3. Baking Staples (Great Value)

If you enjoy baking for your family, grandchildren, or community events, you know how quickly you can go through pantry staples like flour, sugar, baking soda, and vegetable oil. These foundational ingredients are where Walmart’s Great Value brand truly shines, offering identical quality for a much lower price. There is simply no reason to pay more for these items.

Products like all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, salt, and baking powder are commodities. This means they are basic goods that are standardized, with little to no difference in quality between producers. The all-purpose flour from Great Value will perform the same in your cookie and cake recipes as flour from a more expensive national brand. The same goes for sugar; it will sweeten your coffee or your baked goods just as effectively.

The main consideration when buying these items is freshness and proper storage. Always check the expiration date on the package. Once you get home, store items like flour in an airtight container to keep them fresh and free from pests. Because these products have a long shelf life, you can often save even more by buying a larger size, which typically has a lower unit price. A 10-pound bag of flour will almost always be a better value per pound than a 2-pound bag.

Your Money-Saving Move: Before your next baking project, take an inventory of your pantry. Make a list of the basic staples you need, like flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cooking oil. Commit to buying the Great Value version for all of them on your next trip to Walmart. You can easily save 30-40% on these core ingredients, which adds up to significant savings over time, especially during the holiday baking season.