7 Benefits of Cooking from Scratch

Are rising food prices, looming shortages, and those endlessly long ingredient labels make you feel uneasy? Keep reading to find out 7 benefits of cooking from scratch and why it’s the smartest move you can make for your wallet and your wellbeing.

1. Quality ingredients

When you cook from scratch you are not only able to control what you are eating and how it is prepared, but also the quality of the ingredients you are using for a recipe. Packaged and processed food is made to meet profit margins rather than sourcing the best quality ingredients including organic and fair produce.

By cooking from scratch you are able to choose the best quality ingredients for your budget, opt for seasonal produce, and support local operators to strengthen your community.

Cold fermented bread in loaf tin after being baked.

2. Save money

With the cost of living, especially food prices, rising to new heights, cooking from scratch is a great way to keep the grocery budget in check.

Shopping in bulk and in season, double batching and meal prepping are all great ways to reduce the weekly food bill. Here are 35 ways to save money by cooking from scratch.

3. It tastes better

How many times have you bought a new, expensive food product only to find out that the taste is far reached from what it promised?

A stack of Anzac biscuits on a wooden board.

Cooking from scratch allows you tailor the food to your taste and to incorporate more of the ingredients and flavors you love.

My chewy Anzac biscuit recipe is a good example – nothing beats freshly baked cookies!

4. Skip additives

Packaged food and ready-to-eat meals tend to include a long list of (often cheap) ingredients to maximise shelf-life and cut costs. Highly processed oils, artificial flavors, fillers, preservatives, and a plethora of numbers starting with E are staple ingredients in many packaged foods.

A stack of homemade spices next to whole spices.

Skip the additives by cooking your meals from scratch using wholesome ingredients that match your personal taste and dietary requirements.

My homemade Greek yogurt hamburger buns and yeast-free dinner rolls are good examples.

5. Learn essential skills

Life skills such as baking and cooking are essential when disaster strucks, forcing restaurants and cafés to suddenly close and supermarket shelves are stripped from essentials such as bread.

Condensed milk being scooped out of a jar with a large spoon.

By learning how to make your meals and basic foods from scratch you are not only adding an essential skill to your repertoire, it is also a gift you can pass down to future generations. By cooking together and sharing meals with loved ones you can also feed food culture in your family and community.

My 5-minute blender condensed milk and homemade Greek yogurt recipes are a good examples.

6. Reduce waste

Unfortunately the majority of household rubbish is made-up of food packaging and food waste.

Meal planning and buying in bulk are two ways to reduce both and are an integral part of cooking from scratch. Here are more ideas on how you can reduce waste in your kitchen.

Caro in her country kitchen holding a white tea cup

7. Reconnect

Cooking from scratch does take time – especially when you’re just getting started. But in my opinion, it’s time well spent given all the benefits that I have just mentioned.

Slow down, re-connect with your food, and start nourishing your body and soul with from-scratch meals.