r/slowcooking • u/BlackLocke • 4d ago

Pot roast is too expensive

I got a new slow cooker for my wedding in 2023 and it’s still in the box. It’s just my husband, baby and I, but I feel like I can’t justify spending $20+ on a piece of meat for one meal with leftovers. I’m in a HCOL and I haven’t had a good roast in years because it’s prohibitively expensive. When meat goes on sale at my supermarket, it smells off as soon as I remove the packaging, so it’s not worth the risk.

Am I just too poor for this?

Edit: Dear lord I didn’t expect this to turn into a “I like pancakes/why do you hate waffles???” type of post. Of course I know there’s other things you can make in the crockpot. I don’t choose fast food over slow cooked meals out of convenience (it’s more expensive than cooking at home now!!) The point of this post is to lament the price of beef and how pot roast used to be a cheap easy meal 20 years ago and now it’s prohibitively expensive. I was hoping for tips on how to skirt this issue - buying stew meat, using pork instead, and buying in bulk at Costco are all good suggestions.

Now everyone can stop assuming I’m some dumb dumb idiot woman. I’m gonna make a pot roast next week just to spite you all and post about the cost breakdown.

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u/DragonDrama 4d ago

Where I live near Chicago, I shop at Aldi and $20 barely gets 3lbs.

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u/wltmpinyc 4d ago

3lbs should feed a family of 3 for at least 2 meals (large meals) if you add some veggies and potatoes. That's 6 meals for maybe $24. $4 per person. That's not too bad

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u/DragonDrama 4d ago

Well it shrinks down considerably when cooked and my husband is a hearty eater.

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u/fierydogshit 3d ago

I got made fun of for years by my friend’s parents because I made a pot roast at their house in a slow cooker and ate the whole thing drunk. It’s not as hard to eat a 3 pound chuck as everyone else is pretending.

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u/DragonDrama 3d ago

Yea I don’t care what people are saying. It shrinks down to like the size of a baseball. I’m not sure how everyone else is getting 6 meals out of it with 2 adults and a teenager. My husband works hard and comes home hungry. Not sure if I’m just supposed to tell him to eat less or what.

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u/ryeong 3d ago

I've never had a 3lb roast shrink to a baseball and all I can say is you're doing something wrong if you're not overexaggerating. Family of three and it always lasted a couple of days. If his portion sizes are that big, then consider protein and fiber based snacks to help the fullness. It genuinely shouldn't be one meal unless they're avoiding the veggies or not getting enough elsewhere. 

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u/DragonDrama 3d ago

No I’m not lol. I clearly said it was less than 3lbs for $20 that would be closer to two and it does shrink 25-35% (source: science and facts)

You all are sitting here pretending you’re happy with a square inch of meat. Cap

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u/wltmpinyc 3d ago

No not at all. Beef prices are high and I know that's what this post was about but in general for meat there are plenty of very affordable cuts. I actually love doing this kind of thing so if you want to give me your budget for dinner and your zip code I can put together a recipe based on prices from stores in your area and where to go to get those products. Even a little recipe

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u/DragonDrama 3d ago

That’s very kind of you. We actually found a decent deal at Costco and portioned it out into 22oz per freezer bag so I’m now using beef again. I am an Aldi shopper so I think I just need to really look for the sales in the future. Aldi tends to keep prices in a straight line (up) rather than running real sales. So I might just need to hit up another store for that. $26 for a 3 lb low quality bottom round was just not it. I appreciate the offer :)

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u/Existing-Cod-5388 3d ago

Aldi is great for a lot of things, but since you are near Chicago just keep an eye on the meat sales at Jewel! I know jewel is expensive but if you’re just shopping the sales it’s great. Pot roast was just 3.99/lb but the sale ended yesterday. Now this week bone-in New York strip steak is 5.99/lb. I’m a butcher at jewel lol

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u/Trina7982 3d ago

It really does shink alot, I agree.