We’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen over the years– and we mean a lot! So when readers keep asking “Okay, but what do you actually buy?”, we figured it was time to make things more official. Welcome to the Budget Bytes Best of the Best Awards, where Melissa, Jennie, and I dish on the kitchen products, pantry staples, and grocery brands we genuinely can’t live without. We even put it to a vote and let you, our audience, crown your own favorites… because your opinions matter around here. We have gathered together our most trusted products for this year, just the real stuff we actually use.
Eating well on a budget shouldn’t mean settling for flavorless food. The whole mission of the BoBB Awards is to celebrate the brands that actually get it right: big on flavor, easy on your wallet, and worthy of a permanent spot in your cart. Whether a product was handpicked by our test kitchen team or voted in by thousands of our readers (you!), it earned its place here. Consider this your cheat sheet to the best budget-friendly finds out there— no boring picks allowed!!
Each item was judged on the following criteria:
- Affordability – Products fit within price points accessible to most Americans
- Accessibility – Products can be found where most Americans shop, including Walmart, Target, Costco, Kroger, and Aldi
- Quality – Products deliver high-quality results relative to price
- Additional considerations – Performance, nutritional value, and community approval
If you don’t see your favorite brands on here, let us know in the comments which ones we missed or may not know about yet. We’ll put them to the test and you might just see them pop up in the Winner’s Circle next year! You know we love a good challenge, so let’s hear it!
Without further adieu, here are the winners for the Best of Budget Bytes 2026!
Best Kitchen Equipment Brands
You don’t need a kitchen full of gadgets to make great food, and plenty of our recipes prove that. But when a recipe does call for a blender, food processor, or another helpful tool, it really helps to have a reliable kitchen arsenal you can count on! These are the exact equipment brands we use in our studio when we’re testing and developing recipes to share with you.
Air Fryer: Cosori
The Cosori air fryer we have at the studio is so convenient to have on hand. When we’re photographing recipes and need a quick side, we always reach for our Cosori air fryer. I love using it at work so much that I bought one to use at home! I always make a bunch of easy sides to bulk up whatever protein I’m serving, and I love that my Cosori air fryer is consistent when it comes to cooking quality. It also almost eliminates cleanup time because it’s dishwasher-friendly. My parents even bought one after trying out mine, and they love making our air fryer pork chops in theirs!
Budget-Friendly Blender: Ninja
We use a Ninja blender in the studio because it’s powerful, versatile, and easy to clean. Nothing can really compare when you consider the price and the performance. The large pitcher is especially great for bigger batches when I’m making smoothie bowls, sauces, or soups, and the extra cups are handy for smaller jobs, too. It blends frozen fruit and veggies with no problem, and since the parts are dishwasher safe, cleanup is super simple.
Cast Iron Skillet: Lodge
When it came to cast iron skillets, we only had one brand in mind, and it had to be Lodge. We use the 12-inch skillet a lot in the studio, but we also love that there are plenty of size options depending on what we’re making. Lodge cast iron skillets are incredibly durable, hold heat really well, and are the kind of pan that can last a lifetime and then some. We also love that Lodge was founded in Tennessee (the same state we’re based in!), which makes them feel like a natural pick for our kitchen.
Compact Food Processor: Cuisinart
We really love our Cuisinart food processor and use it all the time. It makes prep work SO much faster and easier. It feels robust, handles everyday jobs really well, is easy to clean, and is great for all kinds of kitchen prep. It’s a real necessity when I make my lentil loaf (which is often!!) I also like that you can add different attachments depending on how you want to use it, so it’s just as useful in my kitchen at home as it is in the Budget Bytes test kitchen.
KNIFE Brand: Shun (Kai)
You really don’t know what you’re missing until you use a genuinely great knife. We love Shun because their knives feel like tools that have truly earned their place in our kitchen. They’re handcrafted in Japan, come sharp and ready to go, and with good care, can last a very long time. Shun knives genuinely make slicing and chopping easier, which is a lifesaver when I’m slicing raw veggies to make my easy fermented vegetables or portioning brownies into neat little squares. And since Shun also offers a limited lifetime warranty and free sharpening service, it made the upfront cost feel a lot easier to justify for us.
Pressure Cooker: Instant Pot
Jennie LOVES her Instant Pot! This set-it-and-forget-it appliance not only combines over 7 appliances into one, it also emphasizes safety and convenience (which we appreciate!). Jennie uses hers weekly for rice, soups, to easily cook proteins for meal prepping, and to make our Instant Pot mashed potatoes as a simple side for dinner. The Instant Pot also significantly speeds up cooking times and uses up to 70% less energy than conventional slow cooking methods. Saving you time and literal energy on every use!
Slow Cooker: Crock Pot (brand)
You don’t need me to tell you how good slow cookers are. But what makes the Crock Pot brand of slow cookers our favorite is the EASE. They do exactly what they should, and they’re just as perfect for beginners as they are for anyone who uses a slow cooker all the time. I can trust our Crock Pot to cook dinner on high or low the way it should, then I can use the keep warm setting if needed. The Crock Pot is also a total meal prep MVP, since I can get a big batch going with hardly any hands-on time, whether I’m making something cozy like our slow cooker white chicken chili for my family or just trying to stay ahead on dinner for the next few days.
Storage Containers: Pyrex
If we mention storing leftovers or saving a recipe for later, there’s a very good chance that “airtight container” is a Pyrex glass container. We’ve used all kinds of Pyrex storage shapes and sizes for freezer and meal prep recipes over the years, and we’ve honestly loved them all. They’re dishwasher, freezer, oven, and microwave-safe, which makes life so much easier since we can pull something straight from the freezer, warm it up in the same container, and skip the hand-washing if we want to. The quality is excellent, they’re really durable, they DON’T stain or hold onto food smells, and they’ve held up so well in our busy kitchen!
fAVORITE fOOD bRANds
A lot of the food we cook starts with the same dependable basics, like flour, butter, broth, and pasta, but there are also some everyday favorites we keep buying because they’re just that good. This section includes both: the core food brands we use in recipe testing and the breads, convenience items, and other staples we love having at home.
all-purpose flour: King Arthur
King Arthur all-purpose flour is one of the most dependable flours we have ever used. It’s unbleached and works beautifully in everything from sourdough to vanilla cake. King Arthur AP flour also has more protein compared to other brands, which gives it a little extra strength and helps create better structure in doughs and more consistent results overall! We also like that King Arthur is employee-owned, has strong company values, and puts a real emphasis on quality and sourcing, so it feels like a brand that’s worth the price. (Spoiler: they make the best gluten-free flour too!!)
Bacon: Wright
Wright Brand bacon is our winner for their thick-cut slices, rich smoky (all-natural) flavor, and the way its bacon actually holds up in recipes instead of disappearing once it cooks. It also feels a little heartier and meatier than a lot of other bacon brands, so a little goes a long way, which we always appreciate!
Beans: Great Value (Walmart)
Beans are supposed to be affordable, and the Great Value range at Walmart is one place where we never feel like we’re spending more than we need to. There are plenty of options in both canned and dried beans, and the quality has always been reliable. They’re easy for us to grab on a regular Walmart run, which makes them pretty accessible for most people, too. Great Value beans are also one of the reasons we’re able to keep so many of our recipes, like our hearty black bean quesadillas, budget-friendly!
Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon
If you want your broth to taste like the broth we make in our kitchen, Better Than Bouillon is the brand I’d point you to every time. It’s been a Budget Bytes kitchen staple for YEARS! We always have a jar or two on hand because the flavor is so consistently good. Each jar makes about 9.5 quarts of broth (which is a lot), and once opened, it keeps in the fridge for ages. We use the Roasted Chicken Base and the Seasoned Vegetable Base the most.
Bread: Lewis Bake Shop
If there’s one thing Lewis Bake Shop has going for it, it’s variety. Their whole wheat bread is my favorite! I really love that they offer both full and half loaves, which is great for bigger families or smaller households that don’t want a bunch of bread going stale before they can finish it. The bread is soft, tastes great, and it’s become an easy staple for us to keep around. Their loaves also freeze really well!
Butter: Kerrygold
I think butter is one ingredient where you can really taste the difference. We love Kerrygold for a lot of reasons, but the flavor is the biggest one. It’s rich, creamy, and has a really pronounced buttery taste that makes a huge difference in both cooking and baking. Jennie especially loves butter and, in her opinion, there’s no better choice than Kerrygold. You can truly taste and see the difference with this premium brand. She also love’s that its always made from the milk of Irish grass fed cows, and how the care they put into quality truly shows.
Canned Soup: Annie’s
If we’re going to do canned soup, this is how we want it done. I like that Annie’s soups are made with organic ingredients and skip things like artificial flavors and preservatives, so they feel a little more thoughtful than the average canned soup on the shelf. I also really like what the brand stands for. Annie’s supports a more regenerative food system through partnerships, policy work, and research, and that mission makes me feel even better about keeping a few of their soups in the pantry.
Canned Tomatoes: Hunts
We chose Hunt’s canned tomatoes as our winner because the quality is so consistent for the price. They actually taste tomatoey and hold their shape well in soups, stews, and chili. We also like that Hunts peels its tomatoes without chemicals (which avoids chemical by-products going back into the earth!) Hunts is a solid, dependable brand that works really well in our budget-friendly kitchen!
Cheese: Cabot
I grew up in New England, where Cabot Creamery is a household name. Whenever I want a taste of home, I pick up a block of their Seriously Sharp cheddar. My favorite thing about Cabot is their farmers’ commitment to responsible stewardship of their farmland! As a farmer myself, animal husbandry matters a great deal to me, and I love supporting a brand that puts animal care, worker wellbeing, and environmental care at the forefront of their operation. Their care and quality come through in their cheeses, which are perfectly creamy and have such a distinct flavor compared to other American cheese companies, in my opinion!
Chicken: Springer Mountain Farms
Springer Mountain Farms is a chicken brand we feel really good about using. They offer a lot of practical options for everyday cooking, and I like that the brand puts real emphasis on quality, animal care, and raising their chickens with no antibiotics ever. It doesn’t matter what recipe we are making, whether we need chicken breasts, thighs, ground chicken, or a whole chicken, we know we’re getting quality when we choose Springer Mountain Farms.
Convenience Items: Newman’s Own
Convenience items are, well, convenient, and honestly kind of necessary for things like pizza night at home or quick salads for lunch! That’s why we like Newman’s Own for those products we can just grab at the store and use at home or in the studio. They make those shortcut ingredients feel easy and dependable, and I also love knowing the brand gives 100% of profits to help kids. That makes these purchases so much sweeter. I actually seek Newman’s Own out at the store for this reason alone! Their salad dressings are my go-to when I need a store-bought marinade or dressing.
Cream Cheese: Philadelphia
I’ve had Philadelphia cream cheese in my life for as long as I can remember, so there’s definitely a little nostalgia built in for me. It’s creamy, tangy, and has that classic flavor I want when I’m making cheesecake bars, spreading it on a bagel, or stirring it into something savory. It’s a staple for a reason, and no other cream cheeses can really compare to Philadelphia in our book.
Frozen Fruit: Wymann’s Wild Blueberries
I love keeping Wyman’s Wild Blueberries in my freezer because it means I can have that peak-season blueberry flavor all year round. They’re such an easy freezer staple for smoothies, baked oatmeal, muffins, sauces, and all kinds of breakfast recipes. I even love snacking on them right from the pack (try it!) The wild blueberries Wyman’s uses also bring a lot of natural blueberry flavor without even trying. And for the cost compared to fresh, they’re a great deal and last forever in the freezer!!
Frozen Vegetables: Bird’s Eye
Melissa always has Birds Eye frozen vegetables on hand! It’s so convenient to reach into the freezer and add a handful of veggies to your favorite stir fry, casserole, pasta, frittata, or simply to enjoy as an easy side. They make prep time a breeze, last longer since they can be stored in the freezer, and provide some of our favorite produce year-round. Melissa also loves that Birds Eye works with local farmers and freezes their vegetables at peak freshness, so it’s never processed. This really does produce the best quality with the freshest flavor. Plus, it helps us waste less food while eating more veggies, so it really is a win-win!
Gluten-Free Flour: King Arthur
For gluten-free baking, we always go with King Arthur gluten-free flour. It gives us better structure, better chew, and a more consistent outcome than a lot of other gluten-free flours we’ve tried. We especially love their gluten-free bread flour for things like pizza dough and other yeast-based recipes. Gluten-free baking can be a little unpredictable, so when we find a flour that gives us reliable results and bread that feels closer to the real thing, that’s a big deal!
Hot Sauce: Frank’s RedHot
Frank’s RedHot is just the classic hot sauce. It’s the hot sauce flavor we all know and love, and it’s so consistently good that it has never let us down. You also truly can’t make our buffalo wings without it. Frank’s is the only hot sauce we reach for when we want that classic buffalo flavor to taste exactly right.
Jam: Bonne Maman
Melissa can spot those iconic Bonne Maman glass jars with red-and-white checkered lids from a mile away! They’re the brand she always reaches for at the store and are the perfect touch of sweetness to thumbprint cookies, simple desserts, or sauces. Melissa even uses them in savory dishes to elevate her toast, pair with meats, and spread on sandwiches! We love how Bonne Maman uses only the best ingredients that are carefully prepared with years of tradition. You can taste how much effort and love they put into every bite. From a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich to a homemade pie, and everything in between, Bonne Maman is a little jar of perfection.
Olive Oil: BertolLi
Bertolli is one of my kitchen staples for good reason; it’s reliable, affordable, and a little more thoughtful than the average budget choice. The dark green bottle isn’t just for looks, it actually blocks out light, which keeps the oil from going stale or rancid before you’re halfway through it…so you can get the big bottle! 😉 And while it won’t cost you a fortune like some of the specialty single-origin brands out there, their team still tests around 20,000 samples a year to make sure the ingredients meet their high standards. Reliable quality, fair price—can’t argue with that!
Pasta: Barilla
Who doesn’t love a big bowl of pasta?! Barilla has a long-standing reputation for quality, and we love that it’s still a family-run company even four generations down the line. They’re known for authentic semolina pasta, but they also offer legume-based protein pasta and gluten-free options to fit a variety of diets. One thing Jennie personally likes about cooking with Barilla is how well it turns out. Even if she gets a little sidetracked in the kitchen, it still delivers that perfect al dente bite! We also appreciate Barilla’s commitment to sustainable nutrition and sourcing quality ingredients through responsible supply chains. It’s an iconic blue box you can find almost anywhere, bringing great pasta to tables around the world.
Peanut Butter: JIF
Nothing brings Melissa back to childhood quite like a peanut butter sandwich, and JIF has always been the go-to in her household. There’s just something so rich, so creamy, and so satisfying about the perfect spread of peanut butter on a slice of bread. As a kid, Melissa loved it on crackers (thanks, Dad!), dipping pretzels, and piling it on the classic ants on a log (celery loaded with creamy peanut butter and topped with raisins…try it!). As an adult, she’s still using JIF in her favorite desserts, blending it into smoothies, using it in sauces, curries, Thai chicken satay, and other Asian-inspired dishes! It’s still her favorite go-to snack, sometimes straight from the jar with a spoon!
Ready-Made Meal: Healthy Choice
Sometimes life can get hectic, and you don’t have time to cook. Jennie’s favorite frozen meal option is Healthy Choice. She loves that they offer flavorful, high-protein, and high-fiber meals that will keep her feeling satisfied. The variety of cuisines they offer is great, and their mission to make healthy food accessible to all truly resonates with Jennie and the rest of the team here at Budget Bytes. A win all round!
Rice: Rice Select
We love RiceSelect because there are so many varieties to choose from, and they’re all easy to cook well. Whether we want something for a quick dinner, a curry, a rice bowl, or a more specific recipe, it’s nice to have a brand that gives us options without making things complicated. Plus, the grains stay firm after cooking and don’t immediately turn to mush! I also like that they offer everything from familiar staples to more distinctive varieties, so it feels easy to keep things interesting. I use the RiceSelect jasmine rice a LOT at home to make coconut rice, and my whole family loves it.
Salsa: Pace
Pace salsa has been a staple in Melissa’s life for as long as she can remember. Her favorite is the chunky medium-style salsa for the perfect amount of spice. With vine-ripe tomatoes, crisp onions, and zesty jalapeños, every bite is expertly seasoned, bold, fresh, and packed with flavor. Melissa loves adding this salsa to rice bowls, nachos, tostadas, and for an extra kick on top of eggs, tacos, or quesadillas. Pace salsa is also an unexpected but welcome addition to marinades, chilis, and sauces.
Sausage: Hillshire Farm
We use smoked sausage in a good number of recipes because it adds so much built-in flavor with almost no extra effort. The smokiness and seasoning are already there, which means we can keep the shopping list a little shorter and still end up with something really flavorful. Hillshire Farm is the brand we go for whenever we need a good quality, reliable, and delicious smoked sausage! Since it’s fully cooked and ready in minutes, it’s one of those ingredients that makes weeknight cooking a whole lot easier.
Soy Sauce: Kikkoman
Kikkoman soy sauce is our chosen soy sauce because it keeps things simple in the best way. It’s traditionally brewed from just four ingredients: water, soybeans, wheat, and salt, with no fillers or ingredients to muddle the natural soy flavors. It’s exactly what we want from soy sauce: savory, balanced, and full of umami. Soy sauce is a pantry ingredient where quality really matters, especially in recipes like our homemade teriyaki chicken, and Kikkoman always tastes like the real deal to us!
Spices: McCormick
Spices are the power behind so many of our recipes. Without a good mix of spices, dishes can fall flat and lack the kind of flavor that makes them worth making again, and I definitely don’t want that. That’s why we reach for McCormick. The quality is consistent, the selection is huge, and it’s a brand I trust to help build big flavor in everything from soups to marinades to spice rubs. Their spices actually show up and do what I want of them, and there’s not much more we can ask than that!
Vinegar: Bragg
There’s always a bottle of Bragg apple cider vinegar somewhere in our budget-friendly kitchen. It’s great for dressings, pickles, and recipes that need a little brightness (I love adding a splash of apple cider vinegar to brighten up heavy soups, like my potato leek soup!). I also like using it for cleaning jobs around the house when I want to skip the extra chemicals! Since it’s raw, unfiltered, and contains the Mother (the natural fermented culture that gives the vinegar its cloudy appearance), Bragg apple cider vinegar is a classic pantry product that does exactly what I need it to do.
Yogurt: Chobani
A tub of Chobani Greek yogurt never lasts very long in my fridge because I end up using it for so many different things. My husband and daughter eat it with fruit for breakfast, we stir it into sauces and dips, spoon it into bowls, or use it in baking when I want extra moisture and tang. We like that it’s thick, creamy, and plain enough to go in either a sweet or savory direction, which makes Chobani Greek yogurt feel a lot more versatile than some other options.
Plant-Based Meat Substitutes: Beyond
I have been a Beyond fan ever since the company came to be! Their ingredient lists contain things I actually recognize, like yellow peas, faba beans, and red lentils, and they’re committed to being non-GMO. That point is always a big one for me whenever I use their products for private clients who care about ingredients! Not to mention, unlike animal proteins, their products contain dietary fiber, which is essential to a healthy gut microbiome!! I am such a nerd for ingredients and product development; I love reading about what the Beyond team is making in their test kitchen!
Audience Choice Winners
We didn’t want this post to be just about our favorite brands, so we headed over to our Instagram account and asked you to share yours, too. We loved seeing how many of your winners overlapped with our favorites! These are the brands and products that came out on top for our readers:
- Private Label Store Brand: Costco
- Canned Tomatoes: Hunt’s
- Canned Soup: Campbells
- Pasta: Barilla
- Butter: Kerrygold
- Bread: Nature’s Own
- Frozen Vegetables: Bird’s Eye
- Slow Cooker: Crock Pot
- Yogurt: Chobani
- Plant-Based Meat Substitutes: Morning Star Farms
- Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon
- Storage Containers: Pyrex
- Cast Iron Skillet: Lodge
- Air Fryer: Ninja
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