We all want to save money and reduce waste. The good news is that, with a few clever food swaps, you can spend less without compromising on flavour. From cooking more creatively to seeking inspiration in unusual ingredients and using cheaper cuts of meat, these ingredient stand-ins are so smart, the only difference will be to your bank balance.

Click or scroll through the gallery to discover the essential money-saving cooking hacks you need to know.

While most know pesto to be a sauce made with basil, that’s simply one version – pesto Genovese, which is from Italy’s Liguria region. The word pesto itself just refers to a crushed paste, so you can be flexible with the ingredients you use without losing authenticity. Spinach is much cheaper than basil and makes a really delicious and vibrant pesto base; just blend fresh spinach with any nuts, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Aquafaba is the viscous liquid produced from cooking or soaking pulses in water. Due to its proteins and starches, it also happens to be something of a miracle ingredient and provides a great alternative to eggs. While it’s popular in vegan cooking, for obvious reasons, aquafaba is an excellent money-saving substitute for everyone, since it's effectively a by-product. It works best in baking; 3 tbsp of liquid from a tin of chickpeas will replace an egg effectively in most recipes. 

Why buy stock cubes or liquid capsules when you can boil your veggie scraps in water for an hour to produce a full-flavoured stock with no artificial nasties? Vegetable trimmings like carrot peelings, leek or spring onion tops and celery leaves make the perfect base for stock, and those ageing mushrooms or tomatoes that were destined for the bin can be added in, too. For convenience, reduce your stock right down into an intensely flavoured liquid and freeze individual portions in an ice-cube tray or freezer-safe liquid bags.

Embracing the cauli steak trend is an easy and tasty way to save some cash. Cut a 2.5cm (1in) slice right through the centre of a cauliflower, season well and pan-fry in oil or butter over a high heat for around five minutes on each side, before finishing in a hot oven for a further 10 minutes. The steak will be golden brown and delicious and you’ll be doing the planet a favour, too.

Almost all recipes that call for chicken breasts will also work well with thighs. Bone-in thighs are particularly cheap, but you'll also save a little on the boneless versions, too. It takes just a second to debone a thigh with a knife, and you can also remove the skin if you want a leaner meat.

Some fruits taste almost as good from a can as they do fresh. Peaches are a case in point, retaining great flavour and texture. For a delicious dessert made with simple and low-cost ingredients, use canned peaches for an upside-down cake (for best results, add a dash of almond essence to the batter) or simply serve topped with thick Greek yogurt and toasted almond flakes.

What better way to save money than by creating something delicious with the part of an ingredient you’d usually throw away? Often, reducing food waste also saves us money. Instead of buying expensive crisps, roast seasoned potato peelings with a drizzle of oil until crispy to create a tasty, unprocessed and completely free snack. Add a little cumin or chilli powder for an extra kick of flavour.

Keep fresh berries for snacking and switch to frozen when making smoothies. Not only are frozen berries cheaper than fresh, they’re also convenient and far less likely to spoil. For a delicious and nutritious start to the day, keep a bag or two of mixed berries (like strawberries, raspberries and blackberries) in your freezer, then add to a blender with your choice of milk, yogurt, banana and even a handful of oats.

Vegetable oil makes a great salad dressing or homemade mayonnaise base, meaning you can save pricier olive oil for other uses (drizzling over cooked meat or fish, for example). Whip up a full-flavoured vinaigrette with vegetable or sunflower oil, a little mustard and white or red wine vinegar. Rapeseed oil is another great option to try, and tends to be cheaper than olive oil.

Have you ever tried keema curry? It’s completely delicious, easy to make and brilliantly thrifty, thanks to using minced meat rather than more expensive cuts of meat. To make enough to serve four, blitz together a chopped onion, two crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp grated ginger and two roughly chopped green chillies. Fry in a little oil until fragrant, then add 17.7oz (500g) lamb or beef mince, 2 tbsp garam masala and two medium chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, then add 7oz (200g) frozen peas. Cook for five minutes more and serve garnished with coriander and accompanied by naan breads.

Forget about buying bags of gourmet popcorn; making your own is much more fun (and cheaper, too). Coat a handful of kernels in a little oil or butter in a deep pan, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and crank up the heat. Once the popping stops, it’s time to flavour your corn; drizzle with melted butter, chopped rosemary and grated Parmesan or, for something sweet, finish with honey or brown sugar and cinnamon.

Spinach is one of those vegetables that, like peas, tastes very similar whether fresh or frozen (unless you're eating the raw leaves in a salad). The leaves are generally frozen within hours of picking, so they don’t lose their flavour or nutritional value. Frozen spinach usually comes in convenient cubes, so you can just grab a handful and add to your dish, or a pan of boiling water, as and when you need it. Fresh spinach wilts down into very little once cooked, so you’re getting much more bang for your buck with frozen.

There’s more to steak than just sirloin and fillet. Obviously, these prime cuts have their appeal, but they come at a high cost and there are plenty of other options that offer far better value for money. Skirt, flat iron and bavette steaks are all great examples of lesser-used cuts that still deliver masses of flavour. When cooked rare or medium-rare, they remain lovely and tender, too.

How many times have you brought a bag of pricey pre-packaged salad home from the shops, only to find that when you come to use it the contents have turned to mulch? Make this annoying experience a thing of the past and purchase less expensive whole heads of lettuce instead; think crunchy, old-school iceberg, refreshing romaine and crisp endive.

There’s no need splash out on fresh salmon when making fishcakes, especially when tinned fish works just as well. For a simple, delicious and inexpensive supper, combine a can of drained salmon with mashed potato, chopped spinach, lemon zest and herbs, adding egg to bind it all together. Shape the mixture into patties, pan-fry on both sides, then finish in the oven.

Asian-inspired noodle soups and slow-cooked broths (think pho and ramen) have been enjoying a culinary moment over the past few years, and recreating these dishes at home needn’t be time-consuming or expensive. Dried mushrooms are your secret weapon ingredient when it comes to imparting layers of flavour; add to a simmering stock and simply sit back and let that distinctive umami taste develop.

Most nuts are fairly interchangeable in recipes, but the price of different varieties varies greatly. Pine nuts, for example, are very expensive but can easily be swapped for almonds in most dishes. Take pesto, for example; almonds or walnuts are perfectly fine alternatives and are much easier on the wallet.

Several recipes call for a glass or glug of wine but, if you don’t have a bottle already open, this can be costly (and you might not want to give up any of your favourite Albariño, anyway). Keep in mind that, when cooking with wine, all the alcohol actually evaporates and it’s essentially just extra acid and sweetness that’s added. In most recipes, a dash of good apple cider or wine vinegar will have the same effect.

While most meatball recipes are made with beef or pork mince (or a mix of the two), less expensive turkey mince can be used for an equally tasty alternative. Typically, a number of delicious additions go into your meatball mixture anyway, and ingredients like herbs, Parmesan, garlic and onion will ensure your turkey meatballs remain full of flavour. Adding breadcrumbs or stale bread soaked in milk to your meatball base is a great way to make the mixture go further and save even more money.

Parmesan cheese is an amazing ingredient, but it doesn’t come cheap. When you do buy it, keep the rinds and store them in the fridge or freeze them. When you come around to cooking a pasta sauce or soup that requires Parmesan flavour, just add a rind in. As it simmers in the pan, your Bolognese, for example, will take on the savoury and delicious taste of Parmesan, perhaps even avoiding the need to sprinkle any on top of your finished dish. Just make sure you remove the rind before serving.

Sure, Italian pancetta is tasty, but do you know what imparts the same salty, meaty flavour at a fraction of the cost? Good old streaky bacon. Replace pancetta with streaky bacon in stews, braises, risottos and pasta dishes and the only noticeable difference will be to your shopping bill.

A salty snack with an evening drink is one of life’s great pleasures. Nuts are the obvious choice, but there’s a way to make a nibble that’s just as satisfying for a more budget-friendly price. Simply drain a can of chickpeas (saving the liquid to use as an egg substitute another day), toss in olive oil, season generously and roast in a hot oven until golden and crispy. You could also add smoked paprika and other spices for extra flavour.

Who doesn’t love tucking into a bowl of minestrone? Many hearty Mediterranean soups call for the addition of tiny pasta shapes like orzo, ditalini or fregola. But these are speciality pastas, and they’re not cheap. A simple replacement that does the same job is spaghetti broken up into little pieces. Just snap off the ends as you work your way down the strands of spaghetti, then add to the soup.

Adding vanilla flavour when baking often involves pricey essences, extracts and pastes. Instead, make your own vanilla sugar to add sweetness and a lovely vanilla aroma. To make vanilla sugar, slice vanilla pods in half lengthways, add to a large jar of sugar and leave to infuse. Used a pod for custard? Rinse and allow to dry thoroughly on kitchen paper before popping into the sugar pot.

If you regularly cook with popular yet pricey white fish like cod, hake, sea bass or bream, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are some excellent lower cost, sustainable alternatives. Coley, for example, has a meaty, flaky texture that makes it a fantastic substitute for cod or haddock, particularly when frying or roasting.

Don’t be afraid to use dried herbs instead of fresh. Rosemary, thyme and oregano are all excellent in their dried form and actually can impart a more intense flavour than their fresh counterparts. Soft herbs, like basil, are better fresh, though. Buying a potted basil plant that you can pluck leaves from, as and when you need them, is a more economical option than purchasing individual packets of basil.

Yogurt is an ingredient that many of us will already have in the fridge and can be put to good use as a substitute for more expensive dairy products like sour cream or crème fraîche. It provides a similar acidic note to both, whilst offering sufficient creaminess. Try topping your fajitas with thick Greek yogurt cut through with lemon juice or add to cake batters or soups instead of crème fraîche.

Often, we pay extra for convenience, and this is certainly the case with canned pulses and legumes. You’ll get vastly more beans and chickpeas for your money if you buy them dried. This does mean soaking and cooking them, but with a little forward planning, you’ll be all set. Pulses often taste better when cooked at home and you can flavour the cooking water with herbs or spices to give them a boost. Another plus, of course, is you’ll have plenty of aquafaba left over to use as an egg substitute when baking.

Not all great burgers need to contain meat. For a frugal, healthy twist on a classic, a bean burger is the way to go. Try blending kidney beans with oats or breadcrumbs, softened onions, garlic and spices, then use soy or Worcestershire sauce to impart meaty depth of flavour. Form the mix into patties, fry until golden brown on both sides and serve in a bun finished with all your favourite burger fixings.

Skip the containers of ready-made breadcrumbs. Making your own is a doddle, and means you’ll never throw old bread away again. Tear stale bread into pieces and bake in a low oven until dried out, then blitz to crumbs in a food processor or blender. Store in an airtight container for up to two months. Stale bread can also be used to make salad croutons.

Lentils make an excellent substitute for minced beef or pork in a ragu or Bolognese and cost significantly less, while still providing a dose of protein. If you’re worried about missing the texture and flavour of the minced meat, try adding a handful of chopped walnuts to the sauce just before serving, or use half meat and half lentils. Adding extra veg will, of course, make the dish go further.

Truffles are a notoriously expensive ingredient and, while they’re prized for a reason, try swapping them for dried porcini mushrooms instead. Rich and meaty, they'll impart a similarly earthy, intense flavour. Best of all, they cost a fraction of the price and are easier to source, too.

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, but you can go some way to replicating the earthy, bittersweet flavour and intense golden hue it brings to dishes by using a mix of turmeric and sweet paprika instead. It won't be exactly like the real deal, but you'll get a close enough imitation without breaking the bank.

If a recipe requires a dollop of double cream but you don't usually buy it, instead of purchasing a tub and risking the leftovers going to waste, try using a combination of milk and butter instead – the mix of the two produces a fat content similar to that of double cream. To make the equivalent of 8fl oz (237ml) double cream, stir 2oz (57g) melted and cooled butter into 6fl oz (178ml) whole milk, mixing until smooth, silky and well combined.

Now discover the surprising foods that are better off kept in the fridge

Last updated by Dominique Ayling.