Barbecue on a budget: Top tips for perfect family cook-out this summer

The sun’s out, school’s done, what better time to enjoy a BBQ with your family? Except food is expensive these days – so the MoneyMagpie team have found how to have a feast for four on a £20 budget, plus extra tips on saving on summer gatherings.

Consider Frozen

Many people wouldn’t consider frozen things for a barbeque, but it can mean getting hold of fresh and tasty ingredients at a lower price. In fact, lots of frozen food is fresher than the veggies on the market aisle, because they’re frozen at or shortly after picking.

Frozen meat is definitely still useful for BBQ time, too. Defrost a pack of chicken breast fillets (£4.25 for 1kg at Aldi) and stick them in a marinade. They’ll taste just the same as fresh chicken fillets but at half the cost!

Frozen burgers are also a great bargain on a budget – you can get 8 beef burgers from Tesco for £3.60, while 2 fresh burgers cost £4. Fresh corn on the cob from Sainsburys is £1.72 for two cobs (around 300g), while frozen is £1.75 for 875g.

Prep Food Yourself

Summer brings with it seasonal specials in the chilled section of the supermarket. Seasoned burgers, ready-marinated kebabs, and big bowls of crunchy salad.

But you’re paying a premium for things which you can make from scratch for much less. Bagged salad, for example, is very expensive by weight – often costing £3 or more for a family-size pack. With loose individual vegetables costing a lot less, you could pull together a large and tasty salad that feeds everyone and then some for the same cost.

Do the Maths

Before you buy all frozen or all ingredients to cook from scratch, take a little time to research online first. You might find exceptions to the above tips, especially with summer deals on the shelf.

For example, Waitrose Essential 4 British Beef Quarterpounder Burgers 454g cost £3.35, while 500g beef mince is £3.50 – and would still only make four large burgers. Similarly, look around for specialist meat boxes to buy online, as bulk buys could save a lot of money.

The Grasmere Family BBQ Pack includes 4 Lincolnshire Sausages, 4 beef burgers, 700g chicken thighs, and 3 BBQ pork kebabs for £15. That leaves £5 for bread buns, condiments, and salad – easy!

It can take some extra time to do the research for deals and bargains, but it could save a lot of cash.

Look for Yellow Stickers

Your local supermarket will have daily yellow sticker reductions, and that can lead to some tasty bargains. Fresh vegetables are often part of last-minute reductions, and they’ll taste just as good tomorrow if you pick them up on sticker today.

Alternatively, if you have access to a freezer and know you want a BBQ in the coming weeks, keep an eye on the reduced section for discounts on burgers, chicken, even fresh steak.

They can be frozen until you need them, saving you cash and nabbing you a delicious luxury bargain.

Expand the Fun

It might feel unlikely, but inviting more people to your BBQ could help keep the costs down. Ask friends and family to join you – and get them to bring a dish or two. Leave someone in charge of desserts, or ask them to bring some of the extras like crisps, crudites, and dip.

Spreading the cost while multiplying the fun sounds like a good plan to us!

Your BBQ Shopping List

So, now we’ve got those tips out of the way – can you REALLY feed four people with £20 at a BBQ?

The below shopping list assumes you are all meat eaters as that is a higher cost than a vegetarian meal, and that you will serve one burger and three homemade chicken, pepper, and chorizo kebabs with salad and tortilla chips with salsa.

We have looked at all the major supermarkets and found the average price for items on this list. Remember, deals and discounts can be found week-to-week so prices could vary.

- 1 kilo frozen chicken £5

- 4 x Quarterpounder burgers £3.50

- Chorizo ring £2.50

- 4 x burger buns £0.90

- Frozen corn on the cob £1.55

- Triple pack bell peppers £1.70

- Iceberg Lettuce £0.85

- Large tomatoes £0.95 for six

- Cucumber £0.65

- Tortilla crisps sharing bag £1.10

- Own brand salsa dip £1.25

Total: £19.95

Cheap Extras

If you’ve got a little extra cash to spare, you could add some extras for a few pounds more.

Homemade macaroni cheese costs about £3 for four servings. Use 500g dried macaroni, at least 150g cheddar cheese, and raid the pantry for plain flour, butter or margarine, and milk.

It’s quick to make, easy to vary with other ingredients, and is filling. Potato salad is another filling and cheap side that goes perfectly with BBQ meats. Pick up a pack of new potatoes (around £1 at this time of year), boil until cooked. Leave to cool, then mix in mayonnaise, chives, and other herbs. You can also add some celery, raw onion, even leftover cooked bacon lardons to add extra flavour.

Don’t Forget Supermarket Loyalty Schemes

Most supermarkets now have loyalty schemes, which earn points on your spending. Some, like Morrisons, convert points to fivers to spend on your shopping. You can save these up to do a big shop (like at Christmas), or to keep the cost of your regular shop down.

Look online for deals and discounts whenever you need to buy something outside of your usual grocery shop. A little research goes a long way when it comes to making savings without cutting back on your fun!