My neighbor swore by adding a can of chickpeas to stretch chili for a whole extra meal, and after trying it last week, I saved $15 on groceries.

She said to just rinse them and toss them in during the last 10 minutes, and now I'm curious what other cheap pantry staples work like that for soups or stews?

3 comments

3 Comments

julia_anderson10d ago

Honestly, how have I never thought of that chickpea trick? Tbh my go-to cheap filler is a cup of dry red lentils. They cook down to nothing in like 20 minutes and make any soup way thicker and heartier. I used to always end up with watery soup, so this was a game changer for me. It's basically my one cooking skill. A bag costs nothing and lasts forever in the pantry.

shanelee10d agoProlific Poster

Wait, dry lentils in 20 minutes? Mine always take at least 30, maybe my stove is just bad. Still a solid trick though.

jordanblack10d ago

Honestly, the real life hack is just making a huge pot of anything and eating it for a week straight. My freezer is just a library of forgotten soups at this point, all stretched with random beans.