When hunger strikes, the idea of cooking at home seems appealing—but sometimes, the cost of ingredients, time, and effort can make dining out the smarter choice. Imagine craving a dish that requires a long list of specialty items, hours of preparation, and cleanup.
In those moments, grabbing takeout or visiting a local restaurant might not only save you time but also money. Here are 15 foods that, surprisingly, are often cheaper and easier to enjoy outside your kitchen.
1. Pizza
Pizza’s irresistible charm is hard to beat, but when you factor in the cost of dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings, homemade versions can quickly add up. Plus, the perfect pizza crust and texture are often best left to commercial ovens.
Pizzerias offer a vast array of toppings and specialty pies, making it easier and more affordable to order out. A quick call or click could have you enjoying a hot, customized slice for less than the cost of making it yourself—all without leaving your couch.
2. Breakfast Sandwiches
Crafting the perfect breakfast sandwich at home sounds easy, but the reality is different. From sourcing fresh ingredients to getting the right balance of flavors, the costs add up.
Local cafes excel at creating tasty breakfast sandwiches using fresh ingredients, offering them at a competitive price thanks to economies of scale. You can enjoy a warm, expertly made sandwich quicker and more affordably than making one yourself.
3. Sushi
Making sushi at home sounds like a fun challenge, but the cost and effort add up quickly. High-quality fish, specialty rice, nori, and rolling mats can be expensive, especially when they’re sold in large quantities that you may not use up.
When you consider the waste and the time it takes to assemble everything, grabbing a sushi roll from your favorite restaurant becomes a much more cost-effective and enjoyable option. And with expert chefs handling the preparation, you can rest assured that every bite will be fresh and perfectly balanced.
4. Rotisserie Chicken
A whole chicken, seasoned and slowly roasted to perfection, sounds simple enough. The cost of a whole chicken, along with the necessary seasonings, can quickly add up, especially when you’re preparing it for just one or two meals.
Even if you get the flavor just right, roasting it takes time, attention, and energy. Suddenly, that grocery store rotisserie chicken looks like a steal. It’s juicy, ready to eat, and often cheaper than buying a raw bird and all the spices needed to match that deep, savory flavor.
5. Chinese Takeout
Stocking a kitchen with the variety of sauces, oils, and spices essential for authentic Chinese flavors isn’t cheap. Oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, chili oil—these aren’t pantry staples for most, and using them all before expiration can be tricky.
Ordering takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant ensures you’ll enjoy delicious, freshly prepared dishes, for a fraction of the price you’d pay buying and storing all the ingredients yourself. Plus, with a menu full of options, you can enjoy a different dish each time without any extra effort.
6. Burgers
Grilling up a burger may seem easy, but a great one requires more than just beef. Quality buns, crisp toppings, cheese, sauces, and the right blend of seasonings quickly add up.
Plus, there’s the matter of portioning—who really wants to buy a dozen buns just for one homemade burger night? A burger from your local spot not only avoids all of that, but it also guarantees a perfectly cooked, juicy patty with the ideal combination of toppings, all served hot and ready to eat.
7. Tacos
Making tacos at home involves more than just tortillas and protein; it requires a variety of fresh toppings like cilantro, onions, lime, and salsa to get that perfect flavor balance. Whether you choose seasoned beef, chicken, or shrimp, each ingredient adds to the cost, especially when buying in small quantities that leave you with leftovers.
It can quickly become pricey and time-consuming to prepare everything from scratch. A local taqueria provides freshly made tacos with the perfect seasoning, ready to eat without the prep hassle.
8. Fish And Chips
Fresh fish, the perfect batter, and just the right fry temperature—getting crispy, golden fish and chips at home is no easy feat. The cost of all the ingredients, including the fish, can easily surpass the price of a classic fish and chips meal from a local shop.
When you order from your favorite fish and chips joint, you get perfectly battered fish with golden fries every time, saving you the mess, the effort, and the high cost of stocking up on specialty ingredients.
9. Fried Chicken
The perfectly crunchy, golden-brown coating takes both skill and an abundance of oil, most of which goes unused after just one batch. Quality chicken, brining ingredients, flour, spices, and frying oil can quickly add up, making homemade fried chicken costly.
Opting for your favorite fried chicken joint eliminates the mess and expense, while still providing that crispy, juicy perfection. Their expertise ensures a consistently flawless texture, making it the clear choice over frying at home.
10. Pho
To create a rich, aromatic bowl of pho, you need hours of simmering beef bones, the perfect mix of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and fish sauce, along with fresh herbs and rice noodles.
Preparing it yourself can quickly become costly, especially since many ingredients are sold in large quantities you won’t fully use. Instead of going through the effort, it’s far more affordable to simply order a steaming bowl from a Vietnamese restaurant, where every element is expertly prepared.
11. Poke Bowls
Making a great poke bowl at home requires sourcing sushi-grade fish, a variety of sauces, and toppings like seaweed salad and tobiko—none of which are budget-friendly in small portions.
On the other hand, poke shops have everything prepared, allowing you to customize your bowl without the hassle of buying specialty ingredients. Also, they nail the perfect balance of flavors and textures, so you get a fresh, restaurant-quality bowl without the guesswork.
12. Curry Dishes
Crafting a deeply flavorful curry from scratch often means investing in a long list of spices, coconut milk, and fresh aromatics that you may not use often. Between grinding spices, slow-cooking the sauce, and balancing flavors, the time and money required make takeout the smarter option.
Restaurants have everything prepped and perfected, delivering a fragrant, rich dish without the effort. Plus, their years of experience ensure every bite has the depth and complexity that’s hard to replicate at home.
13. BBQ Ribs
Slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone ribs require hours of preparation, from marinating to smoking or slow roasting. The cost of a full rack, a good BBQ rub, wood chips, and sauce quickly surpasses what a barbecue joint charges for a perfectly cooked plate.
By the time you factor in the cost of ingredients, equipment, and effort, a barbecue restaurant becomes the easier and more affordable choice. They’ve already mastered the process, serving up perfectly cooked ribs without the hassle.
14. Smoothie Bowls
Making a smoothie bowl at home seems simple, but the cost of ingredients quickly adds up. Fresh berries, açai, and dragon fruit aren’t cheap, and buying almond milk, chia seeds, and granola often means purchasing more than you need.
Unless you plan to make smoothie bowls regularly, you’ll likely end up with pricey leftovers. Smoothie shops, on the other hand, have everything ready to go, offering a vibrant, nutrient-packed bowl without the hassle or high grocery bill.
15. Bagels With Lox
A proper bagel with lox requires more than just smoked salmon. You’ll need quality bagels, cream cheese, capers, red onion, and possibly fresh dill or lemon. Lox itself is pricey, and purchasing full packs of each ingredient just to make a couple of bagels can be costly and impractical.
Bagel shops, however, have everything prepped and ready, serving up fresh, well-balanced bagels for a fraction of what it would cost to buy everything yourself.