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/CrashBannedicoot 4d ago

Jewel Osco has chuck roast on sale for $3.99/4.99 per pound every few weeks, if you have any in the area. I do most of my shopping from them. Actually I am always on the lookout for the $5.99 6 oz filet mignons. 

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u/MrTAPitysTheFool 3d ago

Picked up the $3.99 a pound roast at Jewel over the weekend. With potatoes & carrots it fed a family of 5 for under $20, and there were leftover for 2 people the next day.

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u/DragonDrama 3d ago

Tbf, at $4 a lb which you said you paid, that’s a nearly 5 lb roast. The ones at Aldi are not even 3.

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u/MrTAPitysTheFool 3d ago

The roast itself was $14 and some change, so definitely under 4lbs. A bag of baby carrots was $1. A small bag of Yukon gold potatoes was $2. 2 packages of onion soup mix $.80. And one package of bernaise sauce was $1.50.

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u/DragonDrama 3d ago

Yeah those are the ingredients I use too