$50 Grocery Budget: 12 Items To Buy for the Best Value at Walmart
A $50 grocery budget has the power to go the distance at a big-box retailer — if you’re savvy enough to know which purchases won’t drain it too fast.
For this roundup, we shopped Walmart’s in-house grocery brand Great Value to keep costs down, and utilized its website to source each item’s price. Our total spend for 12 groceries came out to less than $35. This keeps spending under the limit with extra wiggle room for taxes (and maybe a dessert or two).
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Our choices in this roundup also tried to eliminate areas of food waste whenever possible and highlight groceries with the greatest versatility in meals. Ready to shop? Here’s what should be on your Walmart grocery list if you’re on a $50 budget.
Great Value Complete Pancake & Waffle Mix
Price: $1.98
Pancakes are not only an inexpensive breakfast food, but they’re quite filling.
At just under $2 a box, Great Value’s pancake and waffle mix should be added to your Walmart shopping cart. If your household isn’t big on pancakes, it can be obviously used to make waffles.
Great Value Country Style Orange Juice
Price: $3.98
Get in your Vitamin C without spending a fortune when you shop for Great Value country style orange juice. This was one of the least expensive, healthiest Great Value beverage options — and cheaper than shopping the Tropicana brand, which retails for much more.
Great Value Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter
Price: $3.98
Whether you’re cooking pasta for dinner or have baking plans, don’t begin until you’re stocked up on butter. Great Value sweet cream unsalted butter costs about $1.70 less than what you’d pay for the Land O’Lakes butter brand sold at Walmart.
Great Value Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Price: $1.87
Why do we recommend buying an 8-oz. block of Great Value sharp cheddar cheese at Walmart? Aside from its affordable price, you can also slice and shred as your heart desires.
Great Value Cage-Free White Jumbo Eggs
Price: $2.46
For all your breakfast, baking and breakfast-for-dinner needs, eggs are a must. A dozen Great Value cage-free eggs retail for $2.46 at Walmart. This comes out to spending just 21 cents per egg.
Great Value 1% Low-Fat Milk
Price: $3.47
Milk can sometimes be expensive, but Great Value 1% low-fat milk, at $3.47, is among one of the cheapest price tags we saw at Walmart for a gallon.
Great Value Original Macaroni & Cheese
Price: $0.64
You bought the butter and milk, now it’s time to add a box — or two — of Great Value macaroni and cheese to your shopping cart. This bestseller is about half the price of the Kraft brand sold at Walmart.
Great Value White Bread
Price: $1.48
Cut costs without sacrificing taste by shopping for Great Value white bread for just under $1.50 per loaf. Walmart also carries brands like Wonder Bread, which costs almost double.
Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter
Price: $1.98
If you’re running low on peanut butter, swap out a more expensive name brand for Great Value creamy peanut butter. In comparison, a jar of Jif creamy peanut butter in the same 16-ounce sizing costs $1 more to buy at Walmart.
Great Value Frozen Mixed Vegetables
Price: $0.98
As much as we hate to admit it, few purchases eat up a $50 grocery budget faster than fresh produce. If you’re making soups or stir fry for dinner, add a bag of Great Value frozen mixed vegetables to your Walmart shopping cart. They’re only $1 per bag and loaded with carrots, corn, green beans and peas. Best of all, whatever you don’t use up can be saved for later in your freezer.
Great Value Breaded Fish Sticks
Price: $5.44
Like the frozen vegetables, we chose to add Great Value breaded fish sticks to this roundup in lieu of fresh fish to save money and eliminate potential food waste .And in case you’re wondering why we chose fish sticks instead of another frozen meat, like chicken, this was intentional. According to Prevention, frozen fish sticks provide 51% of your daily value for vitamin E.
Great Value Rising Crust Pepperoni Frozen Pizza
Price: $3.28
What’s a grocery budget without an easy cheat meal? On the days you don’t feel like cooking and know ordering out will be too expensive, it’s Great Value rising crust pepperoni frozen pizza to the rescue. At a little under $4 per pie, this is significantly less expensive than ordering pizza out and will keep households just as full.
Editor’s note: Pricing is accurate as of April 13, 2026. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.
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