Healthy eating doesn’t depend on where you shop. You can shop at Costco, ALDI, or even Walmart and put real food on the table without spending a lot of money.
Still, every store has hidden secrets to getting the most bang for your buck – even Whole Foods!
I’m new to Sprouts in a couple of ways – I never lived near one until I moved to Georgia, and I always thought they were expensive!
When we started the Whole30 though, I wanted to give it a fair shot. I’ve since learned ways to save money at Sprouts Farmers Market that actually work, and I hope to help you keep your grocery budget in check without sacrificing the quality of food!
15 Ways to Save Money at Sprouts Farmers Market
1. Shop on Wednesdays
Almost every grocery store has weekly circulars, but the Sprouts ad starts AND ends on Wednesdays. That means when you shop on Wednesdays, you can take advantage of BOTH sales!
I’ve noticed that Sprouts has more sales each week in one particular area, like the produce area or bulk bins. When you shop on Wednesdays, you can take advantage of the sales in MULTIPLE areas and save more money!
2. Shop for Produce
Every time I look at the Sprouts weekly ad, they beat almost every other store on produce prices. They have a great selection of both conventional and organic produce, and oftentimes their organic produce is priced the same as conventional produce elsewhere!
3. Shop the Bulk Bins
The bulk bins are the section of the store where you find grains, snacks, and nuts in big barrels or in partitioned containers with lids. Every item has its own scoop, letting you scoop out exactly what you need and nothing more.
For example, if you only need 1 cup of peanuts for a recipe, don’t shop the aisle where you have no choice but to buy the big canister of peanuts (that will leave you with tons of peanuts leftovers). Instead, scoop your 1 cup from the bulk bins and pay for just those peanuts!
The best part is that the prices at the bulk bins are very comparable to the price for pre-packaged items. I’ve actually seen meager prices on pantry staples like nuts and rolled oats – better than Costco!
4. Shop the Bulk Spice
Sprouts Farmers Market has a bulk spice section, just like Whole Foods. You can scoop out 1 teaspoon or 2 tablespoons or however much you need of a particular spice, instead of buying a large container. This is especially helpful if you’re trying a spice for the first time or for one particular recipe and you’re not sure if you’re going to use it again.
Many of the spices are cheaper when you shop for them in the bulk spice section, but not all of them. Be sure to use a calculator to figure out the price per ounce, and choose the most affordable option.
5. Use Caution on Meats and Pantry
I say use caution because Sprouts isn’t the best place to get the best deals on meat all the time. With that said, you can definitely get some good deals on meat if you look for them!
For example, as I type this post, grass-fed beef is on sale for $3.99/lb. That’s a $1 per pound savings over Costco and Costco always has the rock bottom price on grass-fed beef!
Also, be sure to compare the price in the packages versus the price at the meat counter. The last time I was in the store, pot roast from the meat counter (for my home-style slow cooker pot roast) cost $2 LESS per pound than if I bought it pre-packaged in the beef section!
6. Know Your Food Labels
This money-saving tip actually applies to all stores, but know what food labels mean so you know you’re not over-paying for quality that isn’t really there.
Eggs are a perfect example of this. Eggs can have all sorts of labels… cage-free, free-range, vegetarian-fed, natural… but only a few of those terms are regulated, and even those terms aren’t what you think they are.
For example, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, in order for eggs to be labeled free-range, “producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.”
We may think this looks like happy chickens, roaming on some grassy acreage eating bugs and grass. In reality, it’s thousands of chickens packed into a barn that has a few oversized doggie doors on either side. This article offers a good explanation and great images to illustrate.
I wrote this article on what the meat labels mean and I’m saving the various types of eggs for another post, but my point here is this: know your food labels so you’re not overpaying for the quality you think you’re getting.
7. Use Sprouts Mobile Coupons
Sprouts Market has mobile coupons that usually line up with their Deals of the Month (more on that below). These coupons are usually for brands you normally don’t find coupons for, and they’re brands you usually only find at health food stores.
I quit clipping coupons a few years ago because it was very time-consuming, but it only takes a minute or two to go through the Sprouts coupons and click on the ones that I want. Plus the value of the Sprouts mobile coupons tends to be a lot higher than traditional coupons. Most coupons are in the $1-$1.50 range, with some at $3 or even $5!
8. Use Sprouts Checkout Challenges
Checkout Challenges work similarly to the bonus rebates for Ibotta, where you get something for free if you buy so many of a similar item or brand.
For example, as I write this post, you can unlock one free half gallon Organic Valley Grassmilk Milk when you buy 5 Organic Valley Grassmilk items. Another Checkout Challenge is for one free Clif Bar when you buy 3 Clif Bars.
The Checkout Challenges are valid for several weeks to a couple of months, so it’s worth paying attention to if you shop at Sprouts often OR if you are loyal to a brand that Sprouts offers.
It’s also worth paying attention to the Checkout Challenges AND the sales because while the Checkout Challenge for the Clif Bars is going on right now (as I write this post), they’re also on sale!
9. Combine Sales with Ibotta Rebates
Ibotta is an app that lets you redeem rebates for products you’re already buying, and it’s my favorite money-saving app!
If you’ve never heard of Ibotta, you can read my honest review of the free app here, and you can read how to maximize your savings and even MAKE MONEY with Ibotta here.
Ever notice coupons for bread, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, and milk in August/September? Ever notice the grocery stores having sales for bread, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, and milk in August/September? This isn’t an accident.
Big brands work with big stores in order to market their products at a certain time, and this includes strategically timed sales, coupons, and rebates – including Ibotta!
As I write this post, Silk dairy-free milk is on sale. Sprouts have a $1 coupon AND Ibotta has a 75¢ rebate. Stack them all together and you’re getting non-dairy milk for 50% off! (You can always make your own homemade almond milk and/or homemade coconut milk, but I know that sometimes it’s nice to take a shortcut.)
Plus, if you join my Ibotta team, you get a bonus of $10 for FREE – how can you say no to free money?! Join my team HERE.
10. Look at the Deals of the Month
Sprouts used to have a monthly coupon book, but it’s now called “Deals of the Month.” This flyer is found in-store or found on their website, and the deals are SEPARATE from the Sprouts weekly ad because they run all month long. To really rack up the savings, be sure to stack these items with Sprouts mobile coupons, Checkout Challenges, and rebate apps like Ibotta!
Just to give an example of what a Deal of the Month may look like, as I write this post, eight different sunscreen brands are 20-25% off and select vitamins are 25% off. (I personally buy my vitamins and sunscreen from Young Living, or here’s how you can make your own sunscreen with just two ingredients.)
Another example is Sprouts Grass-fed Ghee. It’s on sale for$9.99 with a $2 coupon. That comes out to just 61¢ per ounce and is very comparable to the quality and price of ghee at ALDI.
You never know what the Deals of the Month are going to be, but it’s always worth looking!
11. Buy Wine by the Case (maybe)
I say maybe here because, in my opinion, wine is overpriced at Sprouts. I’ve seen better prices at Costco, and Walmart. However, if you are partial to a brand you can only find at Sprouts, then buy it by the case and save 10%!
12. Spend $100 on Vitamins and Supplements
I already mentioned that I buy my vitamins and supplements from Young Living (they offer SO MUCH MORE than just essential oils – learn more here), but if you choose to buy your vitamins and supplements from Sprouts, spend $100 – you can automatically save $10!
13. Check the Clearance Rack
My Sprouts Farmers Market has a rack of clearance items in the hallway that leads to the bathroom. It’s not in plain sight and hard to find, but I’m betting most Sprouts have a similar rack!
Make sure you ask an employee where the clearance rack is the next time you’re in the store. I’ve found LaraBars, condiments, sauces… all sorts of goodies marked down to just pennies!
14. Shop Sprouts Brand Items
Sprouts have their own “Sprouts Brand” line of goods and they cost just a fraction of what name brands cost. I’ve seen drinks, frozen foods, condiments as well as personal items. Just like when you shop at Walmart, read the ingredients, and choose the store brand when it’s cheaper!
15. Watch for 72 Hour Sales
You have to follow Sprouts on Facebook or via email or happen to stumble into the store for this one because most of the Sprouts 72-hour sales don’t come with advance warning. These sales are usually from Friday through Sunday, and you can easily rack up the savings.
Remember that Wednesdays are double ad days, so it’s worth your pocketbook to see if the 72-hour sale beats the pricing for TWO ads on Wednesdays.
Bonus!
Sprouts offer rain checks that never expire! I have not used these at Sprouts before but I have at other stores.
I use my price book to watch for my most common items to be at their lowest price. If the item I need is out of stock when the price is lowest, I ask for a raincheck. Typically the store will sell it to me at the sale price when it comes back in stock.
This is perfect for stockpiling my most used goods! Learn more about stockpiling in Grocery Budget Bootcamp. This is one of the best ways to save big on food!
Grocery Budget Bootcamp enrollment is currently closed, but you can join my FREE 5-day Crush Inflation Challenge and start saving money on groceries tomorrow!
My Sprouts Farmers Market Shopping Routine
I don’t shop at Sprouts every week, but when I do shop there, here’s my routine:
- Review all the mobile coupons available on the app. Clip the ones I think I might use.
- Review all the rebates available on Ibotta. Save the ones I think I might use.
- Review the Deals of the Month.
- Review the Sprouts weekly ad. Note any overlap between the coupons, rebates, monthly deals, and weekly ads.
- Shop according to my list and save money!
Do you have to shop at a particular time on Wednesdays to take advantage of the overlap in weekly sales.
Nope! They’re valid all day!
In Florida Sprouts doesn’t have the two ads Wednesday anymore.
California doesn’t either, atleast here in Hemet we don’t. Lost that awhile ago so sad.
In Texas, my Sprouts told me they stopped the 2 ad Wednesday shortly after Covid started.
Don’t forgot their 10% discount gift card sale in November only every year!!!
Ooh, I didn’t know about that – thanks for sharing JC!
Thank you so much for the tips.
I shop at sprouts in our town ever since it opened. I always buy $100 worth of vitamins and get a 10% discount this week I didn’t get it and I asked why and they said you can’t get it all the time and I said, yes I always have. so. That policy has changed.
Our first Sprouts store just opened in Naples, FL. I am loving the produce sales (98¢ for lacinato kale, blackberries 88¢!). But what I don’t understand is why they don’t have a Customer Service desk. They handle returns, rainchecks, etc., while you’re in line, so everyone in line has to stand there and wait while these things are fine. What is the logic behind that?
Hi Stephanie! Their produce deals are KILLER! I don’t understand the reasoning, but I’ve also noticed that they tend to be quicker to open a new register if the line gets long.
Here in the Midwest we have Fresh Thyme Market which is almost identical to Sprouts. They have a lot of the same specials such as double ad Wednesday and mobile coupons but so far they don’t use Ibotta.
Oh maybe last comment, lol, you can see the 72 hr sale date as early as Tuesday for the Fri-Sun sale in the weekly ad section. They make the weekly Wed ad available for preview on Tuesdays no includes the 72 hr sale, which is this Friday actually.
These are all great tips Jaclyn – keep them coming!! And thank you for sharing! ♥
I agree that Sprouts produce prices are the best! I will be implementing a lot of these tips, thank you! I have found that vitamins and personal care items, even on sale, are often more expensive at Sprouts than for the same items at Natural Grocers / Vitamin. However, there are some items like their Sprouts Castile Soap that are cheaper than brand name items.
Laura,
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
And another great thing about the Sprouts app is you can add all the things you want to buy from Sprouts into the Sprouts app grocery list and it will tell you the total. You can even search for non-sale items to add to your list if you know they have the best price on something. This is also useful if you are wanting to know what the price is for any of their items (except for the mis-marked ones in the store that they usually honor if the cashier checks).
I think you sold me on the app right there – knowing the total before I go in the store is SO helpful!
We’ve tried the rain check at Sprouts before but they told us in order for them to give a rain check it had to be a BOGO Free sale for the item. I’m not sure if that was just my Sprouts or not.
Another thing I’ve found is I have to correct their prices at the register (like almost everywhere else I shop).
In my experience, the prices on the app are accurate even if their store price doesn’t reflect the sale. I bought Applegate all beef hot dogs once for $1.99/pack — yes, thise $6.99/pack over priced ones! And they were still there because the store hadn’t displayed the sale price.
I also buy Kalona milk from Sprouts because it’s usually on sale for cheaper than Whole Foods and Kalona is the closest to raw milk I can buy in Alabama. (RealMilk.com or WestonAPrice.org to learn about healthy vs unhealthy milk) Kalona is non-homogenized and only low temperature pasteurized so you get the most healthy enzymes. Ultra pastuerized kills all enzymes, so it’s better to get Pasteurized. Most pasteurized milk is high temperature pastuerized so it’s still killing a lot of enzymes. Kalona Supernatural is the only milk I have found to be low temp pastuerized. Sometimes Sprouts has it for $3 instead of $6 but usually it’s on sale for $5.
I see that someone has said that if a sale item is out of stock, they will issue a rain check. Not completely true. I asked for a rain check today for a vitamin brand that was sold out (they are having their vitamin sale) and they said I could not get a rain check for a sale vitamin item. That sucks.
Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that Suzanne!! Did you by chance ask to speak to a manager?
I do a combo of sprouts, Trader Joe’s and Costco and have cut our grocery bills by $300. I agree with everything live said above. I have even got free items with the mobile coupons. Free cereal and free granola bars. I’ll always take free!
Free is music to my ears!!
We like Sprouts for fresh produce…I go there first and shop sales, then go to some stores that have better prices in general. The quality of their berries, for example, and the low sale prices are worth stocking up and freezing. The Wednesday ad overlap is true for Texas!
But thanks for some of the tips I hadn’t noticed…and the ideas for using bulk items to your advantage : )
You’re very welcome Meredith!!
Sprouts is my go-to grocery store in my area. You do have to watch it, but generally their produce and meat prices are unbeatable when I compare them to other grocery stores in my area. I often shop Thursday because that’s when they have the best manager markdowns in their meat. The Sprouts sausage links from the meat counter are regularly marked down to 1.99 a pound on Thursdays. I’ve made great sheet pan dinners and hubby’s work lunches from those sausage links!
I love having sausage links on hand for the same reasons! My favorite is to add them to my veggie egg scramble for breakfast – YUM!