Amid the constant food price rises costumers have faced in recent months, it has never been more important to shop around. And we've been doing exactly that with our weekly comparison of the same budget basics - tracking the cost of the same eight essentials at the six main supermarkets since March 2022.
And, this week, a price drop has seen Tesco move into the second cheapest supermarket on our list - taking over from budget retailer Aldi. Our basics basket is made up of coffee, tea bags, milk, bread, butter, beans, chicken and mince.
Lidl has held on to its 'cheapest' crown - a title it is held in our comparison list since the end of January now. The prices of its shopping basket basics remains stable at £11.79.
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Indeed, prices have remained fairly stable across the six retailers this week - but one big price cut has helped Tesco leapfrog Aldi. That's on its chicken breasts - with a big saving of 26p slashed off its 300g pack.
It did increase the price of its loaf of white bread though, to 45p up from 39p last week. But, even with that rise, it has shaved enough off the basket price total to make it £12.11 - 2p cheaper than the same goods at Aldi.
Asda remains in its position of 'most expensive' on our list - with the basket remaining £13.15. It has been at sixth on our list for more than four months, bar one exception.
There was just one other price change this week - and that was a 10p rise on teabags at Morrisons, with keeps it in fifth place on our list.
Here's the full list:-
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.19
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 25% fat (20% fat no longer available) - £2.45
Total £11.79
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p (up from 39p last week)
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.48
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29 - (down from £2.55 last week)
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49
Total £12.11 (down from £12.31 last week)
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee 200g - £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.49
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 420g tin - 28p
Chicken 300g - £2.29
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.49
Total £12.13
Sainsbury's
Loaf of white bread 800g - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee 200g £1.99
Teabags 160 - £1.49
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 400g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.50
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total £12.33
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g - 75p
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.48 - up from £1.38
Savers Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 410g tin - 27p
Chicken 300g - £2.59
Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.49
Total: £12.70 (up from £12.60)
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g (Just Essentials) - 45p
Milk 2 pints - £1.25
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.98
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Just Essentials) - £1.52
Salted butter 250g - £1.89
Beans 410g tin (Just Essentials) - 27p
Chicken 300g - £3
Mince 500g 20% fat -£2.79
Total £13.15
Aldi argues that its tea bags are a higher quality than Lidl's 'One Cup', but our comparison has simply used the cheapest 160-box available. Or, as in the case of Tesco and Asda, multiple smaller packs to make up that number.
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