BachelorontheCheap.com

If you would have asked me about two years ago if there was a sandwich on the Subway menu worth doing a copycat recipe on, I would have said, “No.”

They’ve been the #1 fast food sandwich shop for many years, but not very long ago, they were guilty of getting complacent, using lesser quality ingredients, i.e., using turkey-based cold cuts, ham, salami, bologna, etc., instead of the real deal, and sloppy sandwich prep.

Losing market share as a result, Subway recently did a major menu makeover and started using premium ingredients. 

Nice upgrade!  Now there are several sandwiches on the Subway menu worth doing a copycat recipe on!

I recently put my spin on one of those big hit Subway sandwiches, the Subway #3, The Monster™.

In doing so, it struck me that shopping for the copycat sandwich ingredients would be something to highlight in this week’s grocery store price comparison with a twist. Instead of my usual buy-the-store/discount brand at all stores approach (8 times out of 10, the name brand is NOT worth the price compared to the store/discount product), this week I’m doing a direct name brand vs. store/discount brand comparison.

Here’s this week’s side-by-side Wichita Metro comparison of grocery store prices for Aldi, Walmart, and Dillon’s, shopping for Subway sandwich ingredients – what I’ve come to call The More Than Monster Sandwich. 

Prices stated are in-store shopping prices. Prices can vary from store to store, as store managers have the flexibility to adjust prices, lower or higher. Aldi does not have the flexibility of the other stores reviewed. Prices are good as of this writing and could change by the time you make that grocery run.

Takeaways from this week’s price review:

  • Unless you’re totally unfamiliar with Aldi and its business model, shopping at the discount grocer is the cheapest place to get the copycat ingredients.  It’s a small list, but the savings at Aldi are HUGE, especially vs. buying the name brands at both Dillons and Walmart.  Shoppers can save a whopping $13.87 vs. buying the name brands at Dillons and save $11.15 vs. Walmart.  That’s OMG significant!   The Aldi savings in the store/discount brand comparison was also notable vs. Dillons at $4.38, but negligible vs. Walmart at $0.89.   Mention worthy:  The best bang for the onion buck was Aldi, Dillons didn’t have bagged sweet onions.  Walmart did, but check out the price!
  • Dillons was the most expensive place to shop for name brands, no surprise there, and even if using the Dillons loyalty card, shoppers just won’t see enough of a discount to warrant shopping for name-brand products at the mainstream grocery store.  Fuel points won’t make up enough of the difference either.    The eye-opener here is just how much Dillons gouges its customers on name-brand items.  Surprisingly, despite being a full-service grocer, Dillons doesn’t offer steak pre-cut Carne Asada style.  If you’re curious about how the Dillons loyalty card plays a role, check out the related article link, “Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon’s (Kroger) vs. Aldi. 
  • Walmart came in $2.72 cheaper than Dillons in the name-brand comparison.  In the store brand comparison, Walmart is consistently cheaper with its Great Value brand vs. Dillons Kroger offerings.  Product quality however is another issue, in my experience Great Value isn’t always a smart buy, with Kroger quality usually being superior in a budget buy.    Noteworthy:  Check out Walmart being trend-savvy with the popularity of bacon and featuring Oscar Meyer bacon in a 22-ounce package.  Compare that price and the extra bacon to the Dillons option.

Compare the Appleton Farms price of $3.69 to the Oscar Mayer price of $6.99 or more and I bet you can’t taste the difference in a blind taste test.

I’ve sampled, reviewed, and compared a lot of products over the years and what Aldi offers is why I’m a repeat customer.

Have an idea for a shop?  Send me a grocery list email.

$pend Wisely My Friends…

~ Mike

Related: Copycat Recipe: But don’t call it Subway #3 The Monster

Related: Food Review: Great Value bacon not such a great value

Related: Condensed Soup Battle: Campbell’s vs. store brand vs. discount brand

Related:  Related: Mainstream Grocery vs. Discount Grocery: Dillon’s (Kroger) vs. Aldi

Enjoy this post?

If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or monthly donation.  Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike