensive at my WF than the Hodgson Mill bag at Walmart. Not everyone has a Trader Joe’s or Aldi, and nuts can be difficult to find when it isn’t the holiday season, but TJ’s nuts were generally 1/2 the cost of Whole Food’s.
I have OXO containers, which are very similar to your flip top ones. The problem I’ve found is that they are quite fragile. I accidentally dropped one with flour and it shattered all over the floor. Mason jars can handle being dropped, but are annoying for things you need to scoop.
Also, if you have a World Market in your area, they often have a great selection of spices. They usually have great reusable glass jars and then refill bags of spices. They’re great quality. If it’s a less popular spice like Anise or Cardamom, or if you don’t want it pre-ground, World Market is generally cheapest. My normal grocery store wanted $15 for a small thing of cardamom, but I got it there for under $5.
Yes! I love World Market for spices, too. I also scored big on the cardamom there. :)
Thank you for this tutorial, Beth. I needed this.
As always you’re fabulous, Beth. I love this post. I need to go to Whole Foods more often. The closest one is about a 30 minute drive from me. :)
Where can I buy these storage containers? Between I always stock nuts, spices and oats in my kitchen. Thanks for sharing.
There is a link in the text for the large clear clamp top containers that I have (they’re only available at Walmart) and links to the other containers on Amazon, although most of the other containers can be purchased at many different stores.
The local store I use to buy in bulk actually prefers that we bring in whatever containers we use to hold our bulk items. They tare the container (they write the weight on a piece of tape to put on the container) and then you can go fill that container with however much you want. That way you don’t have to gather all those plastic bags and you don’t accidentally wind up with more than the mason jar can hold. We have been buying pasta, spices, oats, and even coffee this way for quite some time.
I love that! I wish more stores would use that method.
Nuts for you Beth!
Haha, I finally have learned to buy some things in bulk bins, however, sometimes I find the nuts are rancid in there, yuck! Plus, I’ve seen people do some disgusting stuff at the bulk bins like manhandle the food in the bins, eat out of the bins with their bare hands and once I even saw a bug infestation in the bin already. Do I complain about seeing people go into the bins to the store manager? I hate being the person to complain, but I want to be able to buy out of the bins because it’s so much cheaper!
Oh no! Ewwww. I’d definitely let an employee know. :P It wouldn’t be much for them to empty out a bin and refill it. A small loss for them.
If you are going to freeze anything (and I do tons of stuff) get a vacuum sealer. I buy at the local farmers market all season and pre-prep veggies then freeze on a sheet pan. Then I vacuum pack them in 1qt or 1pt bags. They keep for rest of year. Great for fast prep of meals. Think diced onions, carrots, peppers of any kind,etc.. If you are into meats – shop @ 7-7:30am on Tue/Wed for great deals on reduced weekend left over stuff like burger, chops, chicken. That’s when a lot of stores put this stuff out. Pre-prep patties, counts, etc, and vacuum pack in meal size pkgs.
No reason this wouldn’t work for any dry item that might get lower in quality over time. I wouldn’t do beans,rice, etc.. this way – not necessary. But I do use the oven 1hr method for cooking dry beans and freeze them instead of cans. It works awesome.
Vacuum seal coffee beans (buy 5-10lbs fresh roasted) then seal up in 1qt bags (about a week worth for me). Did this for Bay Leaves too (bought a pkg on amazon – plenty for a year or so plus all my relatives!). Don’t see why this wouldn’t be good for all spices that you can freeze. You can get 1pt bags. Nuts obviously – I use a lot of different ones in various recipes. Pine Nuts in particular, expensive and if you can get them in bulk or good deal, they deteriorate quickly.. freezing in 1pt vacuum bags for Italian meals, pesto, or just on salads.
Lastly when you use the bag – wash/dry it and reuse it.