Tips & Techniques
6 Ingredients That Are Cheaper in the Bulk Aisle—and a Surprising One That Isn’t
There are a lot of smarty-pants reasons to buy ingredients in the bulk aisle. It reduces packaging waste (“Thank you!” says Earth). You can buy exactly as much as you want (one slice of dried mango? Sure!). And it saves you money.
Or does it?
I’ve always assumed that all bulk bin ingredients are cheaper—like, a lot cheaper—but never nitpicked the price tags. (For shame, for shame.) So this week, I went to Whole Foods, around the corner from our office, and did just that.
Good news: Lots of ingredients were, indeed, less expensive. Bad news: One notable one was not. But let’s start with the good, shall we?
Oats
I eat a loooooot of oats, so saving anything adds up quickly. An 18-ounce package of organic rolled oats costs $2.66/pound. In the bulk bin, it’s $1.39/pound. And organic steel-cut oats are even better. On the shelf, 24 ounces will cost you $2.66/pound. In the bulk bin, that drops to $1.29/pound.
Coffee Beans
I compared the per pound prices of two Allegro coffee blends: the 12-ounce bags on the shelf and those barrels so big you sort of want to jump right in (just me?). Both the Early Bird and Breakfast Blend were $15.99/pound on the shelf and $11.99/pound in bulk. Not too shabby, eh?
Chia Seeds
This is going to come in handy for your next chia pudding phase. In the bulk bin, chia seeds are $7.99/pound. In an 8-ounce bag, they’re $17.98/pound—over twice as much.
Lentils
Anything cuter than a lentil? Nope. This lil' legume is cost-effective, quick-cooking, and filling. (It's also a great stand-in for meat!) A 22-ounce bag of red lentils costs $4.36/pound. Meanwhile, in the bulk bin, that number drops to $2.29/pound. Picture a big sign that says: "(Almost) Half Off! Yippee!"
Dried Beans
We’re about to get real thrifty—ready? Already inexpensive canned beans are more expensive than dried ones. And bagged dried ones are more expensive than bulk ones. So basically, bulk dried beans should win you a money-saving award (imagine if it was a cash prize!). If your bulk aisle is worth its salt, it will have a variety of dried beans. At this store, kidney beans were $2.79/pound in bulk and $2.99 on the shelf for 1 pound. Black beans were the same shelf price and $1.99/pound in bulk.
Dried Fruit—Sort of
Raisins are a curious bunch. No matter what, the organic Thompson variety is cheaper in the bulk bin at $4.19/pound. But buy a 15-ounce box and they’re $4.26/pound. Buy an 8-ounce bag and they’re $7.98/pound. That’s the same price for a bag of pitted dates or prunes. In bulk, the dates are $5.99/pound (almost $2/pound savings), but the prunes are $8.99/pound (even more expensive). So, some fruit will save you, and some won’t. Which leads us to our next category...
Nuts
Surprise! Nuts aren’t cheaper in the bulk aisle. Whole almonds are $10.99/pound in bulk and $6.99 for a 1-pound bag. Walnut halves and pieces are $8.99 in bulk and $6.99 for a 1-pound bag. And whole cashews are the same price in both places. Which is to say, the bulk aisle is great and all, but before you go nuts, double check those prices.
What bulk bin item do you swear by? Tell us in the comments!
Written by: Emma Laperruque
Popular on Food52
10 Comments
Where I live there's a huge local produce market, Monterey Market; and an entire supermarket, Berkeley Bowl, with prices way below While Foods. Far better selection of unprocessed foods as well. There is also a local health food store chain, El Cerrito Natural Grocery, with comparable prices. Oddly local farmers' markets are charming and very expensive.
I only go to Whole Foods for a better variety of gluten free treats. Please don't just use Whole Foods as the only source, encourage people to see if they have local businesses for healthy food too.
Dried fruit? Look around: is someone putting hands in for 'quality control testing'? I'm not terribly comfortable with that either. Grains and beans, some nuts and spices, yes, yes and yes. Ideally, nuts, seeds and flours should be refrigerated. As a retired natural foods retailer, we put in a refrigerated room for the more sensitive bulk, but unfortunately, many customers were put off by having to brave refrigerator temperature, in spite of the quality benefits.
Regarding bulk nuts - we have Sprouts here and their bulk nuts are probably comparable to packaged nuts. BUT their nuts on sale (weekly) are outrageously cheap. For example, I think last week their almonds were $3.99/lb and this week walnuts are $4.99. Any nut probably is on sale at least once every 2 months, so I buy them up then and store in my freezer.
Also, be sure to store bulk goods in sealed containers. The lack of a seal in-store is just asking for infestations of critters like meal moths. A couple infested bulk purchases once wiped hundreds of dollars of goods in my pantry.
I hope that one day bulk sellers will operate like old-school pharmacies -- properly stored and cared for products are measured out for customers by professionals not mucking anything up!
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