Cost of Living: cost of popular family dinner staples such as pasta bakes and bolognese increase by 27%

The price of family meal staple items such as ingredients to make spaghetti bolognese and pasta bakes has shot up by almost a third in the past year, according to consumer group Which?

Experts at the group tracked items including pasta sauces, penne pasta and cheddar cheese, all of which are commonly used to make pasta bakes for meal times. The cost of cooking the meal has increased by 27%, costing £3.39 to source the items compared to the 2022 cost of £2.68.

Along with pricing how much it would cost the average family to create a simple pasta dish from scratch, Which? also tracked almost 26,000 other food and drink items as part of their inflation tracker. The cost of items were measured in May at eight major supermarkets - Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose - and compared to the price from 12 months ago.

Similar to the pasta dish, the cost of making at-home spaghetti bolognese has also skyrocketed. Across the eight supermarkets sourcing ingredients such as beef mince, stock, chopped tomatoes, dried spaghetti, garlic, onion and carrots has increased year-on-year by 20% - while this meal would have cost £5.53 to serve up in 2022, it now costs consumers £6.63.

The great British dinner of fish fingers, chips and beans - a childhood staple for many - will now cost consumers £3.79 to source, an increase of 24% on 2022. This works out to around 95p per portion.

The biggest influence on the change in price in this meal however, was the baked beans. The price of a tin has increased on average by 36% in the past year, with the popular HP brand increasing by an eye-watering 77% at Asda.

The price of frozen chips has surged by 23% on average. Sainsbury's own-brand french fries (900g) topped the list, increasing by 110% from 83p to £1.75, while Lidl's Harvest Basket French Fries (900g) increased by 99% to £1.35.

Other items heavily hit by price hikes include those used to cook the traditional Sunday roast. Vegetable oil has increased by 43%, while chicken gravy granules increased by 40%.

Which? also deduced that the inflation of own-brand budget labels outstripped that of their brand-new counterparts, despite being the cheaper option in most cases. The cost of own-brand budget labels continued to increase from May 2022 to May 2023 by 25%, while regular own-brands increase at 19.1%, premium own brand at 12.9% and brand-name items at 13.2%

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: “The cost of food during this period of economic uncertainty has turned the pleasure of mealtimes with loved ones into a nightmare for the millions that are struggling to afford food.

“Supermarkets must put their customers first by stocking budget lines in all of their stores, including convenience stores, to ensure easy access to basic, affordable food ranges as well as provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.

“Official inflation data due out next week is still expected to show food prices at an elevated level. If supermarkets can’t do the right thing by their customers, it’s time for the government to take action.”