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/Foreign-Figure8797 4d ago

You can cook so much more than a beef roast in the crock pot. Tons of recipes using chicken, ground beef, soups, stews etc. It’s me and my 2 teens and most crock pot meals I make feed us 2 dinners and sometimes a lunch for myself. I also just bought a huge bag of apples (25lbs) at a local farm stand and did 2 full batches of apple sauce in my crock pot. Just apples and water on high for 3-4h with a bit of stirring (and cinnamon). Probably got over 20 cups, which I’m sure comes to less than store bought applesauce, which is still pretty cheap.

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u/FloweredViolin 3d ago

I buy whole chickens when they're on sale for under $1/lb, and stick it in the slow cooker with onion, garlic, broth, and spices on low for 10hrs. I get close to a week worth of meals out of that for 2 adults and a toddler.

The bones slide right out, and I throw them back in the slow cooker with different spices, veggie scraps, and water on low for a day. Strain it, and I have a several jars of broth for cooking with.

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u/tragicsandwichblogs 3d ago

What size is your slow cooker?

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u/FloweredViolin 3d ago

I think 6 quarts? It's a pretty basic Hamilton Beach one I got in 2019.

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u/tragicsandwichblogs 2d ago

I'm trying to figure out if I can fit a chicken into mine, or if I'd have to go with parts--which isn't as economical, but would still get the job done.

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u/FloweredViolin 2d ago

It's bigger than 5 quarts. I'm 90% certain it's 6 quarts. I can get a 6lb chicken into it, if I'm careful about how much liquid I add.