Concern about grocery prices has been a hot topic throughout the year and as the holiday season approaches, the topic becomes even more relevant.
Thanksgiving is a holiday centered around a big feast and spending time with friends and family. If you’re in charge of cooking the entire meal, it can add up pretty quickly.
Over the last year, grocery store prices increased by 1.5%, according to the Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region, and there’s no doubt consumers are seeing a higher total on their grocery shopping bills.
We visited three big-name grocery stores in northeastern Wisconsin with a list of ingredients to determine how much it’ll cost local consumers to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year.
With the holiday being so subjective to families and what they choose to eat, we went with a traditional and minimalistic list of ingredients to give readers an idea of prices.
On Nov. 19, we visited Walmart, Aldi and Pick ‘n Save, using mostly store-brand items, to put together a list of ingredients.
Prices often fluctuate, so our prices might not match what you’re seeing when you shop, but the following is an estimate of how much it could cost to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year.
While some ingredients like milk and butter are listed in multiple dishes, the price for those items were only calculated once for the overall total. Please keep in mind that the more people you have to feed, the more food you’ll have to buy.
Whole frozen turkey, 16-24 pounds, Butterball:
Walmart: $1.04/ pound, averaging a final cost of $21.58Aldi: $1.07/ pound, averaging a final cost of $19.58Pick ‘n Save: $1.09/ pound, averaging a final cost of $19.62
Turkey gravy
Walmart: Heinz, 12 ounces, $2.22Aldi: Kevin’s, 16 ounces, $4.89Pick ‘n Save: Heinz, 12 ounces, $2.50
A 12 pack of brown and serve dinner rolls:
Walmart: Great Value, $1.38Aldi: L’Oven Fresh, $1.39Pick ‘n Save: Kroger, $2
The basic ingredients for homemade mashed potatoes:
Walmart: whole russet potatoes, 5 pounds, $2.64; Great Value unsalted butter, one pound, $4.26; Great Value whole milk, one gallon, $2.94Aldi: whole russet potatoes, 5 pounds, $3.55; Countryside Creamery unsalted butter, one pound, $3.85; Friendly Farms whole milk, one gallon, $3.25Pick ‘n Save: whole russet potatoes, 5 pounds, $2.99; Kroger unsalted butter, one pound, $4.49; Roundy’s whole milk, one gallon, $2.99
The basic ingredients for homemade macaroni and cheese:
Walmart: Great Value elbow noodles, 32 ounces, $1.92; Great Value unsalted butter, one pound, $4.26; Great Value whole milk, one gallon, $2.94; Great Value mild cheddar shredded cheese, 16 ounces, $4.22Aldi: Reggano elbow noodles, 32 ounces, $2.09; Countryside Creamery unsalted butter, one pound, $3.85; Friendly Farms whole milk, one gallon, $3.25; Happy Farms mild cheddar shredded cheese, 16 ounces, $4.19Pick ‘n Save: Kroger elbow noodles, 32 ounces, $1.99; Kroger unsalted butter, one pound, $4.49; Roundy’s whole milk, one gallon, $2.99; Roundy’s mild cheddar shredded cheese, 16 ounces, $3.69
Two boxes of chicken flavored stuffing mix:
Walmart: Great Value, six ounces, $.97 eachAldi: Chef’s Cupboard, six ounces, $.75 eachPick ‘n Save: Kroger, six ounces, $1 each
One can of jellied cranberry sauce:
Walmart: Ocean Spray, 14 ounces, $1.98Aldi: Ocean Spray, 14 ounces, $1.99Pick ‘n Save: Ocean Spray, 14 ounces, $1.99
The basic ingredients for green bean casserole:
Walmart: Great Value canned, cut green beans, 14.5 ounces, $.50; Great Value canned, condensed cream of mushroom, 10.5 ounces, $.68; Great Value French fried onions, six ounces, $2.94, Great Value whole milk, one gallon, $2.94Aldi: Happy Harvest canned, cut green beans, 15 ounces, $.55; Chef’s Cupboard canned, condensed cream of mushroom, 10.5 ounces, $.68; Chef’s Cupboard French fried onions, six ounces, $1.79; Friendly Farms whole milk, one gallon, $3.25Pick ‘n Save: Kroger canned, cut green beans, 14.5 ounces, $.89, Kroger condensed cream of mushroom, 10.5 ounces, $1; Kroger French fried onions, six ounces, $2.50; Roundy’s whole milk, one gallon, $2.99
A store-brought pumpkin pie from the bakery:
Walmart: 10 inches, $6.28Aldi: 37 ounces, $6.99Pick ‘n Save: 10 inches, $10.99Walmart offers the most savings, but not by much
The prices from each store didn’t differ by much, but Walmart totaled the lowest at $55.48. Aldi came in second at $56.29 and Pick ‘n Save showed to be the most expensive at $59.64. However, the pumpkin pie from Pick ‘n Save had the biggest price gap between all three stores.
Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-453-5107 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.