Don’t Waste Your Money on These 15 Restaurant Menu Items

Many of us are looking for new ways to cut costs this year, and one easy way to stretch your restaurant budget is to avoid paying for cheap food at restaurants. Think of things you can easily grab inexpensively and quickly at the grocery store for an easy prep meal. This allows you to explore less expensive menu items or alternatives you wouldn’t necessarily make at home.

We’ve got a list of 15 items that are never worth ordering at a restaurant.

Fish that you can score in tins at the grocery store are not worth consuming at a restaurant for sometimes quadruple the price. Sardines, mackerel, trout, and herring are regularly tinned.

Feel free to ask your waiter about how they source their tuna mussels, oysters, and more to determine the worth of the menu. Most restaurants will be upfront about their fresh offerings.

Truffle oil is not consistently regulated, so even when restaurants add truffle oil dishes to their menus, you can’t necessarily guarantee its quality. Many oils on the market are actually made with olive oil and truffle flavoring.

While this used to be an elevated dining staple, the market is too saturated — and expensive — to truly enjoy it when dining out.

As delicious and comforting as giant hot pasta dishes at your favorite restaurant can be, they simply aren’t worth the cost. You can’t even get a simple spaghetti and meatball dish at Olive Garden for less than $12.99 anymore.

Ordering alfredo or a clam sauce dish can really break the bank, especially if you add protein to it.

Restaurants charge an arm and a leg for soup. Even if you’re getting a cup of some of the best chicken noodle soup you have ever had for $6 to $12, you could enjoy a whole crock of homemade soup or a few cans of your favorite for less than $5.

Some soups are simply on special because the back of house is clearing out last week’s produce, so they may not be as fresh an option.

While it can be easy and fun to order a variety of pancakes and syrups at your local diner, those menu items are not fairly priced considering how dirt cheap the ingredients are.

Grab a box of Old Country Store Buttermilk Baking mix for just $2.82, or just 12 cents per serving. In contrast, a serving of pancakes with natural syrup is $6.89 at Cracker Barrel.

You will often find edamame on the appetizer menu at Japanese and sushi-specific restaurants. Salted, this green is a great pre-dinner snack or mid-meal palate cleanser.

Edamame now averages $5 to $6 per serving when dining out, while a 12-ounce bag of frozen edamame will cost $1.99 at Target and yield about four servings.

Unless your restaurant has a substantial soup and salad deal or combo option, salads are rarely worth ordering when you dine out. Most establishments are serving crunchy, nutrition-less greens with light toppings drenched in dressing for well over $10, sometimes even over $20.

Instead, save money and be healthier by building your own salad at home with fresh produce and vitamin-filled greens like spinach.

Whether scrambled, sunny side up, fried, or in a frittata or omelet, eggs are a relatively inexpensive purchase to keep stocked in the kitchen. At a restaurant, side dishes often run at least $5, and an omelet or frittata will set you back $12 or more.

Even with the ever-rising cost of eggs, you can grab a 12-pack for less than $5 and enjoy multiple protein-packed meals for the price of one side.

Restaurants will charge you $13 or more for an inexpensive vodka and fruit juice. You are often paying the same amount for one glass of chardonnay that you could purchase an entire bottle for.

Drinking during a night out sounds enjoyable, but skipping the extra glasses to imbibe at home is definitely better for your wallet.

Cheese plates and charcuterie boards are usually severely overpriced. Many boards cost $40 or more, and feel like a value because of the variety of items they include.

But stores like Trader Joe’s and Aldi sell high-quality cheese for affordable prices. Pass on the restaurant’s offering and create your own budget-friendly option at home.

Plain chicken breast on a menu at a restaurant should be reserved for picky eaters or those who are suffering from stomach issues. A single chicken breast and a side or two is often priced at $12 or more, while you can grab an entire bag of frozen breasts for $8.49 at Target.

Plus, when is grilled chicken seasoned the way you like it at a restaurant?

Save your guacamole purchases for local affordable hole-in-the-wall joints. It’s always fresh and generally much better priced than at large chain restaurants, which will charge you $11 or more for a small bowl of it.

If you’re inclined to try it yourself, making guacamole from scratch only costs about 20 cents an ounce.

You can order so many types of potatoes at restaurants. While many of these options can easily and inexpensively be made at home, nothing is easier to DIY than a baked potato.

Purchasing a run-of-the-mill bag of potatoes, sour cream, chives, cheese, and bacon to create your own beautiful loaded spud will save you a whopping 512% overall.

Rice from a restaurant is fluffy and perfectly steamed pretty much every time. But unless there’s a secret ingredient or involved way of preparing the rice, it’s not worth it to buy it at a restaurant.

Considering you can grab 202 servings of long-grain rice for about five cents each to make at home, purchase your proteins and add some at-home rice to the mix to save money.

As much as we joke about the rising price of coffee, add a reasonable tip on top, and you’re looking at $10 per medium latte these days.

Coffee shops mark the price of your beverage up an average of 835%. Instead, purchase the ingredients and make your own coffee at home for only $1.35 per latte or less.

Going out is hard to budget for. Avoid wasting money on simple food items that you can easily make at home.

When you can, take home leftovers to fuel a second meal. This way, you can be more adventurous while ordering and save your funds for other fun.