- With ground beef prices soaring, we’re looking for high-quality options that won’t break the bank.
- We asked a professional butcher to name his favorite grocery stores for ground beef when you can’t shop at an independent store, and he pointed to three regional chains.
- These three chains offer freshly ground beef or locally sourced meat at prices that compete on a national scale.
For many families, ground beef is a near-permanent fixture in the grocery cart. It’s affordable, protein-packed, endlessly versatile, and — perhaps most importantly — something even picky eaters tend to agree on.
In a perfect world, we’d all be picking up freshly ground chuck from a neighborhood butcher. But real life calls for efficiency. Most of us need to get all our shopping done in one stop—and keep our grocery bills in check while we’re at it. The good news? You don’t have to sacrifice quality just because you’re buying ground beef at the supermarket.
If a small, local butcher shop isn’t an option, Josh Turka, owner and butcher at 5th Quarter Butcher Shop in Vermont, recommends turning to regional grocery chains like Market Basket, Piggly Wiggly, and Wegmans. These stores, he says, are more likely to offer fresher meat, local sourcing, and knowledgeable staff behind the butcher counter.
“I often find a lot of luck shopping with regional chains. There’s a reason they’ve been able to stay standing in their regional markets despite the influx of large corporations,” Turka tells Food & Wine. “Market Basket in New England and Piggly Wiggly down South are two places I’ve frequented.”
That advice matters more than ever right now. With ground beef prices up more than 15% compared to last year, making smart choices at the meat counter can have a real impact on your grocery budget. Finding the right balance between quality and value is key — and according to the experts, a handful of regional supermarket chains consistently deliver on both.
What sets these supermarket chains apart?
If you want meat that’s actually fresh, look for a grocer with a full-service butcher counter. You should also seek out supermarkets that source beef directly from local farms; when meat doesn’t have to travel far to reach your grocery cart, it’s likely to have a fresher flavor.
At the New England chain Market Basket, which has over 95 locations, beef is ground in-store daily and sometimes ground fresh more than once a day. “Meat ground fresh is always going to be superior to something that has been vacuum-packed and possibly frozen for weeks or longer,” Turka explains. Southern supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly also grinds its beef in-store and has a butcher available at every location, so you can seek advice on the best meat to buy for what you’re cooking.
At Wegmans, a Northeastern grocery store with nearly 110 stores, ground beef is sourced along the East Coast from over 125 local farms. The range of options is broad, and Wegmans also offers an impressive selection of grass-fed beef from more than 80 farms in its region. If you’re making a dish that centers on ground beef, grass-fed meat will provide greater depth of flavor.
Which grocery stores sell the least expensive ground beef?
It’s easy to assume that the nation’s largest chains unilaterally sell the most affordable ground beef, but that isn’t necessarily the case, and smaller chains like these can often compete on price.
Prices vary by location, but Walmart’s regular 80% lean ground beef is listed at $6.93 per pound at my closest store. Market Basket, on the other hand, charges $6.19 per pound for ground beef with the same fat ratio, freshly ground in-store; Walmart’s beef is ground off-site.
It is important to note that Walmart’s grass-fed ground beef selection is impressive and often less expensive than some of its other ground beef products. For example, a pack of Marketside-branded 80% lean grass-fed ground beef at Walmart costs about $6.26 per pound. Market Basket still beats that price, but if you want grass-fed beef specifically, it’s worth giving Walmart a try.
If you’re seriously looking for the least expensive ground beef, consider buying in bulk. Costco offers large quantities — think 10-pound tubes of ground beef — for around $4.89 per pound, depending on the store. It won’t be freshly ground or locally sourced, but it is among the lowest prices you’ll find. Just make sure to divide this veritable mountain of ground beef into well-sealed, single-portion packages and freeze it for future use, so nothing goes to waste.
At Wegmans and Piggly Wiggly, you’ll reap the benefits of their quality sourcing and in-store processing without having to splurge on a significantly more expensive product. Both offer competitive prices comparable to Walmart and Market Basket, charging about $6.49 and $6.79 per pound, respectively, for 80% lean ground beef.
With ground beef getting more expensive across the board, make sure you’re taking advantage of stores that offer better-quality meat at more reasonable prices.
