Is it Cheaper to make or buy Brownies?
As much as I don’t want to admit it, I have a major sweet tooth. Eating a slightly warm fresh basked brownie with all the gooey fudginess is my idea of heaven!
This made me wonder what the cheapest way to eat brownies can be. We will break down the costs to make homemade brownies from scratch, using a brownie mix, and buying premade brownies.
How much does homemade brownies cost?
Homemade brownies don’t require any special equipment and you really just need a bowl and a whisk or a mixer. The ingredients are pretty simple as well.
For our cost breakdown, we are going to use a brownie recipe from GimmeDelicious and you can check out the full recipe here.
| Ingredients | Cost |
| 1/2 cup butter | 99.5 cents |
| 1/2 cup cocoa powder | 57.9 cents |
| 1 cup sugar | 35.5 cents |
| 2 eggs | 37.6 cents |
| 1 tsp vanilla | 3 cents |
| 1/2 cup flour | 10.6 cents |
| 1/4 tsp salt | 1 cent |
| Total Cost for Homemade Brownies: $2.45 (16 servings) | Cost per Serving: 15.3 cents |
I cost out all the brownie ingredients at my local Walmart, so your costs may vary depending on where you shop. Walmart for me is just the cheapest option for pantry staples.
The total cost to make homemade brownies came out to $2.45 which came out to 15.3 cents per serving.
Is it cheaper to make brownies from scratch or box?
Now it may seem easier to just go ahead and buy a brownie mix, but will it be cheaper than buying the basic ingredients? Let’s cost out some brownies mix and find out!
| Brownie Mix, servings | Store and Cost | Cost per serving |
| Baker’s Corner Fudge brownies, 18 servings | Aldi, $1.09 | Mix= $1.09 1/2 cup oil=$0.29 2 eggs=$0.37 Total: $1.75 9.7 cents per serving |
| Betty Crocker Family Size Fudge Brownie, 20 servings | Price Chopper, $2.45 | Mix= $2.45 1/2 cup oil= $0.29 2 eggs= $0.37 Total: $3.11 15.5 cents per serving |
| Duncan Hines Family Size Chewy Fudge Brownie, 80 servings | Hy-Vee $2.77 | Mix=$2.77 1/2 cup oil=$0.29 2 eggs=$0.37 Total: $3.43 4.2 cents per serving |
| Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Premium Brownie Mix, 16 servings | Target, $4.09 | Mix= $4.09 1/3 cup oil= $0.19 1 egg= $0.18 Total: $4.46 27.8 cents per serving |
| Pillsbury Family Size Fudge Brownie, 18 servings | Dillon’s, $1.99 | Mix= $1.99 2/3 cup oil=$0.38 2 eggs= $0.37 Total: $2.74 15.2 cents per serving |
| Betty Crocker Brownie Mix, 9 servings | Dollar Tree, $1.25 | Mix: $1.25 1/3 cup oil= $0.19 1 egg= $0.18 Total: $1.62 19 cents per serving |
| Average Cost per Serving: | 15.2 cents per serving |
If we decide to use a brownie mix to make brownies, the average cost per serving comes out to 15.2 cents. That’s pretty close to the 15.3 cents cost per serving with making brownies from scratch.
The cheapest options for the brownie mix were the Aldi brand at 9.7 cents per servings and the Family Size Duncan Hines mix at 4.2 cents per serving.
If you want to use a mix, you may save some money, but you really need to look at the ingredients you need to add and how many servings the mix makes!
How much does brownies cost at the grocery store?
Of course, the easiest way to eat brownies, is to go ahead and buy them ready to eat from the store! Let’s see how much premade brownies cost.
| Brownies & Number of Servings | Store & Cost | Cost per Serving |
| 21 count Brownie Bites, 10 servings | Walmart, $4.48 | 44.8 cents |
| Baker’s Treat Mini Brownies, 8.25oz= 5 servings | Aldi= $2.65 | 53 cents |
| Traditional Brownies, 16oz tray= 9 servings | Sprouts, $4.99 | 55.4 cents |
| Hy-Vee 6ct Fudge Brownies, 6 servings | Hy-Vee, $7.37 | $1.28 |
| Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies 6ct = 6 servings | Price Chopper, $2.59 | 43.1 cents |
| Bakery Fresh 16oz brownie bites, 16 servings | Dillon’s, $6.49 | 40.5 cents |
| Dawn Foods Brownie Tray, 96 servings | Sam’s Club, $58.53 | 60.9 cents |
| Grissom’s Brownie Bites, 10.5oz = 10 servings | Save A Lot, $3.29 | 32.9 cents |
| Average cost per serving= | 56.7 cents |
The average cost of ready to eat brownies came out to 56.7 cents per serving. This was much higher than homemade brownies from scratch or using a brownie mix.
The cheapest option was Save A Lot with a cost per serving of 32.9 cents, but that is almost double the homemade cost of 15.3 cents.
Are homemade brownies worth it?
Making homemade brownies from scratch or by using a brownie mix is definitely the cheaper option for brownies. Since the cost was so close between buying the individual ingredients and using a mix, I would prefer to go ahead and make them from scratch.
Not only do I think homemade brownies taste better, but I like the fact that I know exactly what is in them. No extra preservatives, artificial colors, and added sodium.
Every so often, I do find brownie mixes on sale, and I will pick up a few just because depending on the price, it may come out way cheaper than buying cocoa powder.
So even though brownies are not the healthiest treat, they are nice to make every once in a while. I want my kids to enjoy sweets and treats, but we do them very modestly and not all the time.
Another benefit of making brownies yourself is that you can make fun variations of flavors. Add some cream cheese, sprinkles, chocolate chips, or even some peanut butter to jazz those brownies up!
For more price breakdowns of making your own desserts, check out “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Cupcakes?” and “Is it Cheaper to make or buy Cookies?“
