Cheap Freezer Meals: Coles Cheapest at $52.25

Frozen food has had a quiet reputation as the budget shopper's best friend, and this basket puts that to the test. Ten items straight from the freezer aisle, peas, mixed veg, chips, nuggets, two kinds of pizza, dim sims, garlic bread, blueberries and ice cream, compared across Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA.

The short version: Coles is the cheapest store that stocks every item at $52.25. Woolworths has all ten too, but it'll cost you $55.40. IGA stocks the full basket at $61.65. Aldi covers nine of the ten items for $42.40 (it doesn't carry garlic bread), so that figure isn't a fair basket comparison.

What this cheap freezer meals basket costs at each store

The gap between Coles and Woolworths is $3.15. That's real money over a year of weekly shops, but it won't change your life on a single trip. The gap between Coles and IGA is more meaningful, $9.40 for the exact same basket.

It's also worth knowing that Canstar research found shoppers can save significantly by switching from fresh to frozen produce, with some items up to 70 per cent cheaper in the freezer aisle. This basket is built on exactly that idea.

Where the biggest price differences are

A few items in this basket have a wild spread between stores. These are the ones worth paying attention to.

Garlic bread is the starkest. Coles has it for $2.10. Woolworths charges $7.80 for the same item. That $5.70 difference on a single line is more than you'd save switching every other item in the basket. If you're doing a full Woolworths shop, picking up garlic bread there costs you nearly four times what Coles charges. Aldi doesn't stock it at all.

Dim sims tell a similarly messy story. Coles stocks three 480g packs for $12.75 to hit the 1 kg target quantity. Woolworths gets there with two 600g packs for $8.00. Aldi manages it for $7.99 with a single 1.2 kg bag. IGA comes in at $8.25 for 1 kg. Aldi and Woolworths are clearly the better options on this line, Coles is noticeably dearer.

Chicken nuggets are another standout. Coles and Aldi are nearly identical at $6.50 and $6.49 respectively for 1 kg. Woolworths charges $9.00 for the same quantity. IGA's price of $15.00 covers a 1.5 kg pack, which works out poorly on a per-kilo basis too. If nuggets are a regular buy in your house, Aldi or Coles are clearly where you shop for them.

Ice cream splits the other way. Woolworths sells a 2 L tub for $4.50, which is the cheapest in the basket. Coles charges $6.50 for the same size. Aldi and IGA both have it for $5.00. If ice cream's the only reason you're crossing to Woolworths, it's probably not worth the trip, but if you're already there for other reasons, grab it there.

Where prices are basically the same

Not every line in this basket is worth stressing about. Frozen peas are $2.50 at both Coles and Woolworths for a 1 kg bag, and Aldi is just one cent cheaper at $2.49. That's not a reason to change stores.

Frozen chips run $6.30 at Coles, Woolworths and IGA (different pack configurations, same total). Aldi gets there for $5.38 across two 750 g bags. The saving exists but it's modest.

The two pizza lines, frozen pizza and pizza pockets, are identical at Coles and Woolworths ($4.20 each), with Aldi a dollar or so cheaper on both. IGA is noticeably pricier at $7.70 per line for each.

Frozen blueberries are close across the board: $4.40 at Coles and Woolworths, $3.79 at Aldi, $4.50 at IGA.

Is cherry-picking the cheapest store per item worth it?

If you bought each of these ten items at whichever store sold it cheapest, you'd spend $43.02 total. That's $9.23 less than buying everything at Coles.

Honestly, for most households that's a stretch goal, not a realistic plan. You'd be visiting multiple stores across different suburbs, spending extra time and petrol, to save under ten dollars. Unless you're already passing Aldi on the way to Coles, or you combine this run with other errands, the maths doesn't stack up.

That said, a few targeted swaps are easy. Aldi stocks dim sims, nuggets, chips, pizza, pizza pockets and blueberries all cheaper than Coles. If there's an Aldi near you and you're buying those items regularly, it's worth the detour. Just note you'll still need to swing by Coles for garlic bread.

Who should shop where for this basket

Families with kids running through nuggets, chips and pizza pockets every week will find Coles the most practical single-store option at $52.25 for everything. If there's an Aldi close by, the nine-item run for $42.40 covers almost all of it, you'd just need garlic bread elsewhere.

Budget shoppers who don't mind two stops will do best hitting Aldi for the bulk of the basket and Coles for the garlic bread. That combination gets you close to the $43.02 cherry-pick price without visiting four stores.

Retirees or smaller households buying this kind of frozen staples basket less frequently might find IGA more convenient despite the $9.40 premium over Coles, location and ease of parking often matter more than price when you're not doing a massive weekly shop.

Woolworths regulars are paying $3.15 more than at Coles for this basket. That's not a crisis, and if you're already there for other items on your list, the convenience probably wins. But Woolworths' dim sims and ice cream are actually competitive, and its nuggets are not, so it's not a flat trade-off.

The frozen aisle is one of the better places to stretch a grocery budget, and this basket proves it. Coles gets you across the line with everything in the freezer for $52.25.