Walmart has earned its reputation as a place to stretch a grocery budget, particularly if you’re willing to fill your cart with Great Value products. But even cheap Walmart groceries aren’t necessarily a good deal just because they come with a low price tag.
The biggest culprit is convenience. Foods that have already been cooked, chopped, peeled, flavored, or divided into individual servings can cost considerably more per ounce than the basic version sitting a few shelves away. That’s why the National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends using unit prices to compare products and package sizes — especially when the cheapest-looking option isn’t necessarily the best value.
Prices and availability vary by location, but these 13 Walmart groceries are worth comparing carefully before tossing them in your cart.
90-Second Rice Pouches
Microwaveable rice is hard to beat when you need dinner in a hurry, but you’re paying quite a bit for those 90 seconds. Great Value’s 8.8-ounce ready-to-heat white rice pouch works out to around 15 cents per ounce, while a 5-pound bag of the store brand’s dry long-grain rice costs roughly 4 cents per ounce. That makes the pouch several times more expensive by weight. Cooking a big batch of rice and freezing individual portions can offer nearly the same convenience for considerably less. Still, the pouches can be handy for travel, work lunches, or those nights when even washing a pot feels like too much effort.
Pre-Peeled Hard-Boiled Eggs
Boiling and peeling eggs isn’t exactly anyone’s favorite kitchen chore, and Walmart is happy to do it for you — for a price. Six Great Value hard-boiled eggs have recently sold for about $3.77, or roughly 63 cents per egg. An 18-count carton of fresh Great Value eggs, meanwhile, has been listed around $2.47, or just 14 cents each. In other words, six already-boiled eggs can cost more than an entire carton containing three times as many eggs. If hard-boiled eggs are a regular breakfast or snack in your house, boiling several at once is an easy way to avoid the convenience markup.
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Those individual oatmeal envelopes don’t look expensive, but the humble canister usually wins on unit price. Great Value quick oats in a 42-ounce container have recently cost about 10 cents per ounce, compared with roughly 15 to 16 cents per ounce for several varieties of flavored instant oatmeal packets. The difference can be even greater with smaller or specialty boxes. Plain oats also give you the freedom to add your own cinnamon, brown sugar, fruit, raisins, or other toppings — and control just how sweet breakfast gets.
Individual Applesauce Cups
Applesauce cups are undeniably convenient for lunchboxes, but households eating most of their applesauce at home may be paying extra for all that packaging. A 48-ounce jar of Great Value applesauce has recently worked out to roughly 7.6 cents per ounce, while a six-pack of individual cups costs closer to 9.2 cents per ounce. That difference doesn’t look enormous on one purchase, but it adds up if applesauce is a regular grocery staple. Buy the jar and portion servings into reusable containers, saving the individual cups for times when their portability is actually useful.
Flavored Tuna Pouches
A little pouch of seasoned tuna makes an easy lunch, but it’s a textbook example of why shoppers should look beyond the total price. Great Value’s basic 5-ounce canned tuna has recently cost around 17 cents per ounce. Some 2.6-ounce flavored tuna pouches, meanwhile, work out to roughly 36 cents per ounce — more than twice as much. If you already have seasonings and condiments at home, plain canned tuna plus ranch seasoning, lemon pepper, hot sauce, or mayo can deliver a similar lunch without paying such a hefty premium for the pouch.
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Small Boxes of Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches
Buying the smaller box doesn’t always mean spending less in the long run. Walmart currently lists a four-count package of Great Value sausage, egg, and cheese croissant sandwiches for $5.78, or 32.8 cents per ounce. The eight-count box costs $9.97 but drops the unit price to 28.3 cents per ounce. That’s a good reminder to check the little number on the shelf label rather than automatically reaching for the package with the lowest total price. Of course, the larger box isn’t a bargain if half of it sits forgotten in the freezer.
Single-Serve Greek Yogurt Cups
Individual yogurt cups are convenient and come in plenty of flavors, but shoppers who eat yogurt regularly may get more for their money from a tub. Great Value sells Greek yogurt in 32-ounce containers that can work out to around 10 cents per ounce, making it worth comparing the unit price with whichever individual cups you’re considering. A large tub is also surprisingly versatile: Use it for breakfast, smoothies, dips, dressings, and sauces. If you struggle to finish yogurt before it goes bad, though, the individual servings may be worth the extra cost.
Small Bags of Pre-Shredded Cheese
Grabbing an 8-ounce bag of shredded cheese saves a little prep work, but don’t assume the $2-ish price makes it the cheapest option. Great Value’s 8-ounce shredded cheddar has recently worked out to roughly 25 cents per ounce, while larger bags and blocks can offer a better unit price. A block also gives you more options: Slice it for sandwiches, cube it for snacks, or shred exactly what you need for dinner. The important thing is to compare the shelf labels, since cheese prices and package-size bargains can change.
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Individual Fruit Cups
Those little cups of peaches and mixed fruit are built for convenience, and their unit price often reflects it. Four-ounce Great Value fruit cups have recently cost around 15.5 cents per ounce, while a larger can of no-sugar-added peaches has been available for closer to 11.4 cents per ounce. If you’re serving fruit at home, buying the can and portioning it yourself can be the better deal. For school lunches, road trips, or emergency desk snacks, however, the shelf-stable individual cups have an obvious advantage.
Small Salad Kits
A $3 or $4 bag containing an almost-complete salad can feel like a bargain compared with takeout, but even salad kits reward shoppers who check the unit price. A regular Marketside Caesar salad kit has recently cost about 24.6 cents per ounce, compared with roughly 22.3 cents per ounce for the family-size version. Some specialty chopped kits climb above 30 cents per ounce. Families may save by sizing up or buying lettuce, dressing, cheese, and croutons separately, especially if those ingredients will be used for other meals. For someone cooking for one, though, a small kit that prevents half a head of lettuce from ending up in the trash could still be money well spent.
Pre-Cut Fruit Containers
Few grocery-store conveniences are more obvious than a container of fruit somebody else has already washed, peeled, and chopped. Marketside’s ready-to-eat fruit containers, including watermelon chunks, eliminate practically all the work — and that labor and packaging are incorporated into the price. Before grabbing one, compare the price per pound with a whole melon or other whole fruit nearby. Cutting a large batch at home and refrigerating portions for the next few days can offer much of the same convenience. Pre-cut fruit can still be worthwhile for people who are short on time or have difficulty cutting and preparing whole fruit themselves.
Individual Chip Variety Packs
Eighteen bags of chips for less than $10 sounds pretty reasonable until you notice how tiny those bags are. An 18-count Frito-Lay variety pack currently sells for $8.97 at Walmart, or about 51 cents per ounce. What you’re paying for isn’t just chips — it’s 18 individually portioned, portable packages. That’s useful when packing school lunches or grabbing snacks on the way out the door. If everyone is eating chips at home, however, larger bags and reusable containers deserve a unit-price comparison before you commit to the multipack.
Frozen Premade PB&J Sandwiches
Smucker’s Uncrustables might save you a minute or two, but that convenience doesn’t come cheap. A 10-count box currently sells for $9.84 at Walmart, which comes to just under 99 cents for each small sandwich. Considering a PB&J requires only bread, peanut butter, and jelly, it’s one of the easier convenience foods to recreate at home for less. You can even make several sandwiches at once and freeze them individually. Uncrustables still have plenty of appeal for busy families — just think of them as a time-saving purchase rather than an ultra-cheap lunch.
